What to look for 44 Sedan Bridge

**Labbur** · 08-06-2009, 04:29 PM

I will be looking at a new 2008 44 Sedan Bridge. Any suggestions or items you would point out beyond the normal items one would look for. What to check or pros and cons. Powered with QSC 500 Cummins. Thanks

**jetlag** · 08-07-2009, 06:25 PM

We have an '07 we bought new and about the only difference I've seen between it and an '08 is the additional cupholders on the transome. They look nice. At any rate, the common rail QSC500's are awesome. This is our 5th new boat, second 44 footer with diesels and we absolutely love this boat. We spend a lot of time onboard. Only issue is down south the ac has a bit of trouble keeping up when it is upper 90's to lower 100's outside. We resolved it by adding an insulated cover over the windscreen. It worked miracles. OH YEAH, the big difference is the 230 amp versus the 125 on the '07 and older boats. I think that's a big plus on the '08. We have the Glendenning system and since we have 2 shore power cords it consumes a lot of space in the transome storage locker. We've put on 130 hours and it has been mostly trouble free. Good luck, Jet Lag

**Labbur** · 08-07-2009, 11:28 PM

Thank you for your comments.

**JVid** · 08-08-2009, 12:36 PM

This is our 3rd season in our 06 44DB and we love it. We cruise about 130 hours/year primarily in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. I agree with jetlag that the Cummins QSC 500s are perfect to power this boat. To help the AC maintain the cabin temp, we put 90% sunshades on the side windows (thanks to festivas for this suggestion). They work great to help keep some of the pounding sun out while still allowing us a view of the outside. We also get much use out of the sleep sofa in the salon. The kids love this option. The boat came with a washer/dryer, but we don't use it too much. The admiral would prefer a freezer or simply more storage space under the stairs. We also put on KVH after market which the entire family ejoys. Other than that, most of standard equipment on a 44DB is all you need. Although I dream about a 52DB someday, the 44DB is the perfect boat for us. Good luck and enjoy.

**Labbur** · 08-10-2009, 11:01 AM

Good info and thanks..

**Converse48** · 08-10-2009, 01:40 PM

To my fellow 44DB owners who find the air conditioning insufficient: Here are the steps I have taken to make the A/C in the boat acceptable (i.e. able to cool to 20 degrees below outside temperature).

1. Make better use of the front A/C unit. It has 16,000 BTUs just sitting there idling while the salon unit struggles. How did I do this? I had custom vents made that have full dampers in them so I can reduce the air flow to the master and guest staterooms. I also reduce the flow into the two heads by blocking 2 out of the 3 openings in the vents. These moves have the net effect of: a) forcing more air from the front unit out via the vent in the salon (by the dinette); and b) making the front unit run longer, thus providing more, colder air to the salon via the dinette vent.

I just installed the vents this weekend. It was more than a little disconcerting to take the jigsaw to the cherry wood, but in the end, it looks good (I will take pics if anyone is interested).

2. I also modified the vent box behind the main A/C outlet in the salon. This vent box has an opening in the bottom that the air comes through and then needs to make a 90 degree turn to exit through the register. I used semi-rigid material to make a smooth turn within the vent box to eliminate turbulence. Also, the main vent coming from the unit is 7” in diameter, but the opening to the vent box is much smaller, creating a choke point. If I can find the right kind of saw, I will enlarge that opening as well. This vent cover is also quite restrictive with the ½” wood bars. It is aesthetically pleasing, but aerodynamically, it is a nightmare. Note how much more air comes out when you take that grille off (it comes off easily with four screws). I have some ideas for this too, I will update if they work out.

3. Another thing I just did that seemed to make a big difference was to thermally isolate the cockpit storage locker (the one right by the sliding door) from the interior of the boat. The factory left major holes and gaps between the interior of the boat and this locker, which is outside. The salon A/C unit is right behind this bulkhead, so effectively, the A/C unit is half outside, drawing in hot humid air from the cockpit locker. I did this using vent insulation and HVAC tape. As I said, there were major gaps, so I used the rigid vent insulation to span the big gaps.

4. I also have 90% shade screens for the side windows , a 100% Sunbrella screen for the front windows and a 90% sun shade for the aft cockpit. I only use those when temps go above 95.

So in summary:
- vents with dampers up front
- modify salon vent box to improve airflow
- insulate cockpit locker to cut off outside air intrusion to A/C unit
- use shade screens on really hot days to reduce thermal load from windows.

Yes. I am obsessed. Thanks for noticing.

**JNMNL52** · 10-21-2012, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by festivus44

To my fellow 44DB owners who find the air conditioning insufficient: Here are the steps I have taken to make the A/C in the boat acceptable (i.e. able to cool to 20 degrees below outside temperature).

1. Make better use of the front A/C unit. It has 16,000 BTUs just sitting there idling while the salon unit struggles. How did I do this? I had custom vents made that have full dampers in them so I can reduce the air flow to the master and guest staterooms. I also reduce the flow into the two heads by blocking 2 out of the 3 openings in the vents. These moves have the net effect of: a) forcing more air from the front unit out via the vent in the salon (by the dinette); and b) making the front unit run longer, thus providing more, colder air to the salon via the dinette vent.

I just installed the vents this weekend. It was more than a little disconcerting to take the jigsaw to the cherry wood, but in the end, it looks good (I will take pics if anyone is interested).

2. I also modified the vent box behind the main A/C outlet in the salon. This vent box has an opening in the bottom that the air comes through and then needs to make a 90 degree turn to exit through the register. I used semi-rigid material to make a smooth turn within the vent box to eliminate turbulence. Also, the main vent coming from the unit is 7” in diameter, but the opening to the vent box is much smaller, creating a choke point. If I can find the right kind of saw, I will enlarge that opening as well. This vent cover is also quite restrictive with the ½” wood bars. It is aesthetically pleasing, but aerodynamically, it is a nightmare. Note how much more air comes out when you take that grille off (it comes off easily with four screws). I have some ideas for this too, I will update if they work out.

3. Another thing I just did that seemed to make a big difference was to thermally isolate the cockpit storage locker (the one right by the sliding door) from the interior of the boat. The factory left major holes and gaps between the interior of the boat and this locker, which is outside. The salon A/C unit is right behind this bulkhead, so effectively, the A/C unit is half outside, drawing in hot humid air from the cockpit locker. I did this using vent insulation and HVAC tape. As I said, there were major gaps, so I used the rigid vent insulation to span the big gaps.

4. I also have 90% shade screens for the side windows , a 100% Sunbrella screen for the front windows and a 90% sun shade for the aft cockpit. I only use those when temps go above 95.

So in summary:
- vents with dampers up front
- modify salon vent box to improve airflow
- insulate cockpit locker to cut off outside air intrusion to A/C unit
- use shade screens on really hot days to reduce thermal load from windows.

Yes. I am obsessed. Thanks for noticing.

Just saw this and read with interest. I have a 2006 44DB. The small salon vent near the dinette does basically nothing. It would be great if I could balance the salon air conditioner with the forward system. I pulled the top grate of the dinette but cant see if it is connected to any duct work. How do you access this? My sense is the duct work for his vent is not connected from the factory. Also where did you get your dampered vents?

**Hampton** · 10-21-2012, 09:04 PM

These are great boats. I don't really know of anything in particular to be weary of. I like the hard tops. I'm not sure about the 08 soft tops, but on earlier models, the aft eisenglass upstairs leans forward and makes it very difficult to sit behind the table on the bridge. I only looked at 09 and 08 hard tops. Good luck.