The Official 450 Express Bridge Owners Club

@ttmott Great info, thx!

I did drain the water through that location you showed...mine is a bit older. Here I am draining the drum (took about 50 little tupperware pan loads...lol)

I didn't have time to investigate much as it was late so I ran the dryer for 15 mins and called it good.

The unit runs fine until it has to drain, then it just sits there. Once drained, it drys. I haven't gotten a spin out of it. I can't see how to get at anything without pulling the unit, and the manufacturer says they don't make the pump anymore. I thought I had found one on-line but it may have been wrong.

Gonna tinker a bit more and see if can get it going without a major project, but if I'm gonna wrestle it out, I might just put a new unit back in.

View attachment 111234
Thats exactly how I did my buddies, then once the water was drained I could reach in there and spin the impeller. Once I freed it up as it was pretty stuck we re-installed the cap and ran it again and it has worked great and pumps fine now.
 
Thats exactly how I did my buddies, then once the water was drained I could reach in there and spin the impeller. Once I freed it up as it was pretty stuck we re-installed the cap and ran it again and it has worked great and pumps fine now.

@ttmott, @ocgrant owe you much beer!

Took me a bit, but finnally found out how to spin the pump by hand, and it was STUCK. Had to use a long stick to reach it way back in the unit. Got it to spin, ran a cycle and heard the relay click and then it stuck again. I spun it again, tried again and stuck, and as they say the third time is a charm! Went for one more round and it started off slow, but now the pump is spinning and working like a champ.

Notably, doing this on the generator as Hurricane Ida's bands are still pummeling us and didn't want the shore power cord to get torn out on big wave/gust. Only inside projects for today and tomorrow. A small inconvenience for me, as folks to the west had a bad few days. Praying for the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

Little door and have to work through that gap on the left.

20210830_191552.jpg



Picture of external nylon fan that you can turn manually.

20210830_190949.jpg
 
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Glad you got it pumping… now use it to keep it pumping…
 
On a fun note, we had planned to do our re-naming ceremony this weekend as we finally got our COD from the Coast Guard. Fortunately the weather held out for Saturday. We had about 15 neighbors attend. I named the boat after my wife, Little A-Bee is the nickname that I have been using for her for nearly 20 years.

Me reading the slightly modified script from this site - https://www.boatsafe.com/renaming-boat/
signal-2021-08-30-194545.jpg


The unveiling
signal-2021-08-30-194424.jpg
 
Kevin,
Great news on the Splendide! And thank you for sharing the good times of your renaming ceremony. Love the new name!
 
Hi group. Excited to see a few other owners besides me. I boat in the fresh water 100%, I'm on the St Croix River in the Midwest (between MN and WI).

Diesel engines and V drives are new to me. Anybody willing to share their winterization checklist they manage? I don't intend to do the work myself, simply wanting to make sure I keep my investment at optimal performance.

[Edit, tried to upload a picture, apparently I'm not smart enough to figure this out. Meh]
Picture from last week. Eight boats traveled down river about 80 miles together, this was a snapshot during one of our stops along the way. Good times.
 
Chuck, to post a picture first make sure you edit it, otherwise CSR will orient it sideways. Then click “Upload a File”. Select your edited photo. CSR will then give you the option of posting it as a thumbnail or full image. Next make sure the cursor is in the location where you want the picture to go and then select thumb or full. The picture will be inserted at that location and you can then post it. Here is my 450 last weekend, high above Cherry Cove:
9FDC275F-AECE-4022-82DE-BED06D41ACD8.jpeg


As far as winterization tips, check out the section here on the site: http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?forums/winterizing.30/

I found this checklist that might help:


Ø Port Transmission

□ Change fluid

□ Clean ZF filters in mineral spirits and inspect for metal debris

Ø Starboard Transmission

□ Change fluid

□ Clean ZF filters in mineral spirits and inspect for metal debris

Ø Main Engine (Port)

□ Change oil and Filter

□ Change Racor Filter

□ Change Primary Diesel filter

□ Change coolant filter

□ Changes zincs in aftercoolers

□ Clean Airsep filters

□ Drain seawater from raw water cooling side

□ Drain strainers

□ Drain all zinc points on cooling circuit

□ Drain muffler

□ Run antifreeze through raw water cooling side

□ Remove impellors

□ Spot paint rust on engines

□ Spray engine and parts with Boesheild

□ Check for signs of wear to prep for next season

□ Close up intake and exhaust ports


Ø Main Engine (Starboard)

□ Change oil and Filter

□ Change Racor Filter

□ Change Primary Diesel filter

□ Change coolant filter

□ Changes zincs in aftercoolers

□ Clean Airsep filters

□ Drain seawater from raw water cooling side

□ Drain strainers

□ Drain all zinc points on cooling circuit

□ Drain muffler

□ Run antifreeze through raw water cooling side

□ Remove impellors

□ Spot paint rust on engines

□ Spray engine and parts with Boesheild

□ Check for signs of wear to prep for next season

□ Close up intake and exhaust ports

Ø Generator

□ Change oil and Filter

□ Drain seawater from raw water cooling side

□ Drain muffler

□ Run antifreeze through raw water cooling side

□ Spray engine and parts with Boesheild

□ Check for signs of wear to prep for next season

□ Drain and clean strainer

□ Change zinc in heat exchanger

Ø Fresh water system

□ Empty fresh water tank

□ Empty freshwater pump and strainer

□ Empty hot water tank

□ Empty bypass valve

□ Empty mixing valve

□ Blow out all air lines with compressed air set at 50psi Max.

