Official 370 Sundancer thread

The can to the underwater exhaust is 5", so I'm sure it's the overboard ones. that hose is real stiff, but doable. You will be aft of the genset and aft of the Vacuflush head tank, in an ugly to get to part of the boat. If you are going all in, let someone else contort their way to the hull. The water lift side is a walk in the park. Shields 1/2" is 9 bucks a foot at WM, and 2.50 at go2marine.com. Gotta factor in shipping though, but may be able to factor out tax. Don't think you would need more than 20' to do both sides.
If he didn't mention fittings, he'll be reusing the old ones. He will likely not be using push on hose, so there will be clamps. I think even my factory setup was like that.
My analysis is 80-90% of that $1600 is labor, but labor doing less than fun stuff. All in all, I'd write the check, but help him source his parts.
 
370Dancer said:
The can to the underwater exhaust is 5", so I'm sure it's the overboard ones. that hose is real stiff, but doable. You will be aft of the genset and aft of the Vacuflush head tank, in an ugly to get to part of the boat. If you are going all in, let someone else contort their way to the hull. The water lift side is a walk in the park. Shields 1/2" is 9 bucks a foot at WM, and 2.50 at go2marine.com. Gotta factor in shipping though, but may be able to factor out tax. Don't think you would need more than 20' to do both sides.
If he didn't mention fittings, he'll be reusing the old ones. He will likely not be using push on hose, so there will be clamps. I think even my factory setup was like that.
My analysis is 80-90% of that $1600 is labor, but labor doing less than fun stuff. All in all, I'd write the check, but help him source his parts.
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Great info, thanks for the reply. I'll let him do the fuel lines as I have so much else to do. I'll probably do the overboard hoses but I need to look at them first. At my age, I realize some things just aren't worth doing myself. I could be at home working ...earning more with my business than what I'd be saving doing other things & saving myself the frustration. These days I try to do more of what I enjoy and less what aggravates me.
 
370Dancer said:
I have discovered something after owning this boat for 17 years. The engines are somehow closer together when I'm in the bilge trying to get between them........
How did that happen? ;)
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Same reason your pants have shrunk.
 
Golfman25 said:
Same reason your pants have shrunk.
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I was crawling along down there today and had to remove the port engine exhaust hose to the water lift muffler just to be comfortable to service a bilge pump. Ten years ago it was no real problem. I really need to get down there more often. Might serve as incentive to twist and move more often.
 
OK folks, the time has come to replace my batteries. I was looking at some fine AGM units, but was warned that before I buy them to make sure that the battery charger supports them. ??? Is there some sort of electronics involved in these new-dangled batteries? If the cost is increased by having to install a new ‘intelligent’ charger, then I might as well stick with those old-fashioned lead acid style batteries.

What says the group on this?
 
RubberDuckeeToo2 said:
OK folks, the time has come to replace my batteries. I was looking at some fine AGM units, but was warned that before I buy them to make sure that the battery charger supports them. ??? Is there some sort of electronics involved in these new-dangled batteries? If the cost is increased by having to install a new ‘intelligent’ charger, then I might as well stick with those old-fashioned lead acid style batteries.

What says the group on this?
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I just replaced my batteries with the standard 31's that were on the boat. The cost of AGM's and having to update the charging system................ 2500.00 plus as opposed to 725.00
 
RubberDuckeeToo2 said:
OK folks, the time has come to replace my batteries. I was looking at some fine AGM units, but was warned that before I buy them to make sure that the battery charger supports them. ??? Is there some sort of electronics involved in these new-dangled batteries? If the cost is increased by having to install a new ‘intelligent’ charger, then I might as well stick with those old-fashioned lead acid style batteries.

What says the group on this?
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Gene, don't do it. As long as your charger is doing what is should, stick with the gang of 27's, and your charger. If you are seriously skeptical of the charger, just go Pro-Mariner, but no need to swap out battery technology. I have both across the fleet, and I can't find a reason to swap the wet cells for AGM on the whole batch.
 
370Dancer said:
Gene, don't do it. As long as your charger is doing what is should, stick with the gang of 27's, and your charger. If you are seriously skeptical of the charger, just go Pro-Mariner, but no need to swap out battery technology. I have both across the fleet, and I can't find a reason to swap the wet cells for AGM on the whole batch.
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Got the same advice form a friend who runs a company outfitting the big boys with electronics of all types. Faster, cheaper, and faster/cheaper that works. Off to West’s this week to buy a fleet of batteries.

Thanks for the feedback.

Gene
 
RubberDuckeeToo2 said:
Got the same advice form a friend who runs a company outfitting the big boys with electronics of all types. Faster, cheaper, and faster/cheaper that works. Off to West’s this week to buy a fleet of batteries.

Thanks for the feedback.

Gene
Click to expand...
I also agree with the "Stick with the lead acid batteries." It is very hard to justify the added cost of the AGMs. However, I would also recommend going with a new charger. Since putting in the ProMariner 1230P last year, i have noticed my need for adding distilled water has pretty much dropped to zero. With the older (original) ProMariner 30 i was adding 2 to 4 ounces of water per month to each cell. This season, so far i have added about 1/4 ounce total to about half of the cells. I got to believe that the "higher tech" charge profile being used on the new charger is responsible for not boiling off as much water. Not sure if this equates to longer battery life, but i am thinking it may. One other thing, with the two battery per bank arrangement (in parallel) used on the 370, make sure your Positive and negative connection to the boat are not on the same battery, it promotes more uniform charging and drawdown across the two batteries.
 
Looking for some advice on a boat I'm closing on come this Monday.

1995 Sundancer 370

1) I see 2 water inlets for a hose on each side of the boat. I was told these are fresh water flush fittings. Can someone tell me their procedure for using these? I'm familiar with the idea of them (I installed some on my last boat) but I did those right into the sea strainers & didn't close any valves.

