40 sedan bridge forum

I took possession of my 480 yesterday. I am selling my 400 and want to tell everybody before I list it with a broker. I have had in on Boat Trader for three weeks and had one call. I have had a lot of brokers contact me though......go figure. Anyway, PM if you want the details. I will say it is the nicest one around and I hate parting with her.

Put it on craigslist in your area plus other areas you want exposure. Take lots of pics and give a detailed write up. Be realistic on pricing.

I sold my last boat on CL and bought my present boat on CL. Don't waste your time with brokers unless you just want to give away your money.
 
Hey all. I just wanted to give a quick review of Duplicolor Vinyl paint.

GREAT!

I sprayed my front window screen cover with gloss black. It took 1.5 cans to do the whole thing but it looks great! I don't have pics of it on the boat but I'll post one showing about halfway through the process.
 

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Hey there everyone! - quick question. I noticed this weekend that the volume of air exiting the starboard salon AC vent is really weak. Is this normal? All the other vents on the boat put out a lot of air volume, however that one feels like it is barley moving air at all. Any suggestions?
 
Ok another question - the lights (I think they are the galley lights) that are above the windshield. How do those turn on? I assumed that the turn on via a switch labeled Galley on the starboard side of the kitchen cabinet. Not the one next to the fan switch (that seems to only turn on the light above the cooktop). I took the switch off and it appears to get 12 volts. I then took one of the lights down and got no power at all, no matter what position the switch was in. I took off the light closest to the starboard side. Any thoughts?
 
Ok another question - the lights (I think they are the galley lights) that are above the windshield. How do those turn on? I assumed that the turn on via a switch labeled Galley on the starboard side of the kitchen cabinet. Not the one next to the fswitch (that seems to only turn on the light above the cooktop). I took the switch off and it appears to get 12 volts. I then took one of the lights down and got no power at all, no matter what position the switch was in. I took off the light closest to the starboard side. Any thoughts?
Mine are located starboard side of the stairs on the side of the high countertop. Check those switches.
 
Hey there everyone! - quick question. I noticed this weekend that the volume of air exiting the starboard salon AC vent is really weak. Is this normal? All the other vents on the boat put out a lot of air volume, however that one feels like it is barley moving air at all. Any suggestions?
Yup. Totally normal. I replaced my ac unit last year and was surprised to see how narrow the hole was in the air opening on that side of the metal air plenum bolted to the fan. Even though the hose is about 4", the opening in the plenum is about 1 1/2" in diameter. There is room to cut out the metal opening to twice the diameter.
 
So today I decided to change out my holding tank vent filter.

I'm not impressed with paying around $100 for a new one, so I found this on youtube:

[yt]

Went to Lowes, bought the PVC fittings (about $3.50), then went to Petsmart and bought the activated charcoal
2031106


Went and removed my old filter, took the wrapper off, cut out a 1 1/2" section, cleaned out the old charcoal, put a metal screen on either end (inside), filled with new charcoal. I have enough charcoal to refill next time as well.

All in all project took about an hour total, with a cost less than $10.
 
My cockpit has a large drain on the starboard side of the cockpit, that's it.

Maybe the port drain was an option? I looked at several other 400SB's and they only had one drain as well.
FWIW, my SB400 has 2 scupper drains in the cockpit (port and starboard (aft)), too... will try to remember to take pics when I'm on board tomorrow.
 
Has anyone done a replacement in kind of the 1.7 Cu Refrigerator in the Helm/Cockpit?
Yup... was one of my winter 2017/2018 projects... replaced the (very) old white Isotherm with a new silver unit... from memory, here's the procedure:
- turn off power ac and dc :)
- remove screws on existing refrigerator flange
- "break" old silicone seal around flange with box cutter
- old unit slides out (with some (ahem) "persuasion") - expect to destroy the old flange in this process!
- cleaned up old silicone
- install new flange on new unit, then connect power, slide it in, screw and silicone - job done!

I bought an Isotherm Cruise 49 Elegance, Silver AC/DC from Great Water Marine ($934.62 inc shipping and "free" new flange) - 866-209-6132. Very helpful and great service.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Simon
 

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I have a couple of questions/concerns (which may be completely unfounded), one fairly simple and one, perhaps, less so:
  1. My starboard volt meter doesn't appear to show the batteries getting any charge when underway (stays at 12V even at 2100 rpm - see pics). Even in my slip, in neutral, if I increase the revs on the Port engine the gauge needle moves up to 13V (or more), but the Starboard gauge needle will not budge... any thoughts as to what I should check?... and how?
  2. My starboard engine gauge went up to >200F once last season (so I immediately shut the engine down, even though the Sea Ray panel was showing "All Systems Normal")... once safely in my home port, I cleaned the raw water filters and checked the impeller (which was fine)... I then tried to recreate the event, but (touch wood) the situation has not recurred (I assume it was either a sticking thermostat, or something had temporarily blocked the intake - a plastic bag, maybe?)... even so, or maybe especially because of what happened, I'm over-sensitive to the starboard engine temp... according to the gauges, it does appear to be running a little hotter than the port engine when underway - Port approx 170F vs Starboard approx. 180F - see pics... or am I being overly paranoid? Thoughts?
Cheers,
Simon

