Official 400EC thread

[Nick Hahn]

Excellent info guys, appreciate both of your input. This is now officially added to the off-season "to do" list.

The bench does remove with a couple of pins - I would pull that first to get it out of the way. There is also an access cover along the port side of the boat in the back corner ("sister" to the access panel on the starboard side that has the water connections ) that will likely get you where you need to go.

 

[jonsm114]

Transmission cooler, fresh water cooled, water in trans fluid..

changed out transmission cooler with a New one from Lenco Coolers. Great people to deal with. Drained and refilled transmission 5 times to get all the contaminated fluid out. Filled, ran boat a bit and drained Then repeat.

I ended up with a short threaded pipe to replace the drain plug and attached a ball valve and nipple on the end. Ran a hose to an open area and set up a drill powered pump and made draining and collection of contaminated fluid a breeze. Plan on installing the same setup on the port side. Total of 12 quarts used for this procedure. Was told by a velvet drive guru to make sure to run warm trans in reverse to pi]urge the reverse circuit of contaminated fluid.

on to the next challange. Lovin the 400EC.

 

[Mrwenbee]

Hello all! I am considering purchasing a '93 Sea Ray 400 EC. The boat shows well. Clean all around. motors are about 5 years old with low hour. very clean ER with new plumbing. Needs electronics updates, a cushion repaired, and a couple of other minor fixes. This is the 1st 400EC that I’ve seen without a cockpit fridge or freezer. The current owner (he’s the 2nd one) says he bought the boat like that. Was the cockpit fridge and/or freezer an option? I’m wondering if they removed it for some reason.

Thank You

 

[jonsm114]

Hello all! I am considering purchasing a '93 Sea Ray 400 EC. The boat shows well. Clean all around. motors are about 5 years old with low hour. very clean ER with new plumbing. Needs electronics updates, a cushion repaired, and a couple of other minor fixes. This is the 1st 400EC that I’ve seen without a cockpit fridge or freezer. The current owner (he’s the 2nd one) says he bought the boat like that. Was the cockpit fridge and/or freezer an option? I’m wondering if they removed it for some reason.

Thank You

More than likely, it was removed because it went bad. Ice makers were installed there. We like the icemaker and use it often so we have maintained one. When I bought my 96 the previous owner told me the freezer worked but ice maker had been removed. I could get it to do nothing, so I removed it and installed a new one.

Jon

 

[Mrwenbee]

If it was one then I’m going to look for the plumbing when I have the survey done. They replaced it with a decent seat but I think I’d prefer the ice maker and half seat Here is what it looks like now

 

[Nick Hahn]

If it was one then I’m going to look for the plumbing when I have the survey done. They replaced it with a decent seat but I think I’d prefer the ice maker and half seat Here is what it looks like now

It's going to be a BIG job to switch to the sink/ice maker - It's all part of the fiberglass seat piece. Here is a picture of mine:

 

[Mrwenbee]

yea, unfortunately i'm figuring it to be a big job. the hard part will be to find the seat base. after 6 boats nothing is any easier

 

[Fun Hurts]

yea, unfortunately i'm figuring it to be a big job. the hard part will be to find the seat base. after 6 boats nothing is any easier

Ours is a '93, and there is a virtually identical '94 just down the dock from us.
I say "virtually", because ours is configured *identically* to the pic you provided, while the '94 down the way has the sink and ice maker.
I don't think the ice maker was an option on the '93, and wasn't offered until '94-moving forward. I've spent considerable time in the engine bay, and ours doesn't have any additional plumbing lines or hookups for a sink/ice maker.
We've never missed it. We always have a sizeable (beverage and ice) cooler on the deck behind the captains' seat/passenger seat that doubles as a step up to the gunwale. Our 320 SD had the sink/ice maker, which was convenient enough, but also we were dealing with limited floor space. Fun Hurtz has LOTS of walking-around room. I'd suggest trying it for a season before jumping into a floor plan/plumbing remodel?

Best of luck on your purchase! - Todd

 

[Mrwenbee]

Thanks Todd. I've looked at a couple of '93's that had this option. Only problem is they're almost 3 times the distance from where i found this boat. If there isn't any plumbing, i'm sure i can live without it. My 2 previous boats, Chris Craft 340 and Sea Ray 330 SD, did have this feature. Came in handy when fishing and friends needed to wash their hands or get a cold drink. It kept them out of the cabin

 

[Eluther3]

I have a 93 and when I bought my boat there was a big hole there where they were keeping an ice chest. I put in a portable fridge there, but it wasn't the easiest job I ever did.

We considered an icemaker, but we're not comfortable drinking the water from our on-board tank or using it to make ice.

 

[techmitch]

Any of you guy's seen this boat or know the owner?

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1999-sea-ray-400-sundancer-8997569/

 

[Nick Hahn]

Prop Advice Please:
Long story short, I had my props pulled this fall - getting inconsistent fuel usage from port to starboard and more throttle required on starboard to maintain sync.

This is what I got back from the prop shop:

"These propellers are not repairable. Aside from the visual edge damage they have, they are Dymex propellers. These propellers are no longer manufactured and when they were, they had terrible quality and have since proven you are money ahead to replace them.

The good news is, with propeller technology advancing as much as it has since 1994, I can run a full sizing on the vessel and more than likely achieve better efficiencies and performance.

I would need detailed vessel, engine, and transmission data to do so."

I assume the advice is accurate - any advice?

1994 400 EC 7.4 Mercruisers

Thank You

 

[Sans Souci]

Prop Advice Please:
Long story short, I had my props pulled this fall - getting inconsistent fuel usage from port to starboard and more throttle required on starboard to maintain sync.

