480 DB Owners Club

[steve4566]

Has anyone replaced the pull-down shades for the side windows in the salon? I am getting a feeling I may never see a factory made replacement for them. Thanks for any help that can be offered.
Vince

I have. I used
Salon shades by United Shades of Indiana. I ordered them from Blinds Chalet: 888.633.7840. My style was Day and Night RV shades. Day: Alabaster, Night: Cellular Buff, Rail: Sea Oyster

 

[boaterholic]

Good day all,
I'm trying to narrow down boat search models to upsize from my 420DB when it sells. On the Sea Ray's the models of interest are the 480DB and 560DB.
Few questions on the 480 if you can help me out on please, and looking at the 2001 era.
What is true world fuel mpg at normal cruise which I'm assuming to be around 20kts, and what is mpg at hull speed and I'm guessing that to be around 7.5kts?
Are there weaknesses inherent to this model that I need to focus on when I go look at one in person?
Have the CAT's been reliable and do they have issues to be checking on?I would of course have a CAT mechanic survey them.
Has anyone checked the scale on travel lift for actual weights, so I can figure out if my local yard can lift it?
Thanks for the help!

 

[steve4566]

QUOTE="boaterholic, post: 1421857, member: 59133"]Good day all,
I'm trying to narrow down boat search models to upsize from my 420DB when it sells. On the Sea Ray's the models of interest are the 480DB and 560DB.
Few questions on the 480 if you can help me out on please, and looking at the 2001 era.
What is true world fuel mpg at normal cruise which I'm assuming to be around 20kts, and what is mpg at hull speed and I'm guessing that to be around 7.5kts?
Are there weaknesses inherent to this model that I need to focus on when I go look at one in person?
Have the CAT's been reliable and do they have issues to be checking on?I would of course have a CAT mechanic survey them.
Has anyone checked the scale on travel lift for actual weights, so I can figure out if my local yard can lift it?
Thanks for the help![/QUOTE]


I have a 2001 480DB with 3196 CATs. I run at 1900rpm which my CAT manual says is max continuous cruise speed. 1900rpm gives about 21 kts. At that speed, my CAT EMS digital gauges read about 24gph per engine for slightly more than 0.4 nautical miles per gallon. My 480 idles (600rpm) at slightly less than 7 kts. At that speed my digital fuel readouts are 1gph, but I have no way of knowing how the computer rounds off that number. Is it less than 1 rounded up? Is it 1.4 rounded down? Is it almost 2? If it actually is 1, then that's 3.5 nautical miles per gallon. Of course, these numbers vary with loading, hull fouling, current, wind, sea state and other factors. And...CAT mechanics say that extended low speed operation is bad for the engines, so a 480DB is not a good choice if you want to go slow.

I bought my 480 when we were still working and the kids were still in school, which meant that we had to get to the islands and back quickly during limited vacation time. A trawler would suit us better now that we're retired and no longer need to go anywhere fast, but I like my 480 too much to sell her. So we go fast anyway and spend more time at the destinations.

The aftercooler problems you've read about were resolved by CAT's 3rd generation aftercoolers. I have 1800 hours on my 24 year old CATs. I have been religious about maintenance and they have been reliable. If you're considering a 480 with CATs, choose a diesel inspector who has the proprietary CAT software to pull the engine history. You're considering engines that are almost 25 years old, so be prepared for expected repairs like replacing a starter or a pump. And CAT says to clean/inspect the aftercoolers every two years and replace them every six years.

Sea Ray says the 480DB dry weight is 40,400 pounds. Add 600 gallons of fuel and potable water and all the crap my wife and I brought onboard and you're looking at a lift of more than 45,000 pounds.

I love my 480. I've taken very good care of her and she looks and performs great. Find one that the previous owner has treated the same and you'll get a great boat.

 

[boaterholic]

Thanks for the info.
I have friends with 3208's and their workaround for going slow at times for 6-10 hours a day is to run them for about 5 minutes at normal cruise power toward the end of their day to "clean" the engines up from the long slow day. That's also what I do on current boat on the few days of slow travel when going to the Islands trying to make long distances between fuel stops once were down there.
Any known issues to watch for if I go look at one in person on the boat?

 

[boaterholic]

I forgot to ask, can the floor be opened up easily to do engine work on the top or outsides?

 

[Steve S]

I forgot to ask, can the floor be opened up easily to do engine work on the top or outsides?

Can the floor be opened up... yes. Easily... NO.

 

[Captfaustf]

Is this chat still active?

 

[steve4566]

Is this chat still active?

Yes it is still active, although there is also a facebook page as well that is more active...https://www.facebook.com/groups/309640840443152

 

[steve4566]

Thanks for the info.
I have friends with 3208's and their workaround for going slow at times for 6-10 hours a day is to run them for about 5 minutes at normal cruise power toward the end of their day to "clean" the engines up from the long slow day. That's also what I do on current boat on the few days of slow travel when going to the Islands trying to make long distances between fuel stops once were down there.
Any known issues to watch for if I go look at one in person on the boat?

