Official 390 E.C. Thread

I'm considering replacing the original vacuflush model 848 toilet due to cracks that have developed in the base plus the fact I've never liked how "small and uncomfortable" it is. I called Marinesan and was told the best candidate would be the current model 5048. Has anyone used this newer model as a replacement? If so how has it worked out? Where did you buy it and at what cost? Thanks in advance.
 
Hello, All. Had my 1990 390ec pulled last week for blasting/painting as well as a few other maintenance items. Unfortunately, once blasted, she revealed a whole host of previous blister repairs. Moisture meter readings found her to be wet. Readings were taken 2 days after pulling out, and it had rained and has been raining here sporadically nearly every day. I paid for the survey when I bought her in early 2019, which returned nothing regarding blisters or moisture, although a meter was not used on the exterior due to paint. Mallet "testing" didn't reveal anything of concern. Paint was last done in early 2017. Previous (only) owner was meticulous about maintenance and repair of this vessel in every other regard. Vessel kept under cover her entire life at this lake, where she was ordered new. I see no evidence of any wetness anywhere inside the skin of the ship, and have never felt like she was damp, never any mildew. No evidence of (yes, original) water tank leaks. She doesn't sit low in the water. Not soft anywhere on the bottom.

So... questions...
Could the meter reading have been inaccurate?
What is she made up of below the waterline?
What would you do if this was your boat? As of now I am leaning towards several primer coats, paint, and run her while trying not to think about it.

Any thoughts or opinions welcome!
 
MOzarkian said:
Hello, All. Had my 1990 390ec pulled last week for blasting/painting as well as a few other maintenance items. Unfortunately, once blasted, she revealed a whole host of previous blister repairs. Moisture meter readings found her to be wet. Readings were taken 2 days after pulling out, and it had rained and has been raining here sporadically nearly every day. I paid for the survey when I bought her in early 2019, which returned nothing regarding blisters or moisture, although a meter was not used on the exterior due to paint. Mallet "testing" didn't reveal anything of concern. Paint was last done in early 2017. Previous (only) owner was meticulous about maintenance and repair of this vessel in every other regard. Vessel kept under cover her entire life at this lake, where she was ordered new. I see no evidence of any wetness anywhere inside the skin of the ship, and have never felt like she was damp, never any mildew. No evidence of (yes, original) water tank leaks. She doesn't sit low in the water. Not soft anywhere on the bottom.

So... questions...
Could the meter reading have been inaccurate?
What is she made up of below the waterline?
What would you do if this was your boat? As of now I am leaning towards several primer coats, paint, and run her while trying not to think about it.

Any thoughts or opinions welcome!
Click to expand...

Second opinion for sure. Not all moisture meters or those interpreting them are created equal. The bottom of the 390 is solid 5/8 to 3/4 inch thick. Was the boat boat wet slipped year round prior to your purchase?
 
She was, yes
 
New question...been fighting issue with forward AC on 1988 390EC. Starts up but trips breaker after about 1 min. Also port on port side where water would normally be coming out is only working on aft AC. No water from forward ac. based on what I can see there is only one pump for the AC in the bilge area. My assumption is that it is working since the aft AC works fine.

Also that forward AC is in a terrible location. I can get to part of it from under the side berth but cannot get to the rest of it or I have not found a way yet.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
Water is plugged, hopefully it's the hose. Disconnect hose, attach garden hose, blow it out. Consider barnacle buster or similar after you get water flowing.
Or you can force water thru port discharge and maybe it will back flush.
 
Yes. Try to force water thru the port on side of boat first. Crossing fingers....
Personally i would shut off seacock and remove hose from water pump. You wouldn't want to have anything plug the pump or get stuck in strainer. Easy enuf to vacuum water from bilge.
 
Yes attach hose to the other side of the water pump. Also go to where your salon ac is and pinch the hose going to the salon ac unit. In doing this it will force more water to front ac helping to clear it out.
This can be done with vise gripes and 2 small pieces of wood.
 
Anyone direct me where to get the small plastic latches. On the door under the cockpit sink an ice maker area?
 

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Hey gotta say. Sitting at tiki bar Friday. Seen a late 80’s 390 go by, owner had Awlgribd the hull below rub rail in dark blue, with a red boot stripe and black bottom paint. Gorgeous. Classic Beauty.
 
Ok, just when you think you're down to the small stuff....
We took our '87 390 for a 10 day cruise around the Chespeake Bay at the end of May. 4 days in and my Garmin 740S touch-screen goes wonky and un-responsive. Air Freighted a new 743SVX with transducer adapter to our slip in Annapolis and installed it before the next leg of the trip. Great! Final leg home and the trusty original equipment Westerbeke 8 TWG fails to make power. Dug into that problem and discovered crispy broken wiring at the field coils and a bad rectifier. Nothing that a few hours of sweat and a couple thousand dollars of parts won't fix. Motor runs great and the unit has about 4300 hours on the clock.
Problem is that Westerbeke has discontinued one of the four field coils and each one is specific to it's location relative to the others. Their vendor "doesn't make them anymore" and since Westerbeke only paints and packages what someone else makes they are of no help. I have called every major Westerbeke distributor in the US and found not a single coil anywhere. I really hate to drop $13k on a new fully electronic unit with a ton of sensors and controls that must be dealer serviced with a laptop. I also do not want a CAT converter equipped unit. A buddy has one and the CAT failed in a few hundred hours and they are bug bucks to replace.

Anybody got any ideas?
 
DougLas said:
Yes attach hose to the other side of the water pump. Also go to where your salon ac is and pinch the hose going to the salon ac unit. In doing this it will force more water to front ac helping to clear it out.
This can be done with vise gripes and 2 small pieces of wood.
Click to expand...
Glad to say that after forcing water thru for awhile, the port for the forward AC opened up! We had a bad storm and it appears there was mud or dirt in the line.
 
1986 390 EC with gassers. So, my starboard 454 overheats. Funny thing is there is tons of water going out the exhaust port. I disconnected the hose after the water pump (in front of the oil cooler); there were some chunks of previous pump vanes; cleared them but no difference. Check both risers and plenty of water pumping through them. The manifolds are rusty. What could be the cause of the overheating? What confuses me is the plentiful water spitting out the exhaust, but the temp goes well above the usual 175 degrees.
 
electricaldoctor,Thermostat is a good idea. I replaced it ... no difference. But that is a good idea ... maybe I'll remove it entirely, just to see what happens. Is it possible that the circulating pump is failing somehow?
 
I just had my starboard overtemp out of no where, luckily i was pulling into the marina.
I pulled the heat exchanger, elbows, hoses, thermostat, ETC.
after inspecting and cleaning, I found the hose from the strainer to the raw water pump had a small kink. I am thinking as the engine room warmed up that hose would get warm and that kink would collapse.
Cleaned and put everything back together with new hose, gaskets and thermostats and took a 4 hour trip with 0 problems
 
Hello,
Does anyone on here have an '85 390? I need some help on an electrical issue.
 
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