40 sedan bridge forum

So I got to the boat earlier and looked at the panel meter. It was reading about 11.5V (maybe). I popped downstairs with my multimeter and measured a little over 11V on one of the banks, a little under on the other. Obviously, not good. So what's this telling me? I have the ProTech 1240iPLUS charger in there (is that the original one?). According to the 1240iPLUS manual, for flooded batteries the charger will either be in absorption mode (outputting 14.7V) or float/sustaining mode (outputting 13.5V). Shouldn't the reading at the batteries be somewhere in the range of 13.5 to 14.7? If this were a car, reading 11V on the batteries would mean the batteries are shot. But since it's a boat and the batteries are hooked to a charger, doesn't this also indicate that the charger isn't functioning properly?

Am I wrong? Missing something?
 
david_h said:
I was wondering if there are any better designs out there, (or fixes) to solve rain water entering the aft cockpit? Believe it or not, I think I still have the 'stock' canvas for the aft cockpit. Whenever it rains, water comes in, down the steps and soaks everything before hitting the stbd floor drain, (port floor drain on the project list for later this summer/fall). Rain water either runs down the side deck, or down the canvas and into the aft cockpit. It would be great to reduce the water coming in.

Here are a couple of pix, of the current canvas design on my boat:
View attachment 108592

View attachment 108593


Thanks,

Dave
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Dave, we just had our canvas done and I had the installer make and sew about a 2in. X 10 or 12 inch piece with a piece of round rubber sealer on the outside facing forward. It has been helping some. I will see if I can get some pictures the next time I am at the boat. Greg
 
techmitch said:
Not sure they will without good batteries connected.
Click to expand...

I know you were all waiting anxiously, and the answer is: both the batteries and charger are toast. Getting the same voltage readings at the batteries with or without the charger on is just not right. So after pulling the batteries today I measured the output of all three banks on the charger. Nothing. As in 0 volts. No indicator LED’s of any sort showing, either. The charger is dead. Since it died, it was only a matter of time before the batteries drained down. The charger has been on the list to replace - the fan has been loud since I’ve owned the boat. Sort of like a leaf stuck in the fins, but more likely the bearings dying. Bearings in cheap cooling fans don’t last terribly long. My guess is the bearings finally died/froze and the charger got too hot and something on the circuit board died. I plan to install the ProNautic 1240P.
 
1998 With the westerbeke gene. The impeller is in the back of the gene and nearly impossible to get to. I’ve owned the boat 6 years and never changed it. It’s time.

Any tips or tricks on getting to it? I’ve heard I need to remove 3 motor mounts and swing it out. That sounds like an enormous PITA.

I know some of you lucky folks with newer models have a remote location for the pump after sea Ray smartened up. Count your blessings.

Any help is appreciated.
 
cwiert said:
1998 With the westerbeke gene. The impeller is in the back of the gene and nearly impossible to get to. I’ve owned the boat 6 years and never changed it. It’s time.

Any tips or tricks on getting to it? I’ve heard I need to remove 3 motor mounts and swing it out. That sounds like an enormous PITA.

I know some of you lucky folks with newer models have a remote location for the pump after sea Ray smartened up. Count your blessings.

Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
John, I have a newer Westerbeke with the pump on the side. So I don’t have that problem. But, I’ve crawled all the way back to the transom under the generator on my chest to repair bonding wires. If you remove the macerator hose and the elbow on its seacock and the high water pump float switch, could you wiggle in on your back and then reach up to do the work? Just a wild-azz idea.
 
Another wild-azz idea...how about installing a large access hatch under the bench at the aft end of the cockpit? Also considering a removable floor in the swimplatform trunk.
 
Njlarry said:
Another wild-azz idea...how about installing a large access hatch under the bench at the aft end of the cockpit? Also considering a removable floor in the swimplatform trunk.
Click to expand...

Installing a hatch under the bench will be quite expensive considering the engineering involved to maintain the structural integrity of the area, and to keep it water tight.

Put a removeable floor under the trunk area will give you access to the top of the fresh water tank.

Sea Ray sucks when it comes to ergonomics and practicality of maintaining these boats, they simply don't care. Build them, get them out the factory door and let someone else figure out how to do it.
 
CaptRonn said:
The mattress in the forward stateroom, has anyone replaced the mattress?

