Official 370 Express Cruiser Thread (1997-2000)

Yes, why do you ask?
 
Yes, why do you ask?
We really wanted that boat but were afraid to take a chance because of the hours. Also we don't fish and would have had to remove all the fishing gear and were worried about repairing all the holes. Really wanted the hardtop and cherry interior. You've got a great boat there and we are considering doing the same thing you did with our cabin floor.
 
The hours didn't scare me as I am pretty handy. I ran the boat the rest of 2017. The port motor was VERY weak. I ended up pulling it near the end of 2017 and had it Rebuilt. The Cam was completely gone. Surprisingly, the Bearings, and Bores were PERFECT. The builder was amazed at how little wear there was in the motor. He said that the previous owner must have changed the oil often. The boat now performs great with 2 strong motors. The starboard motor now has 3700 hours and has great compression. I will probably pull it apart at the end of 2019 to rebuild it. So far so good on everything else. Everything works good and runs good. The hull polished out nicely....... Did you have it surveyed at all? I know a lot of people looked at it.
 
Did you have it surveyed at all? I know a lot of people looked at it.
Didn't get to point of survey. I live about 3-4 hours from the boat and wanted to come see it but the broker was really trying to get me to commit to a number before even coming to see the boat which turned me off. And then there's all the mounted rod holders and down riggers which I would have had to remove. I recall the transmissions having trolling valves as well and was leery about that as well. From what you've revealed they didn't seem to be an issue. Anyways, we ended up with a nice freshwater '97 which we bought from the original owner.
 
Quick prop question... for those with 7.4s... what are your prop specs and are you happy with their performance? I'm running 20" diameter x 25" pitch 4-blades.
 
Quick prop question... for those with 7.4s... what are your prop specs and are you happy with their performance? I'm running 20" diameter x 25" pitch 4-blades.
According to my survey I'm running 21" X 22" 4 blade Nibrals. Boat ran to WOT at sea trial and topped out at 35 MPH. I really didn't think this boat would go that fast.
 
Quick prop question... for those with 7.4s... what are your prop specs and are you happy with their performance? I'm running 20" diameter x 25" pitch 4-blades.
I have 21 x 24 four blade props. 454 horizon motors with 380 hp. I have touched 37 mph. Cruises nicely at 26 mph at 3400rpm
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Trying to get some feedback on performance numbers for a 370 Express with gas and diesel engines...….speed at cruising, gph, and wot
 
Mercruiser 454 Horizons - 380 hp. Cruises at 26 mph at 3450 rpm - .7 MPG, 16.2 GPH, - 37 MPH WOT, .01 MPG, Too Much GPH!
 
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What are you using for MPG/GPH data? Calculated or metered? I'm looking for a flow meter solution for my boat.
I purchased the Fox Marine Gateway and connected it to my Raymarine system. The MPG and GPH are calculated values from the engine computer. The pic shows the values. I was still working on the port motor, so that one was a little high. I trust the starboard motor's data. The MPG is overall average based on GPS Speed.
 
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Well, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! About 35 more hours and she will be ready go for the Summer.
Yesterday I finished the Bow and Starboard Side above the rub rail. I tried a new product called Sure Step for the bow. It turned out great and I hope it holds up for the Summer.
Also added a 27" Sunlight Readable Monitor for the Cockpit. New Raymarine MFD's have a Mira-cast feature which will cast what ever is on the MFD to another monitor. Now I can see the Fish finder from the Back of the boat!
About 20 hour hours of Buffing and waxing, a day of cleanup in the cockpit and cabin and she is ready to go!
Its been a long Winter!
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I went to the Kendor Upholstery shop in Franklin Wisconsin. I brought one of the starboard closet removable panels for them to match.

Finished the install today! Thank you again for the great idea re: covering the mirror.
 

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I just mounted mine on a 2" riser with ZERO degrees. I have the Raymarine Quantum and it works great.
I love my autopilot. I use it EVERY trip

Installation on AIS, AutoPilot and Radar progressing well! Pics attached.
 

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What are you using for MPG/GPH data? Calculated or metered? I'm looking for a flow meter solution for my boat.

Highly recommend the Fox Marine engine gateways! It will transmit the calculated flow from engine ECUs. I've thought about adding flow meters to the fuel lines for greater accuracy, but when I do a compare of what the ECUs (via Fox Marine Gateway) say is the fuel rate and the amount I refuel the tanks, it's pretty darn close. Only thrown off by the generator on the starboard tank... which burns about 1.0 GPH so easy to calculate that too.
 
Well, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! About 35 more hours and she will be ready go for the Summer.
Yesterday I finished the Bow and Starboard Side above the rub rail. I tried a new product called Sure Step for the bow. It turned out great and I hope it holds up for the Summer.
Also added a 27" Sunlight Readable Monitor for the Cockpit. New Raymarine MFD's have a Mira-cast feature which will cast what ever is on the MFD to another monitor. Now I can see the Fish finder from the Back of the boat!
About 20 hour hours of Buffing and waxing, a day of cleanup in the cockpit and cabin and she is ready to go!
Its been a long Winter!
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Looks awesome!
 
Hey Everyone, I'm jumping into the EC thread. I just closed on mine in February and am doing some maintenance to bring her up to speed. Shes on the hard now. 1997 370 EC - twin Cat 3116s w/ <830 hours. I just did the impellers, raw water hoses, heat exchangers, trans coolers, etc. Working my way through the boat replacing lights with LEDs and spending time to make sure everything works as it should. Hoping to splash in the first week of april.

I'm in the Mid/North Chesapeake bay, north of the bay bridge. I'll be scanning this page and this post for knowledge as a progress - so far I am a huge fan of the TV placement in the posts above.
 

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Welcome to the forum Shooter! I bought mine from that area a few years ago, it was on Kent island, Castle Harbor Marina. My wife and I flew back there to do the Survey and Sea Trial, and then we finalized the deal and had her trucked to the Seattle area. You have a beautiful boating area over there, we really enjoyed the short time we were there.

Good luck with all of your projects, let us know if you need help/advice!

Kevin
 
I certainly will - I've got a pretty good mechanical background and the boat I bought was a 1 owner - which is pretty cool. My biggest struggle at the moments and sifting through the information out there to figure out what I can do for my existing transducers (there are currently 3 thru hulls, 1 fairing block, 1 speed/temp, 1 depth) and 1 in hull fitted to garmin echochirp that seems to have been thrown in.

I'll be putting simrad electronics in and replacing the original raymarine suite. Determining the fairing transducer is the tough part at the moment since it isnt on the diagrams, wire disappears into the main harness, and the ID tag fell victim to a less than clean bilge and the numbers came off. If I can't ID it then I will measure physical dimensions and see if something I want will fit. The 2 other thru hulls look like there is a possibility of replacing the insert with airmar units which would be ideal IF they can talk to my simrad suite.

Enough words for one post I think lol.
 

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