Official 400EC thread

Fairly straightforward design. As others have said, Tom at Good Windlass knows what he’s talking about and he is easy to deal with. FYI, you did see that there is oil inside the housing? Put down towels or something when opening it. Ask me how I know ⁉️⁉️
I don’t know the grade, or amount it takes, but if you do open it, may as well change it. Definitely get whatever parts Tom recommends. Cheap peace of mind for when you REALLY need it to operate properly.
 
Fairly straightforward design. As others have said, Tom at Good Windlass knows what he’s talking about and he is easy to deal with. FYI, you did see that there is oil inside the housing? Put down towels or something when opening it. Ask me how I know ⁉️⁉️
I don’t know the grade, or amount it takes, but if you do open it, may as well change it. Definitely get whatever parts Tom recommends. Cheap peace of mind for when you REALLY need it to operate properly.
Do you have to remove the top cap to replace the rope? Something on my to do list before spring kicks off, my rope is old and frayed.
 
Unless you are able to to thread a messenger line through.
Previous posts indicating the rebuild kit are probably the way to go if the internal
Rollers show age/wear. Preventative maintenance ALWAYS better than repairing a breakdown, in my view.
I actually ended up swapping out the Good for another, only because I had to have a rope and chain rode, not due to any issue with the Good. Actually was able to sell the Good rather quickly, as well. FYI, a properly done windlass swap, is a fairly involved job, if as I preferred to do, upgraded all the original cables. Yea, 340 Sundancer with a tight engine room ‼️
 
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Do you have to remove the top cap to replace the rope? Something on my to do list before spring kicks off, my rope is old and frayed.

No - you should be able to feed it in, with the windlass running in the up direction to pull the rope through. Make sure the end of your line is clean cut and perhaps glue/melt the end so it doesnt unravel.

Good has instructions for how you should load your anchor line. Basically it involves remove anchor, drive in reverse slowly and let out your anchor line into the water (clip a fender to the end). All your line should be infront of the boat at this point, floating. Feed the line into the windlass, and tie it off inside the boat. Using the windlass, retrieve the rest of the line. Attach anchor. This process helps remove any twists in the line as it is retrieved. Need two ppl minimum for this - one being dedicated driver/watchman.
 
No - you should be able to feed it in, with the windlass running in the up direction to pull the rope through. Make sure the end of your line is clean cut and perhaps glue/melt the end so it doesnt unravel.

Good has instructions for how you should load your anchor line. Basically it involves remove anchor, drive in reverse slowly and let out your anchor line into the water (clip a fender to the end). All your line should be infront of the boat at this point, floating. Feed the line into the windlass, and tie it off inside the boat. Using the windlass, retrieve the rest of the line. Attach anchor. This process helps remove any twists in the line as it is retrieved. Need two ppl minimum for this - one being dedicated driver/watchman.
Better answer than mine
 
Better answer than mine
Or, you can do it like me, and try to "up" a wet, frayed, dirty line all the way through the windlass, and listen to it get wound up in the cogs and get stuck. Hence my appreciation at seeing a pic posted with the top off the mechanism.
Add another repair to the list because I was in too much of a hurry to do it right the first time. When I get it all unstuck, I'll be reaching out as to how I reattach the anchor to the rode. Rope directly to anchor? Rope to chain leader to anchor? I've seen a number of posts on how it's been done differently. Seems like a lot of different opinions on what works best. - Todd
 
You’re correct, in that there are many opinions in almost all boating questions, as there are many different knowledge and experience levels. Most importantly, be sure to “know what you don’t know “.
Having said that, most boaters tend to be very forthcoming with help, when asked.
As I only feel comfortable with at least 20’ of chain on my anchor rode, I’ll be swapping out the Good for something else soon. Since your Good is also rope only, you should have a thimble spliced into it and at least a properly rated shackle. I would also say, an anchor swivel, but I know that some folks don’t believe in them. Lastly, when making these choices, ALWAYS err on the safer side, if unsure.
 
You probably have a Fram fuel filter behind the cross over valves. Its a canister with a internal filter that can be replaced. I use a WIX33110 from Rock Auto, around $8.55 each. While the canister has a bolt at the bottom (looks like a drain) -- you actually loosen a bolt at the TOP to undo the canister. Not a lot of room at the top, but enough to loosen that bolt. I don't remember if its right-tight, left-loosen, or backwards. Something tells me its backwards. Make sure you get the old o-rings out - they stick.