I can get a custom mattress made here, but was wondering if anyone replaced theirs with an off the shelf type. Casper and Purple make some interesting mattresses, just not sure if they would fit.
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CaptRonn, I replaced my old mattress with a Casper. You have to “cut” the new Casper to fit but its easily done using an electric carving knife :) Its a lot easier than it sounds and there are many youtube posts that you can use as a reference for cutting memory foam. I used the old mattress as template and it turned out great..
 
cwiert said:
1998 With the westerbeke gene. The impeller is in the back of the gene and nearly impossible to get to. I’ve owned the boat 6 years and never changed it. It’s time.

Any tips or tricks on getting to it? I’ve heard I need to remove 3 motor mounts and swing it out. That sounds like an enormous PITA.

I know some of you lucky folks with newer models have a remote location for the pump after sea Ray smartened up. Count your blessings.

Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Cwiert I have the same Boat only its a 2000 but expect the set up to be the same. There are a number of posts out there on how to do this but by far the easiest way I have found is to remove the pump. I remove the belt guard and cockpit floor “support strut” which makes access a lot easier and then its just a matter of removing the inlet and outlet hoses on the pump, and 4 pump mounting nuts. Using a “flex head” combination wrench to remove and replace the pump also makes the job go a lot smoother. Hope this helps…
 
Question for the 400DB group.

On another forum someone is asking about their fuel burn. They have 2003 400DB with the 6BTA 450HP motors. They ran 80 miles on the FL intercoastal and used 1/2 tanks. What's telling to me is they indicated they were at 2,000 RPM @ 16 mph with down tabs. I am thinking speed wise they were to slow for the hull - not fast enough to stay on plane and over displacement speeds. So very inefficient.

Thoughts?
 
Steve S said:
Question for the 400DB group.

On another forum someone is asking about their fuel burn. They have 2003 400DB with the 6BTA 450HP motors. They ran 80 miles on the FL intercoastal and used 1/2 tanks. What's telling to me is they indicated they were at 2,000 RPM @ 16 mph with down tabs. I am thinking speed wise they were to slow for the hull - not fast enough to stay on plane and over displacement speeds. So very inefficient.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
You are correct. The numbers sound inaccurate, but If the numbers are correct, he’s burning more than 10 gph OVER the prop curve.
1/2 tanks is 175 gal, in 5 hours = 35gph.
A pair of 6cta 450 diamonds at 2000 rpm should burn 20ish per hour.
He needs to get up over the hump or start saving up for new motors.
 
As an experiment, and fwiw information (we all like to know how each other’s 400’s run) I just ran a short distance at 15 mph.
Rpm’s were 1750 and egt was right at 1000 degrees. Too hot and it may have crept higher but I only ran it there for less than a minute.
2000 rpm produced 18+ mph with egt at 950, still too hot. The boat was on top, but not fully.
Normal fast cruise for me loaded down the way we are now is 2280 rpm, produces 24.5 to 25 mph and 875 degrees on the egt. Bottom is clean, fresh water.
 
Halnan01 said:
CaptRonn, I replaced my old mattress with a Casper. You have to “cut” the new Casper to fit but its easily done using an electric carving knife :) Its a lot easier than it sounds and there are many youtube posts that you can use as a reference for cutting memory foam. I used the old mattress as template and it turned out great..
Click to expand...

What size casper did you purchase?
 
Thought I'd try this here before I open a new thread on it. I clean the boat's bottom myself. In salt 24/7 year round boating. Its pretty easy to do as I have a process now for it. Except for the inside of the underwater main exhausts. Barnacles and oysters can get pretty thick in there if you don't stay after it. I need to invent a tool to scrape everything off. I can get my hand/arm all the way up there fine but I need downward leverage to pry stuff off. First try is going to be a screwdriver bent back almost the full 180 degrees. First one I tried broke. So must have been cast. Should I try bending something else (putty knife) or are there bendable metal screwdrivers out there.

By the way, I've tried everything known to man on the metal running gear and nothing really works to stop hard growth. The barnacles and oysters just love the hard surface regardless. Best solution I've found is a once a week jump into the water to wipe it all down to stop growth from starting.
 
Like the way you think. Hardware store zinc primer in a spray can keeps barnacles off my running gear. If you start a seperate thread under general maint more will see it and best of all it will have continuity and be easier to follow and search. I hate this endless thread of unrelated posts. Please post a pic of your final design.
 
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