JoAna
Member
We had a opportunity for a 2004 420DB fall into our lap last week and currently have just put it under contract. It has the Cummins 6CTA engines with about 900hrs. Other major adds are a bow thruster and hydraulic lift (with a 10'6" Walker Bay centre console tender & 30hp engine). I have gone thru most of the thread for guidance on what to look for and saw the posts around 1050 to JoAna and bjturner on their purchases.
Survey is this coming Wed and hopefully the Cummins tech can come on Thursday - open to any additional words of wisdom of what to have checked out.
Question around the sea-trial - is it common for the surveyor to do this? and what 'tests' get performed?
Thanks!
Tomco, Well congrats on the 6CTA'S I love those things and anybody can work on them - they're old school and any marine mechanic worth his salt would know his way around those. Of course the first thing is a regular boat survey on the boat itself. Make sure the boat's hauled out of the water by the boat yard so you and the surveyor can get a look at the hull to make sure there are no blisters and if any, how severe. They can also check the running gear/props for damage. The most important thing of all is the mechanical survey, this would be done by your Cummins Technician, not to be confused with the regular boat survey. Insist that your cummins tech pulls oil samples from both motors and transmissions along with the generator to have them tested for salt water or fresh water intrusion. It usually only costs about $50 per sample and can tell you most everything you need to know about your motors. It's also a good thing for the Cummins tech to check your cylinder temps with an infrared gun and also a good idea to check exhaust temps simultaneously. While you're running the boat under speed at survey, the engines should go to 2600 rpm's and hold for about a minute or two then watch your water temps and see if they rise above 195 degrees (hopefully they won't). If they do you'll need to consult with the Cummins Tech for ideas. It's important that the boat runs to 2600 RPM'S to make sure it is properly prop'd. Our rule of thumb out here on the west coast is 2600 min on the 420DB not to exceed 5% of the 2600. (which would be 2730) that would be bad. Or 2470 as a bare minimum at 100% throttle. When most people sell a boat they strip it of unnecessary weight ie. fuel, water personal items, to help the boat run faster and cooler - you might want to make a personal note of these things.
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