36 Sedan Bridge Owners

[Searay45]

Just purchase a 2007 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge 360 GAS in Jan. 2018. I picked up the boat in Clearwater, FL and drove the boat home to North East, MD. I learned a lot about the boat on this trip. I had it in the GULF, Atlantic and the ICW. It took me a total of 13 boating days to get it home averaging 150-200 miles per day. I have now had it at it's new home for a couple of months and have some minor issues that I could use some help with.....

-I read on here that someone else had this same issue but I never saw if it was resolved. After a really hard rain storm I get a large wet spot inside the rear sliding door that has a trail of water to the starboard side. I have tried tracing where this water is coming from but have had no luck.....Any thoughts???

-My Hull/Underwater lights will turn on and off but they will then turn back on by themselves and stay on. I can still turn them off but then they come back on?? I reset the E-Plex multiple times, Do you think I need a new module??

-My Freezer will not come on with DC but the Fridge does???

-When I'm on the hook my batteries will go stone dead after 8-10hrs and emergency start will not start the boat I have to jump it??? I'm only running Fridge, some lights and radio??

Sorry for all the questions
Thanks,
AJ

 

[Timeflys]

How old are your batteries?

 

[Mayor of Friday Harbor]

How old are your batteries?

Ditto this.

AJ - I just purchased my 36 Sedan this past June and have spent a ton of time going through her tweaking. The boat is a bit glutenous on amp draw on the port side in particular where the fridge, freezer and I believe all the eplex is powered. Make sure your charger is functioning on all four house batteries and consider upgrading the house batteries to high performance AGM's. I now have all new Optima blue top 31 deep cycles plus expanded the port side house with two additional 31's for a total of six with four on port. This made a noticeable difference when off the grid but still requires gen charging runs. My next upgrade will be to add a 107 amp charger/inverter in order to cut gen run time to less than a third plus give me outlet power.

If the boat hasn't been swapped to LED's I'd suggest doing that as well. I bought virtually all my replacement bulbs from superbrightleds.com and happy to share with you which bulbs I purchased. I'm 100% LED now with the exception of the spotlight.

Freezer DC issue could be related to the batteries. Can't speak to your other questions.

 

[Searay45]

Not sure

Ditto this.

AJ - I just purchased my 36 Sedan this past June and have spent a ton of time going through her tweaking. The boat is a bit glutenous on amp draw on the port side in particular where the fridge, freezer and I believe all the eplex is powered. Make sure your charger is functioning on all four house batteries and consider upgrading the house batteries to high performance AGM's. I now have all new Optima blue top 31 deep cycles plus expanded the port side house with two additional 31's for a total of six with four on port. This made a noticeable difference when off the grid but still requires gen charging runs. My next upgrade will be to add a 107 amp charger/inverter in order to cut gen run time to less than a third plus give me outlet power.

If the boat hasn't been swapped to LED's I'd suggest doing that as well. I bought virtually all my replacement bulbs from superbrightleds.com and happy to share with you which bulbs I purchased. I'm 100% LED now with the exception of the spotlight.

Freezer DC issue could be related to the batteries. Can't speak to your other questions.

I would love to know what LED's you bought!! I have been looking at them for awhile. I heard they do not work well with the dimmer feature on the touch panel. Have you experienced this?

I also do not know the age of the batteries. The date on the batteries was never punched out. If I replace them what do you guys recommend? I would like to buy the best and biggest

 

[Searay45]

Ditto this.

AJ - I just purchased my 36 Sedan this past June and have spent a ton of time going through her tweaking. The boat is a bit glutenous on amp draw on the port side in particular where the fridge, freezer and I believe all the eplex is powered. Make sure your charger is functioning on all four house batteries and consider upgrading the house batteries to high performance AGM's. I now have all new Optima blue top 31 deep cycles plus expanded the port side house with two additional 31's for a total of six with four on port. This made a noticeable difference when off the grid but still requires gen charging runs. My next upgrade will be to add a 107 amp charger/inverter in order to cut gen run time to less than a third plus give me outlet power.

If the boat hasn't been swapped to LED's I'd suggest doing that as well. I bought virtually all my replacement bulbs from superbrightleds.com and happy to share with you which bulbs I purchased. I'm 100% LED now with the exception of the spotlight.

Freezer DC issue could be related to the batteries. Can't speak to your other questions.

How were you able to fit two more batteries in there? Seems a little tight?

 

[Mayor of Friday Harbor]

I have a boating friend that is a retired marine electrician so he helped me with the battery reconfig. There may be a better AGM amp hours option for the house than the Optima blue 31's (75 amp hours) but I went with them as the dealer had already swapped all four thruster batteries (plus two of the four house) with them. The 31's are overkill for the thrusters so we took the four blue Optima on the thrusters and moved them to the house then put Optima red top starter batteries in their place.

