420/44 DB Owners Club

[Alex F]

Does anyone make/stock the saloon windshield shade cover? Was wanting to purchase one that blocks all the sun light.

Take the one you have now to a local canvas shop and they'll do a new cover the way you like it.

 

[Irie308]

I connected mine in 2020 and it has been working great. t

Pump: I had a spare Jabsco pump (60psi, 4gpm) and mounted in in the ER beside the AC pump. It is mounted it on a board that bridged over the sump area;
View attachment 150124

Plumbing: I tee'd into the AC line - I didn't add a valve (or check valve), there was some discussion on this forum about the possibility of pulling the water from the AC line (I think the discussion was around a water maker). For us, we never have the air running when pulling up the anchor so this is a pretty low risk; From the pump I ran a new line to the water manifold under the galley floor (had to drill thru the fire wall) - disconnected the anchor wash from the manifold and connected it to the new line from the pump.

Capped line from manifold
View attachment 150128
Connection with new line from pump
View attachment 150127

Electrical: I added a breaker (Carling AD1-B0-34-615-4G1-C) in the 12v panel for the wash pump.
View attachment 150129

One other thing, I changed the valve in the anchor locker to a quarter turn model. Makes it much quicker to turn the water on/off for the admiral instead of the (seemingly) 100 turns the old valve required.

Any questions let me know.

Cheers,
Tom

edit: added pictures

Thanks Tom, seems less complicated than what I was thinking. Wonder if that water will get rancid from sitting in there as its salt water. Also was considering T'ing into the fresh water line as I sometimes wash down the foredeck with the bow faucet. Would be nice to be able to go back and forth.

 

[NorCalRobert]

Speaker mystery. the boat appears to have 2 speakers in the salon ceiling and two in the master by the head of the bed. Does anyone know where these terminate. If I were to guess I’d say in the media cabinet under the TV. It’s a mess back there and haven’t really tried sorting it out yet.

The boat has 2 JL Audio Units. 1 is under the TV and is wired to speakers in the stern cockpit. The other is upstairs and wired to it’s own speakers. There are subwoofers, but I can’t find amps anywhere so I think the PO just wired the speakers directly to the head units.

I was thinking of either 1) adding another head unit under the TV and connect to the interior speakers or 2) connect channel 2 of the existing head unit to the interior salon speakers. Channel 1 would be the cockpit and channel 2 would be the salon.

The amps are located behind the port side couch back cushions. They are held in place with Velcro, to remove pull from the bottom of the cushion back.

 

[RBB]

The amps are located behind the port side couch back cushions. They are held in place with Velcro, to remove pull from the bottom of the cushion back.

That’s was where mine was.

 

[Tomco]

Thanks Tom, seems less complicated than what I was thinking. Wonder if that water will get rancid from sitting in there as its salt water. Also was considering T'ing into the fresh water line as I sometimes wash down the foredeck with the bow faucet. Would be nice to be able to go back and forth.

I had this thought when putting it together - I looked for a 3-way valve so i could switch between. I didn't find one and for us, we are in fresh water so there is not an imperative to install one. If you choose to do so, let me know what valve you put in ... I can easily add one.

 

[techmitch]

Thanks Tom, seems less complicated than what I was thinking. Wonder if that water will get rancid from sitting in there as its salt water. Also was considering T'ing into the fresh water line as I sometimes wash down the foredeck with the bow faucet. Would be nice to be able to go back and forth.

I had this thought when putting it together - I looked for a 3-way valve so i could switch between. I didn't find one and for us, we are in fresh water so there is not an imperative to install one. If you choose to do so, let me know what valve you put in ... I can easily add one.

