OFFICIAL 350/370 DA Thread (2008 or newer)

Thanks for your reply Kaz. The boat was not left on a lift but sat around the dock and was not used enough.
I was thinking of changing the complete gimbal housing but hope it doesn't come down to that.
Can anyone recommend a Certified Mercruiser repair shop on the LI Sound near Mt. Sinai NY including the Connecticut area? Thanks, J-Rod
 
1) Does anyone have the bow cushion cover to protect the lounge chairs and if so, was it custom made? I have seen a few 350/370 boats with the cover and cant find where to purchase and am going to see if I can get one made.
2) I am troubleshooting the stereo system and I have prints from SR. It does not show the bow speakers on the standard or the premium stereo prints. does anybody know if the little chrome case bow speakers are wired directly to the Clarion stereo or do they come from an amp?
 
Never could figure out how to get those little speakers working. I'd recommend rewiring them to your main amp.
 
Never could figure out how to get those little speakers working. I'd recommend rewiring them to your main amp.
Did some checking over the weekend and found the MP3 ipod connector/1/4" mini jack located in the stbd clothes locker by the V-Birth feeds the little bow bullet speakers by the cushions. This is without the main Clarion stereo or the cabin & cockpit amps powered on. Not sure if the unit mounted behind the locker has a small amp built in because it does have 12v to charge the ipod if using the ipod jack. I can not find the swim platform transom 50Wx2 Chan.Panasonic amp. I checked behind the main Clarion system where people said it should be and checked behind the mid cabin stbd cushion where the Cockpit 400Wx4 Chan. Panasonic is located. The Cabin 50Wx2 Chan. Panasonic amp is mounted on the backside but I cant find the transom Amp. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I also noticed when selecting the dash mounted cockpit stereo micro switch, it lights up blue and mutes the transom speakers and acts like a mute switch when lit. Is this how its supposed to function?
 
Hello to the 350/370 owners out there. I'm starting the search for our next boat and am taking a really good look at the 2008-2009 350.

While I believe that I would much prefer the ease of maintenance and dockability of the v drives, I'm curious to hear of your experiences with the Axius system as well. There are decidedly more sterndrive boats for sale at any given time, so I don't want to rule them out entirely. My primary fear with the sterndrives is the early axius system. Any thoughts you've got on this or experiences would be helpful.

In addition, looking for insight on whether it's a comfortable boat to spend the weekend on for a couple. This is the primary reason we are looking to move up from our current 280 sundancer into something bigger. Is the shower reasonable for someone 6'2" to actually use? Is the bed comfortable and large enough? Good enough size down below to hang out in the event of inclement weather?

Thanks for any feedback and help you can provide!

John
 
Hello to the 350/370 owners out there. I'm starting the search for our next boat and am taking a really good look at the 2008-2009 350.

While I believe that I would much prefer the ease of maintenance and dockability of the v drives, I'm curious to hear of your experiences with the Axius system as well. There are decidedly more sterndrive boats for sale at any given time, so I don't want to rule them out entirely. My primary fear with the sterndrives is the early axius system. Any thoughts you've got on this or experiences would be helpful.

In addition, looking for insight on whether it's a comfortable boat to spend the weekend on for a couple. This is the primary reason we are looking to move up from our current 280 sundancer into something bigger. Is the shower reasonable for someone 6'2" to actually use? Is the bed comfortable and large enough? Good enough size down below to hang out in the event of inclement weather?

Thanks for any feedback and help you can provide!

John


John:

We've had our 2008 since 2008 and its been a good boat, comfortable and plenty of head room in the cabin and shower. It's a fast boat, good looking, lots of power and eats gas like no ones business. Great in bad weather and heavy seas, lots of bells and whistles and incredibly fun to entertain on and swim from,, its a Dancer.

I like the Vdrives, no maintenance and very little likelihood of hitting anything with them versus the pods, and easy to maneuver. But you'd have to get other opinions on pods, I only know from having over unit Bravo 3's in the past and with those I went through some props and tense moments in shallow water. VBerth is adequate and other berths are good if you want to spread out.

