420/44 DB Owners Club

bajturner said:
I've added a few in both staterooms. Getting decent current is an issue for sure.

In the guest stateroom, I added fans to both sides, pulling power from the wall-mount reading lamps. The wall switch for the lights, which have their own independent switches on the lamps themselves, acts as a master for both the lamps and the fans.

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These are very low power so no issue with the wiring.

It helps to have a daughter with you with small hands!

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The master stateroom is a bigger problem. There I have installed another of these same fans, a USB charging outlet, and a small inverter for a new TV. It's not a ton of amps, 5-6A max, but the gauge of wire over that distance is not great, such that the inverter complains sometimes.

I installed a new breaker panel in the closet adjacent to the TV enclosure and ran each of these items to it's own breaker there. The 12V feed was borrowed from the lighting circuit. With all the lights replaced with LEDs, the total current draw on that feed is less than it was with the original bulbs.

I don't have any pictures, unfortunately, but I should be able to get some soon! This is the panel I used:

View attachment 84683

I am thinking of running a new, dedicated high-gauge pair of wires directly from the main DC panel to this sub-panel this year. Ideally there is a straight-shot run just under the port side deck to the area where the amplifiers are behind the sofa back. From there it is easy to get to the panel.

Anyone done this or similar already?
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Appreciate the detail! I think i'll likely do something similar.
 
I had a good one yesterday. I was topping off the overflow coolant bottles, the port was particularly low/almost empty. The previous owner had 3 half opened jugs of 50/50 EG Coolant left on the boat. One engine has orange/pink, and the other has the Cummins Fleetguard blue as does the genny. I needed to top off the orange coolant engine. Two of the jugs were the orange, and one was the blue. So i gave it a quick color test in a rag and poured away. I happened to spill a little on my hand as i was filling, and thought wow that's real slippery, and wow that smells like DIESEL!!! Sure enough i quickly broke out the fluid extraction pump to empty the overflow bottle. I then filled it with water and extracted that. I then proceeded to add the other jug which appears to have the right coolant. Although i may pump that out too prior to starting the boat for the season and put NEW 50/50 from a jug i bought..... A 5 minute job turned into 30 minutes of frustration. Who puts diesel in the exact same container as the coolant the the engine uses and doesn't label it......
 
Geeez...well better now than when you have an emergency on the water and have to add coolant. BTW how did it go with the platform?
 
craigswardmtb said:
I had a good one yesterday. I was topping off the overflow coolant bottles, the port was particularly low/almost empty. The previous owner had 3 half opened jugs of 50/50 EG Coolant left on the boat. One engine has orange/pink, and the other has the Cummins Fleetguard blue as does the genny. I needed to top off the orange coolant engine. Two of the jugs were the orange, and one was the blue. So i gave it a quick color test in a rag and poured away. I happened to spill a little on my hand as i was filling, and thought wow that's real slippery, and wow that smells like DIESEL!!! Sure enough i quickly broke out the fluid extraction pump to empty the overflow bottle. I then filled it with water and extracted that. I then proceeded to add the other jug which appears to have the right coolant. Although i may pump that out too prior to starting the boat for the season and put NEW 50/50 from a jug i bought..... A 5 minute job turned into 30 minutes of frustration. Who puts diesel in the exact same container as the coolant the the engine uses and doesn't label it......
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WOW......I've heard fuel being filled in water tanks, holding tanks and rod holders. But, instead of a coolant?......That's a good one.

If it's not blue I'd be very cautious and make sure it's replaced with proper one.

I'm not sure what you meant by color test, but I'd recommend do a proper coolant test using Fleetguard coolant test strips (easy to get online) and make sure that all of your coolants are to the specs. If PO, or whoever did it, was dumb enough to pour diesel instead of the proper coolant, I'd question condition of the coolant in both engines and genny.
 
Irie308 said:
Geeez...well better now than when you have an emergency on the water and have to add coolant. BTW how did it go with the platform?
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Just about all fixed. Interestingly Sealift has made some substantial changes to the lift design to make or more stable/durable. All good but now i'm fighting with insurance as it was more work to mount it.
 
Alex F said:
WOW......I've heard fuel being filled in water tanks, holding tanks and rod holders. But, instead of a coolant?......That's a good one.

If it's not blue I'd be very cautious and make sure it's replaced with proper one.