This project intrigues me as we are shopping an plan on anchoring on the Chesapeake a lot more than we used to. I like a clean anchor locker with clean, well maintained rode.
I thought about the task of switching the valve from fresh to sea/bay water and thought,... how about a remote.
Looks like there are more options for WIFI control than Bluetooth.
On the cheap (at this price you could buy 2) but remember, the are CHEAP,
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Smart-Wa...4?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101086168
to these guy's and beyond I'm sure. https://www.sinopetech.com/us/product/smart-water-valve-¾-in-2nd-gen-wi-fi-pex-ready-2/

 

[bajturner]

I had this thought when putting it together - I looked for a 3-way valve so i could switch between. I didn't find one and for us, we are in fresh water so there is not an imperative to install one. If you choose to do so, let me know what valve you put in ... I can easily add one.

I have been thinking about this implementation as well. While I was at it, thought about adding a second, small.manifold under the galley floor that could be selectable raw or potable water, with the anchor washdown and both toilets plumbed to it. We waste a lot of potable water flushing toilets....

I assume running salt water to the toilets is a bad idea for a number of reasons, but raw water could be used while in fresh water.

 

[Richard Carlisle]

The amps are located behind the port side couch back cushions. They are held in place with Velcro, to remove pull from the bottom of the cushion back.

There is a sleeper sofa on port. If there is access to behind the couch, it won’t be easy. Entertainment cabinet is on stbd. Maybe they are behind the stbd couch. That would make more sense and would be way easier to access.

 

[NorCalRobert]

There is a sleeper sofa on port. If there is access to behind the couch, it won’t be easy. Entertainment cabinet is on stbd. Maybe they are behind the stbd couch. That would make more sense and would be way easier to access.

Pull really hard on the bottom side of the seat back cushion and it will come off. It is held in place with some strong Velcro , I struggled getting mine off the first time as well
edit: yes the seat back of the sleeper sofa, and by the way if you don’t plan on having a bunch of overnight guest and need the hide a bed just remove it and gain a bunch of storage space, I keep a lifeboat under there along with a few chairs.

 

[boaterholic]

Pull really hard on the bottom side of the seat back cushion and it will come off. It is held in place with some strong Velcro , I struggled getting mine off the first time as well
edit: yes the seat back of the sleeper sofa, and by the way if you don’t plan on having a bunch of overnight guest and need the hide a bed just remove it and gain a bunch of storage space, I keep a lifeboat under there along with a few chairs.

I pulled my sleeper out of the sofa and stored it. I needed the storage space for Bahama trips.
I’ll second about the bottom of the backs held down by very strong Velcro. Pull hard on bottom and once the Velcro lets go, lift up as there are two pins that hold the top in place.

 

[Richard Carlisle]

I agree on the sleeper. It’s gone as soon as we get the boat to home port.

 

[JNMNL52]

Broken prop shaft - Yesterday I had the unfortunate and unpredictable surreal experience of having a bilge full of rushing water due to a broken starboard prop shaft. Beautiful day on the Chesapeake Bay headed north at 20 knots, in 20 feet of water, no obstructions ahead, then bang, the boat slowed down like I hit a submerged object. Bilge pump alarm immediately activated and I stopped the boat to inspect the bilge. I found water rushing in where the starboard shaft used to be and the pumps could not keep up. I grabbed a small hand towel and stuffed it in the prop shaft opening and it was able to slow the leakage. The bilge pumps were able to keep up with the lower leak rate and I limped about a mile to the nearest marina and was immediately hauled out. It appears that the shaft broke clean at the coupling ( possibly due to fatigue) while I was underway during steady state power. The prop was damaged when it hit the rudder - which was the bang noise and the rudder saved the prop. My question is "has anyone else experienced a broken prop shaft in this manner?" The marina service manager who is overseeing my repairs mentioned that Searay had a bad lot of prop shafts in the early 2000's and my boat is a 2006. I would appreciate any comments.

