460 DA Owners Thread

Wet sanding and polishing has begun...:) I love my winter hobby. LOL I have only gotten below the rub rail to the flared edge STBD. side thus far...I calculated that I have 165 working days left to finish the rest. Guess I better get busy!

IMG_4117.jpg
 
Well guys, made the plunge. Looks like I'm no longer a 44DB owner, and now a 2017 460 DA owner. (I will post this in both the 460DA and 44DB forum pages, so please forgive the redundancy.)

We loved the 44DB, but we made the move for a couple of reasons:

1. we love the layout of the newer 460. We really wanted two usable staterooms, and the 460 checks that box very well.

2. we love having a salon for entertaining that is separate from sleeping area and the newer 460 has a great salon with excellent flow from the aft deck (44DB has a great salon too).

3. we loved most things about a bridge boat, except having people on 2 levels when entertaining. We also recently got a new lab puppy, and we feared she'd end up falling down the stairs while underway (yes I know you can shut the hatch).

4. I did not like all the canvas and isinglass on the 44. Newer 460 is hard top with real glass with a giant retractable roof to let air in.

5. Everything is 11 years newer. The electronics are much better throughout.

I will miss driving from above, I think the visibility forward is awesome on bridge boats. I will miss the bow thruster coupled with the big wheels - with a little practice the handling on the 44DB is unbelievable and I was constantly amazing friends with how I could drop that big boat into small spaces.

I'm rolling the dice on pods, having read a lot of the negative comments here and elsewhere on early generations of the Zeus Pods. I believe if they are properly maintained they are reliable and efficient. The new boat came with 4 years of warranty remaining, so this helped my comfort level.

Now I've just got to get the boat back from Grand Haven before the lakes turn into a skating rink.

Here are a couple of pics of the new baby:
2017 460DA  (0).jpg
2017 460DA  (3).jpg
2017 460DA  (5).jpg


Scott
 
Last edited:
On the 480CE installed in the 2005 460, there is an issue called stall/stumble. On the boat I owned, it only reared it's head when starting a fully warmed engine. It would start then immediately die. On the second start attempt all was fine. I never had it die after a successful start. The fix was to have Cummins update the ECM. No problems after that. The ECM controlled 480CE idled fine at the set 600 as well as the slow idle of 550.
This was exactly the issue. Cummins came and re-programmed. All good now. You saved a great boat. The owners were starting to get leery of it quitting like that.
 
Well guys, made the plunge. Looks like I'm no longer a 44DB owner, and now a 2017 460 DA owner. (I will post this in both the 460DA and 44DB forum pages, so please forgive the redundancy.)

We loved the 44DB, but we made the move for a couple of reasons:

1. we love the layout of the newer 460. We really wanted two usable staterooms, and the 460 checks that box very well.

2. we love having a salon for entertaining that is separate from sleeping area and the newer 460 has a great salon with excellent flow from the aft deck (44DB has a great salon too).

3. we loved most things about a bridge boat, except having people on 2 levels when entertaining. We also recently got a new lab puppy, and we feared she'd end up falling down the stairs while underway (yes I know you can shut the hatch).

4. I did not like all the canvas and isinglass on the 44. Newer 460 is hard top with real glass with a giant retractable roof to let air in.

5. Everything is 11 years newer. The electronics are much better throughout.

I will miss driving from above, I think the visibility forward is awesome on bridge boats. I will miss the bow thruster coupled with the big wheels - with a little practice the handling on the 44DB is unbelievable and I was constantly amazing friends with how I could drop that big boat into small spaces.

I'm rolling the dice on pods, having read a lot of the negative comments here and elsewhere on early generations of the Zeus Pods. I believe if they are properly maintained they are reliable and efficient. The new boat came with 4 years of warranty remaining, so this helped my comfort level.

Now I've just got to get the boat back from Grand Haven before the lakes turn into a skating rink.

Here are a couple of pics of the new baby:
View attachment 76146 View attachment 76147 View attachment 76148

Scott

Congratulations on the new boat. You will have to keep posting on how you like the pods and the other amenities of a new one.
 
Interesting. Do you have a final pic of it from the back?
 
Dry fit tonight to see what I have to deal with in the bilge under the genny. The bottom paint will be here tomorrow so that I can take care of that aspect before installing.

The pictures look a little out of skew because I have to edit them and make them "square" in pixel size before I can upload. For some reason CSR will always turn my standard photos from iPhone sideways and the only way I found to correct it was to edit every picture and make the horizontal and vertical pixel size match.

IMG_4210.jpg
IMG_4209.jpg
 
Never really thought of a stern thruster for our boat but it's an interesting project. I see you have the T'NT lift, or is it? My GHS has a bit more hardware off the transom but a unit like that would still fit.
How much does it weigh?
 
Last edited:
Never really thought of a stern thruster for our boat but it's an interesting project. I see you have the T'NT lift, or is it? My GHS has a bit more hardware off the transom but a unit like that would still fit.
How much does it weigh?