□ Master Head faucet

□ Day head faucet

□ Galley faucet

□ Master Toilet

□ Day toilet

□ Master shower

□ Day shower

□ Cockpit faucet

□ Bridge faucet

□ Transom shower

□ City water connection

□ Anchor washdown

□ Engine room washdown

□ Icemaker

□ Washing machine

Ø Waste water system

□ Pour antifreeze in

□ Master Toilet

□ Clean toilet

□ Put toilet seal lubricant on ball seal

□ Day Toilet

□ Clean toilet

□ Put toilet seal lubricant on ball seal

□ Master vanity

□ Day Vanity

□ Master shower

□ Day shower

□ Shower sump

□ Clean sump

□ Antifreeze in sump

□ Galley sink drain

□ Cockpit sink

□ Bridge sink


Ø AC system

□ Drain and clean strainer

□ Pump antifreeze through system

□ Spray AC condensate drain pan with Boesheild

Ø Exterior

□ Tighten fittings and fastners

□ Tighten lifeline tension

□ Check all caulking

□ Clean all stainless steel

Ø General

□ Take out and wash carpet runners

□ Take everything out of the boat

□ Clean out fridges

□ 2 galley

□ Cockpit

□ Bridge

□ icemaker

□ Set up frame for shrink wrapping

□ Wipe down all seats

□ Wipe down all cockpit surfaces

□ Wipe down all cabin surfaces

□ Set out damp-rid bowls

□ Set up dehumidifier

□ Put cockpit seats in cabin

□ Vacuum bilge dry

□ Make list of repairs for spring
 
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A little update on my water leak. Last weekend I used a wax toilet ring to attempt to stop the water coming in from the outside of the hull/tim tab where the hydraulic line attaches. I will say the wax was just ok. Let’s describe it as it slowed the flow. The key was “Stay Afloat”. It is wax like, but it has some sort of grease or petroleum in it that makes it much more sticky than the plain wax ring. I used it and the water stopped!
B37611D4-9850-4003-8890-EF46A71013E1.jpeg

Once it stoped, I followed Kevin’s advice and used some JB Water Weld on the inside of the hull on Sunday.
133B144F-3AFA-4523-B3FF-144E6C66FF7F.jpeg

Fast forward three days and I returned to the boat. The area was nice and dry, but just in case the “band aid” allows a slight leak I decided to use some more Stay Afloat on the inside as well. I’ll monitor it closely over the next few months and again repair it correctly when it’s hauled out for bottom paint.
03673D7E-3710-49A1-9A48-895B1BC602C3.jpeg
 
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Hi group. Excited to see a few other owners besides me. I boat in the fresh water 100%, I'm on the St Croix River in the Midwest (between MN and WI).

Diesel engines and V drives are new to me. Anybody willing to share their winterization checklist they manage? I don't intend to do the work myself, simply wanting to make sure I keep my investment at optimal performance.

[Edit, tried to upload a picture, apparently I'm not smart enough to figure this out. Meh]
Picture from last week. Eight boats traveled down river about 80 miles together, this was a snapshot during one of our stops along the way. Good times.

Hi Chuck,

Great to have you here!

Sorry, live in Florida...no winter here!

Happy to offer any other help!
 
Well, there you go...the full front windshield is interesting!

Thx for the knowledge!
I think the Chinese engineers over at Aquila appropriated the center walk through/full front windshield for their 44’ catamaran. :D
2171C01A-7B02-4FB2-BB25-7065F7AEB771.jpeg
 
Hi All,

Going to re-bed my ER vents. Have been needing to do this and wanted opinions on sealant. I grabbed 5200, but thinking 4200 makes more sense in case I ever need to pull them back out.

Thoughts?
 
Hi All,

Going to re-bed my ER vents. Have been needing to do this and wanted opinions on sealant. I grabbed 5200, but thinking 4200 makes more sense in case I ever need to pull them back out.

Thoughts?
I used 4200 on the vents. Be careful removing the screws holding the vents in. I had one break.
 
I used 4200 on the vents. Be careful removing the screws holding the vents in. I had one break.

Well, got the ER vents out. Knew I had some water penetration based on my survey, but it went much further than the sounding indicated. Both bilge blower tubes had about a gallon of disgusting water in them, and something to note for others is that you have to loosen the bilge blower hose at the blower inside the ER and then pull the vent and undo the hose clamp.

Next steps: Dry, pentrating epoxy, filler, re-bed vents.

Port Side pretty much 85%, and starts at about 1/2" and gets as deep as 4" towards the back (you can see it get white again towards the front of the vent where is isn't rotted).

20210909_171539.jpg



Starboard Side about 50% and about the same depth towards the back of the vent.
20210909_173435.jpg


And apparently some stow aways at some point
20210909_173445.jpg
 
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Well, got the ER vents out. Knew I had some water penetration based on my survey, but it went much further than the sounding indicated. Both bilge blower tubes had about a gallon of disgusting water in them, and something to note for others is that you have to loosen the bilge blower hose at the blower inside the ER and then pull the vent and undo the hose clamp.

Next steps: Dry, pentrating epoxy, filler, re-bed vents.

Port Side pretty much 85%, and starts at about 1/2" and gets as deep as 4" towards the back (you can see it get white again towards the front of the vent where is isn't rotted).

View attachment 111962


Starboard Side about 50% and and about the same depth towards the back of the vent.
View attachment 111963

And apparently some stow aways at some point
View attachment 111964

So glad it wasn't too bad for you, sure have heard of worse on the 450 EB's. Thanks a lot for the pics and write up, it will help many.
 
Yep, that's about how mine was. Good work, good fix. You'll sleep better at night knowing this is permanently fixed the correct way. Have you checked the oval port lights? They can have the same situation. Mine were not as bad. i did the same process as the ER vents. Nice job!
 

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