I can't think of any common issues off hand that you'd be able to find short of a full inspection. Sea Ray did not bed the engine room air intakes on some of the 2001s correctly. That allowed water to seep into the hull core under the intakes on some boats. That's one item for your surveyor to inspect. The first half of the model year 2001 boats had balsa cored transoms, which of course have plenty of penetrations that could leak. Sea Ray stopped putting balsa in the transoms half way through the 2001 model year production. If you're purchasing an early 2001 model ensure the transom is dry. You can scroll through this chat and the facebook page for questions about problems for which I and other owners have asked for help. https://www.facebook.com/groups/309640840443152

 

[ocgrant]

Hey guys need some help on my buddies 2003 48DB. All the port side outlets and power are down. Breaker is on and test fine with power passing through it. where is the hidden GFI I am guessing on the port side? Looked all around but no luck. Any help appreciated... Also how do you get that hatch open behind the salon folding couch? wondering what might be back there.

 

[ttmott]

Hey guys need some help on my buddies 2003 48DB. All the port side outlets and power are down. Breaker is on and test fine with power passing through it. where is the hidden GFI I am guessing on the port side? Looked all around but no luck. Any help appreciated... Also how do you get that hatch open behind the salon folding couch? wondering what might be back there.

There are many similarities with my boat. Look under the guest head medicine cabinet or possibly inside the door of the cabinet.

 

[Ericinmich]

Hey guys need some help on my buddies 2003 48DB. All the port side outlets and power are down. Breaker is on and test fine with power passing through it. where is the hidden GFI I am guessing on the port side? Looked all around but no luck. Any help appreciated... Also how do you get that hatch open behind the salon folding couch? wondering what might be back there.

I think I had one in a cabinet above fridge or stove and also in head area on my 48DA. The one in kitchen got bumped when provisioning.

 

[The crime scene]

Hey guys need some help on my buddies 2003 48DB. All the port side outlets and power are down. Breaker is on and test fine with power passing through it. where is the hidden GFI I am guessing on the port side? Looked all around but no luck. Any help appreciated... Also how do you get that hatch open behind the salon folding couch? wondering what might be back there.

There is a breaker inside the cabinet just inside the door on the starboard side. It’s up in the upper corner of the cabinet and I have to get on all fours to see it. Check that one and see if it powers up.

 

[The crime scene]

I’m wanting to change fresh water pumps from a 3 gpm to a 5 gpm. Anyone see an issue with this? I have a pump getting weak and would like more pressure than stock.

Keith

 

[steve4566]

I’m wanting to change fresh water pumps from a 3 gpm to a 5 gpm. Anyone see an issue with this? I have a pump getting weak and would like more pressure than stock.

Keith

I recently replace one of my pumps with a Shurflo Aqua King II model 4159-153-E75 with a flow rate of 5 gpm at 55 psi. My other pump is the older Shurflo 3901-0216 which is 3 gpm at 55 psi. That's plenty of pressure and flow for us even with two showers running at the same time.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Good afternoon Capt's!

I'm looking to upgrade my 400 DB to a 480 DB or 580 DB. I have Cats now and I like them a lot. This one has Cummins QSM-11 (616 HP) - I believe the Cummins have more power and a better cruise speed. Is that a correct assessment? Do any of you have these Cummins engines? Do you like them? Any known issues? What is the cruise speed? The dealer is saying the cruise is 25 KTS and I want to make sure this is accurate. One of the main reasons why I want to go bigger is to have a better cruise speed with more more.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Steve S]

Good afternoon Capt's!

I'm looking to upgrade my 400 DB to a 480 DB or 580 DB. The 480 DB has Cummins QSM-11 (616 HP) - Do any of you have these engines? Do you like them? Any known issues? What is the cruise speed? The dealer is saying the cruise is 25 KTS and I want to make sure this is accurate. One of the main reasons why I want to go bigger is to have a better cruise speed with more more.

Thanks for the help!

They also come with 3196's

 

[ttmott]

Good afternoon Capt's!

I'm looking to upgrade my 400 DB to a 480 DB or 580 DB. The 480 DB has Cummins QSM-11 (616 HP) - Do any of you have these engines? Do you like them? Any known issues? What is the cruise speed? The dealer is saying the cruise is 25 KTS and I want to make sure this is accurate. One of the main reasons why I want to go bigger is to have a better cruise speed with more more.

Thanks for the help!

52DB here. Cruise is 23.5 at 1850 RPM burning 37 GPH. The QSM11's in the 52DB are 660 HP and are rock solid reliable. Just like any other engine, maintenance by the book is essential. The only potential issue is the exhaust manifolds would develop leakage at the head to manifold interface. They are dry exhaust manifolds. As it ends up the SR boats were over-propped and the added load specifically at 1700 to 1800 RPM put so much heat into the exhaust system the manifolds would began to leak. Two fixes - Remove pitch from the propellers and implement the manifold bolt change per the Cummins Bulletin.

 

[Johnny Utah]

52DB here. Cruise is 23.5 at 1800 RPM burning 37 GPH. The QSM11's in the 52DB are 660 HP and are rock solid reliable. Just like any other engine, maintenance by the book is essential. The only potential issue is the exhaust manifolds would develop leakage at the head to manifold interface. They are dry exhaust manifolds. As it ends up the SR boats were over-propped and the added load specifically at 1700 to 1800 RPM put so much heat into the exhaust system the manifolds would began to leak. Two fixes - Remove pitch from the propellers and implement the manifold bolt change per the Cummins Bulletin.

Thanks for all the info. 23.5 KTS or MPH?

 

[ttmott]

Thanks for all the info. 23.5 KTS or MPH?

MPH
On the pins 35 MPH