View attachment 100174 View attachment 100175
Mark - You are correct, sir, Thanks for the response and the info. I do have one of those and I'll look for the canister that it requires.

My question is about the two fuel filters behind the fuel crossover valves. There's a picture of one of them below (obviously oriented incorrectly in the pic). What brand and model filter do you use to replace these two?
Unidentified fuel filter behind xover valves.jpg
 
Sorry to hear about your wife, keep us posted.

Thanks, Greg. She's almost all healed now. Fortunately, the only semi-permanent damage was a broken nose, but it healed straight, so no plastic surgery needed. She was in pain for a few days, but her primary care doc gave her some strong pain medication with a stern warning to take it only as long as she needed it. She's a retired public health RN and has seen her share of the effects of addiction, so she was completely off it in a few days. It was really incredible how fast it healed.

The problem is that the floating docs in our marina are so high off the water - about 30" - that boarding is very risky. The standard height off the water for floating docs, according to my internet research, is 12" - 18". Almost every boat in those slips, except for the Cruisers for some reason, is a belly flop or a face plant waiting to happen during boarding.

Thanks again for asking.
 
Mark - You are correct, sir, Thanks for the response and the info. I do have one of those and I'll look for the canister that it requires.

My question is about the two fuel filters behind the fuel crossover valves. There's a picture of one of them below (obviously oriented incorrectly in the pic). What brand and model filter do you use to replace these two?
View attachment 101119


Perhaps were setup differently. I have 3 of those Fram filters. 2 behind the crossover panel, and the 3rd by the generator, stbd side. Mine is a ‘92 model.

Ive heard that instead of using the canister/internal filter, you can get a regular spin on for ease of use. Perhaps thats what you have now, or a different filter assmbly altogether. Only way to find out is to get the camera up in there and compare the filter brackets with your remaining fram assmbly.

Perhaps when you spin off the existing filter, it will have some type of part number on it.

Good luck and let us know what you find.
 
Mark - You are correct, sir, Thanks for the response and the info. I do have one of those and I'll look for the canister that it requires.

My question is about the two fuel filters behind the fuel crossover valves. There's a picture of one of them below (obviously oriented incorrectly in the pic). What brand and model filter do you use to replace these two?
View attachment 101119

Looks the same as my 1995 set up.
I’ve just used the same Mercruiser spin on filters for fuel manifold, generator and engines. I replace all 5 every year. I’m sure that’s excessive but, easy and inexpensive.
I suppose up could stagger different micron filtration in your fuel delivery system.
 
Also gutted the cockpit for new vinyl.....looks. Like a bomb went off. Should all be done by first week of April...then I can reinstall.
Update.....everything out and at the upholstery shop........
Also gutted the cockpit for new vinyl.....looks. Like a bomb went off. Should all be done by first week of April...then I can reinstall.



Update, everything at the upholstery shop. progress so far, all side panels finished and seat cover/cushion work underway.
 

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Soooo I'm going to look at a 94 400ec with cat 3116's . What type of performance should I be expecting. Speed fuel burn ect.
I had a 330ec and it was a very wet ride should I expect that from the 400? Any known spots that like to get wet? Are they cored? Any and all comments are welcome
 
X -

According to the 2020 Powerboat Guide, the 400EC is "built on a deep-V hull with a solid fiberglass bottom. . .
A huge market success, Mercury 340hp inboards cruise
at 18 knots (mid 20s top), and Cat 340hp diesels cruise in the mid
20s (28–29 knots top)."

Good luck!
 
Also gutted the cockpit for new vinyl.....looks. Like a bomb went off. Should all be done by first week of April...then I can reinstall.
We found some rot is the port and starboard side panels and decided it would be best to replace them. What product did you use to replace the vinyl?
 
We found some rot is the port and starboard side panels and decided it would be best to replace them. What product did you use to replace the vinyl?


Lucky no rot found. The contractor removed all the metal trim and stripped the vinyl from the panels. He then used the same vinyl that the seats are being covered with and redid the panels. All trim pieces were also recovered and metal trim reapplied and installed. I will see if I can get a few photos...

We got away from the 25 year old cream vinyl and went with white. will be bright....for sure. A big change. Will get the name and model of the vinyl for ya.
 
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here are a few photos
 

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Had a couple extra deck lounge pads made.....and the original one recovered to match with SeaRay logo. Embroidery taking some time...waiting on the third one.
 

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