Engine Access 340 vs. 330

[douglee25]

Those pics of the mess in the engine room of the 340 leave not doubt about what a nightmare that boat is to work on. I will agree that sterndrives do help somewhat but now you will spend all of our time repairing all the crap that goes wrong with stern drives that you keep in the water all the time, especially if it is salt water. I been there and done that and wont ever do it again.

Check out this picture of my engine room taken from the foward bulkhead looking between the motors look to the back of the transom. I am a big dude and can get between the motors and go all the way to the transom where I have good acces to the generator on my left and access to the trim tab pump on my right. I have done it many times even when the engines are running and/or still pleanty hot.

No doubt you have a lot of room. That must be nice for maintenance.

I boat in mainly fresh water, but sometimes brackish and then totally salt if I make my way down the Chesapeake far enough. Sterndrives could be an option for me based on my location. However, when I upgrade to my next boat, the question will be do I go 330/340, or skip that and go right to a 370/380? I haven't spent enough time on either one to make a final decision at this point.

Doug

 

[keokie]

Stern drives can pose some real difficulties even in freshwater. However, they are much easier to work on, offer considerably better performance, and are more efficient.

 

[J Levine]

Stern drives can pose some real difficulties even in freshwater. However, they are much easier to work on, offer considerably better performance, and are more efficient.

I will give you the performance and efficiency but easier to work on??? Lets see a V Drive inboard has a simple one speed powershift transmission with a prop shaft, a shaft seal, a propeller and a rudder.

A stern drive has an aluminum gear case submerged in water subject to leaks and corrosion, a hydraulic system with cylinders, hoses, a pump, valve body and switches, a submerged universal joint and bearing protected by a flexible rubber hose subject to leaks and corrosion. All this wonderful stuff is hard to access and often requires special tools to service. Lets not forget the shift cables that can be so tempermental. And lets not forget the pleasure of trying to remove months of marine growth form all the nooks and crannies on this babies and then try to paint them with some antifowling to keep the stuff from comming back too soon.

Much easier to work on for sure. What you gain in performance and efficency can help pay to keep all these piece parts working.

 

[keokie]

I did not say more reliable. I said easier to work on. That includes the motors. Marine motors require a lot of maintenance. So do all the accompanying systems. A boat with sterndrives often has much more space and is far easier to work on than V drives.

My 310 with small block V's is a nightmare. Space is so bad, even the gen is nearly impossible to work on. Mine with big block sterndives has lots of access. An outdrive, while somewhat complicated and expensive, is easy to remove and can be worked on wherever you like.

 

[SkippyzAfloat]

Hi Doug,

As I'm actually sitting on my boat right now starting to do most of my winterizing, I had to chime in on this subject.

As an owner of an '00 340DA, I'm also one of the many bruised and contorted owners that thought it would be a good idea to try some of their own service. These boats are very tight. I'm 6'1", 280lbs, 52"-Tall Suit, so I'm very familiar with stuffing myself into tight spaces but these things are off the scale. This summer, I decided to do a routine clean-out on all the strainers as I hadn't done it since we brought the boat up from Florida...let's just say that if you're able to spiral your body down into tight little areas, are able to literally work on a strainer with one hand, blind and behind your back (a/c strainer) :smt009 then this is the boat for you!

They're great boats, generally comfortable for most things other than servicing them and a good bang for the buck. I guess I'd say here's the deal; buy the 340 and pay a "small" mechanic to do your service or get the 370/380 and do it yourself.

Good luck!

Simon

 

[Ken@dockside]

Ditto. Even getting to the a/c strainer I have to do a headstand ... literally. I have not found a way to slide in front of the engines and croutch down because I am too tall. The marina has a 5.5 foot guy that can get in there. Getting to my genny is relatively easy and I can access it well, but there is no way for me to get inbetween the mains or down in the bilge in front of them.
If I had to buy a boat again, I would go for a 380 or 410, but that is also doubling you money.

Hi there, just curious. In this pic looks like the cap is off the oil bottle to the genny, is that correct?

 

[Alex D]

Hi there, just curious. In this pic looks like the cap is off the oil bottle to the genny, is that correct?

That "oil bottle" is the coolant reservoir and there is a cap on there, it is just very transparent and therefore it might look like its missing.

 

[Alex D]

No doubt engine access is tight in all of the smaller express cruisers, but there is of course a compromise. The 340 is still not as bad as let's say a FourWinns 290 Vista with twin 5.0 V8s. Now that is a reeeally tight bilge if you have ever seen one. Twin V8s and a genny in a 9'6" beam boat. And then I wonder how a 300 dancer with twin V8s feels like in the bilge. So it could be worse. We are happy with the baot and at the time when we bought we would have had to pay double the money for a 380/410 in the same condition as our 340 ... and that would only have been gassers. SO from a money's worth persepctive I feel still fine with our compromises.

My approach is simple and I am actually not too concerned: Do what I can and hire the marina for the rest. I can easily do all general annual maintenance and servicing. Once it gets to more involved work, I hire it out. The worst self maintenance jobs for me are: Cleaning the a/c strainer and r&r the batteries.

 

[Bottom Line]

And then I wonder how a 300 dancer with twin V8s feels like in the bilge. So it could be worse.

