The big old 80's 340 owners thread

Hello,

Wanted to drop in and introduce myself. I just purchased our first boat 1987 340 EC. The boat has only been in freshwater but has not been run in 7 years. If anyone has a list of things to look over this spring, I would appreciate any suggestions. I've been compiling a list of things I need to check and replace (batteries, impellers,...).

I've known the PO for 20+ years and been around the boat at least 15 yrs. The PO is very meticulous and has all documentation and a lot of spare parts. I got a lot of work ahead of me but can't wait for spring to get here and get started. Any way fire away with the suggestions, I'm all ears.

David
 
David
Congrats on your purchase! Best of luck to you.
I'll offer what you probably already know. Engines! Don't turn the key until you pull the plugs and see they will spin with a wrench. That would be my main concern. Same with the genset. If the motors spin freely, that would be a very good start!
 
Greetings and Congrats David,

So you dont travel down the road that I did after buying a boat that sat for a while.....

Get the the carbs rebuilt - If fuel has been sitting in them, it is probably like molasses by now.
Plugs and wires (if original) and cap and rotor per engine
Fuel/water separators on engine block and bulkhead (4 total)
There are 2 more fuel filters in the carbs but that should come with the carb rebulid.
Impellers
Check the belts
Do the fluids

Best of luck with the New To You Boat!
 
Maybe some explanation and history concerning some of the items that I mentioned is in order.

(Readers Digest version of problems in the first year of boat ownership....)

On the sea trial, starboard engine runs ok - a bit rough, port side is fine. The engines smell like they are running rich. Broker mechanic will look into it.
Mechanic later sends me pictures of the backfire flame arrestors PACKED with cottonwood seeds. He cleans them and adjusts the carbs. Says all is well.
Jason (Pyrojodge) has agreed to show me the ropes and we head out. Five minutes later, we head back with a bilge high water alarm. Replace bilge pump.
A few days later we head out again. Five minutes later, we are headed back in with the port engine over heating. Tighten the clamps to the new hot water heater that the mechanic installed.
A few days later we get to go. She is not running great, but running. Stop in the shallows to fix a swim platform strut mounting bolt. Starboard engine will not refire.
Jason pilots boat back to his marina on one screw - educational to put it mildly.
Next day, replace plugs, wires, cap, rotor, all fuel filters on starboard engine. Now running ok - At the dock......
Head out a day or so later to make the 3 hour run to home. Starboard engine now starts acting up.
The Starboard engine starts losing power, revs going down, then backfires out the exhaust and takes off like nothing was ever wrong.
This cycle repeats about 10 times on the way home.
Pull and rebuild both carbs.
Starboard engine now runs great at the dock AND out on the water. (untill you put the engine uder load, you really cant tell how it is honestly running)
Port side engine sounds ok and seems to run ok as well but I have to have the port side throttle up a bit more than starboard.
Over the next few tanks of fuel, the port tank is getting drained more quickly than the starboard. Initially this was blamed on running the genny.
I decide to do the cap, rotor, coil and wires on the port engine. Checking the continuity of the plug wires was quite telling. Only 3 of 8 showed any reading on the ohmmeter.

Both engines now run fantastic, throttles are now dead even and I dont know if its coincidental or just FM, but an erratic synchronizer is now very well behaved.

The biggest thing is to get the carbs rebuilt if you have even the slightest thought that they might be a problem.
When I rebuilt mine, what poured out of the bottom of the carbs was considerably thicker than gasoline should be. It was that noticeable.

The bad fuel in the carbs and the cottonwood seeds realy made the troubleshooting interesting.

During the sea trial, the engines were running way too rich. I could smell it. Even though the fuel was 'thick' the fact that the arrestors
were packed with garbage, forced the thick fuel to get sucked out of the carb.

When the arrestors we cleaned, the opposite issue occurred - way to lean. This resulted in the lean backfire issue I had bringing her home.

David, if you have any questions, please ask. There are some really helpful and knowledgeable guys on this board that helped me alot!

Hope this helps

-Mike
 
I had posted a few months back that I was looking for a 300WE Looked at a few, but wife saw a 340 and decided that was what we needed, so now the hunt is on for a pristine 340EC, preferably an 88 or 89 but will consider all 85-89s.

This time of year presents a problem as so many boats are winterized, but us Floridians can still be out.

Not looking for a project boat but don't mind if there are small issues.
 
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Ancient Mariner said:
I had posted a few months back that I was looking for a 300WE Looked at a few, but wife saw a 340 and decided that was what we needed, so now the hunt is on for a pristine 340EC, preferably an 88 or 89 but will consider all 85-89s.

This time of year presents a problem as so many boats are winterized, but us Floridians can still be out.

Not looking for a project boat but don't mind if there are small issues.
Click to expand...
there was a very nice one in Michigan ...been on the market (and on the hard) for awhile
Coaled Hard Cash is the name...nice boat and all freshwater life..was a bit pricey for me but probably worth the money
the wife and I looked at it then decided we wanted a 350/370 ...then came back to the 340 after comparing many
 
Thanks Jim (Mopar).

Yes, there are quite a few for sale on the great lakes and Northeast, but all are winterized plus the cost of shipping ($3000-$5000) puts many out of the price range. It's one thing if the boat is priced on the high end, but the shipping takes it out of the equation.

