Official 400EC thread

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Oh La La said:
I have one but the pole is not adjustable. The base is weighted and top is as described..
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Please text me how much.

Ken
925-595-5257
 
h_gerry said:
Nice Job. I like the black out panels for privacy.

Any screens in the rear section?

By the way, did you do a renaming ceremony when you changed her name??
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Yes, we added six new screens with their own covers in the back, and sides, plus one above the windshield in the center.
Sorry for the late responce.

 
Recently I installed a SIMRAD "BoatConnect" system on my boat that I bought last summer, and just never had the time to install until now.

Here's how it works. First you install the "BoatConnect" app on your cell phone...



...then you can install the Hub. I installed my Hub down in the salon to the left of the stereo head unit where the OEM CD deck was. Then you install whatever sensors that you want to keep an eye on like, Battery voltage, Bilge level, Air temperature. I still need to install one more sensor that detects if a door has been opened. Once your sensors are installed you can set the parameters for each of the sensors. You can even set it up to notify you if your boat has been moved via GPS. If anything goes wrong you'll be alerted via your cell phone. I can check the status through the "BoatConnect" app at any time with the use of my cell phone, and yes there's a monthly fee.



I now have great piece of mind that if a problem occurs when I'm away from the boat, I'll be alerted.
 
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Ok...it has been a while since I have posted here...so, we will update. 2 weeks ago I came down to the Marina and was looking the boat over and detected a slight smell of battery acid. On exploration, bank one was hot to the touch, bank 2 was very warm and bank 3 had blown it's breaker. I checked battery fluid levels and found them low on 1 and 2. I filled and did a load test after isolating batteries and found both batteries on bank 1 dead and 2 very low. Apparently the Pro Mariner 40 charger had malfunctioned and tried to cook the battery's. A quick Google search found plenty of fm]ention o f these things doing that and several posts stated they were dangerous and could cause a fire. I removed the 4 effected battery's and took them home to see if I could slow charge and load test. Waste of time, they were done. They were Group 31 marine battery's, wake breaker brand installed in June of 16. I decided to remove the charger/12 volt converter and replace with a modern unit. Purchased a ProNautic 12-40 on eBay and 4 new wake breaker group 31s. Charger $399 shipped and battery's from local distributor $104 each. Old converter was mounted next to water heater on starboard side. Removed 3-battery bank cables, ground, common and hot wire, separate ground and bonding wire. New unit is pretty much plug and play. All wire ring terminals went right on including 110 and grounds. Attached and tightened and ran old bonding wire to bonding terminal on the unit and that was it. Installed battery's and cleaned all connections and installed with silicone dielectric grease and flipped charger on. It is pre programmed for flooded cell battery's and it flew like a jet. Fan cooled and very quiet. There is also a temp wire that plugs into the unit and runs to a negative terminal on the {house} bank to calculate heat rise as they charge to the computer can make charging decisions. Only issue now is a mounting bracket for charger as I want to mount it vertical. There is also a remote control panel that is available as an option so you can mount at the helm or other location. It too is plug and Play. Total cost about $820. My old charger was origonal to the boat and over 24 years old.
 
Now....for this weekend. Came down the Marina and it was a beautiful day..everything since battery and charger work was just fine. Ran the boat all day and came back to the Marina for dinner. Sitting in salon I became aware of the A/C unit doing a classic "short Cycle". The compressor unit coming on and running for less than 40 seconds and turning off. Ok...from past experience, check strainer, no problem. Now check filter on unit and opening it up under salon seat I see the air discharge hose loose and had come off the plenum and was laying beside the unit with the air blowing around under the seat. Holy cow. I slid it back on and tightened the clamp. I noticed the condensation tray was dry. I had shut of the unit before opening up the bench so I restored power to the unit and it came on. Felt all the hard lines and they were doing their thing. I was immediately aware of run time. It was not short cycling. The evaporator lines were cold and beginning to get wet...life is good. And the filter was clean. Wow. Go figure. That discharge duct coming off was the key.. Ya learn something new every day.
 
^^^^^Great work! You definitely dodged a bullet with the A/C!

I did the same battery, and charger replacement last year myself. I went with the Xantrex charger, and remote panel. The OEM Pro Mariner 40 was still in working order, but per Pro Mariner it wouldn't properly charge the new AMG batteries that I installed.



 
Ok. To you guys that have changed out your charger/converter I just have one question. How did you get to it? I've noticed that my converter is to the left of the hot water heater, but I remember thinking "I hope I never have to get to that!" I'm not sure I could physically touch it with a finger - much less remove or connect wires.
 
lay over the stringers....have a couple old lawn chair cushions I use. Have to do that when I pull the fuel pump/water pump so service it. Drain the water heater as well. not sure what your setup is like..7.4 MPI here, you have CATS!
 
jonsm114 said:
lay over the stringers....have a couple old lawn chair cushions I use. Have to do that when I pull the fuel pump/water pump so service it. Drain the water heater as well. not sure what your setup is like..7.4 MPI here, you have CATS!
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AHH! That's likely the difference. I'm guessing you might have more room with the 7.4s. I don't think I can even get close to a stringer in that area of the boat. I'm pretty sure I can't even get my head between the engine and the side of the deck.
 
I did the same thing here...Remove the helm seat, remove the engine cover hatch, lay on top of the engine, and go to work!

 
I agree. I had to do the same job. Don't think I could have done it without removing the helm seat and access panel
 
I wish I had a photo to show you guys. It's not about removing the panel. I had done that. I remember thinking that I might have to pull the engine to get at the charger/converter. With the diesels, there's just no access in that corner.
 