 

[boaterholic]

Broken prop shaft - Yesterday I had the unfortunate and unpredictable surreal experience of having a bilge full of rushing water due to a broken starboard prop shaft. Beautiful day on the Chesapeake Bay headed north at 20 knots, in 20 feet of water, no obstructions ahead, then bang, the boat slowed down like I hit a submerged object. Bilge pump alarm immediately activated and I stopped the boat to inspect the bilge. I found water rushing in where the starboard shaft used to be and the pumps could not keep up. I grabbed a small hand towel and stuffed it in the prop shaft opening and it was able to slow the leakage. The bilge pumps were able to keep up with the lower leak rate and I limped about a mile to the nearest marina and was immediately hauled out. It appears that the shaft broke clean at the coupling ( possibly due to fatigue) while I was underway during steady state power. The prop was damaged when it hit the rudder - which was the bang noise and the rudder saved the prop. My question is "has anyone else experienced a broken prop shaft in this manner?" The marina service manager who is overseeing my repairs mentioned that Searay had a bad lot of prop shafts in the early 2000's and my boat is a 2006. I would appreciate any comments.

Oh my! Is there a way to inspect our shafts for fatiguing in that area?

 

[JNMNL52]

Oh my! Is there a way to inspect our shafts for fatiguing in that area?

I inspect my dripless frequently but never noticed any cracks on the shaft. I guess you could perform a NDI dye penetrant test in that area. For peace of mind I am going to replace both shafts with A22 stainless. Just curious if this has happened to anyone else?

 

[NorCalRobert]

Broken prop shaft - Yesterday I had the unfortunate and unpredictable surreal experience of having a bilge full of rushing water due to a broken starboard prop shaft. Beautiful day on the Chesapeake Bay headed north at 20 knots, in 20 feet of water, no obstructions ahead, then bang, the boat slowed down like I hit a submerged object. Bilge pump alarm immediately activated and I stopped the boat to inspect the bilge. I found water rushing in where the starboard shaft used to be and the pumps could not keep up. I grabbed a small hand towel and stuffed it in the prop shaft opening and it was able to slow the leakage. The bilge pumps were able to keep up with the lower leak rate and I limped about a mile to the nearest marina and was immediately hauled out. It appears that the shaft broke clean at the coupling ( possibly due to fatigue) while I was underway during steady state power. The prop was damaged when it hit the rudder - which was the bang noise and the rudder saved the prop. My question is "has anyone else experienced a broken prop shaft in this manner?" The marina service manager who is overseeing my repairs mentioned that Searay had a bad lot of prop shafts in the early 2000's and my boat is a 2006. I would appreciate any comments.

I'm no expert but I would think that this would be caused by improper motor / shaft alignment

 

[JNMNL52]

I'm no expert but I would think that this would be caused by improper motor / shaft alignment

If it was improper alignment, it has been misaligned since new. I am the original owner and never had any issues with the shafts, dripless or cutlass bearings. I will know if it was misaligned when it is disassemble next week.

 

[NorCalRobert]

If it was improper alignment, it has been misaligned since new. I am the original owner and never had any issues with the shafts, dripless or cutlass bearings. I will know if it was misaligned when it is disassemble next week.

Motor alignment can change over time due to motor mounts compressing , I checked mine about 18 months ago and both were rather far off, take a look at the gap on one side in the picture .

 

[becnme]

I have had several friends have broken prop shafts, it was more prevalent in the early 2000's as stated earlier.
One shaft break was on a 2006 40 Sundancer Diesel about 7 years ago. The owner was told Searay used lower gage shafts on some diesel boats. His was a 19 and he now has 2 new 22's if I remember the numbers correctly.
No problems since.
The alignment could be part of the problem too as mentioned earlier.

 

[JNMNL52]

Thanks. I was not aware alignment can change over time. I will have that check out.

I have had several friends have broken prop shafts, it was more prevalent in the early 2000's as stated earlier.
One shaft break was on a 2006 40 Sundancer Diesel about 7 years ago. The owner was told Searay used lower gage shafts on some diesel boats. His was a 19 and he now has 2 new 22's if I remember the numbers correctly.
No problems since.
The alignment could be part of the problem too as mentioned earlier.

Than you, very helpful. This corroborates with what my repair facility stated. I sent a message to my Searay dealer and waiting on a response.

 

[SeaNile]

I remember a run of bad shafts back in the early 2000s. Friends repowered two 31 Bertram boats and both suffered broken shafts. Must have been a bad lot number?