Calling all 360 DA owners

DB360 said:
Hello from "FROZEN FLORIDA",

Count us in on the 360 group. Just purchased her last month and still thinking of names.

Regards,

DB360
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Welcome, and congrats on the new boat.
A rare find with diesels. .
Frozen Florida for sure. We were at Ft Myers beach 2 weeks ago, Yikes!
We took a boat ride to Captiva and Cabbage Key and when we got to Cabbage Key we hit the gift shop for some sweat shirts to wear on the ride back!
59 degree water makes fo a chilly ride, but still a whole lot better than here in western NY.
Looking forward to some pics of the new boat.
 
Just wanted to resurrect this old thread to add our name to the 360 "list". Ours is a pretty "stock" boat without a ton of options, but only has 150 hours. A few summers ought to fix that issue...
 
Welcome aboard! There's not many of us 360 owners, but a lot of great information on upgrades and systems from them on CSR. We will be shopping for a dinghy and davit system over the next 2 weeks so I'll post info and photos about what we settle on. Right now our preferred choices are a Roskelley-Olson davit system with a Zodiac 310 RIB and a 9.9 HP motor but we're open to others based on pricing and other factors. Here's a recent photo of our boat from a Mother's Day cruise in Puget Sound.
 
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Terminal degree,
welcome aboard, look forward to some pics of your new boat
Where do you keep her?
 
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terminaldegree said:
Just wanted to resurrect this old thread to add our name to the 360 "list". Ours is a pretty "stock" boat without a ton of options, but only has 150 hours. A few summers ought to fix that issue...
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard!
 
Thanks for the welcome!

The black canvas looks pretty sharp in the picture, La Maddalena. We probably won't mess with a davit yet, as we keep a sea-doo with the boat and I don't think a hydraulic lift is possible, advisable or affordable for this model.

PM forthcoming for you, my3sons. We'll get around to the pictures eventually, first the dealer's punchlist and survey... haven't taken delivery yet. Thanks for the welcome.

Two Peas, I enjoyed reading your thread on the Smartcraft install. Luckily our boat has that stuff already on it, but we will have to replace the GPS with a chartplotter. Was getting the chartplotter to interface with the SC5000 pretty easy? I only care about the GPS speed being sent to the SC5000, assuming there isn't another speed sensor installed on the boat.

I guess that leads me to my first 2 questions for the group--

1. What Smartcraft sensors were installed on your boat? Did you add any?

2. How do you open that @!@#&^% generator sound box to check the oil? I'm used to those quiet 1800 rpm Westerbeke models that don't need a box. I pity the mechanic that has to do any work on this Kohler!
 
Just bought my 360 DA (2005) a few months ago. I keep her in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
 
terminaldegree said:
2. How do you open that @!@#&^% generator sound box to check the oil? I'm used to those quiet 1800 rpm Westerbeke models that don't need a box. I pity the mechanic that has to do any work on this Kohler!
Click to expand...

On the side panel facing the starboard engine, lift the black latch located upper center, tilt the top of the panel out to clear the top of the sound shield, and then lift. (The panel bottom is held in place by pins that go down into the lower frame). The oil fill, check and drain is now accessible.
To get the remainder of the shield off, remove the 3 (I think, it's not in front of me now) hex head screws at the top of the shield. Then lift and tilt out toward you, a little wiggling, and you should have it. It needs to come off for coolant service and the outside spark plug. On the front (as you are looking at it) lower right hand corner is an access panel that is removed by taking out a screw or two, behind that is the in-line fuel filter. On the very rear (aft) side, is a panel that has to be removed to get to the water pump for impeller change. I can get at all this stuff without removing anything else unrelated.
As far as the smartcraft stuff goes, I can't help you. Mine had it all there from the factory, it all works, so I'm not touching it. If anything ever goes wrong with it, Two Peas is right down the river from me,...he seems to have a good handle on it. :grin:
Take care
 
Hello all I am new to this forum but not to my 2004 360, we purchased her new. We boat on Lake Michigan and consider our boat our summer home on the lake.
 
She's gorgeous fiveoclocksw! Love the blue hull!
 
Thanks the Blue Hull is what sucked me in, I feared maintenance would be difficult, it's not, as long as I buff and polish at least ounce a season.
 
We looked at an 04 360DA today and it is really a nice size for us. We looked at a 390MY as well but I'm not so sure about that one. I guess this may be a dumb question with this group but how happy is everyone with the 360DA model with 8.1's?
 
I've not had a ride in the 390MY, but I think the 360's size and weight (granted, they change the model names of the boats every few years to reflect measuring with/without platform, or different designs, etc.) is about the upper limit for running gas v-drives and not feeling underpowered. Having previously driven a '98 370da with a 2:1 gear ratio and 454's, I wonder why they went with the 2.5:1 on the 360 with the 496's. It makes for a slower cruise speed than I expected at 3200. I doubt something as big and heavy as the 390MY would be able to even stay on plane at that rpm.

Just looking at the two models you mention, you can see how their intended purpose is markedly different. Do you often sleep more than 4? Spend more time running or just enjoy sitting at the dock? Enjoy being out in the air or out of the sun? Do you like having your own space, or being more social?

Our family stepped up to the 360 from a '02 340 and it feels considerably more substantial to us. I've read here about exhaust manifold failures with the '02-'05 8.1 liter Mercruisers run in salt water, so you may want to be sure the original manifolds have been replaced with a new cast iron part if you're boating in the ocean. If you use the search function, it is easy to find more info about it.

Otherwise, I'll defer to my 360-owning colleagues here who have spent a lot more "seat time" with the boat than I...
 
Well, I explained to the Admiral that the 390MY is not happening. I love the Sundancers but we need a bit more elbow room. The 390 is a beast, too high off of the water, dock, etc. and 26,500 lbs dry! The data out there about 34GPH at cruise can't be true. I am thinking more like 40GPH or more. If I remember correctly the 360DA is 18,500 lbs dry which is much easier on the same engines. The ability to close the forward berth doors is a nice touch if we have the Grandkids with us.

We love the 340DA but the 360 is just big enough that we wouldn't need to go bigger most likely. The 400DB is our dream boat but to get that one with the engines I would want is a stretch right now, although I found one with 8.1's that I could probably get for a song....

Bottom line is the 360DA is probably the most boat we would ever need!
 
I have a 2005 360DA which is relatively new to me. Looking for some feedback on speed & RPM at WOT & the same at cruising RPM of 3200.
 
I have been doing some informal, sporadic testing of our boat at different speeds and can offer the following:

WOT is 4510 on the Port engine, 4480 on Starboard engine, 33.4 MPH per GPS. Apparently I didn't record fuel use but I remember once noticing around 40 GPH at WOT.

At 3120 RPM I get 19.3 MPH and burn 26.6 GPH
At 2580 RPM I get 14 MPH and burn 18.5 GPH.
At 2030 RPM I get 10.1 MPH and 11.4 GPH.

This is typically with 2 people on board and fuel tanks at 1/2 to 3/4 full. I need to do a more scientific set of test runs. Also, I just added a Zodiac Cadet 310 RIB dinghy, 15 HP Honda outboard and Roskelley Olsson davit system so the next test runs will include that additional load.
 
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Thanks for the info. I'm taking her out tomorrow to record some speed/fuel info.
Nice dinghy rig.
 
Thanks. Please post your speed / fuel use info when you have it, and I will do the same. It will be useful to have some real world comparative information.
 
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