I'm not sure what you meant by color test, but I'd recommend do a proper coolant test using Fleetguard coolant test strips (easy to get online) and make sure that all of your coolants are to the specs. If PO, or whoever did it, was dumb enough to pour diesel instead of the proper coolant, I'd question condition of the coolant in both engines and genny.
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By color test, i just meant when i poured a small amount into a rag, it was essentially the same color as the appropriate orange-ish coolant. So at the time it didn't strike me as being diesel.

My understanding is that Cummins is not overly sensitive to coolant like many other diesels. SBMar says any 50/50 Coolant with Electrolysis Guard (EG) works just fine. If not using the Fleetguard coolant Tony recommends using the WF2074 filter to keep DCA's in check. If using Fleetguard use WF2072.
 
craigswardmtb said:
By color test, i just meant when i poured a small amount into a rag, it was essentially the same color as the appropriate orange-ish coolant. So at the time it didn't strike me as being diesel.

My understanding is that Cummins is not overly sensitive to coolant like many other diesels. SBMar says any 50/50 Coolant with Electrolysis Guard (EG) works just fine. If not using the Fleetguard coolant Tony recommends using the WF2074 filter to keep DCA's in check. If using Fleetguard use WF2072.
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I don't remember if I read Tony's article on filters and coolant usage. But, you can't just blindly use any filter. As you know they're different #s and those for the reasons to control DCAs level. A good example is, when you replace your coolant with complete version from Fleetguard, you shouldn't need to replace filters for couple years. Why? Because with all working as normal, your coolant test should show you "Service" (normal level) of DCA. Only once you see it go down, then you need to look at choosing the correct filter not to spike the DCA level too much. I'm going from memory here, but I think I'm running 2071s, not 72s and those do a great job.

I have to say that I'm staying with recommended coolant maintenance schedule (5yrs). So, I never had to use more "aggressive" filter, as the coolant holds up pretty good for 5yrs. I do test every year though with fleetguard strips.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...jy96Oau7fpAhWKnOAKHfN4DBAQ9aACegQIDhA8&adurl=

Pic of the chart:
https://www.everythingtruckparts.co...gN_NbMRrVryt9xD1af4qcwKXzyYN5TPkaAo0VEALw_wcB
 
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craigswardmtb said:
Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing Compound spray. Very similar to other running gear barnacle barrier coatings. I think i paid $4 a can and used 3 cans. Home Depot carries it in grey.
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I missed this post earlier. Interesting find. What's your experience with this paint?
 
Alex F said:
I missed this post earlier. Interesting find. What's your experience with this paint?
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No experience yet. First season trying it. There are lots of people that swear by it, particularly for the Northeast waters. I'll certainly report back come mid season.
 
Does anyone have any tips or tricks to removing the salon AC unit located under the entertainment console? Looks as if removing the raw water hoses and the base from the floor may be the biggest hassle. The unit looks like it fits through the opening without issue.
 
Irie308 said:
Does anyone have any tips or tricks to removing the salon AC unit located under the entertainment console? Looks as if removing the raw water hoses and the base from the floor may be the biggest hassle. The unit looks like it fits through the opening without issue.
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Fortunately, mine was replaced just before I bought my boat. I believe Alex changed his out maybe. Somebody here did I know...as they said it fit through the opening with no issues.

Bennett
 
bjurkovski said:
I'll be giving it a go this weekend if the new water heater gets here on time and report back. The new unit looks real nice and am looking forward to the increased hot water capacity due to the mixing valve feature.

I would think those tubes would have to be above the waterline otherwise there would be water in the turbo's. I'm going to bring an inflatable ball to put in the opening in case of wake turbulence.

Thanks!
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I did manage to replace the water heater by removing the exhaust tube but I did have a good amount of water coming into the bilge. The bilge pumps were able to keep up until I could get it sealed with plastic and zip ties. I bet if I had empty fuel and water tanks it wouldn't have been an issue.

I did run into a couple issues the first being that a couple of the hose clamps were stripped probably due to corrosion and I need to find replacements. If anyone knows where I can order these I would appreciate the information.

The second issue is with the fresh water hoses where I could not find replacement fitting that would work on this Sea Tech Uniflex hose. The hose has 1/2 inch on the labels but the tubing would not fit into the 1/2 inch AquaLock fittings and I need to find an alternative. Any ideas here would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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bjurkovski said:
I did manage to replace the water heater by removing the exhaust tube but I did have a good amount of water coming into the bilge. The bilge pumps were able to keep up until I could get it sealed with plastic and zip ties. I bet if I had empty fuel and water tanks it wouldn't have been an issue.