2) I need to get hauled out for some work and want to get a fish finder installed. Well, I'll do the install but want the transducer done. Do I want to look for the hull thru type? I only want to spend about $500 on the unit & just want basic functions. Just not sure what direction to go, which to get.

3) when fueling up, do you run blowers while pumping? Do you open hatch? trying to figure out safest way to fuel up. Last boat had diesels.

4) Broker told me to get rudders repacked while hauled out. But I think it doesn't need out of the water to do this. Am I wrong? I saw a video of them being done in the bilge and didn't seem like a big deal.

thanks for any tips/advice
 
Looking for some advice on a boat I'm closing on come this Monday.

My thoughts below:

1) I see 2 water inlets for a hose on each side of the boat. I was told these are fresh water flush fittings. Can someone tell me their procedure for using these? I'm familiar with the idea of them (I installed some on my last boat) but I did those right into the sea strainers & didn't close any valves.

Did the PO offer any instructions for that? It's not factory. The original 370s had log exhaust, which means the exhaust water from the risers goes downhill (in theory) to exits underwater, and over the side. Later water lift mufflers were retrofitted to help eliminate the water ingestion issues with the GEN VI engines, and 10 people in the cockpit idling around all the time (guilty). My original engines had the fresh water tap into the raw cooling circuit after the raw water pump outlet. You were to connect a hose to this fitting on top of one of the riser brackets, and flush your raw water cooling passages with fresh water after every use. When I got the boat, she had a fresh set of engines, and the water lift retrofit. I thought about this for a bit, and contacted Mercury for clarification. I was told at that time to NOT just hook up a hose to flush the engines, as the lift muffler would just fill up, and likely fill up the exhaust system too. They recommended to only flush while the engine was running. So that turns into a 2 person job at minimum (more like 3) to close the seacock, start the engine, and then turn on the fresh water. good idea, but the raw water pump would be running dry. Not a good idea for more than about 10 seconds. Another option is to plumb the fresh water inlet right to the top of the sea strainer, and run the engine but get the raw water pump to get water from the strainer. The first thing I would do is see where the hull side inlets are plumbed to, and what exhaust arrangement you have. That should guide you on the "proper" operation.

2) I need to get hauled out for some work and want to get a fish finder installed. Well, I'll do the install but want the transducer done. Do I want to look for the hull thru type? I only want to spend about $500 on the unit & just want basic functions. Just not sure what direction to go, which to get.

If you are really trying find fish, then thru hull will likely be the best. If you are trying to not experience the definition of "aground", then I would think a shoot thru the hull (mounts inside) would suffice. Even when I graduated to a DSM300, I simply reused the transducer that was there from the original tri-data. Still working today for my needs.

3) when fueling up, do you run blowers while pumping? Do you open hatch? trying to figure out safest way to fuel up. Last boat had diesels.

The Chapman's method (memory, bear with me), is to close all hatches and windows, and fuel. Then, run the blowers for 5 minutes, while opening all hatches and doors, etc. then start.
Modern boats (unless there's a compromise) do a really good job of separating the machinery space from the "living" space. As a rule, I don't shut down the genny, and I keep the blowers on through the whole fueling process, unless it's a fuel truck coming to my place. I do wait a bit before firing up the mains, and I keep everyone/thing clear of the engine hatch. My theory is sparks fly when blowers start, or switches are switched. If I ever smell any gas, all bets are off, and everyone off the boat. That did actually happen once on a friends boat where the fill hose had come off the fill cap. We knew it in about 30 seconds, and 10 gallons or so in the bilge.

4) Broker told me to get rudders repacked while hauled out. But I think it doesn't need out of the water to do this. Am I wrong? I saw a video of them being done in the bilge and didn't seem like a big deal.
If they are not leaking, leave em alone. check that BEFORE you get hauled. I think I have only had to repack once in 17 years, and I did it in the water. Not real comfortable back there, but not a hard job. The Portofino is a different story. 8K Kohler between you and most of the steering gear. Major PITA.
 
370Dancer said:
Looking for some advice on a boat I'm closing on come this Monday.

My thoughts below:
Click to expand...

Some good info, I appreciate it! I didn't know those freshwater fittings were not OEM. Ok, I will just follow where they go. Yeah, my last boat I tapped into the sea strainers and put in a valve and hose fitting so it was easy. I wouldn't even turn off the seacock valve. The excess water pressure would escape out that way instead of building pressure. Then I'd turn on engines and run and then turn off. Hopefully, this sea ray has something similar. I'm a believer in having freshwater sitting in the system when I'm not using the boat.

In the bilge, nothing leaks. But I have to get the dripless redone because one is cranked all the way down. The mechanic seemed to stress this should be a priority. My OEM speed/depth display doesn't come on so I'm going to try and fix that. But I'd be better off just getting a sonar/fishfinder which shows depth anyway. I have a good GPS system in place & that shows speed.

They also told me get all fuel line replaced asap and change oils.
Anyway, thanks for the info
 
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Any idea what this weekend brings?
 
So a 1995 with the old Miami Vice aqua green carpeting. How hard to replace? What do you replace it with? Wood, vinyl plank, new carpet, pvc weave?
 
I have a 1995 sundancer 370
With 2 ac units. When I turn them on they seem to run ok and then start making a clicking noise so I shut them down. But in the meantime I noticed no water is coming out of the side of the boat. This is probably why they start clicking .... maybe getting hot or something.

can someone tell me is there just 1 sea Strainer and valve for both units and is it right next to starboard fuel tank?
Trying to figure out why water isn’t flowing. I had the valve open and both units going.
 
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