Now,, to be up front,, you're gonna want to check a lot of things as at 10-11 years, thats when things need to be replaced or should have been replaced already. Depending where you boat,, salt/brackish or fresh water, gas or diesel,,and hours on the engines,, you'll want to make sure its been maintained. For gas engines,, it should have big Horizon 8.1's,,, If so,,,I'd check the following: the Exhaust manifolds should have been changed after 7-8 years, if not, budget @$2000 each engine with installation. there are 2 Gen 3 cool fuel units and they should have been replaced as the originals were defective. Make sure they were replaced as they absolutely need to be to prevent damage to the injectors,, budget @$1200 each engine plus $200-$400 installation. Fuel pumps and water pumps also are likely due for replacement, few hundred $ per engine. The generator (if it has one) probably a Kohler,, these are being destroyed by ethanol (if its gas engines),, I've put thousands into mine and it only has 210 hours on it,, I'd negotiate heavily on it being in top shape or have them service it. Also, regarding the Generator,, make sure and check the date on the CO2 detector in the cabin. Its time stamped to expire after a few years and when it does, its connected to the generator and will prevent it from running until its replaced,,totally shuts its down,, worst of all, the original CO2 unit was discontinued,, so,, it needs a replacement CO2 unit with an extra module that needs to be re-wired differently and requires an electrician to install the new wiring ($300). Canvases should have been replaced at least once ($900), carpets as well ($500),, The 2 ceiling Windows on bow: Believe me,, The caulk breaks down after@ 7 years and they leak into the cabin into the roof lining (a lot of water!). The windows absolutely have to be removed and re-caulked very heavily @ year 7. The horn should have been replaced as they collect and store water and short out after@ 5 years. The rear swim pad speakers need replacing every 5 years as they degrade ($100) , Stereo amplifier ($200),, make sure its working,,if not replace,, finally,, the VHF radio. The original equipment was Raymarine. They were cheap and defective, and discontinued @ 2010. You'll want to make sure its been replaced as it certainly will be on its last leg and hard to get at,,($300).

Good luck and stay in touch. Happy to impart my experiences with the 350.

Pilot
 
John:

We've had our 2008 since 2008 and its been a good boat, comfortable and plenty of head room in the cabin and shower. It's a fast boat, good looking, lots of power and eats gas like no ones business. Great in bad weather and heavy seas, lots of bells and whistles and incredibly fun to entertain on and swim from,, its a Dancer.

I like the Vdrives, no maintenance and very little likelihood of hitting anything with them versus the pods, and easy to maneuver. But you'd have to get other opinions on pods, I only know from having over unit Bravo 3's in the past and with those I went through some props and tense moments in shallow water. VBerth is adequate and other berths are good if you want to spread out.

Now,, to be up front,, you're gonna want to check a lot of things as at 10-11 years, thats when things need to be replaced or should have been replaced already. Depending where you boat,, salt/brackish or fresh water, gas or diesel,,and hours on the engines,, you'll want to make sure its been maintained. For gas engines,, it should have big Horizon 8.1's,,, If so,,,I'd check the following: the Exhaust manifolds should have been changed after 7-8 years, if not, budget @$2000 each engine with installation. there are 2 Gen 3 cool fuel units and they should have been replaced as the originals were defective. Make sure they were replaced as they absolutely need to be to prevent damage to the injectors,, budget @$1200 each engine plus $200-$400 installation. Fuel pumps and water pumps also are likely due for replacement, few hundred $ per engine. The generator (if it has one) probably a Kohler,, these are being destroyed by ethanol (if its gas engines),, I've put thousands into mine and it only has 210 hours on it,, I'd negotiate heavily on it being in top shape or have them service it. Also, regarding the Generator,, make sure and check the date on the CO2 detector in the cabin. Its time stamped to expire after a few years and when it does, its connected to the generator and will prevent it from running until its replaced,,totally shuts its down,, worst of all, the original CO2 unit was discontinued,, so,, it needs a replacement CO2 unit with an extra module that needs to be re-wired differently and requires an electrician to install the new wiring ($300). Canvases should have been replaced at least once ($900), carpets as well ($500),, The 2 ceiling Windows on bow: Believe me,, The caulk breaks down after@ 7 years and they leak into the cabin into the roof lining (a lot of water!). The windows absolutely have to be removed and re-caulked very heavily @ year 7. The horn should have been replaced as they collect and store water and short out after@ 5 years. The rear swim pad speakers need replacing every 5 years as they degrade ($100) , Stereo amplifier ($200),, make sure its working,,if not replace,, finally,, the VHF radio. The original equipment was Raymarine. They were cheap and defective, and discontinued @ 2010. You'll want to make sure its been replaced as it certainly will be on its last leg and hard to get at,,($300).

Good luck and stay in touch. Happy to impart my experiences with the 350.

Pilot

Exactly the type of information I was hoping to learn, thank you for such a great description! Our current 280 was a similar project and I’ve spent the last 2 seasons making it right, so nothing from the maintenance perspective is a major surprise, there’s just a lot more to keep up with on a boat this big!

Compared to other boats you’ve owned is this one notably thirstier? I’m in Chicago so a lot of our time is spent on short cruises or at anchor, so the fuel burn doesn’t scare me too badly, but maybe it should. Per the smart craft gauges the best I can typically get out of my 280 is 1.2, which is in ideal conditions, so the .7 or .8 I have read about doesn’t seem too terrible.

I have gotten to take a look at a couple 350/370s from the outside but haven’t yet gotten down in the cabin for a closer look. That will be the next step.

