40 sedan bridge forum

I’m assuming all those holes have screws in them holding the mirror to the wall in the stateroom. View attachment 137633

that would be interesting to know. Our mirror in the guest head is in need of replacement. I thought it was just glued on, but if this mirror is screwed from the backside, perhaps the one in the head is as well?
 
that would be interesting to know. Our mirror in the guest head is in need of replacement. I thought it was just glued on, but if this mirror is screwed from the backside, perhaps the one in the head is as well?
I just took a picture of every hole and there are not any screws in there. You can see the back of the mirror in all of them. Not sure why the holes are there now. The mirror could still be screwed in with screws hidden behind the bench storage. Seems like they’d do that rather than glue that big heavy framed mirror on at a downward angle.
 
Started the project. Doing it myself. Going to recover with heavy fabric, not vinyl. I’ll go slow. Probably take all winter.

Took 1.5 hours to remove the 10 million staples holding the bottom filler to the wood frame. Im not going to integrate it into the frame. I’m going to cover it as a standalone piece and it will just friction fit in there. It won’t move around. It’ll be locked in by the other cushions all the way around. That will eliminate all those staples.
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Little chilly this week in Oklahoma. This is the temperature inside my boat. Sensor is stuck on the aft bulkhead above the breaker panel door. Double bilge heaters are working overtime. Of course everything is winterized and boat still floating. Big boats stay in the water year round on our lake.
 

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Removing dinette cushions and backrests for recovering. All went well except there is one screw holding the forward backrest in place on the handrail side. Took me a while to find it but here it is in case any of you have to do this in the future. In true Sea Ray style it’s about twice as long as it needs to be.
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I know this screw well. Cut mine off and was obviously not re-used. I do not have a mirror in my guest berth. It woukd be installed under the headliner.
 
Inside the guest head cabinet mirror doors are webbing straps used to stop the doors opening too far. Just wondered if anyone had changed these to metal stays or some other solution ?
 
Hi Fellow 400DBers, I have some questions I'd like to run past you regarding house AC system and Bow Thruster circuit: I noticed that my bow thruster battery (located under galley hatch) is linked to the Inverter/Charger system for the house AC system. Therefore it is only charged when plugged in or running generator and drains along with the house inverter system. It seems like you'd want the bow thruster linked to engine/alternator circuit to ensure its ready when needed with engines on. The house battery bank appears to be added on with 4x6v batteries plus the 12V thruster battery. I'm guessing the engine/house DC battery charger was maxed out with the 5x 12V engine & generator batteries, so it needed to be added to the Inverter/charger system. However, I've now fried 2 thruster batteries, and I rarely use it (and for very short bursts). By fried, I mean boiling hot, sulfur smell, and once a good 2am "pop". I sketched the circuit for reference. Questions:

1. Is this a typical set up for you folks with Thruster?
2. I was wondering if having 1x 12V battery mixed with a 6V array is causing it to overheat when charged or drawn?
3. On longer cruises the inverter batteries get drained from fridge, TVs, etc. (I typically do not run generator unless cooking, cleaning, or need Air Conditioning). Has anyone linked their inverter batteries to the alternator charge with an ACR?
4. Am I overthinking this, and I simply need to add water to the battery more often...?
5. I'm in the market to replace a bunch of batteries, is it worth switching to AGM?

Thanks - Gerrit
 

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Hi Fellow 400DBers, I have some questions I'd like to run past you regarding house AC system and Bow Thruster circuit: I noticed that my bow thruster battery (located under galley hatch) is linked to the Inverter/Charger system for the house AC system. Therefore it is only charged when plugged in or running generator and drains along with the house inverter system. It seems like you'd want the bow thruster linked to engine/alternator circuit to ensure its ready when needed with engines on. The house battery bank appears to be added on with 4x6v batteries plus the 12V thruster battery. I'm guessing the engine/house DC battery charger was maxed out with the 5x 12V engine & generator batteries, so it needed to be added to the Inverter/charger system. However, I've now fried 2 thruster batteries, and I rarely use it (and for very short bursts). By fried, I mean boiling hot, sulfur smell, and once a good 2am "pop". I sketched the circuit for reference. Questions:

1. Is this a typical set up for you folks with Thruster?
2. I was wondering if having 1x 12V battery mixed with a 6V array is causing it to overheat when charged or drawn?
3. On longer cruises the inverter batteries get drained from fridge, TVs, etc. (I typically do not run generator unless cooking, cleaning, or need Air Conditioning). Has anyone linked their inverter batteries to the alternator charge with an ACR?
4. Am I overthinking this, and I simply need to add water to the battery more often...?
5. I'm in the market to replace a bunch of batteries, is it worth switching to AGM?

Thanks - Gerrit
Gerrit,

I cannot help you specifically... because I do not have a bow thruster nor an additional inverter/charger.
I have 2 Group 27 batteries per main engine and 1 Group 27 battery for the generator with the standard house charger. I run the generator whenever I leave the dock and that runs all the AC powered stuff. No drain on any batteries.
 
Hi Fellow 400DBers, I have some questions I'd like to run past you regarding house AC system and Bow Thruster circuit: I noticed that my bow thruster battery (located under galley hatch) is linked to the Inverter/Charger system for the house AC system. Therefore it is only charged when plugged in or running generator and drains along with the house inverter system. It seems like you'd want the bow thruster linked to engine/alternator circuit to ensure its ready when needed with engines on. The house battery bank appears to be added on with 4x6v batteries plus the 12V thruster battery. I'm guessing the engine/house DC battery charger was maxed out with the 5x 12V engine & generator batteries, so it needed to be added to the Inverter/charger system. However, I've now fried 2 thruster batteries, and I rarely use it (and for very short bursts). By fried, I mean boiling hot, sulfur smell, and once a good 2am "pop". I sketched the circuit for reference. Questions:

1. Is this a typical set up for you folks with Thruster?
2. I was wondering if having 1x 12V battery mixed with a 6V array is causing it to overheat when charged or drawn?
3. On longer cruises the inverter batteries get drained from fridge, TVs, etc. (I typically do not run generator unless cooking, cleaning, or need Air Conditioning). Has anyone linked their inverter batteries to the alternator charge with an ACR?
4. Am I overthinking this, and I simply need to add water to the battery more often...?
5. I'm in the market to replace a bunch of batteries, is it worth switching to AGM?

Thanks - Gerrit
How many hours on the main's and how many hour's the generator?
 
Hi Fellow 400DBers, I have some questions I'd like to run past you regarding house AC system and Bow Thruster circuit: I noticed that my bow thruster battery (located under galley hatch) is linked to the Inverter/Charger system for the house AC system. Therefore it is only charged when plugged in or running generator and drains along with the house inverter system. It seems like you'd want the bow thruster linked to engine/alternator circuit to ensure its ready when needed with engines on. The house battery bank appears to be added on with 4x6v batteries plus the 12V thruster battery. I'm guessing the engine/house DC battery charger was maxed out with the 5x 12V engine & generator batteries, so it needed to be added to the Inverter/charger system. However, I've now fried 2 thruster batteries, and I rarely use it (and for very short bursts). By fried, I mean boiling hot, sulfur smell, and once a good 2am "pop". I sketched the circuit for reference. Questions:

1. Is this a typical set up for you folks with Thruster?
2. I was wondering if having 1x 12V battery mixed with a 6V array is causing it to overheat when charged or drawn?
3. On longer cruises the inverter batteries get drained from fridge, TVs, etc. (I typically do not run generator unless cooking, cleaning, or need Air Conditioning). Has anyone linked their inverter batteries to the alternator charge with an ACR?
4. Am I overthinking this, and I simply need to add water to the battery more often...?
5. I'm in the market to replace a bunch of batteries, is it worth switching to AGM?

