is there any other 410 415 or 440 ac owners out there

I found all of the through bolts for the aft combing. I think it should be very possible to remove the nuts, and lift up the combing an inch or so to allow some good caulking around the through bolt areas.

I also have the aft window to deal with. Are there replacement window assemblies available? At a minimum I have to rebed this one and replace the gasket material along the bottom of the window.
 
So I have had the boat for a couple of days. I found an awesome wifi camera that I can view with my cell phone. The only problem is that it does not want to connect to wifi while in the engine compartment. Do you think it would be ok to leave the engine compartment hatch in the salon open for a few weeks at a time? I would then be able to point the camera down into the bilge and remotely be sure all is well. Plus is that the compartment would benefit from the removal of the moisture from the air conditioning. Maybe a negative would be that the entire boat might take on the smell of the bilge. Thoughts? Thanks!
 
So I got the camera working by using a wifi extender. The extender is cool because it gives your boat its own personal wifi. The camera has IR lights, so the engine room can be completely dark. I can view from my cell phone or computer from any where and even do pan/tilt/zoom. I will put another under the hardtop.

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So with regard to the leaks, I think what is happening is that water is getting inside of the hollow walls of the cockpit combing. And then it is leaking through the tops of the through bolts. It is not leaking along the edges of the base of the combing.

So, I was thinking of trying Gluv-it or West Marine's penetrating epoxy. I was going to thin it very good and pour it into the walls of the combing and let it work its way through the leaks. Will this work?

My other choice is to unscrew the nuts from the bolts down below and pry up the entire combing an inch or two to scrape and caulk around the bolts. There are 2 screws holding down the side door frames also.

Is there any other product I can just "pour" into the combing and let it self level and penetrate its way through the leaks?
 
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This is the inside of the combing wall. You can see 2 bolt tops with a splurch of sealant of them.

So, as I said, I was thinking of pouring in Gluvit epoxy to just fill the entire base of the combing. It is not like I can really get at the bolts to take them out and clean them up.

Or, I could pour in a elastomeric roof coating like sta-kool which is available in 5 gallon buckets from home Depot. I used something similar to coat an RV roof once with awesome results.

I wonder if the gluvit is too hard like an epoxy and will crack. The sta-kool is soft rubber that will flex and is designed to coat roofs which are never perfectly clean. I might even be able to stick some kind of brush down there to work the material. Or I could install some access hatches.

I was going to drill some drain holes like 1/2" from the base so that if water ever did get in there, it could run out rather than just fill up inside. Then, I could fill up the combing with Sta-Kool or gluvit until it reached the level of the hole, then stop.

Thoughts?
 
I fixed all of the leaks. The only issue was my drain holes were clogging, and when I re-drilled them, lots of water came out. But it wasn't leaking into the boat, so that is great. I did gluvit at the base, then a good amount of the sta-kool.
 
I have a 1989 440 Convertible. Not the same hull, but the same vintage :)

3208TA CATS

Would love to stay on touch with the group, perhaps a good group for systems related discussions at the least.
 
I'm another new owner of a "new" 415AC. It's a 1988 build, with Mercruisers, and has been well maintained and updated by her previous owners. The boat has been on Lake Texoma since it was purchased new and has always been kept in a covered boat house; the fresh water and shade has been kind to its exterior. Many of the items that typically wear out or go obsolete over the years have been replaced, including the canvas, curtains, carpet, entertainment system, compass, depth sounder, bilge pumps, paint stripes, refrigerator, and two A/C's. The third A/C - in the aft cabin - will be replaced in a couple of weeks. For the next month or so we'll have to divide our time between enjoying the new boat and getting our previous boat, a Chris Craft Corinthian 380, ready for sale.
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Pretty boat! Best of luck with her. What's your cruise speed? That's a whole-lotta rosie for 7.4s!
 
rondds, I'm not sure about the best cruise speed, but I know it will be pretty slow. During the test drive the bow never came up, just as I expected from the research I did on the boat. That's OK because the navigable length of Lake Texoma is just about 30 miles. Also, boaters there are never more than a few miles from a protective cove, many with a soft sand shore. Even going slow it doesn't take very long to get wherever I'll need to go. in the 30 years I've had my Chris Craft there I rarely ran it over a slow 10 kt cruise. I will do something about the ground tackle that may help the 415's performance a little. It currently has an all chain rode that may be 200' long. I'm thinking about replacing that with about 10 feet of chain and nylon line.
 
Congrats RW, and welcome.

I've shared a dock with a diesel (small) and gasser 410AC. They both plane. They're both slow, but they can both do it.

They cruise around 16-17 knots. I'd say if there's an issue, it's they're not that great in getting the bow down. That giant water tank under the master berth doesn't do them any favors. I recommend running while that is empty whenever possible. I would think a heavy rode in the bow could help? I tried to talk the owner of the diesel into enlarging the tabs, but he wasn't interested.

It doesn't take much power to make an AC plow: squatting her stern down and point the bow up. Getting up on plane and getting the bow down is another matter.

What's your max RPM?
 
I had those same engines in my '89 340 Sedan Bridge. The boat weigh 16500lb dry and was very ass-heavy. I would run at about 3300RPM (to stay out of all 4 barrels) and burned about 28GPH (on Floscans) and moved at around 18mph. With good tail wind and 1/4 tanks I'd get her up pretty darn close to 20mph at that same RPM.

I think RW is familiar with all this stuff from his years on that big old ChrisCraft. Run her at displacement speed and she'll treat your wallet right and last forever!
 
RollerCoastr, I took my "new" 415AC out for the first time, other than a test drive, yesterday. During that drive I recorded speed readings using the Raymarine Dragonfly's GPS at different RPM's. Here was the condition of the boat: The boat's fuel tanks were about ½ full, the water tank was about ⅓ full and the holding tank was empty. Only a little personal gear, tools and supplies were on the boat, with no extra anchor. I left the tabs in the same position - 10% down - they were in when I had the boat hauled to power wash and inspect the bottom. The bottom was growth-free (after power washing the little bit of algae and scum during haul out) and in fine shape with 5 year old but nearly unworn Interlux NT paint. The port engine began missing a little at 2,750 and more at 3,000 rpm, but that's another issue. Here is rpm vs. speed readings at rpms where the port engine was running smoothly: 1,250 rpm, 6.5 kts. 1,500 rpm, 7.3 kts. 1,750 rpm, 8.1 kts. 2,000 rpm, 8.9 kts. 2,250 rpm, 9.4 kts. 2,500 rpm, 10.1 kts. That's a pretty linear increase in speed vs rpm, and the boat hadn't reached hull speed at 10.1 kts. I never felt the stern squatting or the bow rising significantly. This rpm vs speed graph lets you visualize the numbers.
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I wasn't surprised to find a few burned out lamps on my new 415AC, but I was a bit surprised that I couldn't figure out how to get to a couple of the bulbs. Can anyone tell me how the courtesy passageway lights in the cabin come apart to change the bulbs? I didn't try to force things because I think these fixtures are no longer available. Also, and more importantly, the port nav light cover appears stuck after loosening the screws. Does anyone have a better suggestion than my initial idea of using a hammer?
 
RW, can you post a couple of pix of the fixtures?
 
I’m not exactly sure what you’re telling me...?

I thought you were saying that the boat couldn’t get her bow up. Are you instead saying that you never tried?

Her hull speed will be under 10 knots. Remember, that’s calculated using LWL not LOA.
 
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