One will come up between now and spring that will have my name on it :)
 
Ancient Mariner said:
Thanks Jim (Mopar).

Yes, there are quite a few for sale on the great lakes and Northeast, but all are winterized plus the cost of shipping ($3000-$5000) puts many out of the price range. It's one thing if the boat is priced on the high end, but the shipping takes it out of the equation.

One will come up between now and spring that will have my name on it :)
Click to expand...
That boat has been for sale for a Looooong time
asking price isn't necessarily selling price :wink: and I can recommend a good reasonable shipper from the great lakes area
admittedly those 340s bring premium dollar in the great lakes area since they are an awesome boat for that water.
I bought mine in southern Ky and basically stole it...market there is rather soft on a boat of that size.
Good luck in your search :thumbsup:
 
moparlvr4406 said:
That boat has been for sale for a Looooong time
asking price isn't necessarily selling price :wink: and I can recommend a good reasonable shipper from the great lakes area
admittedly those 340s bring premium dollar in the great lakes area since they are an awesome boat for that water.
I bought mine in southern Ky and basically stole it...market there is rather soft on a boat of that size.
Good luck in your search :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

If you look at 'Coaled Hard Cash' get the moisture in the stringers and the rest of the hull checked.
 
Does any one have a rebuild kit part number for the vac-u-flush Sealand in our boats?

Q: How many times is normal for the vacuum pump to cycle after a flush.
 
northshore said:
If you look at 'Coaled Hard Cash' get the moisture in the stringers and the rest of the hull checked.
Click to expand...
Definetely... I don't think it's been in the water for quite a while though
moisture may not show issues.
 
It's been 2 years since coaled hard cash was in the water. I saw it out on the lake...
 
Are the dinette seats and base the same size in a 1984-1990 Sundancer and a 1989 Express cruiser?
 
hello,,i know the cabin in the early 34's, had galley on port side, then, i think,maybe someone else knows exact year, but they moved galley to starboard side, in 85-85. this of course changed dinette and galley's. i dont anything about express cruiser.
gw.
 
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My friend has a 89 340 EC and the radar arch is in need of tightening. Access to the large screws which hold it is almost impossible. I was wondering what the procedure of getting to and tightening the arch is. It looks like the panels on either side need to be removed, but that looks like a huge job.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!
 
Tightening the bolts are not that hard. If you remove the outer plastic cover, you will see flat head screws. If these turn then you will need to tighten. For that you will need to remove the cockpit panels, unless you can reach the nuts through one of the access holes in the panel.
That's the easy part. More than likely, it doesn't need to be tightened, but repaired. There is expanded foam inside the arch where the bolt goes through to support the compression when tightened. There is also a piece of wood there that was placed to contain the foam when hardened. More than likely, you will find that wood rotted and the foam broken apart. I have pictures from what mine looked like that will make more sense.
Right now, my guess is that if you tighten the bolts you are just going to compress everything and make it worse.
 
wileecoyote said:
Tightening the bolts are not that hard. If you remove the outer plastic cover, you will see flat head screws. If these turn then you will need to tighten. For that you will need to remove the cockpit panels, unless you can reach the nuts through one of the access holes in the panel.
That's the easy part. More than likely, it doesn't need to be tightened, but repaired. There is expanded foam inside the arch where the bolt goes through to support the compression when tightened. There is also a piece of wood there that was placed to contain the foam when hardened. More than likely, you will find that wood rotted and the foam broken apart. I have pictures from what mine looked like that will make more sense.
Right now, my guess is that if you tighten the bolts you are just going to compress everything and make it worse.
Click to expand...

Now that you speak of it, I remember that the bolts on the inside was what we had almost no access to. That's why we were discussing removing the cockpit panels. How do those come out?

Regarding the integrity of the arch itself, I would imagine that you are correct, the wood and foam have probably disintegrated. How did you rebuild that?
 
Mine was off for an engine change. The foam is almost as hard as a rock, i have the pics and number for the foam at home. I will try to post all the info when I have it this weekend.
the cockpit panels have brackets and screws behind all of the access panels. If you remove all of the small access panels you should see the brackets and associated screws.
I made large aluminum plates as backers for the nuts as the washers will pull into the fiberglass when you tighten down on them.

I'm not sure there is a way to replace the plywood that seals in the foam without removing the arch. It doesn't look that heavy, but trust me, it is! It took 3 of us to remove it, and I used the fork loader we used to drop the engines in to lower it back into place. My original plan was to leave one bolt in and rotate forward, but because of the recess it sits in and the weight I ended up removing it.
 
Here is the back side of where the bolts come through. The plywood is already removed and the wood texture is actually molded into the foam after it hardened. The hard foam takes up the space in the fiberglass mold so when you tighten the bolts there is something to support the pressure. You can see one of the bolt holes in the lower left where the foam has been removed. The foam hardens about as hard or harder than drywall and makes a hell of a mess when it oozes out.
Removing the cockpit panels is simple compared to that repair!
This is the only photo I have on my laptop, I will see what else I have when I get home.
100_2361.jpg
 
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For the 88-89 crew with the full size v-birth does anyone know off the top of their heads what the length/width of the mattress is at its widest and longest point?

Thanks in advance,

-Mike
 
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