Thanks - Gerrit

What charger do you have? Engine batteries are typically wired in parallel so even though you have 4 engine batteries, the charger only sees 2 banks of engine batteries. One more bank for the gen battery makes three battery banks. So you’re only maxed if your charger has three banks.

Looking at your drawing, it appears there is another port on the charger to charge these added on house batteries and the thruster. But I have a question. Are these 4x6V batteries (two 6v’s are in series, so really each pair looks to the system like a single 12v battery) the entire house battery bank? This circuit looks like 3 12v batteries in parallel. Nothing wrong with that.

The usual set up for our boats is for the starboard (if memory serves) engine batteries to also serve as house batteries. I’m assuming your prev owner separated the house circuit from the engine battery so now your SB engine batteries ONLY power the engine and the house DC is only from those four 6V batteries? Is that correct? Why did he do that? So you have deep cycle batteries on the house and starting batteries on the engines? Any mixing of battery technology or are all batteries the same type?

If so, there’s nothing wrong with that configuration. Except, as you noted, the house and thruster don’t get charged except from the gen or shore power. That charging only happens when the AC Converter breaker is ON. I don’t know if there is a “usual” way to do this but this isn’t uncommon. It’s certainly the easiest way to connect everything. Someone smarter than me may want to chime in here.

One reason you couldn’t splice your house and thruster battery connection (the 12v in your pic) into the same 12v circuit that connects to the engine batts might be that the combined load would be too large for the charger. Another reason might be mixed battery technology (nickel metal for some and lithium for others) on the same circuit. Your charger wouldn’t like that.

Since the house batteries are no longer on the same circuit as the engine, why not just put the thruster batt in the circuit with the engine, where the house batts previously were? That way it would be charged by the engines.
 
Your boat has obviously been modified, so can’t comment more than to say my factory thruster is 24v and the two 12 v batteries hooked in series are charged from a 24v charger separate from the 12 volt 3 bank charger that handles the 2 engine banks and the gen set. Thruster batteries are only charged when on shore power or gen is running. I have no inverter.
 
My starboard bank is augmented by 3 extra dual pupose heavy duty batteries in parallel . My thruster runs off that, no issues . Some others have a separate thruster battery as you do. My setup is not perfect as I can’t separate sb engine from house. Anyway, it seems the funkier way to manage multiple banks in recent times, is a dc to dc charger setup, along with a smart charger of course. if you are planning any upgrades it sounds worth looking into, also upgraded alternators apparently improves charging oomph greatly.
 
As part of the salon/dinette seating refresh I needed to replace the seat cushions for the forward dinette seat and the salon sleeper sofa. I decided to go ahead and do that while I figure out the new fabric selection. These two cushions got 95% of the seating over the 21 years and were mush. Should have been replaced when I bought the boat 9 years ago. The dinette seat is 4” foam and the sofa seat strangely measured at 4.5”. I bought 5” foam for it. I used high density, firm foam (44 ILD). Here’s the result of the salon sofa seat. It was real easy. Remove a bunch of staples, peel back the vinyl and then replace old with new, then restaple. I reused the batting. Since the sofa cushion is now about 1/4” thicker than the original foam, it’s a snug fit with the backrest when you crank it up. The difference in firmness compared to the old cushion is unreal.
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Mine didn't work so it was easier to mount trumpet air horns on the port side bridge, and now they sound much better.
 
I can't find a drain in the trunk that holds the electric and water connections and between water splashing in the oval scupper at 7-8 knots and an occasional dripping water connection I seem to have a constant 1/2" of water in there.
Does anyone know of a fix?
 
03E9CEB4-AFA7-4BEE-B457-6605FC0BC260.jpeg
What charger do you have? Engine batteries are typically wired in parallel so even though you have 4 engine batteries, the charger only sees 2 banks of engine batteries. One more bank for the gen battery makes three battery banks. So you’re only maxed if your charger has three banks.

Looking at your drawing, it appears there is another port on the charger to charge these added on house batteries and the thruster. But I have a question. Are these 4x6V batteries (two 6v’s are in series, so really each pair looks to the system like a single 12v battery) the entire house battery bank? This circuit looks like 3 12v batteries in parallel. Nothing wrong with that.