Thanks so much,
John
 
John:

We've had our 2008 since 2008 and its been a good boat, comfortable and plenty of head room in the cabin and shower. It's a fast boat, good looking, lots of power and eats gas like no ones business. Great in bad weather and heavy seas, lots of bells and whistles and incredibly fun to entertain on and swim from,, its a Dancer.

I like the Vdrives, no maintenance and very little likelihood of hitting anything with them versus the pods, and easy to maneuver. But you'd have to get other opinions on pods, I only know from having over unit Bravo 3's in the past and with those I went through some props and tense moments in shallow water. VBerth is adequate and other berths are good if you want to spread out.

Now,, to be up front,, you're gonna want to check a lot of things as at 10-11 years, thats when things need to be replaced or should have been replaced already. Depending where you boat,, salt/brackish or fresh water, gas or diesel,,and hours on the engines,, you'll want to make sure its been maintained. For gas engines,, it should have big Horizon 8.1's,,, If so,,,I'd check the following: the Exhaust manifolds should have been changed after 7-8 years, if not, budget @$2000 each engine with installation. there are 2 Gen 3 cool fuel units and they should have been replaced as the originals were defective. Make sure they were replaced as they absolutely need to be to prevent damage to the injectors,, budget @$1200 each engine plus $200-$400 installation. Fuel pumps and water pumps also are likely due for replacement, few hundred $ per engine. The generator (if it has one) probably a Kohler,, these are being destroyed by ethanol (if its gas engines),, I've put thousands into mine and it only has 210 hours on it,, I'd negotiate heavily on it being in top shape or have them service it. Also, regarding the Generator,, make sure and check the date on the CO2 detector in the cabin. Its time stamped to expire after a few years and when it does, its connected to the generator and will prevent it from running until its replaced,,totally shuts its down,, worst of all, the original CO2 unit was discontinued,, so,, it needs a replacement CO2 unit with an extra module that needs to be re-wired differently and requires an electrician to install the new wiring ($300). Canvases should have been replaced at least once ($900), carpets as well ($500),, The 2 ceiling Windows on bow: Believe me,, The caulk breaks down after@ 7 years and they leak into the cabin into the roof lining (a lot of water!). The windows absolutely have to be removed and re-caulked very heavily @ year 7. The horn should have been replaced as they collect and store water and short out after@ 5 years. The rear swim pad speakers need replacing every 5 years as they degrade ($100) , Stereo amplifier ($200),, make sure its working,,if not replace,, finally,, the VHF radio. The original equipment was Raymarine. They were cheap and defective, and discontinued @ 2010. You'll want to make sure its been replaced as it certainly will be on its last leg and hard to get at,,($300).

Good luck and stay in touch. Happy to impart my experiences with the 350.

Pilot
Pilot, great summary post. I have found the same issues with our 2008 350. The generator took a while to flesh out but the CO2 detector was the culprit. The only items on your list we have not touched is the windows. The calk still looks good.

Thank you for taking the time for your post.
 
Exactly the type of information I was hoping to learn, thank you for such a great description! Our current 280 was a similar project and I’ve spent the last 2 seasons making it right, so nothing from the maintenance perspective is a major surprise, there’s just a lot more to keep up with on a boat this big!

Compared to other boats you’ve owned is this one notably thirstier? I’m in Chicago so a lot of our time is spent on short cruises or at anchor, so the fuel burn doesn’t scare me too badly, but maybe it should. Per the smart craft gauges the best I can typically get out of my 280 is 1.2, which is in ideal conditions, so the .7 or .8 I have read about doesn’t seem too terrible.

I have gotten to take a look at a couple 350/370s from the outside but haven’t yet gotten down in the cabin for a closer look. That will be the next step.

Thanks so much,
John
Yep, its very thirsty but only when the engines are running.:)
We tend to go from point A to point B a lot or just float around in the Chesapeake Bay, so its not terribly expensive, just when you take long trips. My only regret is that I didn't go with Diesel engines when we bought. Recommend running lots of Startron as well. Especially if your tanks are feeding a generator.

Good luck! PS if you buy it and launch by August 15, we'll be in Chicago a few days and would love to go for a ride.
 
This past weekend my bilge blowers both stop working, but both switches (dashboard and on the panel below) light up when switched on. I did a quick search thinking it was a fuse problem since both blowers are not working, but I am unable to find the fuse location or just over looked it. Has any one else had this problem or know where the fuse might be located? I plan to do some more checking this weekend, but in need of a little help. Thanks.
 
Pilot, great summary post. I have found the same issues with our 2008 350. The generator took a while to flesh out but the CO2 detector was the culprit. The only items on your list we have not touched is the windows. The calk still looks good.

Thank you for taking the time for your post.