The 2002-2007 300DA were only available with stern drives, V-drives were not even an option. There is tons of room in the 300DA...here is a pic of mine.....

 

[mrsrobinson]

No doubt engine access is tight in all of the smaller express cruisers, but there is of course a compromise. The 340 is still not as bad as let's say a FourWinns 290 Vista with twin 5.0 V8s. Now that is a reeeally tight bilge if you have ever seen one. Twin V8s and a genny in a 9'6" beam boat. And then I wonder how a 300 dancer with twin V8s feels like in the bilge. So it could be worse. We are happy with the baot and at the time when we bought we would have had to pay double the money for a 380/410 in the same condition as our 340 ... and that would only have been gassers. SO from a money's worth persepctive I feel still fine with our compromises.

My approach is simple and I am actually not too concerned: Do what I can and hire the marina for the rest. I can easily do all general annual maintenance and servicing. Once it gets to more involved work, I hire it out. The worst self maintenance jobs for me are: Cleaning the a/c strainer and r&r the batteries.

"My approach is simple and I am actually not too concerned: Do what I can and hire the marina for the rest"

+1

The only issue (besides access of course) I have with the strainers is I always cut up my hands when handling them.

Our slip neighbor has a 2000 Cruisers 3370, 5.7s with outdrives. He is about 5'6" tall and 140lbs wet. I swear he can lay down and take a nap in his engine compartment!

 

[wingless]

The 380DA is configured to permit access to all components for servicing. The center section between the engines permits access for most activities. The side floor panels come out for additional access, like battery service or extended generator services (most gen service is easy enough just reaching over, like oil, filter and zinc).

The space between my engines is usually occupied by my bike. I move it to the bow rail or road when anchored.

 

[mrsrobinson]

"The 380DA is configured to permit access to all components for servicing."

This is not sarcasm. Your comment made me think...do manufacturers take this into consideration when building a boat? My guess is some do, some don't.

 

[fc3]

I guess people want bigger cabins than larger engine rooms. The manufacturers respond.

 

[wingless]

I guess people want bigger cabins that larger engine rooms.

Doesn't the width increase w/ the length, making more room between the engines?

The beam on the '02 340DA shown in the pics is 11' 5" and the beam on the '00 380DA is 13' 0".

That extra foot and a half goes a long way to space things out.

 

[Newbie]

The 03+ 340's are no where near as bad as the 02 and earlier models like Alex D's. Granted its still tight in there, it's workable. I'm 6'7" tall, 260lbs and can get to everything in the bilge on my 03. Some stuff, I just lay on the engines to work on. Its actually not too bad to get to the back of the engines (their front) once you figure out how to get in there. Once in there, theres room to sit down and move around. The hardest thing to get to is the port engine's inline fuel filter. It lays at the same level as the bottom of the oil pan with only inches to reach between the engine and holding tank. SB

 

[Pseudomind]

The 03+ 340's are no where near as bad as the 02 and earlier models like Alex D's. Granted its still tight in there, it's workable. I'm 6'7" tall, 260lbs and can get to everything in the bilge on my 03. Some stuff, I just lay on the engines to work on. Its actually not too bad to get to the back of the engines (their front) once you figure out how to get in there. Once in there, theres room to sit down and move around. The hardest thing to get to is the port engine's inline fuel filter. It lays at the same level as the bottom of the oil pan with only inches to reach between the engine and holding tank. SB

Now this is one of those occasions where I would say, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

:thumbsup:

 

[mrsrobinson]

"Its actually not too bad to get to the back of the engines (their front) once you figure out how to get in there"

You are a brave man. The mechanic the previous owner used is still stuck in there on ours...I give him food and water every week!

 

[douglee25]

"The 380DA is configured to permit access to all components for servicing."

This is not sarcasm. Your comment made me think...do manufacturers take this into consideration when building a boat? My guess is some do, some don't.

My guess is that marketing determines what's going to sell in the market and the engineers are left to figure out how to package everything efficiently on the boat. I bet every engineer who designs those boats think to themselves at one point, 'Boy every Tom, Dick, and Harry is going to hate me putting this holding tank so close to the exhaust manifold.' At that point, the engineer has no choice but to follow his/her directive.

Doug

 

[Alex D]

The 03+ 340's are no where near as bad as the 02 and earlier models like Alex D's. Granted its still tight in there, it's workable. I'm 6'7" tall, 260lbs and can get to everything in the bilge on my 03. Some stuff, I just lay on the engines to work on. Its actually not too bad to get to the back of the engines (their front) once you figure out how to get in there. Once in there, theres room to sit down and move around. The hardest thing to get to is the port engine's inline fuel filter. It lays at the same level as the bottom of the oil pan with only inches to reach between the engine and holding tank. SB

The only thing that's better in the new style 340 is the size of the engine hatch! It is much bigger. The hatch in the old 340 is quite stupid. Too small and opens to the wronside. DUH! The hatch on the new 340 allows access betweent the bulkhead and the engines. I have worked in the new style 340 engine room. Otherwise it is actually not bigger and does not have much more room and some components are actually a lot worse to access, like the water heater.

Step into a 380/410 DA/EC with gassers and you will know what ample room for servicing really means

 

[osd9]

You want engine access, step into a 1996-2001(?) 370EC wide body.....now there's some ER access. You can have lunch down there....and invite guests!!!!!