I did run into a couple issues the first being that a couple of the hose clamps were stripped probably due to corrosion and I need to find replacements. If anyone knows where I can order these I would appreciate the information.

The second issue is with the fresh water hoses where I could not find replacement fitting that would work on this Sea Tech Uniflex hose. The hose has 1/2 inch on the labels but the tubing would not fit into the 1/2 inch AquaLock fittings and I need to find an alternative. Any ideas here would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Read this thread that addresses the dripping female connectors and clamps...

http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/leaking-water-connections.85924/

I am happy to say the ones I replaced have never dripped again.

Bennett
 
Irie308 said:
Does anyone have any tips or tricks to removing the salon AC unit located under the entertainment console? Looks as if removing the raw water hoses and the base from the floor may be the biggest hassle. The unit looks like it fits through the opening without issue.
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I replaced mine when I bought the boat and was pleasantly surprised at how easy the unit was to remove. I took the doors off for max room.
 
ttmott said:
Rusty - My bet is the deck to hull joint. I think you will find the rub rail in the aft areas of the boat pretty much wetted all of the time when running and coming off plane. That joint is also like a roof leak on a house in that the leak location may be different than where it shows.
We finally corrected the mystery leaks in my boat by removing the rub rail, cleaning the joint out, and injecting 5200 into the joint completely filling it. In this pic of my boat you can see the factory applied caulking was poorly applied and pretty much falling out when the rub rail was removed. Note the long lengths of the caulking on the ground in these pics.
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:)
bajturner said:
I had to replace mine when I bought the boat. Got a new one in Plymouth before leaving. I am 90% sure it was this one (not at the boat, documentation not near me, double-check dimensions!) :
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/norc...tainless-steel-1-7cu-ft--14000822?recordNum=1

It is a good fit, but no perfect way to secure it. I ended-up putting screws through the front bezel. The bezel itself is optional, depending on the application, and not secured really well to the fridge itself. Hasn't been an issue though. Need to make a new grill for the bottom. Here's a bunch of pictures that may help.

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It Figures! I went to the boat yesterday to install my newly wrapped instrument panel, reached in the cockpit fridge that I accidentally left on setting 5 and to my
Dismay I pulled out a Luke warm bud light! I guess I’ll be in the market for a replacement.
I just replenished my boat toy account with the proceeds from the sale of the 180 BR so I’ll not spare a dime on this purchase;)
 
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Xdream39 said:
Thank you. I had a fabricator make the panels out of some thick high quality black plastic. Not sure what it is, but it looks very nice in real life. I’ve seen the panel in carbon fiber and that also looks phenomenal.
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I just finished the wrap on my port panel. I think I like it. I still need to do the center panel with the MFD.
5252DC7E-85E8-4A70-9F91-1D0223825812.jpeg
 
Curious. What are the std 450 CTA guys running for prop size? I hit 2700 rpm clean with modest load and have 23x26 props. Does anyone know what the factory prop sizing was. I know the 480s came over propped with 26x26 but wasnt sure on the std prop for the less powerful 450 ctas.
 
Irie308 said:
Does anyone have any tips or tricks to removing the salon AC unit located under the entertainment console? Looks as if removing the raw water hoses and the base from the floor may be the biggest hassle. The unit looks like it fits through the opening without issue.
Click to expand...

I did mine last year and removed the TV to get more room to work. You can also removed the small locker in the cockpit to give easier access to the hoses.
When you get the old unit out be sure to check the condensate drain as mine was plugged and caused so much rust the base was almost gone. This unit drains all the way forward to the shower sump in the stateroom area!
Before I installed the TV I glued on some insulation over the air gaps in the hole cut to give access from the cockpit locker. I thought it would be better to air condition interior air instead of hot humid Florida air from outside.
 
becnme said:
I did mine last year and removed the TV to get more room to work. You can also removed the small locker in the cockpit to give easier access to the hoses.
When you get the old unit out be sure to check the condensate drain as mine was plugged and caused so much rust the base was almost gone. This unit drains all the way forward to the shower sump in the stateroom area!
Before I installed the TV I glued on some insulation over the air gaps in the hole cut to give access from the cockpit locker. I thought it would be better to air condition interior air instead of hot humid Florida air from outside.
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Thanks, for the insights.Didn't realize i may have access from the cockpit. Also i noticed that their seems to be quite a bit of ducting back there just for that one outlet from the blower. Seems to form an S. Wonder if thats necessary to control the airflow?
 
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