See pic - We pulled out the bow thruster trays, cut off the mounting flanges to save space, remounted them through the bottom of the tray and strapped them together. The bow thruster trays became the +2 on the port house. Bought two battery boxes locally (would have gone with trays but limited on options day of install on an island) and again cut off the excess flanges and screwed through bottom. These fit perfectly next to the +2 house. Had to have an extended thruster + cable made plus the cables for the +2 house.

Total of 10 AGM batteries. Six house batteries (4 x port, 2 x starboard): https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/optima_d31M_marine_deep_cycle_battery.html and four new thruster batteries: https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/25redtopoptima12345.html.

My next project will be the inverter/charger. Haven't done anything on this yet but these are what he told me to get:
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289971&id=1820672
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?name=magnum-me-arc50-advanced-wired-remote-control&path=-1|328|2289962|2289975&id=1820452
https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289975&id=1820472

I'll work on the LED bulb post separately for you as need to go back through the email receipts.

 

[Searay45]

I have a boating friend that is a retired marine electrician so he helped me with the battery reconfig. There may be a better AGM amp hours option for the house than the Optima blue 31's (75 amp hours) but I went with them as the dealer had already swapped all four thruster batteries (plus two of the four house) with them. The 31's are overkill for the thrusters so we took the four blue Optima on the thrusters and moved them to the house then put Optima red top starter batteries in their place.

See pic - We pulled out the bow thruster trays, cut off the mounting flanges to save space, remounted them with through the bottom of the tray and strapped them together. The bow thruster trays became the +2 on the port house. Bought two battery boxes locally (would have gone with trays but limited on options day of install on an island) and again cut off the excess flanges and screwed to through bottom. These fit perfectly next to the +2 house. Had to have an extended thruster + cable made plus the cables for the +2 house.

Total of 10 AGM batteries. Six house batteries (4 x port, 2 x starboard): https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/optima_d31M_marine_deep_cycle_battery.html and four new thruster batteries: https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/25redtopoptima12345.html.

My next project will be the inverter/charger. Haven't done anything on this yet but these are what he told me to get:
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289971&id=1820672
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?name=magnum-me-arc50-advanced-wired-remote-control&path=-1|328|2289962|2289975&id=1820452
https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289975&id=1820472

I'll work on the LED bulb post separately for you as need to go back through the email receipts.

Wow that looks great!!!

 

[douglee25]

I have a boating friend that is a retired marine electrician so he helped me with the battery reconfig. There may be a better AGM amp hours option for the house than the Optima blue 31's (75 amp hours) but I went with them as the dealer had already swapped all four thruster batteries (plus two of the four house) with them. The 31's are overkill for the thrusters so we took the four blue Optima on the thrusters and moved them to the house then put Optima red top starter batteries in their place.

See pic - We pulled out the bow thruster trays, cut off the mounting flanges to save space, remounted them through the bottom of the tray and strapped them together. The bow thruster trays became the +2 on the port house. Bought two battery boxes locally (would have gone with trays but limited on options day of install on an island) and again cut off the excess flanges and screwed through bottom. These fit perfectly next to the +2 house. Had to have an extended thruster + cable made plus the cables for the +2 house.

Total of 10 AGM batteries. Six house batteries (4 x port, 2 x starboard): https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/optima_d31M_marine_deep_cycle_battery.html and four new thruster batteries: https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/25redtopoptima12345.html.

My next project will be the inverter/charger. Haven't done anything on this yet but these are what he told me to get:
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289971&id=1820672
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?name=magnum-me-arc50-advanced-wired-remote-control&path=-1|328|2289962|2289975&id=1820452
https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|328|2289962|2289975&id=1820472

I'll work on the LED bulb post separately for you as need to go back through the email receipts.

Nothing like $3k in batteries!

 

[Mayor of Friday Harbor]

Nothing like $3k in batteries!

It's an investment for sure - Just like boats

 

[Mayor of Friday Harbor]

Wow that looks great!!!

Okay, LED's. This is the fourth boat I've converted to LED so I've done this a few times. Everything that is dimmable dims just fine - In fact, I rarely use the interior or exterior courtesy lights not dimmed. I believe I have everything you need below assuming the 2007 Sedan is the same bulb configs as the 2008 with exception of the shower which was already replaced. Should be easy enough to pull the shower bulb and find something on superbrightleds website. The 37-count bulbs I purposely ordered four extra's.

I like warm white bulbs as I find the natural and cool color LED’s to be too industrial-like so I use warm white throughout. The exception being the nav bulbs and anchor/run lights. I used cool white for the anchor/run as they are higher lumen and more visible. I used natural on the nav bulbs so as not to affect the green and red hues. My exterior courtesy or ‘cockpit’ lighting plus the stern locker (same circuit) I used blue bulbs because I like the look. If you want warm white for the cockpit then use the bulbs listed for the radar arch.

