Official 330 Sundancer Thread

ippa2 said:
OK here is a real rookie question... how many batteries are on 330DAs? I've found 3 so far. 1 isolated to the genset and then 2 group 29's under the rear facing bench seat.

Any others I should know about?

I've owned the boat for almost a month and still haven't had as much time as I would like to climb around the boat. It's get on it, get the kids settled and head to our destination every weekend... I guess come mid-october when the boat is sitting next to my garage I'll have plenty of time to poke around.
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Mine has 4. 2 under the rear facing bench seat. One for the gennie and one for the starboard engine. The other 2 are for the house / port engine and are located in the bilge, port side forward of the water heater.
 
My 330 has four batteries. Two are wired in parallel in the port bilge that power the port engine and house.

There are two batteries under the aft helm seat. The port battery powers the starboard engine and the starboard battery powers the generator.
 
i have 4 batteries,
2 under seat, 1 inbetween engines, 1 on top of water heater next to gen
 
What RPM's are you guys getting at WOT, I just put on new 4 blades this year, and have been getting 4200 RPM at WOT. I put 17 x 16 4blades on this season based on some results that another guy in my marina with same boat. He has hit so many things, that he has tried almost every combination of 4 blade and three blade props and the 17x 16 seemed to work best with him. My mechanic said try this combo and if needed we could adjust pitch by + or - 1 inch.
I wanted to see what other guys are getting at WOT
as the season is ending soon, and wanted to know if i needed to repitch down during the off season or not

I have the 7.4 with carbs

thanks,
Larry
 
larrytbull said:
What RPM's are you guys getting at WOT, I just put on new 4 blades this year, and have been getting 4200 RPM at WOT. I put 17 x 16 4blades on this season based on some results that another guy in my marina with same boat. He has hit so many things, that he has tried almost every combination of 4 blade and three blade props and the 17x 16 seemed to work best with him. My mechanic said try this combo and if needed we could adjust pitch by + or - 1 inch.
I wanted to see what other guys are getting at WOT
as the season is ending soon, and wanted to know if i needed to repitch down during the off season or not

I have the 7.4 with carbs

thanks,
Larry
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A lot depends on what load you are carrying that gives you a WOT RPM of 4200? IIRC, the 7.4 carb has a mfg WOT range of 42 - 4600 RPM. If that is the case and you are if carrying full fuel, full water plus average number of pax and gear for a weekend you are good.

If you have virtually no fuel, no water, no gear and just you on board, you're sucking wind. Until you get the boat completely loaded you won't know your true WOT RPM.

If you want to lay up for winter with minimum fuel, you need to get roughly 2500 pounds of weight to equate to 225 gallons of fuel 4 pax and "stuff" you think you would think you need for a weekend.

HTH
 
that figure is with full fuel, 1/2 water 2 pax
and gear
 
Shave an inch off the pitch and you should be mo'betta. That should bring you into the 4350 - 4400 WOT range.

Are the props being done by hand or computer?
 
Larry I am at 4250-4300 WOT with my 4 blades. I don't know the exact specs on mine, mine are 17"..

On a side note to the 330 crowd (older more mature 330 crowd..) Since there is a new 330 thread..

My swim platform nailed the piling on our dock in a windstorm. Do you all think this can be repaired?

IMG_0191.JPG



 
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Everything can be repaired, had worse damage on another boat i had, hit the docks after a ferry blasted off at full throttle :( just be glad it was swim platorm and not hull
 
My swim platform nailed the piling on our dock in a windstorm. Do you all think this can be repaired?
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I agree with Larry - you shouldn't have any trouble having it repaired. I just had similar damage repaired on my swim platform and it looks new. I had a jet ski run into the platform while I was anchored. It's amazing what can be repaired. Good luck!
 
Thanks guys!!! Yep I was very happy that it was just that edge and that the boat did not get farther up on the piling. Of course a spring line in the slip would have saved me the headache. I have them on now and was going to put them on prior to leaving for vacation but did not have time...
 
Tom, it is repairable..I had our swim platfrom re-cored this past spring, ran around $ 1,500.00. You might look at Swim Platforms.com, a new replacement swim plat form was a liitle less than double that number, for a new one. I would imagine your insurance might cover some of the repairs?? Good look.
 
David you mentioned "shaving" an inch off the pitch of the 4 bladed prop... so would that be changing it to a 17x15 or 17x17?

I just had my 3 bladed props reconditioned and found out that they are not the factory 17x17 props, but instead a variable pitch, which apparently means the pitch at the end of the blade is different than the pitch at the hub or base of the blade. I'm currently only getting 4000-4100 WOT with a full load on board and I'm considering going with the Nibral 4 blade, but wanted to hear from other 330 owners what pitch to use on the 4 blade. My engines are carbs.

Also what kind of improvements have the 4 blades provided over 3?

Thanks!
 
Sorry for the tardy reply on props!

This is the second season with our 98 330 DA, and this spring I decided to have the props checked out. The long and short of it, I end up buying new props, going from the stock (?) 17x17 3 blade bronze, to a 17x16 with cup, 3 blade nibral. I've been VERY pleased!

The local shop I went to (Wolverine Propeller no affiliation, just a happy customer) is very thorough. They measure props precisely, every which way from sideways. No guessing. No skilled estimating. All precision.

Between the data from measuring my old props, my input on how the old props performed, the extensive knowledge of proprietor Ron Jacobs, and prop manufacture recommendations (Acme Propeller), Ron made his recommendation. He nailed it! My WOT is right where is should be, 4400 rpm. (at least the few times I've tried)

It is Ron's opinion that 4 blade props are not the best for tunnel drive hulls. Something to do with how it creates a somewhat unbalanced exposure situation. That's not to say 4 blade are wrong or bad in the this situation, just not optimal.

