John E3
Active Member
Everyone else has a model specific thread, so why not make a 370 AC thread! Seems the Aft Cabins are few and far between, but have what seem to be some unique features.
I did an introductory thread when we bought the boat last August, and have been hard pressed to find answers to some of my questions, so hopefully I, and other AC owners, can share some of these specifics here.
Ours was well maintained, visually, but the more I dig into it, the more I'm finding was not so well maintained, or possibly poorly executed or material issues.
A couple material points - Wire Loom Tubing - some pieces are disintegrating in place. Most of it seems to be the same size, maybe 3/4"? Under the helm is a disaster. Between the loom crumbing and some extra wires being added, it's a bit of a mess to say the least. Some in the engine room suffers the same fate.
And on what planet was it a good idea to put silver duct tape over -every- gap between things???? This is mind numbing. About 50% has fallen off. It's in, around, behind, under, and over the fuel tanks. Both ends of the water tank had it, but was floating in the water now. Everywhere I look there is duct tape. Ugh.
Bonding wires. Holy boatamoley, there must be thousands of feet of it, and the ring terminals are falling off in troublesome places - thru hull bolts! There is minimal corrosion on any other wiring, but the bonding stuff is bad.
Ok, not meaning to rant! So some questions that someone might know.
Hull Construction.
One of the deficiencies I found on this boat was bilge pump neglect/abuse. There are 5 bilge pumps, all uniquely named in the breaker panel, but don't correspond well with the location drawing. One was removed (aft cabin under shower sump) and the wires left hanging in the bilge. Electrolysis ate away about 3" of the copper in the 12v feed, but it's live still. Some screws were removed, and extra holes added, leaving opportunity for water to intrude into the core, which brings me to the construction point, is there a definitive guide on SR hull construction techniques? I've read some here and there, but it sure would be nice to know what's solid and what's not. The 2 remaining screws were very hard to unscrew suggesting its solid.
There is a zinc anode below the stbd engine with significant corrosion on the inside hardware. It's thru bolted from the outside, so another intrusion potential.
Transom drain plug. It's probably not been out since it was installed, but the outer ring is loose, and looks to have only 3 #8 screws holding it on. Do I dare touch it? Again water intrusion concern.
Adding wiring. I have seen a number of threads that talk about pulling wires thru tubes, and pre-installed pull strings. From what I've seen on this one, the wiring is plastic loom, and cinched so tight you couldn't get air past it. I have 2 immediate helm additions I want to do, vapor detector being the highest priority as I lost my sense of smell (for no apparent reason) many years ago. My wife can smell things, but routinely mixes up solvent/petroleum scents. And a SeaTalkng backbone. Finding my way from the center of the helm to the engine room looks like a long and winding road! But, maybe someone has traveled that path already.
Stbd Fuel Sender. DOA. A previous owner ran a pink wire under the helm, bypassing the OEM wire, but it still doesn't work. There is an access panel above the sender, but it's under the carpet. I can tap on it and hear the sound change, but I am forbidden to damage the carpet - "there must be a way to get to it". Yeah, it's called an access panel under the carpet. SR strategically located wiring and fuel lines/solenoids etc. on a board that totally blocks access to the sender. I had to use a mirror and flashlight just to find it. 6 inches fore or aft would have made a world of difference in access to it, at least for testing. The gap between the tank and insulation above is too narrow to get my hands to it. The Port side reads way off too, but that one is accessible under the sofa.
Enough for now.
370 AC owners, chime in!
I did an introductory thread when we bought the boat last August, and have been hard pressed to find answers to some of my questions, so hopefully I, and other AC owners, can share some of these specifics here.
Ours was well maintained, visually, but the more I dig into it, the more I'm finding was not so well maintained, or possibly poorly executed or material issues.
A couple material points - Wire Loom Tubing - some pieces are disintegrating in place. Most of it seems to be the same size, maybe 3/4"? Under the helm is a disaster. Between the loom crumbing and some extra wires being added, it's a bit of a mess to say the least. Some in the engine room suffers the same fate.
And on what planet was it a good idea to put silver duct tape over -every- gap between things???? This is mind numbing. About 50% has fallen off. It's in, around, behind, under, and over the fuel tanks. Both ends of the water tank had it, but was floating in the water now. Everywhere I look there is duct tape. Ugh.
Bonding wires. Holy boatamoley, there must be thousands of feet of it, and the ring terminals are falling off in troublesome places - thru hull bolts! There is minimal corrosion on any other wiring, but the bonding stuff is bad.
Ok, not meaning to rant! So some questions that someone might know.
Hull Construction.
One of the deficiencies I found on this boat was bilge pump neglect/abuse. There are 5 bilge pumps, all uniquely named in the breaker panel, but don't correspond well with the location drawing. One was removed (aft cabin under shower sump) and the wires left hanging in the bilge. Electrolysis ate away about 3" of the copper in the 12v feed, but it's live still. Some screws were removed, and extra holes added, leaving opportunity for water to intrude into the core, which brings me to the construction point, is there a definitive guide on SR hull construction techniques? I've read some here and there, but it sure would be nice to know what's solid and what's not. The 2 remaining screws were very hard to unscrew suggesting its solid.
There is a zinc anode below the stbd engine with significant corrosion on the inside hardware. It's thru bolted from the outside, so another intrusion potential.
Transom drain plug. It's probably not been out since it was installed, but the outer ring is loose, and looks to have only 3 #8 screws holding it on. Do I dare touch it? Again water intrusion concern.
Adding wiring. I have seen a number of threads that talk about pulling wires thru tubes, and pre-installed pull strings. From what I've seen on this one, the wiring is plastic loom, and cinched so tight you couldn't get air past it. I have 2 immediate helm additions I want to do, vapor detector being the highest priority as I lost my sense of smell (for no apparent reason) many years ago. My wife can smell things, but routinely mixes up solvent/petroleum scents. And a SeaTalkng backbone. Finding my way from the center of the helm to the engine room looks like a long and winding road! But, maybe someone has traveled that path already.
Stbd Fuel Sender. DOA. A previous owner ran a pink wire under the helm, bypassing the OEM wire, but it still doesn't work. There is an access panel above the sender, but it's under the carpet. I can tap on it and hear the sound change, but I am forbidden to damage the carpet - "there must be a way to get to it". Yeah, it's called an access panel under the carpet. SR strategically located wiring and fuel lines/solenoids etc. on a board that totally blocks access to the sender. I had to use a mirror and flashlight just to find it. 6 inches fore or aft would have made a world of difference in access to it, at least for testing. The gap between the tank and insulation above is too narrow to get my hands to it. The Port side reads way off too, but that one is accessible under the sofa.
Enough for now.
370 AC owners, chime in!