Not a TNT...similar to a hide a davit. Very little weight as it is attached under platform and the platform is factory standard. I don’t think all the parts total weighed 100lbs.
 
I see you have resin on the main hole edges. Did you do the bolt holes too? Just remember overkill on details as you don't get a second chance to do it right! Not an area you want problems! Nice work so far! Keep posting the pics!
 
I see you have resin on the main hole edges. Did you do the bolt holes too? Just remember overkill on details as you don't get a second chance to do it right! Not an area you want problems! Nice work so far! Keep posting the pics!

Thanks!
I was debating to do that as I know they will get filled with Sikaflex, but you're right...do it now and not regret it later.

Just trying to figure how best to get the resin in the hole without making the hole smaller then having to re-drill.???
 
You will like the stern thruster, ours had it and was hand on a windy day for a bit of fine tuning. I also added the diverters as the supports on my GHS lift would cause water to cover the platform when used.
 
Just trying to figure how best to get the resin in the hole without making the hole smaller then having to re-drill.???

When we installed our Perko underwater lights years ago, we followed Sea Ray factory recommendation and countersunk the middle a bit, epoxied and then re-drilled the epoxy to the correct size. Can't be too careful when there's encapsulated plywood in the transom, IMO.
 
Call me crazy...but I wanted to be certain the thruster motor was going to fit between the sea cocks as expected. You can measure 100 ways to Sunday, but until you see it in place, its hard to tell. Considering that the thruster motor weighs in at 66 lbs...trying to hold it up by hand in the proper place and make the measurements seemed impractical, I mocked up a simulated thruster that weighted in at 2 lbs. It doesn't look pretty but it did the job.

With the tunnel still dry mounted and the intermediate flange installed I fabricated a replica of the motor and mounting flange. Due to the limited height above the motor I will have to turn it on its side to allow the relays to fit, otherwise it would bump into the steering connector. You may ask, "why didn't you lower the hole enough to clear the steering assembly"...well, the zinc is in the way and I didn't want to mess with that. Also, it placed the motor between the sea cocks and quite close to the bilge bumps. 2" lower created, what seemed like, a lot more work. So, it is where it is now...LOL

Flush mounted the battery switch which will go in the port side stern locker. Easy access if needed and very easy to run the 00 AWG wire to. The bottom paint primer will be here Monday so I can prep the tunnel and get that installed, then I will need to have a bracket made to support the weight of the thruster. I have the design done and now I will go to my fabricator buddy and see what he can do...more to follow!
59433799696__EA7B2080-BB63-4A1E-8FE2-D849EDFEA9FD.JPG
IMG_4227.jpg
IMG_4228.jpg
IMG_4229.jpg
View attachment 76520
IMG_4232.jpg
IMG_4234.jpg
 
Last edited:
Call me crazy...but I wanted to be certain the thruster motor was going to fit between the sea cocks as expected. You can measure 100 ways to Sunday, but until you see it in place, its hard to tell. Considering that the thruster motor weighs in at 66 lbs...trying to hold it up by hand in the proper place and make the measurements seemed impractical, I mocked up a simulated thruster that weighted in at 2 lbs. It doesn't look pretty but it did the job.

With the tunnel still dry mounted and the intermediate flange installed I fabricated a replica of the motor and mounting flange. Due to the limited height above the motor I will have to turn it on its side to allow the relays to fit, otherwise it would bump into the steering connector. You may ask, "why didn't you lower the hole enough to clear the steering assembly"...well, the zinc is in the way and I didn't want to mess with that. Also, it placed the motor between the sea cocks and quite close to the bilge bumps. 2" lower created, what seemed like, a lot more work. So, it is where it is now...LOL

Flush mounted the battery switch which will go in the port side stern locker. Easy access if needed and very easy to run the 00 AWG wire to. The bottom paint primer will be here Monday so I can prep the tunnel and get that installed, then I will need to have a bracket made to support the weight of the thruster. I have the design done and now I will go to my fabricator buddy and see what he can do...more to follow!
View attachment 76516 View attachment 76517 View attachment 76518 View attachment 76519 View attachment 76520 View attachment 76521 View attachment 76522


So I bet the wife feels good that this is only costing 250.00. Lol
love seeing the install pics. Makes me want to do same project.
 
So I bet the wife feels good that this is only costing 250.00. Lol
love seeing the install pics. Makes me want to do same project.

That is true on nearly every other project...LOL
But she asked/wanted this one done, so no "secrets' here! I had quotes from 2 companies to come and install it...the bid was over $12,000 for each company. Another company would sell me the parts and it was going to be $11,000...granted they wanted me to install 2 thrusts at the stern, (Surface exterior mount units), but that just seemed like twice the work.
So far I am into the entire project for $4,028.00 with the proper hole saw, gallon of bottom paint (Sea Hawk Cukote) and various other small parts. Only need to purchase the battery, single bank charger and 00 awg wire to finalize the connections. I should have the motor installed yet this week....so it really is pretty economical..in boat terms. AND the most important part...the Admiral is happy!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,942
Messages
1,422,697
Members
60,926
Latest member
dander88
Back
Top