Linear Actuator for Hatch Lift

LTD.330

LTD.330

Well-Known Member
Oct 5, 2009
1,554
Lake Erie
Boat Info
1999 Sundancer 330
Engines
7.4 MPI
I splashed my boat on Saturday, and a maintenance deed I committed last summer decided to rise up and bite me in the ass. I had decided to scrub my bilge and it involved Dawn soap and lots and lots of water.

Evidently, the linear actuator that opens and closes my engine room hatch really wasn't meant to get wet and decided its useful life is over.

I'm going to assume I have to replace the whole assembly and not just the motor. Is that a safe assumption?

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement and how approximately how many BOAT dollars are involved?

Lastly, would anyone know the manufacturer, model number and/or specs of the linear actuator installed in a 1999 330 Sundancer?

Thanks in advance.
 
Bought mine online from a company called "Concentric". I talked to them on the phone. They were extremely helpful. They even changed the gear ratio for me so it would rise faster than the original slow actuator. All said and done, easy job, couple hundred dollars.
 
Riptide: I'll check out "Concentric".

Bt Doctor: When I hit the switch, the electric motor gives me a turn or two and then bogs down. After a couple of go-arounds with the intermittent switch, my son was able to get ahold of the hatch and apply upward pressure, thereby relieving the load on the motor and we were able to open the hatch fully.
 
LTD330 I don't know if this will work or not but did you try to lubricant the cylinder ? That happened to me on my windshield vent window when I bought my old boat. The window wouldn't hardly even move and I kept spraying it and trying it and it finally started opening and closing smooth and fast. Maybe if your lucky the Dawn soap took all the lubricant off the cylinder. Good luck
 
The batteries were fully charged and the boat was plugged into shore power with the battery charger on. The two house batteries were replaced two years ago and the starboard engine and generator batteries were replaced last year. I'm fairly confident the batteries are in good shape as both motors cranked hard when starting.
 
Some actuators have a grease fitting (mine doesn't) that can provide lube to the gear. Mine was slow to open for a few years, and my local mechanic changed the electrical connection to get more voltage to the motor, and solved the problem. Your results may vary....good luck.

Don
 
When I said check the power I meant at the motors connections. Being low in the bilge that could just be corroded.
But if you wish to send it to me for inspection / armature cleaning before spending a lot of money/
 
Had same problem and it wasn't the motor. Actually, two things contributed to it stop working.
First, the wiring; this assembly requires quite a bit of electrical current when opening. When you look at how the wiring is routed (breaker panel to helm switch to actuator) it's a bit of surprise we don't have more problems. So I changed mine to operate off a couple of relays which are directly tied to a new 40 Amp circuit breaker at the main battery disconnect panel and the switch on the helm simply operates the relays. The two relays are standard Bosch 50 amp units in a 4X4 junction box in the engine room not far from the actuator.
The second issue are the seals on the top of the actuator housing; they get no lubrication at all and end up dragging to the point the actuator rod cannot move through them. The seals are two O-rings spaced about 1/4" apart. Remove the actuator from the boat and disassembly to allow the ram to be removed from the motor's side (it's a simple disassembly) Clean up the seals and the grooves they sit in and pack with wheel bearing grease. While it is apart you could install a grease zirk and periodically pump some grease in there.
 
Wonder if this would work on my boat I have two on my boat seems like they're getting a little tired


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
joeyleggz said:
Wonder if this would work on my boat I have two on my boat seems like they're getting a little tired
Click to expand...

You would need to verify the stroke length on your current actuators to make sure they are 18". In my research, I found all sizes. The most popular sizes I ran across for boats were the 18" and 24" models.

The replacement process was fairly straight forward. A 3/4" ratchet and wrench were all that were needed to remove the bolt from the bottom of the actuator. The only issue I had was there wasn't much rope to work with when I spliced in the electrical connections.
 
Stray Cat said:
As recall, Sea Ray use Acculift actuators on the 330DA. Here is an old thread for reference. http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/7947-Acculift-Linear-Actuators
Click to expand...


good luck getting a hold of Acculift, I have been trying for 3+ weeks, as well as my mechanic..
no one answers their automated phones,
when you finally get through to a voice mail, no one calls you back, t
hat also includes using the "contact us" options online and sending multiple emails..
at this point i had to go aftermarket, and waiting for them to arrive this Friday..
only issue im worried about is clearance with the aftermarket ones as they are a slightly different design..

https://www.progressiveautomations.com/linear-actuator-ip66#ig
 
Last edited:
Pony Racer said:
good luck getting a hold of Acculift, I have been trying for 3+ weeks, as well as my mechanic..
no one answers their automated phones,
when you finally get through to a voice mail, no one calls you back, t
hat also includes using the "contact us" options online and sending multiple emails..
at this point i had to go aftermarket, and waiting for them to arrive this Friday..
only issue im worried about is clearance with the aftermarket ones as they are a slightly different design..

https://www.progressiveautomations.com/linear-actuator-ip66#ig
Click to expand...


I know that I am resurrecting this thread from dead, but i was curious if those actuators from Progressive Automations actually worked?

I just got done installing two 400lb lifts thinking that was more than enough oomph for my 40 Sundancer (same boat as your 390) and they will not lift the hatch.

I cant find any specs on the original Acculift units, so im not sure what force is required.

Thanks for the reply if you happen to see this!
 
crizz said:
I know that I am resurrecting this thread from dead, but i was curious if those actuators from Progressive Automations actually worked?

I just got done installing two 400lb lifts thinking that was more than enough oomph for my 40 Sundancer (same boat as your 390) and they will not lift the hatch.

I cant find any specs on the original Acculift units, so im not sure what force is required.

Thanks for the reply if you happen to see this!
Click to expand...

I’m about to find out, myself! Sundancer windshield vent doesn’t function. I can hear the relays clicking on open and close but it doesn’t move. I got a little wiggle the first time tonight... maybe a mm or two open. Then nothing. Unbolted the actuator and it still doesn’t move. Window opens freely. Took out the actuator and the shaft doesn’t budge but a mm. Should I be able to pull it out at all? I can’t. I’m going to take volt reading at the connector to make sure I don’t have a broken line, but I think one of these actuators is in my near future.
 
scooper321 said:
I’m about to find out, myself! Sundancer windshield vent doesn’t function. I can hear the relays clicking on open and close but it doesn’t move. I got a little wiggle the first time tonight... maybe a mm or two open. Then nothing. Unbolted the actuator and it still doesn’t move. Window opens freely. Took out the actuator and the shaft doesn’t budge but a mm. Should I be able to pull it out at all? I can’t. I’m going to take volt reading at the connector to make sure I don’t have a broken line, but I think one of these actuators is in my near future.
Click to expand...

It twists in and out like a little corkscrew. I would recommend just getting a new one. ~$40 online. I pulled mine off at the same time I did my hatch lift to try rebuilding to no avail.
 
The ones for the vent in the windshield are 100 bucks, online. Turns out, mine was fine. I had loose and dirty contacts in 2 pin connector for the actuator. Once I cleaned them off a bit and mated them securely, it was working well.
 
and if you want pics...
99B02007-F60E-496C-AE96-A0D420532841.jpeg

5BB66E9C-3AA2-4F02-A193-F3C2F1047F1F.jpeg

DA3C4EEA-1503-4BC7-90F6-B646B9EC8B2D.jpeg


And yes, I cleaned I up before reassembly
 
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