emckissack@hotmail.com
Member
Hi, This will be my first of hopefully many posts to this thread that I will use a sort of a log for the outings I take on my 2007 240DA. First I might as well start at the beginning. A little over a month ago I had a decision to make between two boats that I was looking at to upgrade from a 2002 Chaparral 234 Sunesta. I initially looked at a 2004 Chaparral Signature 240 and liked the way it looked and was a very nice boat. it did not have a generator on it but did have an extended swim platform already on it. Ya see, a few things I was looking for in the boat I wanted to upgrade to was the ability to camp out over night with creature comforts such as A/C, sleeping quarters, fridge and ample room for my son (7yo) to jump and play off of the boat. So the Chaparral had many of those qualities except the generator which I found out after reading up on the typical 24ft cabin cruiser that they typically do not have generators. I can live without that I guess but I will need another way to power the A/C over night. Later on that note. We also went to look the Sea Ray 2007 240DA and instantly fell in love with it. It had everything I was looking for in an updated package except it did not have a generator or an extended swim platform. It did however have something else that intrigued me. It has a custom built battery platform big enough to hold 2 8D size batteries mounted just in front of the engine against the wall. The salesman didn't know very much about the boat at the time because it was just traded in for a pontoon boat. He told me it was a 2004 and that it would probably be priced somewhere between 26999 to 28999. I told him I wanted to put a down payment on the boat and let him get back to me once they go over everything and fix what needed to be replaced before they sold it. the next day after chatting with him he told me that they had made a mistake on year and that it was really a 2007 and he would have to be firm on 28,999.00 price. that also had to replace a trim tab, fix a hose and a few other small things. He also said they were going to replace the 2 8D batteries because they were dead and ended up putting 2 Interstate 4D batteries in it's place. I was satisfied with the work done and 3 weeks later, we were signing the buyers order and found out that he actually priced the boat at 28,950. Did I mention that it came with a trailer as well? it sure did but it is being replaced as it is a painted steel trailer and I need an aluminum one for the salt water. So I took the boat home on a friday and we went out for the first time that Saturday. it was just me and the wife and I tried to familiarize myself with all of the gadgets on the boat which there are many. I wanted to see how everything worked. So far, everything has worked beautifully. Starting with the cabin, the cushions and bed pad are in great shape, I found no water leakage from the freshwater holding tank and all lighting works as designed. I added my own LED lighting for an awesome look on the inside. kind of adds a cruise ship look if you ask me. What do you think?
I also used the microwave, the fridge and the stereo. The galley and bathroom sinks work now but initially, the galley sink seal was broken so the cold water would not stop. I replaced the faucet and solved the problem. The shower head in the head was also clogged and after cleaning the screen, it works as intended. So far I have found out that the DC part of the panel in the cabin is ran off of the 2 cranking batteries and the AC part of the panel is connected to a 3 way switch that is either off, 1= shore power and 3= inverter/ house battery bank. It took me a bit to figure out how to set the switch for charging, running off of shore power and running off of battery power.
Through trial and error, I figured it out. In order to put the A/C through it's paces, I connected a generator to shore power and ran the A/C all day. It also ran without any problems and I also kept an eye on the pump under the stairs for any leaks and it stayed dry and was actuated by both the A/C drainage and shower drainage. While checking out the AC unit and checking the filter, I found the Xantrex 1800 watt inverter which is hard wired into the electrical system and is connected to the house bank of batteries. There is actually quite a bit of room in the back bunk area. Moving up to the cockpit, all gauges are working properly as well as all helm switches. The stereo remote panel is not quite up to par as some of the buttons do not respond when pressed right away. maybe I can find a replacement remote one day. Seating is a bit different as I do miss a lounge chair on the back of the boat but I think the layout is growing on me. It is hard to find a place for the coolers though. in the engine compartment I have found the 2 sets of battery banks, waste water tank, ac pomp and strainer, electric toilet intake, trim pump, trim tabs pump, Mercruiser 5.0 with bravo 3 outdrive, the hot water tank which works off of engine heavy or electric heat, the water pump, two battery chargers and a few other miscellaneous doo dads. If I missed something, maybe someone could point out what they see from the pics. (Will link to my photo bucket account where I will post all my boating pics for viewing.)http://s66.photobucket.com/user/emckissack/library/2007 Searay 240?sort=3&page=1
So far the upgrades I wish to do are to add a swim platform, add a rear bimini to extend coverage to the back seats and to work out how to put some sort of anchor holder up front to make it easier on the wife to drop anchor while trying to moor in the bay.
This weekend we plan to watch the Blue Angels air show over the Pensacola Beach Pier from the gulf. I will post pics of the event in this thread as well. So I guess this is as much as I can tell you at this point as I have brought you up to date and will continue to do so with every trip. hope you enjoy there ride.
I also used the microwave, the fridge and the stereo. The galley and bathroom sinks work now but initially, the galley sink seal was broken so the cold water would not stop. I replaced the faucet and solved the problem. The shower head in the head was also clogged and after cleaning the screen, it works as intended. So far I have found out that the DC part of the panel in the cabin is ran off of the 2 cranking batteries and the AC part of the panel is connected to a 3 way switch that is either off, 1= shore power and 3= inverter/ house battery bank. It took me a bit to figure out how to set the switch for charging, running off of shore power and running off of battery power.
Through trial and error, I figured it out. In order to put the A/C through it's paces, I connected a generator to shore power and ran the A/C all day. It also ran without any problems and I also kept an eye on the pump under the stairs for any leaks and it stayed dry and was actuated by both the A/C drainage and shower drainage. While checking out the AC unit and checking the filter, I found the Xantrex 1800 watt inverter which is hard wired into the electrical system and is connected to the house bank of batteries. There is actually quite a bit of room in the back bunk area. Moving up to the cockpit, all gauges are working properly as well as all helm switches. The stereo remote panel is not quite up to par as some of the buttons do not respond when pressed right away. maybe I can find a replacement remote one day. Seating is a bit different as I do miss a lounge chair on the back of the boat but I think the layout is growing on me. It is hard to find a place for the coolers though. in the engine compartment I have found the 2 sets of battery banks, waste water tank, ac pomp and strainer, electric toilet intake, trim pump, trim tabs pump, Mercruiser 5.0 with bravo 3 outdrive, the hot water tank which works off of engine heavy or electric heat, the water pump, two battery chargers and a few other miscellaneous doo dads. If I missed something, maybe someone could point out what they see from the pics. (Will link to my photo bucket account where I will post all my boating pics for viewing.)http://s66.photobucket.com/user/emckissack/library/2007 Searay 240?sort=3&page=1
So far the upgrades I wish to do are to add a swim platform, add a rear bimini to extend coverage to the back seats and to work out how to put some sort of anchor holder up front to make it easier on the wife to drop anchor while trying to moor in the bay.
This weekend we plan to watch the Blue Angels air show over the Pensacola Beach Pier from the gulf. I will post pics of the event in this thread as well. So I guess this is as much as I can tell you at this point as I have brought you up to date and will continue to do so with every trip. hope you enjoy there ride.
