Official 370 Venture thread

Finally back to upgrading my Venture . Took out by back last year and had to have surgery . No working on boats for a long time . But now back at it . I had installed the lithiums for the motors But didn't have the big bus bars That are needed for large house batteries . So I put in a small house lithium as a temp waiting for the back ordered parts . Then screwed up my back . So I have been stuck with this small house battery and couldn't in there to install the large one . It didn't like the 500a bow thruster at all . In the last week I put a softstart on the ac unit . Thre is no surge when it starts . Takes about 2 seconds to ramp up and never pulls more than the rated run amps . Generator and inverter are going to love this . Got the inverter mounted just need to wire it up . Also started installing the 260a lithium house bank . Hope to finish it tomorrow . These things can do a 10 sec surge to 2600 amps .They should be able to easily handle the thruster without letting the house voltage drop too far . Here is a picture of them mounted , Just have to wire them in .
lithium house bank.jpg
 
No . The Pronautic that comes in the Venture has 2 different lithium profiles built in . #1 is the one most people would use .
 
Got the battery install finished . Tested it by holding the bow thruster on for 30 seconds, the thruster pulls 550 amps . The Voltage held at 12.6v the whole time . I was very happy with that . Immediately checked the connections and cables . All were nice and cool . So took it for an overnighter this week , spent hours on anchor with radio, refrig , gps , lights on, Voltage held at 13.2 . Didn't have a chance to hook up inverter which was unfortunate . The temp was about 70 and a little humid . Wife wanted AC on so we had to run the generator . The ac only came on a hand full of times all night , this would have been a perfect test for the inverter but instead the generator stayed on all night and was probably only under load 10% on the time . Need to get the inverter hooked up and cabin fans installed .

The other project was to lengthen the anchor line . It comes with 120' of chain . There has been twice were I needed a little more than that . So cut off 40 feet and sent it to one of the biggest anchor line makers in the country . They are adding 120 feet of line to it for 160 total . Fyi . Checked the windless manual . It stated you can use 1/2 upto 5/8" line . Didn't sound right , called tech support and they said miss print . Can't use 1/2 " only 9/16 or 5/8 " . Also recommended 3 strand over 8 plait . I really prefer 8 plait so need to make a decision before Tuesday . Any chance anyone else has used rope ? opinions ? The chain that was removed weighed 85lbs so that's a plus .
 
Got the battery install finished . Tested it by holding the bow thruster on for 30 seconds, the thruster pulls 550 amps . The Voltage held at 12.6v the whole time . I was very happy with that . Immediately checked the connections and cables . All were nice and cool . So took it for an overnighter this week , spent hours on anchor with radio, refrig , gps , lights on, Voltage held at 13.2 . Didn't have a chance to hook up inverter which was unfortunate . The temp was about 70 and a little humid . Wife wanted AC on so we had to run the generator . The ac only came on a hand full of times all night , this would have been a perfect test for the inverter but instead the generator stayed on all night and was probably only under load 10% on the time . Need to get the inverter hooked up and cabin fans installed .

The other project was to lengthen the anchor line . It comes with 120' of chain . There has been twice were I needed a little more than that . So cut off 40 feet and sent it to one of the biggest anchor line makers in the country . They are adding 120 feet of line to it for 160 total . Fyi . Checked the windless manual . It stated you can use 1/2 upto 5/8" line . Didn't sound right , called tech support and they said miss print . Can't use 1/2 " only 9/16 or 5/8 " . Also recommended 3 strand over 8 plait . I really prefer 8 plait so need to make a decision before Tuesday . Any chance anyone else has used rope ? opinions ? The chain that was removed weighed 85lbs so that's a plus .

I had an 8 plait rode in my boat. Hated it with a passion. It constantly slipped in the windlass both paying out and retrieving. I had to reach in the anchor locker and pull it in so the gypsy could grasp the rode. And the rope / chain splice would get stuck too. Utterly frustrating and useless.

3 strand would have been a better choice. Replaced it all chain.
 
All,

Wife and I are considering a 370 Venture. My biggest two worries are: difficulty getting on plane (as ha been mentioned by some owners) and the second engine durability due to having to run high RPM's under power. The listing below is the one I am talking to the dealer on. By any chance does anyone know anything about this boat? I know the Venture Owners are a tight knit group so I figure I would ask.

https://www.boattrader.com/boat/2013-sea-ray-370-venture-7375671/

Thanks
 
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All,

Wife and I are considering a 370 Venture. My biggest two worries are: difficulty getting on plane (as ha been mentioned by some owners) and the second engine durability due to having to run high RPM's under power. The listing below is the one I am talking to the dealer on. By any chance does anyone know anything about this boat? I know the Venture Owners are a tight knit group so I figure I would ask.

https://www.boattrader.com/boat/2013-sea-ray-370-venture-7375671/

Thanks
Call me. 772-631-5005. Mike. I own the 370 venture
 
@16Hemingway
Thanks for taking some time today to answer some questions and get me some info on the boat.
 
@16Hemingway
Thanks for taking some time today to answer some questions and get me some info on the boat.
Hi, my wife and I are also looking at 370's currently on the market. Would love to know your impressions of the 370 as a potential buyer. We haven't been able to see one in person yet. We're trying to setup a couple of visits this Saturday if we can. We're in Jacksonville, FL and hoping to checkout one in Destin and another in Santa Rosa. Waiting for brokers to call us back!
 
