480 DB Owners Club

Greg said:
There is a bilge pump in there. But, like any bilge pump, it leaves a small amount of water behind. So if it ever does overflow you want to make sure you clean out that bilge area and dry it.
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Oh, I see. It sounds like W/D machine is in there and the pump serves both, if any will spill water out. That would make a lot of sense. I think mine is setup up the same way, just the location of the components is different.
 
A friend is looking at a 48 that has man 670 hp...any idea of fuel burn with those engines? Is the maint. a lot more say for a 1000 hour service?
 
Can't answer your MAN fuel burn question but just had a similar maintenance-related conversation w/ a friend who has a 58DB w/ 900 MANs. Oil change bill was $1,200...almost $900 of it was in synhtetic oil. If I understood him right, 1,000 hour service was just under 20k for the pair. I've heard parts costs & the service rates for MAN certified techs is out there. Maybe a few of the MAN guys will chime in. I'd like to hear their experiences.
 
We have Detroits in our 48. Oil change and new antifreeze for the mains and genset involves about $650 in materials (24 gal antifreeze, 12 gal non-synthetic oil, 3 oil filters). I provide the labor which involves about 10 hours' work and some profanity.
 
My Oil Change was right around 800.00, of coarse I used Synthetic Oil, don't have too, but it's the smartest route when having a boat like this, Mine does not get used enough to even begin to eat up that oil, I'm an AMS oil Distributor so it's not so expensive..Fuel Burn, I'll chime in on later..Everything on a MANS boat, is more expensive, like when buying a Mercedes or a BMW, they too are not the same price as the average American made Products. As for my fuel burn rate, I'm not exact on this, because I'm not concerned about it, I do know I get the best fuel burn at 1900 rpms....right now I cannot quote the exact burn rate... it's really not bad at all..
 
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3196's with 814 hrs on the updated after-coolers. Looks like at 1,000 hrs they will need to be cleaned. I'm told we will need to pull the floor panels for access; anyone
been through this and does it affect the cabinetry? Pictures of the panels pulled would be great!
 
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Well, this thread has been dormant for about 5 months. I can honestly say that I check it religiously every few days. I have read this entire thread and have opened most of the added content about repairs and upgrades to these beautiful yachts. Not being a current owner of one of these and being new to posting replies, I hope I am in the right place for this question.
WAKE UP, SPRING IS HERE!!! No, that's not the question and spring is on delay here considering I see 3 inches of wet snow on the ground looking out my window.
I have recently (while visiting Fla.) looked at a few 480's for sale and have learned a lot from this thread about the changes made over the years and what to look for when inspecting the boat.
Question, Similar to what "No Plan" asked in his last post in Nov. The salon floor panels to access the engines, Is this an easy process to open them and inspect the outboard sides of the engines? Or is this something you only do when required to repair something that can't be done from entering through the aft lazarette hatch and working between the mains?
Thanks in advance.
 
Hermyclaus said:
... The salon floor panels to access the engines, Is this an easy process to open them and inspect the outboard sides of the engines? Or is this something you only do when required to repair something that can't be done from entering through the aft lazarette hatch and working between the mains?
Thanks in advance.
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I have had the starboard panel out when I first got the boat. It was done for better access to work on the engine. Specifically pulling the after-cooler and heat exchanger off of the starboard engine. It was a fair amount of work to pull it off. I would not think it is advisable to remove these panels for just a basic inspection. Unless you were very concerned about something and couldn't get back there with any other means (mirrors, borescope, camera, etc.)

The port side would probably be even harder. You would need to remove the cabinet just to the left as you enter the salon, and probably portions of the couch.

If you really want to do it I can try to recall all the steps, but basically for the starboard side:
1) You have to roll the carpet back from the salon door, up to a few inches into where the hardwood floor in the galley is.
(Be careful here, the carpet can be easily damaged where it lays in the transition strip)
2) You need to remove the cabinet that sticks out into the salon (The one with the sliding top)
3) The panels are caulked in place, so you need to get a sharp knife and cut through all the caulk.
4) The panels are bolted from underneath. You must remove the foil tape in the engine room and unbolt the panels
5) I believe there are also supports in the engine room that hold up the panels that must be removed.

Here's what it looks like with the carpet up.

IMG_1350.jpg


IMG_1351.jpg
 
WOW!! I was afraid you or someone was going to say exactly what you said. I do all of my mechanical work on everything I own. (so far) And having easy visual access to the drive-lines is important to me. I know every boat has a spot in them that's hard to access, Even most vehicles (car or truck) have the same issue. But the whole outboard sides of the engines and part of the trans is a lot of area for a problem to start and not get noticed until possibly too late. IE: a cracked hose clamp starting to leak and will eventually blow off
I do a visual inspection and fluid check every time prior to getting underway for our next outing. With our current boat and the ones we have owned before, access has been easy. Or I should say sounds easier than the 480.
I'm pretty sure all the fluid checks on the 480 engines (Cat or Cummins mainly. Not sure about Manns and DDEC'S)are done from the cat walk between the engines. I didn't try to crawl over to the outboard sides being I wasn't dressed for it. Me, being of a medium build, about 200lbs and 5'11", could I get around the engine to that side?
 