The 17x16 blades I purchased are CNC props. Because of their precision, these props actually have about the same surface area as most 4 bladed props, but without the pitfalls such proportions would have if not for the precise consistency across each blade, and to each blade with each other.

I consistently got nearly 1 mpg (0.905) with the old props, and slightly better with the new props (0.95 to 1.09). Not all I was hoping for, but certainly better. Given my 1,500 to 2,000 miles in a season, that's still real money saved on fuel.

The real benefits of the new props are in EVERY other regard. They are smoother. Noticeably quieter cursing. More responsive low speed handling. More "lift" which equates to needing much less tabs. A greater rpm range of cursing speeds. I can plane pretty nicely in rough conditions with full tabs at about 2,700 to 2,800 while running about 17 mph. With moderate tabs, a nice slow cruise at 22-23 mph at under 3,000. Peak efficiency seems to be around a shy 3,200, at, on average, 26+ mph. (these are not exact figures because of all the variables, but in the ballpark)

I have no idea how these CNC Acme blades work in water other than the Great Lakes, but I can tell you my 330 with 7.4 MPI's has been real happy with this $2500 upgrade.

Edit: Photos:

Photoshopped image of old prop sitting on new prop, and close-up of the CNC'ed surface.
 

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ippa2 said:
David you mentioned "shaving" an inch off the pitch of the 4 bladed prop... so would that be changing it to a 17x15 or 17x17?

I just had my 3 bladed props reconditioned and found out that they are not the factory 17x17 props, but instead a variable pitch, which apparently means the pitch at the end of the blade is different than the pitch at the hub or base of the blade. I'm currently only getting 4000-4100 WOT with a full load on board and I'm considering going with the Nibral 4 blade, but wanted to hear from other 330 owners what pitch to use on the 4 blade. My engines are carbs.

Also what kind of improvements have the 4 blades provided over 3?

Thanks!
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To get a better grasp on the complexities of propellers, I would recommend a book by Dave Gerr titled the "The Propeller Handbook". It puts the whole issue of everything being a tradeoff in perspective.

When I said shave an inch I meant take an inch out of the pitch, making it 17x15. I am truly surprised folks with our era boats can fit a 17" prop in that tunnel without incurring a lot of turbulence against the hull.

The most common way I am aware of changing pitch I am aware of is by reducing or increasing the cup in the trailing edge of the blades. Every inch of pitch one way or the other changes the WOT engine RPM by roughly 150 to 200 RPM's. In today's world, the only way to get it done correctly is by computer. Prop Scan and Hale MRI are two I know of. They are roughly the same animal. Here is an interactive screen of how it is done.

http://www.wildcatprops.com/propscan.htm

I would recommend you contact Wildcat Propellers:

3932 Holland Blvd., Chesapeake, VA 23323 Ph: (757) 485-4260

Troy Erb is a stand up guy. He may have 2 way shipping arrangements. I wanted to see the shop first hand so I drove the hour or so to meet him and drop the props off.

If he does not have two way shipping, shipping a set of props from Buzzards Bay may be cost prohibitive. Here are all the US locations for Prop Scan shops.

http://www.propscanusa.com/shops.htm

For the record, I have no interest in Prop Scan financial or otherwise. I am just that impressed with the results they achieved with Saint Max. Hale MRI may produce the same results. I just have no experience with them. Good luck.
 
Never heard of this problem before on the forum, so here goes. '95 330 with 454 v-drives. Sometimes when running at cruising speeds around 3300 rpms, all of a sudden it sounds like I am running staight pipes out the back. The loud exhaust sound is coming from under the swim platform, not out the sides. I cand play with the rpms, and the loud sound persists. If I use the tabs or the rudders to dip the starboard side deeper into the water, the sound subsides some until I come back to a level cruise. If we stop for sometime and anchor out or whatever, the next time at cruise, they will be running quiet again. There is nothing that I can think of that triggers the loud pipe sound. any one else have this problem before, or any ideas?
 
sounds like you are not getting water through your wet exhaust. usually load sound is exhaust going into mufflers without water
are you seeing water come out of the holes on side?
 
Could your underwater exhaust be fouled and you are exhausting out of the side vent?
 
This happened to me a few weeks ago, we were up and cruising at 3200 RPMs and all of sudden the exhaust became noticeably louder. I think only on the port side. At the time I kept an eye on my gauges and everything was fine and I continued running back to the marina with the loud exhaust.

After this I started to look into why these boats have dual exhause, meaning underwater and above the water line. Someone told me the side exhaust is there as a check, so you can see that water is making it through the system and that your water pumps are pushing the water well. I was also told at some point once the boat is picking up speed the suction it creates pulls the exhaust through the underwater exhaust and that at crusing speed the side exhaust really doesn't do much... I have no idea if this is true, but my theorey was that for some reason my port side switched from underwater to the side, hence the increase in exhaust noise.

I'd love for someone more knowlegable to explain the reason behind this dual exhaust system... :smt013
 
bogus said:
Never heard of this problem before on the forum, so here goes. '95 330 with 454 v-drives. Sometimes when running at cruising speeds around 3300 rpms, all of a sudden it sounds like I am running staight pipes out the back. The loud exhaust sound is coming from under the swim platform, not out the sides. I cand play with the rpms, and the loud sound persists. If I use the tabs or the rudders to dip the starboard side deeper into the water, the sound subsides some until I come back to a level cruise. If we stop for sometime and anchor out or whatever, the next time at cruise, they will be running quiet again. There is nothing that I can think of that triggers the loud pipe sound. any one else have this problem before, or any ideas?
Click to expand...

This can/has happened to me when the outlet hooks some weeds. Don't like it when that happens, except it sounds really cool when coming off a plane. :)
 
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