Official 370 Express Cruiser Thread (1997-2000)

[West32]

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.

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.

With Reference to the TV Placement. One thing that I did was put the TV on a movable mount so I can flip the TV out and away. - https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...rds=tv+mount&qid=1552614657&s=gateway&sr=8-14

 

[Shooter_x]

Awesome. I was thinking I would do the same. I hope you don't mind imitation!

 

[West32]

No problem. That's what we are all here for. To get ideas on how to make this Boat even more awesome!

 

[Shooter_x]

Does anyone recognize this transducer? Its installed on mine and I am looking for a simrad compatible replacement...or a replacement that fits in one of the factory thru hull locations.

 

[TNT8808]

Does anyone recognize this transducer? Its installed on mine and I am looking for a simrad compatible replacement...or a replacement that fits in one of the factory thru hull locations. View attachment 66567 View attachment 66568 View attachment 66569

My guess is with the paddle wheel it would be for your Tri-data if so equipped.

-Tom

 

[Plach]

Hi all I’m new to this . I’m looking to purchase a 1997-2000 370 . I’m torn between gas or diesel. I boat on Long Island sound. The boats that I have looked at have the 7.4 mpi fwc 330 hp ? How does this package perform. There’s also a diesel available with the 3116 cats . Don’t know if I can justify the price difference. Any input appreciated

 

[gerrpicc]

Hi all I’m new to this . I’m looking to purchase a 1997-2000 370 . I’m torn between gas or diesel. I boat on Long Island sound. The boats that I have looked at have the 7.4 mpi fwc 330 hp ? How does this package perform. There’s also a diesel available with the 3116 cats . Don’t know if I can justify the price difference. Any input appreciated

Welcome Plach!
We have the '97 with the 7.4L MPIs. After one full season with the boat we can say that we are extremely happy with the performance of this package. We would have considered diesels as well, as we wanted one of these 370 ECs so much, and they don't often come up for sale that we would have bought either gas or diesel. I'm sure the diesel owners will chime in with their experiences but they probably perform somewhat better and use less fuel.
Keep in mind that Mercruiser offered higher output 7.4L 380 HP Horizons starting in '98 and I'm sure those owners will chime in as well.
Good luck with your search!

 

[Plach]

Welcome Plach!
We have the '97 with the 7.4L MPIs. After one full season with the boat we can say that we are extremely happy with the performance of this package. We would have considered diesels as well, as we wanted one of these 370 ECs so much, and they don't often come up for sale that we would have bought either gas or diesel. I'm sure the diesel owners will chime in with their experiences but they probably perform somewhat better and use less fuel.
Keep in mind that Mercruiser offered higher output 7.4L 380 HP Horizons starting in '98 and I'm sure those owners will chime in as well.
Good luck with your search!

Thanks. What is the cruise speed and rpm as well as top end.

 

[gerrpicc]

Thanks. What is the cruise speed and rpm as well as top end.

Briefly hit 35 MPH on the sea trial. I usually cruise around 24 MPH @ 3200 RPM (depending on load and conditions)

 

[West32]

1999 370 Hardtop - Mercruiser 454 Horizons - 380 hp. Cruises at 26 mph at 3450 rpm - .7 MPG, 16.2 GPH, - 37 MPH WOT
Jumps on plane nicely

 

[Plach]

Does anyone know what the performance would be with the cat 3116 diesel option?

 

[West32]

GnrlPatton - Will chime in, he has the 3116 Diesels. Look him up, he has a lot of posts on his boat.

 

[Shooter_x]

I have 3116s. Theres a good amount of homework to do to make sure they were properly maintained before buying, I jumped through all those hoops. They are pretty efficient from what I hear burning close to approx 1 mpg.

During sea trial I had full fuel tanks, 5 adults on board and 1 engine had a clogged hear exchanger - and we cruised at 25, max speed of 33.5 on gps @2800rpms.

I just closed on mine in feb, and it made a 6 hour cruise north burning less than half tanks - but that is all the data I personally have on the engines. My cat mechanic said the 3116s are awesome engines and super fuel efficient - you just CANNOT slack on maintenance. Anythint to do with timing or fuel is a PITA to work on because of its set up.

I got what I felt was a decent price for my boat. Id be happy to share my experience via PM on any details not appropriate for public discussion.

Hope this helps.

 

[GnrlPatton]

Twin 3116TAs on mine, I generally cruise around 23 knots at 2350 RPM. WOT is 2800 RPM and gets up to about 28 knots. I'm not sure exactly what my fuel burn rate is, but it's about .9 gallons per mile.

Obviously those figures depend on a lot of conditions - loading/weight, sea state, etc. I'm very happy with my decision to go diesel, and have been able to do most of the maintenance on them myself. The only thing I wasn't able to do was to replace the injectors, I called in the pros for that.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help answer them.

Kevin

 

[gerrpicc]

View attachment 66536 View attachment 66537 View attachment 66538
With Reference to the TV Placement. One thing that I did was put the TV on a movable mount so I can flip the TV out and away. - https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...rds=tv+mount&qid=1552614657&s=gateway&sr=8-14

I was going to mount my TV in that location or at the other end of the settee but didn't want to have to worry about pulling new coax or power so I decided to mount it with an articulating mount in the galley on the wall above the sink. This gave me easy access to the cable and power.

 

[Shooter_x]

I was going to mount my TV in that location or at the other end of the settee but didn't want to have to worry about pulling new coax or power so I decided to mount it with an articulating mount in the galley on the wall above the sink. This gave me easy access to the cable and power.
View attachment 67031 View attachment 67032 View attachment 67033 View attachment 67034

Very nice! I like that you have the versatility of watching from either room.

I'm getting ready to commission mine for my (first) season with the 370. I've done a decent job getting maintenance items up to date. I set up logbooks to track fuel/hours/repair and maint intervals. I addressed engine items found during my survey and this weekends fix it list is:

Bottom Paint
Wax Hull
Service/Rebuild Racors
Replace Raw water hose from strainer to engine

We will see what time allows me to complete. I wanted to shoot for an electronics suite but that will consume more time than I want before the season starts and it isn't an area I'd like to rush. Everything original works at the moment, and there is a Garmin GPS/Fishfinder (albeit very small) so I can function for the season while I research. I'm watching the fishing reports here in the bay and anxiously awaiting rockfish opening day.

Cheers!

 

[Shooter_x]

Hey guys - I had a great cruise from Easton up to Middle River this weekend bringing her home. I've since dove into fixing all the things...

My throttle resistance was lacking and the throttles would back off by themselves - I remedied that by flipping the braking plate inside the control assembly at the guidance from a rep from Teleflex/Morse. Seemed to do the trick.

Another item on my list is my wipers - is anyone aware of a replacement part number that would allow for a flex one piece blade? I was getting a good amount of sea spray on the way home (there was a small craft advisory), despite 15mph+ winds and decent chop we cruised pretty comfortably at 28mph (2400 rpms)

Thanks for any info guys who have had the boat longer can offer.

 

[West32]

With the Wipers, I adapted mine to fit an automotive style flex blade. I got the biggest I could get at 24". They work great!

 

[Shooter_x]

With the Wipers, I adapted mine to fit an automotive style flex blade. I got the biggest I could get at 24". They work great!

Do you have sources or part numbers? When you say adapted, did you replace the arm to do so?

 

[West32]

See pic. I just spread the bracket a little wider to fit an Automotive style wiper. I did not replace the original arms. If you want, I will be at the boat on Friday and can take more and better pictures.