Sea Ray 390 Newbie - Enclosure options

Genesis

Genesis

New Member
Feb 22, 2019
6
Sandusky Ohio
Boat Info
2005 390 Sundancer
Engines
Cummins QSB5.9-380
Spring can not get here fast enough as wife and I just went into contract on a new to us 05' 390 SD. All dreamed of options present including upsized cockpit a/c. Survey scheduled & Diesel inspection scheduled. The only change needed is updating and extending aft deck enclosure all the way back. We have seen many different designs and are considering best options. Isinglass, Strataglass or polycarbonate?

The picture is not our new boat, It is the look and functionality we are going for. Any thoughts in this area would be appreciated.
 

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Welcome! Congrats on the contract. Where are you located? Hopefully someplace not as miserable as the upper midwest. Sea trials may be another 8 weeks out yet :)

For the record - she's a DA, not an SD.

I personally prefer having the option to make your cockpit dark. Sun is really, really hard on the interior of your boat when she's parked. If you're going to make arrangements for glass/ploy or screens I'd recommend you have those as the second layer and stick with Sunbrella on the outside. I've seen folks with roll-up canvas with screens underneath. Looked very functional.

If you're in a major boating area you may want to start researching canvas companies ASAP. Chances are pretty slim to have custom canvas rigged before summer at this point in the year. The good canvas guys can sometimes book 12+ months out.
 
Stee6043 said:
Welcome! Congrats on the contract. Where are you located? Hopefully someplace not as miserable as the upper midwest. Sea trials may be another 8 weeks out yet :)

For the record - she's a DA, not an SD.

I personally prefer having the option to make your cockpit dark. Sun is really, really hard on the interior of your boat when she's parked. If you're going to make arrangements for glass/ploy or screens I'd recommend you have those as the second layer and stick with Sunbrella on the outside. I've seen folks with roll-up canvas with screens underneath. Looked very functional.

If you're in a major boating area you may want to start researching canvas companies ASAP. Chances are pretty slim to have custom canvas rigged before summer at this point in the year. The good canvas guys can sometimes book 12+ months out.
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We boat on Lake Erie in the Cedar Point area. Hoping for mid April launch. DA it is- Like the idea of sunbrella on the outside of screens and isinglass. Maybe they can construct it so it could completely removed.
 
We really went back and forth on the Camper top for a couple of years. We ended up not doing it and stuck with the aft slant back curtain. Couple of reasons one was the simplicity of removing it and storage when taking it down. second was to have the back open on a nice day, with the camper your probably not going to be taking the overhead fixed canvas down. There are times we wished we had it but those are few and far between. I waited a year and used the boat to see if we would really need it ..that helped in deciding not to do it.

The front windshield we did in polycarbonate this is a must for clarity as long as your not going to take it down.

Congratulations on the new boat and a great summer using it. We are in the same area .. we really like it

PIB Dock.jpg
 
Blueone said:
We really went back and forth on the Camper top for a couple of years. We ended up not doing it and stuck with the aft slant back curtain. Couple of reasons one was the simplicity of removing it and storage when taking it down. second was to have the back open on a nice day, with the camper your probably not going to be taking the overhead fixed canvas down. There are times we wished we had it but those are few and far between. I waited a year and used the boat to see if we would really need it ..that helped in deciding not to do it.

The front windshield we did in polycarbonate this is a must for clarity as long as your not going to take it down.

Congratulations on the new boat and a great summer using it. We are in the same area .. we really like it

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Bet yours is the blue one. Thanks for the reply and thoughts! See ya at the bay some day.
 
That's where the name came from but just a coincidence with this boat being blue. We had a sundeck at a yacht club a number of years ago and everyone would ask which boat was ours, we would point it out and they would say "Oh the Blueone"... it never had a name so everyone started calling it the Blueone
 
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Genesis said:
Spring can not get here fast enough as wife and I just went into contract on a new to us 05' 390 SD. All dreamed of options present including upsized cockpit a/c. Survey scheduled & Diesel inspection scheduled. The only change needed is updating and extending aft deck enclosure all the way back. We have seen many different designs and are considering best options. Isinglass, Strataglass or polycarbonate?

The picture is not our new boat, It is the look and functionality we are going for. Any thoughts in this area would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I see you are in Ohio. Given your location I would buy all white Sunbrella with no windows or screens. We have found that our AC keeps up with the hot humid weather with that type of canvas. Your cockpit glass will give you lots of visibility and the canvas lots of privacy in a cool yet bright setting. Most people go with some sort of see through plastic that will look good for a year or two and then start to age as you store it. Even if you are meticulous about how you put it away storage conditions often not ideal on this sized boat. Without windows, canvas is much easier to fold and store. We have had various colors and types of canvas over the years. Dark colors add a tremendous solar factor that really erodes your nice cockpit AC's capability. With white canvas, you will be comfortable when others are complaining about the mid afternoon heat. Another piece of canvas to buy is a drop curtain with windows. Great for days when it's cold out and for running on the Great Lakes. I think I have a pic somewhere of a really nasty day in Leland when our drop curtain was perfect for the weather. I'll see if I can find it.
 
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Here are two pix of both types of canvas I was talking about. I agree with Blueone's approach. It is easy to store and our AC works really well with the slant back aft curtain. On our boat it does not interfere with seating in that area. We use it when in a marina during hot weather. It takes just one minute to put up or take down. The drop curtain is used more often in bad weather when running the boat. It takes about three minutes to put up or take down. It makes our AC less effective if we are backed into a slip with afternoon sun pouring into the helm. We usually move out to the aft cockpit when this happens until the sun begins to set. The helm cools quickly once the sun gets lower in the sky.
Different approach that you may or may not like.
 
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Congratulations ! Great boat! We just closed on our '05 DA a month ago. We are in Florida . You're going to love your boat.
 
Congratulations. We got our 390 last year. We added camper canvas right away. Love the room it adds. It’s sunbrella and strataglass. Over the winter, we’re having the forward canvas redone with the polycarbonate.

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Blueone said:
Couple of reasons one was the simplicity of removing it and storage when taking it down. second was to have the back open on a nice day, with the camper your probably not going to be taking the overhead fixed canvas down.
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Our exact thoughts too

Blueone said:
The front windshield we did in polycarbonate this is a must for clarity as long as your not going to take it down.
Click to expand...
We added the same. It's a must have for clarity alone. We (I..) take the center window down and lay it on our bed and give stern warnings to the rodents.
 
Yep. Buying boats, making improvements and then reselling them (with no regard to profit) is a hobby of his. He has lost count, but we think this 390 is his 48th boat.

One of his past boats isn't far from you on Goldie. A CY 40.
 
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