The usual set up for our boats is for the starboard (if memory serves) engine batteries to also serve as house batteries. I’m assuming your prev owner separated the house circuit from the engine battery so now your SB engine batteries ONLY power the engine and the house DC is only from those four 6V batteries? Is that correct? Why did he do that? So you have deep cycle batteries on the house and starting batteries on the engines? Any mixing of battery technology or are all batteries the same type?

If so, there’s nothing wrong with that configuration. Except, as you noted, the house and thruster don’t get charged except from the gen or shore power. That charging only happens when the AC Converter breaker is ON. I don’t know if there is a “usual” way to do this but this isn’t uncommon. It’s certainly the easiest way to connect everything. Someone smarter than me may want to chime in here.

One reason you couldn’t splice your house and thruster battery connection (the 12v in your pic) into the same 12v circuit that connects to the engine batts might be that the combined load would be too large for the charger. Another reason might be mixed battery technology (nickel metal for some and lithium for others) on the same circuit. Your charger wouldn’t like that.

Since the house batteries are no longer on the same circuit as the engine, why not just put the thruster batt in the circuit with the engine, where the house batts previously were? That way it would be charged by the engines.

Thank you everyone for your input. The Cats have about 1300hrs and the Westerbeke about 900hrs. I have upgraded the alternators to 80amp from the stock 50amps and went to "self exciting" type without the isolater. Scooper321, you're correct in your understanding of the circuit as it is. There is a 3 bank charger that covers each engine and the generator. The starboard pair are dedicated to the DC house systems. A seperate charger/inverter (Freedom Combi) charges the added 6v array plus 12v thuster battery. The inverter also draws on this array. All of the batteries are standard lead acid low maintenance deep cycles. The set up also is very similar to My3sons with a few exceptions. I agree in theory that it should all work well and it does, with the exception of I seem to be going through more of the "thruster" battery (or 12v on the inverter bank) that I'd expect.

My current plan going into action soon is to add an additional 12v to the inverter/thruster bank and an Automatic Charge Relay (ACR) between the port engine bank and inverter/thruster bank. - with the goal of giving the thruster more cushion while increasing inverter capacity. The ACR should provide charge to the inverter/thruster bank while underway and keep each bank independent of draining. I chose port bank to link as the currnet draw is less on this side compared with the popular starboard side. I sketched the circuit. Any thoughts? See any issue with my logic?
 
As part of the salon/dinette seating refresh I needed to replace the seat cushions for the forward dinette seat and the salon sleeper sofa. I decided to go ahead and do that while I figure out the new fabric selection. These two cushions got 95% of the seating over the 21 years and were mush. Should have been replaced when I bought the boat 9 years ago. The dinette seat is 4” foam and the sofa seat strangely measured at 4.5”. I bought 5” foam for it. I used high density, firm foam (44 ILD). Here’s the result of the salon sofa seat. It was real easy. Remove a bunch of staples, peel back the vinyl and then replace old with new, then restaple. I reused the batting. Since the sofa cushion is now about 1/4” thicker than the original foam, it’s a snug fit with the backrest when you crank it up. The difference in firmness compared to the old cushion is unreal.
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Awesome job! My salon sleeper is the most uncomfortable seat and/or bed (does'nt help it doesnt lay flat when deployed). The foam and material just aren't warm or inviting. I didnt think much of it until I sat on the sofa of my buddy's 2002 Carver 400 - super comfortable, you actually want to sit on it! Its on my list someday...
 
Zz how are those picture frames attached to the fabric walls? On our boat I can see the outline marks where a po had frames attached to my saloon walls but no idea how it was done.
 
I can't find a drain in the trunk that holds the electric and water connections and between water splashing in the oval scupper at 7-8 knots and an occasional dripping water connection I seem to have a constant 1/2" of water in there.
Does anyone know of a fix?

I don't believe there IS a drain back there... it's a common annoyance.
 

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