We just bought our 2009 350/370 last October and have done the "10 year old boat-chase the alarm" exercise on several things. 1st, our neutral shift cable (about 1 foot long that connects our DTS to the shift unit on the engine) apparently died and the engine was governed at 1100rpm for our 3 mile ride home while the alarm shrieked. That's not fun, but the cables are $40 each and take 20 minutes to install, so did both. Our caulk was already replaced obvious from the terrible job, but on very thickly. Generator impeller needed replacing, as identified by LOC signals. Check the strainers on the through-hull on that issue too.

As for efficiency, there is a Boat Test out there on the interweb that showed max efficiency for these boats at around 28mph at 0.8mpg. I find mine at about 29mph at about 1mpg, so pretty close, and obviously it may depend on fuel and water loads, people, gear, etc. We like 8-9 knots (downwind) around Tellico Lake where we keep our boat.

Its a great boat once you get to know it. We moved up from a bow rider, so it was a bit of a change, but worth it. It's been a blast this summer, and much more time to go! Cheers!
 
We just bought our 2009 350/370 last October and have done the "10 year old boat-chase the alarm" exercise on several things. 1st, our neutral shift cable (about 1 foot long that connects our DTS to the shift unit on the engine) apparently died and the engine was governed at 1100rpm for our 3 mile ride home while the alarm shrieked. That's not fun, but the cables are $40 each and take 20 minutes to install, so did both. Our caulk was already replaced obvious from the terrible job, but on very thickly. Generator impeller needed replacing, as identified by LOC signals. Check the strainers on the through-hull on that issue too.

As for efficiency, there is a Boat Test out there on the interweb that showed max efficiency for these boats at around 28mph at 0.8mpg. I find mine at about 29mph at about 1mpg, so pretty close, and obviously it may depend on fuel and water loads, people, gear, etc. We like 8-9 knots (downwind) around Tellico Lake where we keep our boat.

Its a great boat once you get to know it. We moved up from a bow rider, so it was a bit of a change, but worth it. It's been a blast this summer, and much more time to go! Cheers!

Wicked, is your 350 a V-drive or Sterndrive boat?
 
We just bought our 2009 350/370 last October and have done the "10 year old boat-chase the alarm" exercise on several things. 1st, our neutral shift cable (about 1 foot long that connects our DTS to the shift unit on the engine) apparently died and the engine was governed at 1100rpm for our 3 mile ride home while the alarm shrieked. That's not fun, but the cables are $40 each and take 20 minutes to install, so did both. Our caulk was already replaced obvious from the terrible job, but on very thickly. Generator impeller needed replacing, as identified by LOC signals. Check the strainers on the through-hull on that issue too.

As for efficiency, there is a Boat Test out there on the interweb that showed max efficiency for these boats at around 28mph at 0.8mpg. I find mine at about 29mph at about 1mpg, so pretty close, and obviously it may depend on fuel and water loads, people, gear, etc. We like 8-9 knots (downwind) around Tellico Lake where we keep our boat.

Its a great boat once you get to know it. We moved up from a bow rider, so it was a bit of a change, but worth it. It's been a blast this summer, and much more time to go! Cheers!
I just noticed the boat test I referred to is now archived on Boat Test, so unfortunately the data I referenced isn't as readily available as it was when I last checked. The boat they tested was a 2014 370 I think.
 
This thread is awfully quiet, but I'm sure I'll have lots of questions very soon. Took us a while to find the right one, but we are currently under contract on a 2013 370. Very much looking forward to getting to know the boat better, it's quite a bit of a shocker compared to our 280 but I'm assuming that we'll get used to it with time. The boat is a V drive with 8.2s, so I'm sure she'll be thirsty, but the comfortable ride and space to weekend will be a huge improvement.
 
Has anyone out there replaced their bow speakers? If so, what did you use for a replacement? Sea Ray no longer supports spare parts for these speakers.
 
Has anyone out there replaced their bow speakers? If so, what did you use for a replacement? Sea Ray no longer supports spare parts for these speakers.
Ours never worked since the boat was new, but they supposedly aren't connected to the main speakers? I've plugged into the closet adapter but again, nothing. I would recommend rewiring them and fishing the lines to a separate switch and the to your main speakers so they can be operated when needed.
 
Has anyone out there replaced their bow speakers? If so, what did you use for a replacement? Sea Ray no longer supports spare parts for these speakers.
I was looking at using chrome motorcycle handlebar speakers as a possible replacement for my bow speakers.
 
As noted above, we are hoping to close on our new "to us" 2013 370 later this week. Oddly, the boat does not have the cockpit table or the post, both are missing from the previous owner. They are available through sea ray for around $800 total, however I'd like to understand if you guys with the "Factory" sea ray cockpit table have any complaints about it. I'd consider going aftermarket if your experiences aren't positive. I do like that the OEM table Is designed to work with the cushions to make it into a sunpad so I'm hedging toward the factory table.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
John
 

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