TitanTn said:
I'm interested in this too. I haven't seen many davit systems on this particular boat. I hope someone has some specifics to share.
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So I have something that may suprise most but I have not installed it because Im still trying to figue it out so maybe mentioning it here will bring a fresh outlook. Like most I'm getting to old and too lazy to swing my dinghy up, I have a 9' hard bottom with a 25hp 2 stroke Merc. I want a system that is easily removable and stowable if I'm not going to use my dinghy. The 400EC swimplatfrom is mall because of the stoage box. My plan was the following: Harbor Freight has a $100 pickup truck hydraulic lift that has the capacity to lift my dinghy and engine. It swivels, the boom extends, and you can remove the top portion and store it in the back seat. I had mine powder coated white and it looks good and for marine application BUT there are mounting issues. In reviews of the lift truck owners complained it needs a much larger support system mounted under truck bed. The two short angle iron braces that come with unit are not long enough to spread load. Mounting on the boat the situation would be the same and just to be safe and not crack the fiberglass wherever its mounted, a larger support plate should be used.
Ideally I'd like to mount lift to the rear walk way of boat hull, the boom extended to longest position easily reaches out to pick up dinghy and when lifted hold it in a great location with two straps one either end holding dinghy tight to hull when underway. Problem is getting a plate mounted under it to disipate the load, the generator and water tank prevent me from getting under mounting position. I'm not sure how to get a large backing plate under lift.
Second best place to mount would be inside the stoage box on swim platform but that means modifying the mounting post by extending the pipe 12" or so to allow upper section to piviot around, as well as modifying my stoage box cover.
Third location would be in swim platfrom where ladder swings down but then post is in way of ladder when lift is not being used. Both 2 & 3 locations are easy to mount a support plate.
One idea I had was to make a custom robust slide-in mount like weaver dinghy brackets so the entire lift can be taken off when not in use.

Its an inexpensive lift $100 and with a little modification could be a great removeable solution but I'm still contemplating best mounting options. Input welcome.
 

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GregM said:
So I have something that may suprise most but I have not installed it because Im still trying to figue it out so maybe mentioning it here will bring a fresh outlook. Like most I'm getting to old and too lazy to swing my dinghy up, I have a 9' hard bottom with a 25hp 2 stroke Merc. I want a system that is easily removable and stowable if I'm not going to use my dinghy. The 400EC swimplatfrom is mall because of the stoage box. My plan was the following: Harbor Freight has a $100 pickup truck hydraulic lift that has the capacity to lift my dinghy and engine. It swivels, the boom extends, and you can remove the top portion and store it in the back seat. I had mine powder coated white and it looks good and for marine application BUT there are mounting issues. In reviews of the lift truck owners complained it needs a much larger support system mounted under truck bed. The two short angle iron braces that come with unit are not long enough to spread load. Mounting on the boat the situation would be the same and just to be safe and not crack the fiberglass wherever its mounted, a larger support plate should be used.
Ideally I'd like to mount lift to the rear walk way of boat hull, the boom extended to longest position easily reaches out to pick up dinghy and when lifted hold it in a great location with two straps one either end holding dinghy tight to hull when underway. Problem is getting a plate mounted under it to disipate the load, the generator and water tank prevent me from getting under mounting position. I'm not sure how to get a large backing plate under lift.
Second best place to mount would be inside the stoage box on swim platform but that means modifying the mounting post by extending the pipe 12" or so to allow upper section to piviot around, as well as modifying my stoage box cover.
Third location would be in swim platfrom where ladder swings down but then post is in way of ladder when lift is not being used. Both 2 & 3 locations are easy to mount a support plate.
One idea I had was to make a custom robust slide-in mount like weaver dinghy brackets so the entire lift can be taken off when not in use.

Its an inexpensive lift $100 and with a little modification could be a great removeable solution but I'm still contemplating best mounting options. Input welcome.
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I like the concept Greg. At first glance I think at least option 3 is going to be problematic because even with a backing plate, the swim platform is not meant to handle such loads. It'll put significant stress on where the platform is mounted to the integrated platform. Position 2 might be a better option, but it also it putting stress on the extended swim platform and you have to cut up your fender box. I really think option 1 would be the most stable and easiest to use, but you're right about getting access to the underside. I haven't specifically looked at mine in that location, but nothing back there is easy to get to. I actually think there's a significant amount of room in the starboard corner, but just getting to it is going to be a challenge. I hope to be out at my boat tomorrow working on some projects, so I'll take a look in my engine room and see if anything comes to mind.
 
TitanTn said:
I like the concept Greg. At first glance I think at least option 3 is going to be problematic because even with a backing plate, the swim platform is not meant to handle such loads. It'll put significant stress on where the platform is mounted to the integrated platform. Position 2 might be a better option, but it also it putting stress on the extended swim platform and you have to cut up your fender box. I really think option 1 would be the most stable and easiest to use, but you're right about getting access to the underside. I haven't specifically looked at mine in that location, but nothing back there is easy to get to. I actually think there's a significant amount of room in the starboard corner, but just getting to it is going to be a challenge. I hope to be out at my boat tomorrow working on some projects, so I'll take a look in my engine room and see if anything comes to mind.
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My rear fender holder has been modifed. I replaced the 4 piece fender holder off and sold it to another member and made a cover out of starboard and now use it as a storage locker for ropes and hose etc. I agree with number 3 not being ideal. Number 2 is my favoride because I dont have to cut a big hole in boat and I know from reviewing other mountingd of dinghy systems the swim platform is robust it just needs a good side mounting support plate under swim platform. I did mess up though. My mounting pillar was poweder coated before I extened it so if I do use option 2 I need to add the extension to mounting post, then re-powdercoat unless I mount it on something in box to raise it.. Hummmm. :)
 
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