460 Express Cruiser (1985-1989) Discussion Area

[Jeff Evans]

Enough searching the forums for others that have the mighty 460 Express Cruiser. I hope this discussion area draws fellow 460EC owners to share in experience and knowledge on these boats.

Three decades later, 460ECs have seen various upgrades by their owners. Share your experiences here.

In my case, I have a '87 version with the extra mid-cabin bunk berths. Her home port is Goderich, Ontario on Lake Huron.

I bought her last spring and she spent this past winter have the hull's exterior re-glassed and refinished to remove 30 years of dock abuse. Also updated the interior salon and settee seating as well as some entertainment and helm electronics. Next project is the replacement of the shelf surfaces above the salon and settee seating with Corian.

She has twin Caterpiller 3208s (375 HP) which seem to be somewhat under powered. Was hoping for cruise speeds of 20 knots but I get ~ 16 knots at 2,400 RPM. This will be my next area of focus.

What are your experiences? I look forward to learning from you.

 

[Pure84GTT]

these are awesome boats. I have a 390 and would love to move to a 460 some day.

the 89 was my favorite interior, and hull color.

 

[Skybolt]

Man about three years ago I was looking for this type of thread. I have an 88' with 6v92 twin turbo Detroits (475hp) and Allison transmissions.

Most of this boat has been done over and I always have some projects going on. I built a bar/grill/Tv for cockpit when I first got her. I am in the process of de-sterilizing the salon by adding some Mahogany accents and replaced the sofa.

The previous owner had already replaced all of the electrical wire, both AC and DC and upgraded as necessary. He also started upgrading the electronics as well. I am picking up where he left off.

The wife and I absolutely love this boat and could not be happier with her.

Congrats on your new toy and it sounds like shes in good hands!

 

[Skybolt]

I am currently in the process of upgrading and switching over to 100% NMEA 2000 electronics. This started as only wanting to replace my system monitor and ended up with this: http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/system-monitor-to-replace-idiot-lights.79415/

The dash currently looks like a 2010 480 dash with two 4212's and the four gauge cluster between the screens. Since this photo, the auto pilot was moved to where the Compass is and a new NMEA 2000 screen is in that place.

 

[Jeff Evans]

SKybolt, your dash work is substantial and turned out beautifully. I would be curious how you modified the upper dash to have one large surface rather than the original two smaller surfaces. Do you have a side view?

I went with the Garmin 741XS as that was the largest I could fit into the existing dash space. Will post photos once I figure out how.

 

[Skybolt]

SKybolt, your dash work is substantial and turned out beautifully. I would be curious how you modified the upper dash to have one large surface rather than the original two smaller surfaces. Do you have a side view? ...

Thank you. Unfortunately I don't have pics. The previous owner had this done. But from what I see, they cut the upper dash flush back so it was completely open and the top of the lower dash out completely. The built it up with 1/2" plywood and to match the depth of the lower bezel. Then fiberglassed the surround in and gel-coated. I did something similar to my 340 of the same year. Matching the gel is going to be tough so I would just spray the entire dash with the same gel or use commercial auto paint.

 

[Skybolt]

I just had new carpet made up. Quint4, a member here has a canvas/carpet business and did a mail order job that came out perfect! Very reasonably priced and quality product. If your thinking of new carpet I would highly recommend using Quint4. We could not be happier with the outcome. This is the Infinity carpet that goes in all of the newer Sea Rays.

 

[Jeff Evans]

Very nice SKybolt. My carpeting is getting somewhat worn but is down the list of replacements while I upgrade other areas.

 

[Skybolt]

Thanks, It was way down on my list as well. But this is my third year with her, it was time.

Thinking of doing PlasDeck in the cockpit, not sure though. I need to put something there or Cody, my Labrador will go flying.

 

[Saverio]

theres a 460 for sale on facebook classic sea ray and other boats group

th guy is asking 17k

 

[Skybolt]

theres a 460 for sale on facebook classic sea ray and other boats group

th guy is asking 17k

Post a link if you can, but I doubt it is a running boat.

 

[Jeff Evans]

Post a link if you can, but I doubt it is a running boat.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/933...06724979427020/?sale_post_id=1106724979427020

It does need some TLC.

 

[Skybolt]

Man some TLC? wow, but for 17K I guess. Noticed no engine or genset photos. No electronics probably either. I know my Detroit's, and there probably in need of majoring as well. Good luck to the buyer! There is some scary stuff out there.
Thanks, for posting the link.

I can proudly say mine does not look anything like that ...

 

[Skybolt]

... Thinking of doing PlasDeck in the cockpit, not sure though. I need to put something there or Cody, my Labrador will go flying.

I decided not to go with PlasDeck in the cockpit. Everyone I saw, people said it gets too hot and hte need to constantly spray it down to be able to walk on it. So I went with another Infinity carpet look. one that I could get to fit without having seams. Glad I did, but that also gets too hot to walk on and needs to be sprayed down at times as well ...

 

[Jeff Evans]

SKybolt,

I also chose not to have PlasDeck put on my swim platform when rebuilt as I heard the concerns about heat. Rather had the swim platform resurfaced with non-slip texture. Have not replaced the cockpit carpet yet (maybe next year) but I will be looking for durability and ease to lift to access bulge.

 

[Skybolt]

One thing I can say is the Infinity carpet is awesome, easy to keep clean. Looks great. BUT, and this is a really big BUT, it gets hot as hell. you cannot walk bare foot on it if its been hit by the sun for more then 5 min.

I'm not sorry I went this route because I'm in the north east, but if I were in the south at all, I would be thinking twice about it. I would get a large sample of the type your planning on getting and leave it out in the sun for a while and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[Jeff Evans]

Hello folks to a new year and another spring full of upgrades. I mentioned earlier that I found the 3208TAs under-powered for the boat and wanted to improve planing, speed and fuel consumption.

I communicated with a guy named Pete Maxson on Facebook who has the same boat/engine set-up. He added an additional set of trim tabs inboard of the prop pockets which he said made all the difference.

I spoke to Bennett and purchased the parts to do the same. Additional two rams are spliced into the existing hydraulic lines so no additional pump or control. Installation went quite well and I am looking forward to see if the investment pays off in performance. No other mechanical upgrades this year as the engines seem strong.

 

[Skybolt]

Hey Jeff, that's great! just be careful that the travel is the same, another thing that might happen when sharing the hydraulic lines is one piston may fully extend while the other is not extended at all. And the same goes when retracting, the highest pressure will retract first. But it sounds like your going to use them full down anyway so good luck!

 

[Skybolt]

Jeff I saw your post in another tread about possibly having a Manual for the boat? I didn't think there was one for our year boats. I have found pretty much all of the PDF's for everything on my boat. Make a list of what you need and I can post what I have. Although there may not be a lot of common items given the year of our boats. I have the Maxwell manual (windless) and a ton of westerbeke stuff. I have Detroit's so I can't help out with the Cat's.

 

[Jeff Evans]

Hello Skybolt.

You are correct. I expect the trim tabs will be fully extended for the most part. Otherwise it is the PSI for each trim plate that will establish the amount of ram extension. Either way I hope to improve performance with greater trim.

I have the original manual for a 1987 460 Express and would be happy to turn it into a PDF and share with others. It does not contain any wiring schematics so if you have some, I would be happy to receive them. Not an easy thing to source.