40 sedan bridge forum

[Art]

Alex the area that we frequently anchor in is a soft mud grassy bottom.Very shallow depth between 4 to 5 Ft.I normally put out around one hundred Ft of anchor line or more if the wind is up.I am trying to figure out if the plow anchor is the wrong anchor for this type of bottom.I have considered changeing over to a Danforth style anchor however that type of anchor will not fit in my anchor roller.Hopeing adding chain will resovle my holding issue.Thanks Steve

Your scope is only roughly 7:
Depth 5 ft, + draft ft, + height bow to water 5 ft ~ 15 ft
15 x 7 = 105 ft.

Perhaps more scope will do the job.

Art

 

[Alex F]

Alex Thanks for the advice regarding my anchor needs I am going to purchase a new chain package from Defender marine they have a deal for 92ft of 5/16 Hi tensil for approx $360 and I will have it spliced onto my line.The summer flotilla sounds awesome we were planning to go to Block and Newport we have to see if we can make the dates work for us.Really looking forward to Spring we purchased this boat at the end of August and we really love it.

I just checked my specs and I also have 35LB Plow anchor. Since yours has very short chain I would add much longer chain and see if that fixes your issue. With shorter chain you'll need a lot more scope.

Let me know how your plans working out. Since our itinerary matches what you had in mind it makes sense to go with the group. It'll be a lot of fun.

 

[Pack66Dad]

I have 1997 400DB w/ 3116 Cats.
The biggest problem for me is the lack of space in the lazerette. I had to build racks and stack AGM batteries and a rack for the inverter - it enabled me to (barely) get at the odor filter above the holding tank. Also found that to get at the Westerbeke gen. set impeller I had to loosen its motor mounts and rotate the gen set clockwise. That was easier than the Port main engine impeller.......lots of verbal outrage and ackward positioning and finally completion.(starboard side on inboard side and a piece of cake!). Looking at the hot water heater replacement is giving me nightmares...will cross that bridge when the time comes.
We also took the salon TV/VCR out of the cabinet and made an acrylic door , hinged at the top and attached a flat screen TV - the cabinet is now our liquor cabinet and Direct TV control box (I use a rail mounted antenae and route the cable through the vent on the starboard side and into the liquor cabinet.
Probably the biggest mistake I made when buying the boat 4 yrs. ago was demanding a lower helm. I am not comfortable using the lower helm as the forward and aft visability is not good as the boat has a Euro style design and the lower front winshield is sloped so to give you 3 foot of glass to wash but about 1 1/2 feet to see out of from the inside at the helm.
If you find that both of the boats you are looking at are about equal .....choose the one with the best upper bridge enclosure as this is where you will be underway (see above!). I was lucky in that the PO had installed a new upper enclosure and used the hard 'barrett' type clear glass.
Overall I'm happy with the result. the boat is 'stern heavy' - I add to the problem hanging a 500 lb. dink on an aft davit.
The boat handles well in 3-4 foot seas and in marinas.
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have (not too technical).
I live in La Conner and am currently in Mazatlan until mid Feb. . My cell phone extends to Mexico as a . local call.
If for some reason you want to see our boat (not for sale) before we come home I can arrange to have a neighbor open the boat for you.
Good luck, 206-719-4621 budgoad@msn.com

Bud

Many thanks Bud, I may just give you a call. :smt001

 

[ekruze]

Has anyone swapped out the ice maker in the cockpit to a refrigerator? The ice maker is useless in my opinion and thinking of installing a Norcold fridge. I think it will fit but will have to cut out the opening a little larger to accommodate. Just looking for any helpful tips from anyone...

 

[ZZ13]

Do any of you know the detailed layout and components of the audio system on these boats? Specifically on a 2002 400DB. Looks like the one I am poking around at has a Clarion head unit of some kind (anyone know the model - I didn't have my glasses on when I saw it) in the cabinet with a 6 disc CD-changer. Seems like there are various speakers scattered about. Two in the master stateroom for sure and two on the "patio". Also, there is a remote on the helm. Where are the other speakers and are they all tied to just this one head unit? How many amps and where are they located? Is there a subwoofer anywhere?

Thanks.

 

[SR400DB]

I don't know the model # of the clarion head unit on my boat, but can get it for you later this week. My boat has two speakers in the forward stateroom, two in the salon, two in the cockpit, two on the bridge and a sub on the bridge. The amp is between the sofa and aft bulkhead below the electrical panel.

 

[ZZ13]

As part of the "pre-work" on a longshot deal for a 2002 400DB, I get to hang out on it for several hours this weekend. What should I be sure to look for / check out? I'll report back what I find of interest.

