Official 390 E.C. Thread

On another topic, we removed our original 1988 baffed out foam mattress + the foam egg crate topper this past weekend. I discovered a hatch below the mattress that provides access to below the bed behind the drawers. That is one huge carpetted hole down there and low and behold I found (2) 2' x 3' cushions that appear to be for the pull out bed in the salon. Another mystery solved. So back to the foam mattress. We bought (2) 3" x King Size miracle foam mattresses at Costco and we used the foam egg crate topper for a template to cut out the new mattresses. The problem is that because of it's irregular shape, we will have to glue two extra pieces on to complete this jigsaw puzzle. And now finally to my question. What kind of adhesive should I be using to bond these extra pieces onto the new miracle foam mattress? The original foam mattress was a wee bit damp around the hatch area so I will cut out a piece of 6 mil. poly to out down before installing the new mattress.

regards ~ Ken
 
Don't have an answer for you on the adhesive doc but you made a good choice on swapping the mattress. We had a local mattress guy cut the temper pedic foam to fit our 1988 390EC. They also covered it with a nice material. Best money we ever spent. Sleeps better than our bed at home.

I understand the forward birth mildew problem is pretty commom in 390's. You might look in the Defender catalog for a fiber mat material they sell to put between your mattress and bed platform where the hatch is. It provides a little "air space" that has completely eliminated the mattress mildew problem in my boat.
 
David,

what did your local mattress guy use as a template to cut it out? I just bought an 88 390EC and my wife wants the mattress changed asap!
 
I remember the first night we spent on ours...my wife said the same thing. I went with the Jig Saw puzzle Costco Memory Foam Topper deal. Worked well.
 
Just bought an 88 390EC.

One of the things I would like to change is the the view I have when at the helm. I am 6'2" and with the canvas up, I have to scrunch down to see out the windshield.

I have been searching the internet for pictures of 88's to see what others have done but have not seen much.

I do have canvas that can roll up part way so I can open it up but on a cool or rainy day, that can get cold and messy. ( in Cleveland, there are many of those days)

Anyone have any suggestions, pictures or recommendations?

Thanks!
 
denjb@yahoo.com said:
Just bought an 88 390EC.

One of the things I would like to change is the the view I have when at the helm. I am 6'2" and with the canvas up, I have to scrunch down to see out the windshield.

I have been searching the internet for pictures of 88's to see what others have done but have not seen much.

I do have canvas that can roll up part way so I can open it up but on a cool or rainy day, that can get cold and messy. ( in Cleveland, there are many of those days)

Anyone have any suggestions, pictures or recommendations?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Take a look at my sig. picture. I'm 6'-2" and never had any trouble.:thumbsup:
 
Thanks!

I see what you did there. On mine, I have the full canvas top that i can roll up part way if I need to but on wet or cold days, not nearly as comfortable. I was looking to see if I can replace some of the canvas with isinglass without having to reconstruct everything and not have to change the way the top looks but not sure how cost effective that would be.

Do like what you did and in West Palm Beach vs Cleveland Ohio, the choices are a lot different!
 
In the photo of your boat, it looks like someone has lowered the middle bow in the top. The top may have been replaced at some point and the canvas you have now is likely not big enough to rais the bow by more then just enough to pull the canvas tight. To see how much height you can get, try unsnapping the canvas from the arch and the windshield frame then loosen the center bow with an allen wrench and slide the support up. It may not help with t he cuttent canvas, but it will let you know how high it can be set.

You won't be able to add an isinglass panel to the front to gain any height unless you re-design the stainless framework and add a front bow for support.
 
Frank,

Had the canvas guy over this weekend and you are right, need to redo that whole frame and canvas.

Given the other repairs, that may be next years project! Thanks for the info and the help.
 
Winter projects coming up and need some guidance

I have to do a fair amount of electronics replacement. neither of the tachs work right and the fuel gagues are not really very accurate.

Also need to replace GPS etc....

Any warnings, issues, recommendations, on these types of projects. I know I am already struggling to find replacement gauges.

Do I just measure the old and replace with something the same size ( can it be that easy or are there other issues I need to be aware of)

Thanks again!
 
denjb@yahoo.com said:
Winter projects coming up and need some guidance

I have to do a fair amount of electronics replacement. neither of the tachs work right and the fuel gagues are not really very accurate.

Also need to replace GPS etc....

Any warnings, issues, recommendations, on these types of projects. I know I am already struggling to find replacement gauges.

Do I just measure the old and replace with something the same size ( can it be that easy or are there other issues I need to be aware of)

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

You might try flounderpounder.com. I got two perfect replacements from them that were the new white face style with hour meters.
 