Hi, my wife and I are also looking at 370's currently on the market. Would love to know your impressions of the 370 as a potential buyer. We haven't been able to see one in person yet. We're trying to setup a couple of visits this Saturday if we can. We're in Jacksonville, FL and hoping to checkout one in Destin and another in Santa Rosa. Waiting for brokers to call us back!
I can’t help much on the 370 info, but maybe others will chime in. For my wife, I had to make sure the boat was in the water with the AC turned on. Each time that happened, my wife liked the boat. If we showed up, and they pulled the cover off a boat out in the sun on the hard, she hated it. For the life of me I don’t understand why sellers/brokers don’t do some minor cleaning and get the boat presentable before you show up for an appointment.
 
I can’t help much on the 370 info, but maybe others will chime in. For my wife, I had to make sure the boat was in the water with the AC turned on. Each time that happened, my wife liked the boat. If we showed up, and they pulled the cover off a boat out in the sun on the hard, she hated it. For the life of me I don’t understand why sellers/brokers don’t do some minor cleaning and get the boat presentable before you show up for an appointment.
You know, I understand. We've yet to see a clean boat we were interested in and went to look at.
 
Any thoughts on buying from a dealer who owns a used boat vs. a broker?
 
As a headhunter you always know the perfect fit is out there. The challenge is finding him/her and knowing where to look. Sometimes it’s a rabbit hole other times it’s a pot of gold. So searching for my next boat today I found this 370 Venture. Still not sure how I never knew this existed but here we are.
A cruiser with outboard power, room to sleep 4, range to make it to the Bahamas and a beam that will fit in my skinny 12’ wet slip.
I went through this whole thread and one question remains, why did this boat go extinct?
What am I missing?
 
As a headhunter you always know the perfect fit is out there. The challenge is finding him/her and knowing where to look. Sometimes it’s a rabbit hole other times it’s a pot of gold. So searching for my next boat today I found this 370 Venture. Still not sure how I never knew this existed but here we are.
A cruiser with outboard power, room to sleep 4, range to make it to the Bahamas and a beam that will fit in my skinny 12’ wet slip.
I went through this whole thread and one question remains, why did this boat go extinct?
What am I missing?
I am at a loss. Maybe because it doesn’t “look” like it has outboards, and so people who want outboards don’t realize they want it, because you can’t see them. Just grasping. Also possibly Sea Ray did not market it hard enough or to the right people. Diesel owners, are not going to be impressed (unless they have had lots of $$ repairs, and they want something with less maintenance). A 32 out the gate probably would have been a better fit maybe, Regal started with the 26 or 28, then the 33 xo, and now the 38 xo.
If the Regal 38 xo is successful, Sea Ray will compete and bring back a 37’ cruiser with outboards.

So, Marrrs, I’m guessing a 320 Sundancer is not downsizing enough? If it is, we can swap boats. Mine is really 35.5’ in length, so I don’t think that’s what you had in mind, and still 11.5’ beam. I think the 370 is really 37’, so you end up only downsizing by 1.5 feet and losing a bunch of seating. But you do get 2 brand new fridges, wood flooring, and a really clean boat!
 
Any thoughts on buying from a dealer who owns a used boat vs. a broker?

Don’t rule out either.
You’re probably going to find more brokerage boats for sale out there than boats that dealers actually own so you’ll have more to look at through brokers.
I bought my 410 from a dealer who was taking it in on trade. They don’t seem to want to own used boats so I was able to negotiate a deal I was happy with and they held up their end of the bargain with a punch list of things I wanted them to do before delivery as a condition of sale.
They had committed to take it in on trade before I heard about it. I went to see it before their other deal was done with the owner. They had the 410 at their dock, and the guy was waiting for financing on his next boat.
I gave them a small deposit contingent on survey/sea trial which I had to wait a few days for until they actually owned it.
They were very happy to have a serious cash buyer lined up before they took the title so they were very fair with me.
 
I am at a loss. Maybe because it doesn’t “look” like it has outboards, and so people who want outboards don’t realize they want it, because you can’t see them. Just grasping. Also possibly Sea Ray did not market it hard enough or to the right people. Diesel owners, are not going to be impressed (unless they have had lots of $$ repairs, and they want something with less maintenance). A 32 out the gate probably would have been a better fit maybe, Regal started with the 26 or 28, then the 33 xo, and now the 38 xo.
If the Regal 38 xo is successful, Sea Ray will compete and bring back a 37’ cruiser with outboards.

So, Marrrs, I’m guessing a 320 Sundancer is not downsizing enough? If it is, we can swap boats. Mine is really 35.5’ in length, so I don’t think that’s what you had in mind, and still 11.5’ beam. I think the 370 is really 37’, so you end up only downsizing by 1.5 feet and losing a bunch of seating. But you do get 2 brand new fridges, wood flooring, and a really clean boat!

Todd, maybe you misunderstood what I was asking or I'm misunderstanding what you wrote but I do not own a 37' Venture. I'm looking to buy one. I'm looking at Sea Ray cruisers and the fact that this has outboards is very appealing to me. The 320 Sundancer is also very high on my list.
 

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