37 x Interior lighting, task lights: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-bulb-10-watt-equivalent-60-lumens/2680/7302/

2 x Stern overhead light (Can use these or above but these are too long for above fixtures): https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...2v-acdc-bi-pin-led-bulb-105-lumens/3456/7306/

8 x Bilge: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...6-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit-car/1686/4107/

2 x Fridge & freezer: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/festoon/6418-led-bulb-4-led-festoon-36mm-car/233/1098/

6 x Exterior courtesy lights which I did in blue but you can use radar arch below if you want white: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...g-cluster-ba15d-retrofit-90-lumens/2394/2348/

2 x Radar Arch in warm white: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-smd-led-ba15d-retrofit-107-lumens/2396/4558/

2 x Anchor & running: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...ed-bulb-4-smd-led-festoon-30mm-car/2107/4843/

2 x Nav lights: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/festoon/578-led-bulb-8-led-festoon-44mm/3582/7661/

1 x Stern locker which I did in blue b/c same circuit as courtesy: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit-car/4477/10321/

 

[douglee25]

It's an investment for sure - Just like boats

'Investments'.... exactly what I tell my SO.

 

[Searay45]

Okay, LED's. This is the fourth boat I've converted to LED so I've done this a few times. Everything that is dimmable dims just fine - In fact, I rarely use the interior or exterior courtesy lights not dimmed. I believe I have everything you need below assuming the 2007 Sedan is the same bulb configs as the 2008 with exception of the shower which was already replaced. Should be easy enough to pull the shower bulb and find something on superbrightleds website. The 37-count bulbs I purposely ordered four extra's.

I like warm white bulbs as I find the natural and cool color LED’s to be too industrial-like so I use warm white throughout. The exception being the nav bulbs and anchor/run lights. I used cool white for the anchor/run as they are higher lumen and more visible. I used natural on the nav bulbs so as not to affect the green and red hues. My exterior courtesy or ‘cockpit’ lighting plus the stern locker (same circuit) I used blue bulbs because I like the look. If you want warm white for the cockpit then use the bulbs listed for the radar arch.

37 x Interior lighting, task lights: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-bulb-10-watt-equivalent-60-lumens/2680/7302/

2 x Stern overhead light (Can use these or above but these are too long for above fixtures): https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...2v-acdc-bi-pin-led-bulb-105-lumens/3456/7306/

8 x Bilge: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...6-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit-car/1686/4107/

2 x Fridge & freezer: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/festoon/6418-led-bulb-4-led-festoon-36mm-car/233/1098/

6 x Exterior courtesy lights which I did in blue but you can use radar arch below if you want white: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...g-cluster-ba15d-retrofit-90-lumens/2394/2348/

2 x Radar Arch in warm white: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-smd-led-ba15d-retrofit-107-lumens/2396/4558/

2 x Anchor & running: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...ed-bulb-4-smd-led-festoon-30mm-car/2107/4843/

2 x Nav lights: https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/festoon/578-led-bulb-8-led-festoon-44mm/3582/7661/

1 x Stern locker which I did in blue b/c same circuit as courtesy: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-smd-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit-car/4477/10321/

Thank you so much for all the help. I will be ordering these once I go over the boat and make sure the lighting is the same!! I think it is pretty close! Thanks again.

 

[scooper321]

Just purchase a 2007 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge 360 GAS in Jan. 2018. I picked up the boat in Clearwater, FL and drove the boat home to North East, MD. I learned a lot about the boat on this trip. I had it in the GULF, Atlantic and the ICW. It took me a total of 13 boating days to get it home averaging 150-200 miles per day. I have now had it at it's new home for a couple of months

Nice! Congrats! I’ve been looking at boats up and down the coast and fantasizing about that trip myself (Gulf Coast to MD). How did the 36 run in the Ocean?

And how did you plan for this trek home? Did you plot a route, reserve slips? Any problems on the way? What sort of service did you do after closing and before heading out?

 

[Searay45]

Nice! Congrats! I’ve been looking at boats up and down the coast and fantasizing about that trip myself (Gulf Coast to MD). How did the 36 run in the Ocean?

And how did you plan for this trek home? Did you plot a route, reserve slips? Any problems on the way? What sort of service did you do after closing and before heading out?