About all I can offer is to check to find out why your gauges don't function right before spending money on replacements. Try connecting the center connector on the fuel gauge sender to ground....if you get a full deflection on the fuel gauges, the problem is your senders, not the gauges. Senders are not hard to replace if you can get acess above them.

Tachs on gas boats may have corrosion on the connections or dip switches so try cleaning the terminals and cycling the switches if you have them........but remember where they were when where you started.
 
Will try the test on the fuel gagues cause one is wacky. When you hit about 1/2 of a tank..it drops to empty until you get to about 3/4 tank...kinda hard to work with!

and on the tachs without them working right, kinda hard to guess at rpm for fuel efficiency. Trying to use speed as a gauge but just not real accurate...besides I just thing the gauges should work!

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
need some help on air conditioning

Another opportunity for me over the winter time! The primary AC is now beyond any cost effective repair so I am going to replace it.

The unit I have been advised to get is a new Webasto 16,000BTU 115vac unit. Ebay has them for $985 which is a good price.

Since I dont have any specs on the old one, is there any way of telling this is a valid replacement? I know it does have a touchpad control to replace the three dials I have now but i dont see that to be an issue.

Anyone have any eperience in this area?
 
More Questions!

:smt100 Since this boat is still so new to me, have another question. ( and I hope I get all the terms right here!) one other project I now have is that we found moisture under the mattress in the forward berth.

I believe I have traced it to the storage area in the bow where the anchor line is. In looking in there, some moisture was found, the line was somewhat wet the area was generally wet.

I look at the bow pulpit where the anchor is and the capstain. there is a "piece" where the line goes thru the deck to below. I belive it is called a "deck pipe. I have attached the picture from the survey. anchor chain cover.jpg

Any idea where I can get one? And what am I getting?

there is also some wood slats as you can see in the picture. I think there might be some leakiing there that I might have to caulk.

Any other suggestions or ideas?
 
Re: More Questions!

denjb@yahoo.com said:
:smt100 Since this boat is still so new to me, have another question. ( and I hope I get all the terms right here!) one other project I now have is that we found moisture under the mattress in the forward berth.

I believe I have traced it to the storage area in the bow where the anchor line is. In looking in there, some moisture was found, the line was somewhat wet the area was generally wet.

I look at the bow pulpit where the anchor is and the capstain. there is a "piece" where the line goes thru the deck to below. I belive it is called a "deck pipe. I have attached the picture from the survey. View attachment 7443

Any idea where I can get one? And what am I getting?

there is also some wood slats as you can see in the picture. I think there might be some leakiing there that I might have to caulk.

Any other suggestions or ideas?
Click to expand...

At the end of the September, I removed the capstan, cleat, search light and all of the slats. We never liked the capstan, so we bought a new Lewmar windlass. The slats were impossible to keep clean and looking good, so I had a teak board made up to fill in that entire area. I ran out of time to install it, so that will be job #1 in the spring. Our "deck pipe" has a s.s. cap on it, so the rope locker stays relatively dry. Any water from the anchor rode drains out of the locker drain.

As far as the moisture under the mattress goes, we put down a piece of 6 mil. poly over the access hatch cover under the mattress to cure that problem.

~Ken
 
Ken,

Thanks for the response! We had talked about doing the same thing of replacing the capstan with a windlass especially since the capstan does not work!

You said a couple of things in your response. You said "Our "deck pipe" has a s.s. cap on it," sorry to be new to this but what is an s.s. cap?

You also referred to an anchor drain...I do not remember seeing one in there but frankly was not looking for it. Where would it be?

I will take your advice and put the 6 mil plastic underneith in the spring. I am going to replace the old mattress thats in there with a piece of memory foam this spring.

Thanks again for the help!
 
denjb@yahoo.com said:
Ken,

Thanks for the response! We had talked about doing the same thing of replacing the capstan with a windlass especially since the capstan does not work!

You said a couple of things in your response. You said "Our "deck pipe" has a s.s. cap on it," sorry to be new to this but what is an s.s. cap?

You also referred to an anchor drain...I do not remember seeing one in there but frankly was not looking for it. Where would it be?

I will take your advice and put the 6 mil plastic underneith in the spring. I am going to replace the old mattress thats in there with a piece of memory foam this spring.

Thanks again for the help!
Click to expand...

s.s. (stainless steel) Our old capstan works perfectly and is available for a modest price as well as the s.s. cap. Your rope locker drains to the outside of the boat through a s.s. clam shell fitting on the side of the boat. Take a look and you will see what I mean.

~Ken
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,144
Messages
1,427,235
Members
61,057
Latest member
DrBones!
Back
Top