Official 380 Thread

Mine makes a ton of noise when the water is running and should probably be replaced at some point. What are you planning on using?
 
Here is the Grab Handle I put in a while back. They have been working great and we use them every time we go forward...

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There is one on each side....this is Port.

edit: I have a SS 5/8 nut and a couple of washers to space the handle out from the windshield frame. The windshield frame is curved so there was not enough room for your fingers between the grab rail and the frame. The thickness of the spacers is 1 1/2 inches. Now that I am happy with the grab rail, I will make some nylon spacers out of round stock. The SS nuts were cheap and available.

Cheers!
 
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Here is the latest project. We wanted a larger table in the cockpit so I made one. It is 36 wide and 60 on the long side so it lines up with the walkway.

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We can get up to 7 or 8 around it but 6 is perfect.

That works with the old saw 6 for cocktails, 4 for dinner bit 2 sleep on the boat!

Adios!
 
So the new table was quite a bit heavier than the fiberglass kidney table that came with the boat. I was concerned that the weight would stress the jackscrew that raises the hatch cover. So I added a pair of gas struts to give it a little boost.

Starboard strut:

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They really give the jackscrew a boost once it gets a little ways up. The geometry is such that when the hatch is at flat, there is no assist but the struts really give the hatch a boost. I can really hear the motor working less hard.

Ciao
 
Here are the specs on the struts:

20 inch
100 lb

Got them on Amazon for about 23 bucks. PAMAGOO brand (who makes up these names?...!)

I bent the brackets that are on the aluminum supports so that I could bolt them up. It does put the bolts in a little more shear load but I think the 2 1/4 -20 Stainless bolts will handle it.

Now there is one downside...the brackets are cad plated. I think I can hear the rust starting. I will need to find SS ones or maybe powder coat them.

Has anyone done home powder coating?

Cheers!
 
Looks like Sierra makes SS brackets and they sell on Amazon...
 
The other thing we did was we applied ZEP to the topside gelcoat. It was not holding wax at all and looked terrible. The only place that looked good was our ZEP test spot. So we stripped the wax and cleaned all the black marks and applied 5 coats of ZEP.

I could post pictures but they do not do the shine justice! It does not look like a 21 year old boat. Looks like it just left the factory.

Cheers!
 
Bruce SEA 993 said:
Here are the specs on the struts:



Has anyone done home powder coating?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

I have, it's fairly easy. Just clean off the metal really well, hang it, attach the voltage wires to the metal and spray. Then hang it an oven for however long the material says (I think it's normally 30 minutes at 200F?)

I have an older version of this kit and it works well enough for personal use.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-pcs-250-dual-voltage-powder-coating-gun-starter-kit.html
I haven't used it since we moved into our new house and I don't have a 240v plug installed yet for my oven.
 
I think I would have to buy the SS brackets unless I come up with a lot of projects to powder coat.

Thanks!
 
Hey All,
I'm going to look at a 2006 38 Sundancer today, and wondering if anyone has any suggestions on certain things to look for, specific to that size and year. We have a 2001 290 now, which we love, but it's very tight for a family of 4, including 2 grown kids. The 38 we're going to see has 8.1 Horizon freshwater-cooled V drives, with about 550 hours.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!
 
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Question about the dinette bench seat in the 2006 38 I looked at today. The broker said the boat wasn’t originally ordered with whatever is required to convert that bench into a sleeping berth.

Does anyone know if that sounds correct that a convertible bench was an option?

If so, does anyone know if I’d be able to purchase whatever’s needed to convert it now?

The sleeping space is one of the main reasons we’re considering an upgrade to a 38 or 390 (from our 290). So if that bench can’t be converted to a berth for two people, it’s a deal breaker for us.

Appreciate any input, advice or suggestions. Thanks!
 
Gordon Jukes said:
As far as I know, the convertible dinette was standard. I’d remove the cushions and look to see if the hardware is there.
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Thanks Gordon. That’s what I would’ve thought too. Do you know how it converts, or what I’d be looking for? In other words, does it pull out, or is there some type board or table that mounts to a shorter leg?
 
It should slide out. Once the table is out of the way. The base is mounted on drawer slides basically. Not much different then what you’d have in your kitchen cabinets at home. Just heavier duty. I just grab the front of couch from underneath (at the front)and give it a pull
 
Gordon Jukes said:
It should slide out. Once the table is out of the way. The base is mounted on drawer slides basically. Not much different then what you’d have in your kitchen cabinets at home. Just heavier duty. I just grab the front of couch from underneath (at the front)and give it a pull
Click to expand...
Ok perfect, thanks again!
 
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