PS My log never worked... even when it's clean and free-spinning, so ignore the speed - we were cruising at ~19kts
 

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I have a couple of questions/concerns (which may be completely unfounded), one fairly simple and one, perhaps, less so:
  1. My starboard volt meter doesn't appear to show the batteries getting any charge when underway (stays at 12V even at 2100 rpm - see pics). Even in my slip, in neutral, if I increase the revs on the Port engine the gauge needle moves up to 13V (or more), but the Starboard gauge needle will not budge... any thoughts as to what I should check?... and how?
  2. My starboard engine gauge went up to >200F once last season (so I immediately shut the engine down, even though the Sea Ray panel was showing "All Systems Normal")... once safely in my home port, I cleaned the raw water filters and checked the impeller (which was fine)... I then tried to recreate the event, but (touch wood) the situation has not recurred (I assume it was either a sticking thermostat, or something had temporarily blocked the intake - a plastic bag, maybe?)... even so, or maybe especially because of what happened, I'm over-sensitive to the starboard engine temp... according to the gauges, it does appear to be running a little hotter than the port engine when underway - Port approx 170F vs Starboard approx. 180F - see pics... or am I being overly paranoid? Thoughts?
Cheers,
Simon

PS My log never worked... even when it's clean and free-spinning, so ignore the speed - we were cruising at ~19kts

Sea Ray gauges (Faria?) are notoriously inaccurate, especially once they age.

You can start by cleaning the contacts on the gauges. Also on gauges such as temp I would suggest getting an IR temp gun and take readings on the engine (thermostat housing) and compare with the gauge. On my last SR (400 EC) I found the strbd temp gauge off by 15 degrees.

My present boat has the Mercruiser engine gauges which are far more accurate than the old ones that came with the boat.
 
I have a couple of questions/concerns (which may be completely unfounded), one fairly simple and one, perhaps, less so:
  1. My starboard volt meter doesn't appear to show the batteries getting any charge when underway (stays at 12V even at 2100 rpm - see pics). Even in my slip, in neutral, if I increase the revs on the Port engine the gauge needle moves up to 13V (or more), but the Starboard gauge needle will not budge... any thoughts as to what I should check?... and how?
  2. My starboard engine gauge went up to >200F once last season (so I immediately shut the engine down, even though the Sea Ray panel was showing "All Systems Normal")... once safely in my home port, I cleaned the raw water filters and checked the impeller (which was fine)... I then tried to recreate the event, but (touch wood) the situation has not recurred (I assume it was either a sticking thermostat, or something had temporarily blocked the intake - a plastic bag, maybe?)... even so, or maybe especially because of what happened, I'm over-sensitive to the starboard engine temp... according to the gauges, it does appear to be running a little hotter than the port engine when underway - Port approx 170F vs Starboard approx. 180F - see pics... or am I being overly paranoid? Thoughts?
Cheers,
Simon

PS My log never worked... even when it's clean and free-spinning, so ignore the speed - we were cruising at ~19kts
Check the voltage with a multimeter at the battery terminals with the engine running, to get the true reading. If it's good there then you have a voltage drop from the start circuitry. I had that on my port side. Turned out the connectors on the back of the helm start switch were very loose. If it's bad at the battery, then the alternator is the issue. I've had just that as well and replaced the alternator.
 
Sea Ray gauges (Faria?) are notoriously inaccurate, especially once they age.

You can start by cleaning the contacts on the gauges. Also on gauges such as temp I would suggest getting an IR temp gun and take readings on the engine (thermostat housing) and compare with the gauge. On my last SR (400 EC) I found the strbd temp gauge off by 15 degrees.

My present boat has the Mercruiser engine gauges which are far more accurate than the old ones that came with the boat.
Thanks for the light-speed response, Ron... so it sounds like you would lean to the engine "overheat" issue being a dodgy gauge - I'll start there and do the IR gun thing, thanks.

As for the voltmeter... any thoughts there? The needle doesn't so much as twitch when I increase the revs?... are you saying that could be dirty contacts on the gauge?... I'm concerned there could be dodgy alternator (but not sure where to look for that?!) or loose belts (although you'd think the needle would move a little, even if the belt was slipping?)... thoughts?
 
Check the voltage with a multimeter at the battery terminals with the engine running, to get the true reading. If it's good there then you have a voltage drop from the start circuitry. I had that on my port side. Turned out the connectors on the back of the helm start switch were very loose. If it's bad at the battery, then the alternator is the issue. I've had just that as well and replaced the alternator.
Thanks Bill... will follow that trouble-shooting :)
 
Recently Purchased 98 400 Sedan Bridge Loving it already ,The Trim Tabs Only Seem to be Making a clicking sound when pressing button either way ,I've looked and cannot locate the tab motors easily can anyone help tell me where there at and if they have solenoids that go bad or possible fixes to this problem ,Thanks In Advance !
 
Recently Purchased 98 400 Sedan Bridge Loving it already ,The Trim Tabs Only Seem to be Making a clicking sound when pressing button either way ,I've looked and cannot locate the tab motors easily can anyone help tell me where there at and if they have solenoids that go bad or possible fixes to this problem ,Thanks In Advance !

Looking aft beneath the cockpit to the left of the generator.

51hlJPfNEiL._SX425_.jpg
 

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