The big old 80's 340 owners thread

Spent the weekend on the old girl and found/created a problem. My freshwater pump was running when I left for a couple hours, didn't think anything about untilI came back and it was still running. I check my water level and it was low. I filled the tank in the dark. Filled it until water sprayed from the vent and also out the fill opening. Capped it and turned the pump back on. Everything work as expected except now the pump wont shut off. Any ideas? Oh....its a 1986 Sundancer
 
A couple of things...
A) the pressure switch to shut the pump off is busted
or
B) You have a leak, and either the water is ending up in the sole of the boat (floor storage between galley and dinette) or in the bilge (lines to hot water tank or fresh water wash down leaking) and it is being pumped overboard.
 
I dont see any additional water. Where do I find the pressure switch?
 
Pressure switch is usually part of the pump itself,
but I would verify that you do not have a hidden leak by getting a visual on the water tank level, then let pump run for a long while, and then another visual on the tank level to see that it is exactly the same just to verify its the pump not turning off.
 
So it looks like my water pump is located under the stairs but I cant see how to remove them. Also, in order to access the water tank itself, do I have to remove the dinette seats?
 
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So it looks like my water pump is located under the stairs but I cant see how to remove them. Also, in order to access the water tank itself, do I have to remove the dinette seats?

I have an ‘88 340 Sundancer so there might be slight differences. However, my water pump is directly below the breaker panel behind the stairs. My stairs are not removable, therefore, I paid a poor guy last year to replace my pump. He had to do it blind and one-handed by reaching through an access hole in the stairs. Too bad I didn’t know then that my water tank was about shot.

I am replacing my water tank right now because it started leaking last month. Seems pretty common in this era and age sea Ray. Yes, it’s below the dinette. I added a picture here of the table, bench seats, and floor removed. Now I’m just waiting to see if someone can make a custom tank for me to fit the space.

Dan
 
DanW, Those pictures help a ton. Not the answer I was hoping for but it helps.
 
The stairs are removable.... On the top of the treads there are screws buried in the carpet. If you look for them you will find them. Remove the screws, remove the treads. Beneath the treads you will see where the stairs are attached to the bulkhead with a few screws. I can't remember how many but it's pretty easy to do. Big Sky your '86 has a different interior layout than Dan's boat. I know as I had an '89. The dinettes are on opposite sides. I replaced my pump with a newer on-demand pump that does not require an accumulator tank. I removed my stairs to do it. Have fun....

Shawn
 
Thanks Shawn. More good information. So how does the pressure system work. Seems to me that if there is a vent line that the tank would not pressurize unless there is some sort of valve on the vent line. My last boat had an on demand pump so this is new to me.
 
If I recall, and a LOT of brain cells have committed suicide since I owned my 340, there is a check valve in the vent line. Water and air can go out but not in when suction from the pump begins. The old pumps worked in conjunction with an accumulator tank. An accumulator tank is an important part of any pressure-controlled water system. Fitted close to the pump discharge, it acts as a pressure buffer, absorbing flow from the pump when demand is low, and smoothing the outlet pressure. By removing the need for the pump to run immediately an outlet is opened, the life of the pump is increased.

When I replaced my pump I installed an "on-demand" pump. The description stated I no longer needed the accumulator tank as the pressure switch sensed the demand and adjusted flow to compensate. If I recall, I left the accumulator in the system as it was a PITA to get to and remove. I did not experience any issues leaving it in but the recommendation was to remove it.

Again, your '86 interior layout is different than the '87-'89. In my '89 the water tank was under the raised floor of the dinette. I think I only paid about $130 for the new pump and it was a really easy job.

Shawn
 
Shawn, that sounds a lot more like they are “removable.” Haha. I understand it’s possible to remove them though.

Dan
 
The check valve in the vent line makes sense and based on what I experienced, I am really wondering if that is what failed. Based on your pictures from Dan, I am pretty sure my setup is the same. I was able to remove the bottom thread and I could see the connections to the tank. My steps, dinette and fill opening are on the port side. But I agree, it may be better in the long run to swap it out with an on demand pump.
 
I just checked and it's the '85 that had the dinette on the starboard side. Good luck with it all.
 
Hello, my 1979 340 EC splashed down yesterday after the bottom was painted and stuffing boxes were repacked. Engines fired right up no problems but I noticed a slight list to starboard while first put in and a bit worse after sitting in the slip for 24hrs. Bilge is dry today. Both gas tanks are 3/4 full, holding tank is empty. If water tank isn’t full might that cause it. Boat was in dry dock from 2011 till now and the hull was found to be sound by the surveyor. This is the first time her bottoms been wet in 7 years so hasn’t had enough time to have a soaked Hull could the engines have been replaced incorrectly after being rebuilt in 2009 causing a weight shift? Any thoughts you Classic Sea Ray experts??
 
If you mean 1989 rather than 1979 your water tank is on the port side. The capacity is 52 gallons. That times 8+ lbs. per gallon is over 400 lbs. That will definitely make a difference. Fill the water tank and see how she looks.
 
Thanks Nor Cal I’ll try that. Cheers!

Hi NorCal, I filled the water tank and that helped but still noticed a list about an inch Lower on the starboard side. I opened the Center deck space between the Mercs and noticed that although there was no water in the rear aft around the Westerbeke, there was water around the forward aft bilge pump so I switched it on manual and it was working but there’s a lot of crap around it. Shut off the manual switch and decided to make a trip to Home “despot” and get a small 2.5 gal wet/ dry vac. It was too late to go back last night but as soon as the rain clears today I am going to suck as much out as I can (only about 2 inches of water and gunk) get down there with some rags and do a little mop up. Would it be ok to pour some fresh water back in there and see if I can flush out the pump? I hope I can avoid calling in the experts. There was water on the outermost sides of the stringers but not high enough to cause alarm but there was about an inch more on the starboard side. The boat was in dry dock since 2011 splashed down Wednesday. I will vac out the water in this forward bilge as well. Rear bilge remains dry, thankfully.
 
Hi NorCal, I filled the water tank and that helped but still noticed a list about an inch Lower on the starboard side. I opened the Center deck space between the Mercs and noticed that although there was no water in the rear aft around the Westerbeke, there was water around the forward aft bilge pump so I switched it on manual and it was working but there’s a lot of crap around it. Shut off the manual switch and decided to make a trip to Home “despot” and get a small 2.5 gal wet/ dry vac. It was too late to go back last night but as soon as the rain clears today I am going to suck as much out as I can (only about 2 inches of water and gunk) get down there with some rags and do a little mop up. Would it be ok to pour some fresh water back in there and see if I can flush out the pump? I hope I can avoid calling in the experts. There was water on the outermost sides of the stringers but not high enough to cause alarm but there was about an inch more on the starboard side. The boat was in dry dock since 2011 splashed down Wednesday. I will vac out the water in this forward bilge as well. Rear bilge remains dry, thankfully.
There's no reason you can't put fresh water in the bilge to flush. I've actually taken a hose in with me and sprayed when cleaning.

Your boat has not been in the water for 6 or 7 years. I think I'd let it be for a while, take it out and do some short trips getting some vibration back in the boat. It may level itself out after a while. If I recall my old '89 340 was never perfectly level. I wouldn't worry too much about an inch.

Shawn
 

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