Hermyclaus said:
WOW!! I was afraid you or someone was going to say exactly what you said. I do all of my mechanical work on everything I own. (so far) And having easy visual access to the drive-lines is important to me. I know every boat has a spot in them that's hard to access, Even most vehicles (car or truck) have the same issue. But the whole outboard sides of the engines and part of the trans is a lot of area for a problem to start and not get noticed until possibly too late. IE: a cracked hose clamp starting to leak and will eventually blow off
I do a visual inspection and fluid check every time prior to getting underway for our next outing. With our current boat and the ones we have owned before, access has been easy. Or I should say sounds easier than the 480.
I'm pretty sure all the fluid checks on the 480 engines (Cat or Cummins mainly. Not sure about Manns and DDEC'S)are done from the cat walk between the engines. I didn't try to crawl over to the outboard sides being I wasn't dressed for it. Me, being of a medium build, about 200lbs and 5'11", could I get around the engine to that side?
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All of my comments are with regards to the Cummins engines. I have no experience with others.

I'm on the outboard side of my port engine all the time, I go back there to service the impellers and zincs every year. Then a few times a year I just go back to take a look. It's tight, but doable. I'm probably not a whole lot smaller than you, 5'10" ~190lbs.

For the port engine I remove the exhaust pipe and enter from the aft side of the engine.

For the starboard side, I just go around the front side.

There is no crawling over the top of the engine, they are pretty close to the floor above.

If you are doing any work back there, have a helper to get you tools and such. You don't want to get all the way back there and realize you forgot something. You may want to get a big body pillow to lay on while you are back there (there are a lot of bumpy and sharp things). Someone recommended this to me. I did that a few times, but now I don't bother. I like knowing if I am putting force on something.

I find a small point and shoot camera is helpful for inspection of hard to see areas.

All fluid checks are on the inboard side. The transmissions are pretty easy to access (They are a lot smaller than the engines).
 
Greg, Thanks for your info. Being reasonably able to inspect the outboard sides without removing the salon floor has me a bit relieved. I guess I will have to get use to looking at the engines from their sides versus looking down at them from above like in our Formula 330ss and the other Sea Ray I am interested in, the 370EC. Maybe I will increase the amount of lighting in the engine compartment. (when I own one :smt001) I noticed the three 480's that I looked at recently, seemed to be poorly lite in the engine compartment. Still snowing here, but it's 38 deg.
 
OK, anyone HAVE A CAMPER canvass back installed, I'M having strataglass installed all the way around the back with a canopy installed on the top...I'll get pics when it's done... little expensive but Damn well worth it....

Hermy, I have MANS in my 480, love them and haven't had to do Much maintenance on mince yet, beside oil changes, I've only had it a two years now, If anything goes wrong I call my Mechanic, I'm not touching it for sure, these engines are NOT easy to work on or get to, I have what I call My MANS Man.....
 
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If anything goes wrong I call my Mechanic said:
I figured the Mans had a larger footprint than the others to fit into that space. They are the BMW of engine choices but not quite in my financial range. I have what I call My Hands Man. (uh, that didn't sound right did it? lol)


There was one 480 I looked at in Fla. that appeared to have the camper canvas. It was rolled up in the 3rd stateroom but didn't see any poles or bows. Looked like it zipped into an existing canopy that was installed straight out from the aft lower edge of the flybridge, just above the salon door about 5ft. Noticed the other half of the zipper around the edge. At first I thought it was just an aft cover, but realized it had side panels with vinyl windows.
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Hi fellow 480'ers. This has been a great learning experience owning one of Sea Ray's finest vessels...we had a 260...big difference. I really appreciate the pictures and all the feed back. We have ours
in N Myrtle Beach so winter has not been that bad for us and we have gotten some work done. Being in the maintenance side of the Transportation industry(trucking) has been a real
asset with the Cat's, but all this additional info on the rest of the boat has been a learning experience.

Once again...Thanks for the feed-back!

Safe cruising

No Plans!...No plans of retiring now that I own a 480!
 
Very helpful post on dismantling the salon Greg. Answers a few questions I had about the cabinets. I have a fuel sender on the port side I need to change out and the access panel doesn't look reachable when the back & seat cushions are removed from the front cabinet. looks like the fold out electric sofa will have to be disassembled to some degree to get to it.

As far as outboard engine access goes, i always thought I was claustrophobic and I confimed it a couple years ago when I tried to slither around the mains to look around. Fortunately, there's not much to see or access other than port impeller and CCV filter. Lighting shouldn't be a problem in the ER or lazarette if all the fixtures and bulbs are working. I think there's 2 forward, 2 near the racors and atleast 3 in the lazarette.

I just had caterpillar service my motors a couple weeks ago. I had some light smoke thru turbo spool up on the port side that I wanted checked out before we make our 850 mile trip from FL back to our home port in a few weeks. They checked all settings and made sure they were same side to side, cleared alarms, inspected the motors, sea trialed and took readings on both sides. Readings were all to spec and Cat's report indicated motors ran very strong and as expected. When I hauled the boat to wax the hull and touch up some hydraulic platform paint, it had some slime build up and although the wheels measured ok, I may have tweaked a wheel at some point. So, before we leave we'll have a diver clean the bottom when he changes the anodes back to magnesium for fresh water and see if anything changes. Had my spare props tuned and balanced Monday so they're ready to go on as well.

Barrelchairs...i removed one and have the ugly thing sitting in my sons room at home. I think he keeps his playboys in the hidden storage compartment. As much as i don't like them I'll probably hang on to them in case the guy who buys the boat wants them.

Camper canvas on a 480...I'm not quite sure what to think about that. Can you get up or down the bridge steps with a camper package? clearance mid way up the steps would seem to be a problem.
 
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