 

[scubanderson]

Bill is that boat at PWM? I was on that boat 2 year ago when i was in the market for my 400 DB. That boat was very clean back then but has been on the market for a long time. I am out of Aquia creek in Stafford VA. PM me if you have any questions

Stuart

 

[ZZ13]

I did my gig on the 400DB today. A couple of things I noticed:

There were fine gelcoat cracks coming form the windshield (or whatever that short squatty surrounding the bridge is called) on the starboard side of the bridge. Looks like they came from the windshield to gelcoat interface and were from the factory not drilling the holes for the screws properly. Same thing occurred at the lower windshield interface to the bow gelcoat. One of the fine lines was about a foot long. There were 4 of them clustered together on the port curve and a couple on the starboard curve. Is this normal due to weight or did the factory screw up?

The Clarion CMD4 would only turn on and off. The display showed nothing and none of the other buttons did anything. The helm remote worked normally. Is this head unit shot or is there some master reset sequence that needs to be done? Also what is the switch next to the head unit for? It seemed to do nothing.


About half of the swivel lights in the salon ceiling where not flat against the ceiling. I pulled one out and it only had one clip/spring on it. Looks like the other side clip/spring had broken off. My guess is that is the case with the others. Are these easy to find/replace? Also, the second salon light switch didn't do anything. Is it supposed to turn on/off the two lights under the sidewall cabinets (maybe the bulbs were burned out)?

That's it everything else was real nice.

 

[Peter S]

I traded a 320 SD for a 2003 400 with Cummins engines last August. It is a terrific boat. Mine has stress cracks in the gel coat, too. The surveyor said the surface cracks are to be expected and not to be concerned about them. The survey was relitively inexpensive. I learned a lot about the boat and it gave me the confidence to go forward. The seller paid to fix a lot of the little problems that showed up.

 

[Nepenthe]

Bill-

I'm glad you enjoyed the 400! With regard to the clarion, try turning off the battery switches to do a "hard reset". 99% of the goofy problems I have experienced on various Clarion receivers over the years have been solved by completely removing power (including the "always on" power for station memory, etc) and then re-powering.

Are the salon switches labeled on the boat you are looking at? My boat is in storage right now. But, if memory serves, the second switch may be for the bilge lights.

I hope this helps. Good luck...

 

[Nepenthe]

Salon Air Conditioning

One thing I have noticed about my 400DB is that the reverse-cycle A/C unit in the salon is extremely loud, especially when the compressor first starts. Admittedly it may be nearing the end of its useful life, but it still functions perfectly.

Has anybody else experienced and/or dealt with this issue? Or, if you replaced your A/C unit, what have you chosen as a replacement?

Thanks!

 

[Peter S]

I had Cruiseair service my system last year. They found that the output hose makes almost a right angle turn as it comes out of the unit and that is the source of the noise. It doesn't look like there is another way to run the hose to remediate the problem. If you figure something out please let me know.

 

[Prosideus]

One thing I have noticed about my 400DB is that the reverse-cycle A/C unit in the salon is extremely loud, especially when the compressor first starts. Admittedly it may be nearing the end of its useful life, but it still functions perfectly.

Has anybody else experienced and/or dealt with this issue? Or, if you replaced your A/C unit, what have you chosen as a replacement?

Thanks!

Mine is loud as well. I priced replacement cruiseair units at the boat show and they weren't as cheap as I was hoping. Have to wait for the quieter salon experience....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Caseclosed]

Today my bow thruster installation began.I have a question what is the best location to position the joy stick control for practical and ease of use.The installer is leaving it up to me as to where to mount it.Looking for feedback from those of you that have a thruster.Thanks

 

[Havana Shamrock]

It depends on how you dock your boat? Facing forward? Or aft? I face aft and use my right hand for the shifters and left hand for bow and stern thrusters ( if needed) its really up to you I've seen them everywhere some are very hard to reach .I like to have it close just in case I need a little bump . Mine are actually next to the throttles ,I'd like it on the other side next to the shifters as I rarely need the throttles when backing in.

 

[Prosideus]

Thanks Cruz'n. I had the boat pulled this week and going to check it out tomorrow. The service advisor said he found the leak and I will not need a water heater. I'll post the cause once I found out.

 

[Prosideus]

NEW SALON to GALLEY STEPS:

Since I am getting new hardwood installed I decided to make a new set of stairs going from salon to galley. Check it out....




This is a box that covers the salon AC unit. The original steps had only one step which wears on my knees. I added another step and angles them to match the top step angle of the original step. Install them tomorrow.

Here is what the original looks like in the galley...

 

[Prosideus]

Made a table too....hand painted compass rose.

 

[Caseclosed]

Thanks Havana I had him mount the joystick just right of the. Throttles I was very limited as far as space .The location should be ok