Well I never did a trip like this before....but I can tell you I learned a lot. The biggest thing is time. The trip would have been much more enjoyable if I had more time but my vacation time was limited. I would never suggest booking slips ahead of time. I would have a goal destination in mind for the day but also plan for a shorter stop if needed depending on weather and service issues. When I first planned the trip I booked everything and had all the mileages figured out after day 2 I threw it away lol. The most important things to know are how many miles you can safely go on a tank of fuel at the speed you are going to cruise. Our range was roughly 120-150 miles at 18 knots. The first 3 days we tried to do 200-250 miles MISTAKE. This was a 12-14 hr driving day long and hard I would not suggest doing that. The other thing I messed up was the beginning of the trip I planned on getting fuel at noon time and when we got to the marina at night this was also not a good idea. Most of the marina's close at 5pm and do not open till 8-9am. So after the first 2 days we starting filling up around 9am and 3pm. This was we got to the marina with a 1/2 tank min and could start the next morning at 6-7am. You time and distance is also greatly affected if you drive inside or outside. We did 3 days outside of FL,GA and SC. The last day we were outside we hit a wind storm that came out of nowhere. At first it was manageable but after 45 min. it went to horrible 15-18ft rollers and 45-50 mph wind gusts! The boat handled them ok until we hit a shoal off the coast of South Carolina 4-6 miles off shore this area is very tricky to navigate when the weather is good let alone when it gets bad. Lots of shoals depths at low tide of less then 4-6ft 4 miles off shore. When we hit the shoal we were running 18 miles off shore and turned to head in when we got within 5 miles we hit a shoal hard. We destroyed one prop and prop shaft, bent the other prop and high sided the boat. We were able to get off the shoal with how big the waves were and get back out to about 6-7 miles off shore when the storm really kicked up. We had a very hard time keeping the boat into the waves with only one engine and not being able to go over 5 knots due to the bent prop the other side was inoperable. We ended up starting to take on water and it got dark. We called the coast guard and they sent a boat. The released the boat out of Charleston, SC but they said with the weather it would be 50-60min. till they could reach us. They stayed on the radio and help clam my nerves and navigate to a marked channel. It took us 6 hrs to get into a place to tie up for the night so we could find a marina the next morning and have the boat pulled! The boat need some major mechanical repairs but the hull was good. It sat at the marina for 2 months until I could go back down and get it. I stayed in the ICW the rest of the way home.

 

[Craig]

Wow! Glad you are safe.

 

[scooper321]

Well I never did a trip like this before....but I can tell you I learned a lot.

You learned a lot is the understatement of the year! Holy cow, I'm glad you're safe! I can't imagine... you're cruising up the blue and the wind kicks up. Still getting used to the new ride, it gets smashed into a shoal and you limp along in the dark to shore. I'd be scared sh*tless during the storm and the crashing, and then seriously depressed afterwards about my new boat.

That was NOT the response I expected! I thought I'd hear things like you started out saying: about whether to book marinas, how much distance to plan for, fuel costs for the trip, etc. You've got quite the story! And, I hope, a really nice boat through it all.

My plan for zipping up and down the coast would include a healthy dose of the ICW, that's for sure. But if the weather and the vessel permit, I'd jump out into the big blue where I could. That's actually one of the reasons I'm looking at moving up in size. So I can expand my trips and get out into the ocean. I know they cruise jet skis off the shore of Ocean City, so my 320DA could get out there in the right conditions. But there's a lot more sea out there than there is in the Chesapeake! So more beam and more weight seems to be wise to acquire.

So did you go around the Keys or cut through Lake Okeechobee?

 

[douglee25]

Wow! Quite a story. Glad to hear you're ok.

 

[CMG]

Wow what a trip, glad to hear the boat would handle 15 foot seas and you made it home safe

 

[Searay45]

You learned a lot is the understatement of the year! Holy cow, I'm glad you're safe! I can't imagine... you're cruising up the blue and the wind kicks up. Still getting used to the new ride, it gets smashed into a shoal and you limp along in the dark to shore. I'd be scared sh*tless during the storm and the crashing, and then seriously depressed afterwards about my new boat.

That was NOT the response I expected! I thought I'd hear things like you started out saying: about whether to book marinas, how much distance to plan for, fuel costs for the trip, etc. You've got quite the story! And, I hope, a really nice boat through it all.

My plan for zipping up and down the coast would include a healthy dose of the ICW, that's for sure. But if the weather and the vessel permit, I'd jump out into the big blue where I could. That's actually one of the reasons I'm looking at moving up in size. So I can expand my trips and get out into the ocean. I know they cruise jet skis off the shore of Ocean City, so my 320DA could get out there in the right conditions. But there's a lot more sea out there than there is in the Chesapeake! So more beam and more weight seems to be wise to acquire.

So did you go around the Keys or cut through Lake Okeechobee?

We cut through Lake Okeechobee. That was my favorite part of the trip.

 

[Searay45]

I'm having an issue with my underwater hull lights coming on all by themselves. I think I narrowed it down to the switch panel at the top of the stairs on the bridge. It is a Sea Ray Part Number 1816878 Module, EDS 4-SW. I called Marine Max and they do not have one. They contacted Sea Ray and they do not have one but it is still available with a 5-6 week lead time and a cost of $1,308. Has anyone had this issue? Any way to repair cheaper? Any help would be greatly appreciated!