350 Express Cruiser

desertdave said:
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I made a lot of covers for things during my tenure. The big acrylic cover over the gauges kept them from fading over time. The Garmin unit is brand new, the original Chartlink plotter failed last year. I just put the new one for the next guy/gal, I have no idea how to use it (though I downloaded and printed the manual for him/her.) The Northstar loran still works, though no signal right now (homeland security wants to bring it back.) The chartplotter was run by the loran when I got the boat, but I added a handheld GPS (one of the first) to drive it. The GPS was located on the triangular area below the loran, but 26 years ago I knew it wasn't the final solution, so I didn't drill one of the mounting holes. Why? So when I upgraded (finally) I could put in the cupholder you see there in the picture. That's thinking pretty far ahead! The stick on cupholder to the right kept me going through the years though.
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So you used a handheld to show up on your bigger screen? I'm not sure that's what you done but I was going to see if I could link my handheld Garmin to my in dash monitor
 
desertdave said:
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This is a major improvement. I found a TV/DVD that barely fit in the cabinet where the TV is located (once I installed a recessed power outlet.) I built a mount using part of a TV wall mount, laminated particle board (like all the stuff in the boat) and a couple of ball bearing drawer slides. It swivels so you can watch it in bed, or from the dining table. I divided off the locker space to give additional storage space. Certainly one of the most clever things I did.
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This is great. On my list
 
Hi Dave ...what wonderful posts and a wealth of knowledge you have shared here. And your boat ...she's in pristine condition. A classic beauty. You obviously love her and took exceptional care of her. I was saddened to read you original post in this thread. I'm very sorry to hear you'll be parting ways with her.
 
Stuart Morton said:
So you used a handheld to show up on your bigger screen? I'm not sure that's what you done but I was going to see if I could link my handheld Garmin to my in dash monitor
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When I got the boat, it had a Cmap based chartplotter that was driven by the Loran unit. The Loran output NMEA location information over RS232 serial to the chartplotter, which would use the information to show the location on the electronic map. The handheld GPS unit, which had a powered mounting bracket and supported a remote antenna on the radar arch, would also output NMEA information. I had a switch under the dash which could select which data source the chartplotter would use. I chose a handheld as it could be grabbed and taken in the liferaft if it ever was needed, along with a handheld VHF so I could report my location. Of course, I was always a very careful boater and never came close to needing it. The CMAP unit finally failed about a year ago, so I just put in the Garmin unit since a boat of this caliber should have a functioning nav setup.
 
Stuart Morton said:
I like the gauge cover also. I have the exact colors. Guess mine is the sundancer we also have a ice maker/sink in this area.
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If you have the aft cabin and V drives you have the Sundancer. I love our Sundancer but boy do I wish we had more space in the engine room. That is the ONLY thing I don’t like..
 
Krazzeeddie said:
If you have the aft cabin and V drives you have the Sundancer. I love our Sundancer but boy do I wish we had more space in the engine room. That is the ONLY thing I don’t like..
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Yes, I've got the sundancer. And yes I agree more space would be soooo nice. I changed my impellers a couple weeks ago which wasn't as bad as the Baja I owned with twins but still tight.
 
Krazzeeddie said:
Also I like your main gauge cover do you have any details or more pictures on how you made that?
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It's just a 1/8 thick piece of plexiglas cut to fit the opening. There are a couple of pieces of plexiglas glued on as handles so I can lift it out and a Sea Ray emblem stuck on.
 
desertdave said:
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The carpet set is out in this photo, but I had a guy make a teak table that mounts where the boarding ladder goes. Combined with a couple of compact folding chairs (originally paid $80 each at a boating store 25 years ago, now $10 at Walmart) I could seat two couples for dining at the dock. It stores neatly out of the way beside the captain's chair.
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Any idea of the dimensions of this table and the hardware that mounts it to the ladder attachment?
 
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I don't know the dimensions offhand. The attachment is done with hex lag screws where the hex head is just big enough to fit into the keyhole slots for the boarding ladder.
 
desertdave said:
I sent it, but it bounced. The PDF is 38MB, your mail service has a limit of 35MB. Do you have a different email I could try?
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You can try this one

ehlas@accuratetechnologies.com.

If that does not work let me know and I will send you a thumb drive or we can try a zip file.

Thanks
Ed
 
Wow - Just purchased the identical boat and I am sure I am getting ahead of myself but so many questions and so little time :) Purchased in the fall, stored inside so want to get many projects done before spring launch. Question - Mine has no factory A/C and am looking to install. Windsor Ontario Canada here - think Detroit Michigan, but am wondering, if your boat was equipped with AC (BTU's?) from the factory, where is / was it located on the boat? If you installed after the fact, where did you install the unit? Thought about pulling the on board central vac unit from underneath the farmost left side under settee compartment but footprint is not big enough. No room underneath anywhere else under the settee. I am thinking underneath the front cabin bunk but would not that be too noisy / "vibraty" from a sleeping perspective? Many questions to follow! Thank You!
 
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We bought our new 370 in 1993. First improvement was a cockpit cover and a new boot for the top. Allowed us to keep the original factory canvas looking like new until the day we sold it. Added a drop curtain which is the best piece of canvas from a utility perspective that you can own. Then we added dripless shafts. Also a great addition. The boat had great electronics in 1993. They worked in 2004 when I sold the boat but things had changed drastically by then. We did not care for the sofa fabric that came with the boat so we changed that the first season to a neutral bege instead of the black and white fashion nightmare Sea Ray installed. Got new electronics in 2004 with the new Tiara. Electronics are always nice to do on boats
 
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Craig Lescombe said:
Wow - Just purchased the identical boat and I am sure I am getting ahead of myself but so many questions and so little time :) Purchased in the fall, stored inside so want to get many projects done before spring launch. Question - Mine has no factory A/C and am looking to install. Windsor Ontario Canada here - think Detroit Michigan, but am wondering, if your boat was equipped with AC (BTU's?) from the factory, where is / was it located on the boat? If you installed after the fact, where did you install the unit? Thought about pulling the on board central vac unit from underneath the farmost left side under settee compartment but footprint is not big enough. No room underneath anywhere else under the settee. I am thinking underneath the front cabin bunk but would not that be too noisy / "vibraty" from a sleeping perspective? Many questions to follow! Thank You!
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SR installed the a/c compressor beneath the v-berth on the Express models. There was nowhere else to put it. Yes it was very noisy.
 
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