This is what I got back from the prop shop:



I assume the advice is accurate - any advice?

1994 400 EC 7.4 Mercruisers

Thank You

I own a 1997 400EC, had the props removed , inspected and balanced by Jonny's in Detroit last year, early spring prior to launch. Johnny's is highly recommended and have a good track record .The cost was $976, not including R&R.The report showed some minor deflection, but its was repairable. Not knowing who you went with, Im guessing it is a good assessment. Good Luck

 

[Nick Hahn]

Recommendation from Holland Propeller:

I have spoken with Acme's lead engineer to verify everything, but we have propped this exact boat in the past with great success. I know the forum said four blades is the way to go, however, we found that the Acme 3 blade propellers listed below were the best fit by far. With the added blade area, varied pitch distribution, and aft rake, we saw a gain of almost 3 knots at wide open and a gain of 4.5 knots at cruise at the same RPM (3,600). They also stated the boat got out of the hole a lot faster than the original propellers.

Now, I can't guarantee these exact numbers, but as always, Acme will stand behind their props in terms of engine load and WOT RPM. So, if for some reason, these do not work on this particular application, we can either adjust them or swap them out for 4 blades.



Recommendation:



Acme Fully CNC Machined Propeller

20 x 20V x 3Bl NI. Cup 1.5" Bore

Cost is $2,512 each

In stock and currently available

 

[Nick Hahn]

Recommendation from Holland Propeller:

I have spoken with Acme's lead engineer to verify everything, but we have propped this exact boat in the past with great success. I know the forum said four blades is the way to go, however, we found that the Acme 3 blade propellers listed below were the best fit by far. With the added blade area, varied pitch distribution, and aft rake, we saw a gain of almost 3 knots at wide open and a gain of 4.5 knots at cruise at the same RPM (3,600). They also stated the boat got out of the hole a lot faster than the original propellers.

Now, I can't guarantee these exact numbers, but as always, Acme will stand behind their props in terms of engine load and WOT RPM. So, if for some reason, these do not work on this particular application, we can either adjust them or swap them out for 4 blades.



Recommendation:



Acme Fully CNC Machined Propeller

20 x 20V x 3Bl NI. Cup 1.5" Bore

Cost is $2,512 each

In stock and currently available

Now that everything else will be tore apart, will replace the cutlass bearings. . .more $.
They also suggested going to dripless shaft seals - that's another 2 boat dollars. . . not sure if that is worth the cost. Any suggestions on dripless compared to the current packing boxes?

 

[Sans Souci]

My preference is the dripless. Not cheap, but is more effective and keeps the bilge dry. When I had the props tuned/balanced had them replace all seals, bearings and dripless.

 

[see ray]

Recommendation from Holland Propeller:

I have spoken with Acme's lead engineer to verify everything, but we have propped this exact boat in the past with great success. I know the forum said four blades is the way to go, however, we found that the Acme 3 blade propellers listed below were the best fit by far. With the added blade area, varied pitch distribution, and aft rake, we saw a gain of almost 3 knots at wide open and a gain of 4.5 knots at cruise at the same RPM (3,600). They also stated the boat got out of the hole a lot faster than the original propellers.

Now, I can't guarantee these exact numbers, but as always, Acme will stand behind their props in terms of engine load and WOT RPM. So, if for some reason, these do not work on this particular application, we can either adjust them or swap them out for 4 blades.



Recommendation:



Acme Fully CNC Machined Propeller

20 x 20V x 3Bl NI. Cup 1.5" Bore

Cost is $2,512 each

In stock and currently available

I have an 05 360 Sundancer
8.1L HO with Acme props. Originally the boat came with four blade props and with all the specifications Acme recommended the three blade props 22x23 -varied pitch distribution and aft rake. my boat with full fuel five adults on board popped up on plane in six seconds. Top end was 5000 RPM and 39.5 mph that was during the survey the boat ran amazingly with all that weight I just couldn’t believe it. And I did get the props from Holland Propeller.

 

[Nick Hahn]

I have an 05 360 Sundancer
8.1L HO with Acme props. Originally the boat came with four blade props and with all the specifications Acme recommended the three blade props 22x23 -varied pitch distribution and aft rake. my boat with full fuel five adults on board popped up on plane in six seconds. Top end was 5000 RPM and 39.5 mph that was during the survey the boat ran amazingly with all that weight I just couldn’t believe it. And I did get the props from Holland Propeller.

Thank you for all the good advice - pulled the trigger yesterday - new props, cutlass bearings, dripless seals another 8 boat bucks. . .;-)

 

[Fun Hurts]

Thanks Todd. I've looked at a couple of '93's that had this option. Only problem is they're almost 3 times the distance from where i found this boat. If there isn't any plumbing, i'm sure i can live without it. My 2 previous boats, Chris Craft 340 and Sea Ray 330 SD, did have this feature. Came in handy when fishing and friends needed to wash their hands or get a cold drink. It kept them out of the cabin

Been a minute since this was posted...curious how the purchase/not purchase worked out? I was reminded of it today because a friend here on Table Rock is looking at '93 400EC that is *identical* to ours....except it has the built-in sink and fridge. So apparently much more common than I thought. Also has the built-in cupholders on the stern-bench seat, which we don't have either.

 

[Fun Hurts]

I was browsing forums, and saw a headline about the "infamous transmission chatter!", and that is something that I've knowingly overlooked since we purchased our boat.

Since day 1 and over the last three years we've owned it, at idle speed there is a distinct chatter in the drivetrain, just until I accelerate maybe another 100-200 RPM or so, and then it goes away. Seems to be mostly on the starboard side.

I've never worried much about it, as there's never been a performance issue. Does anyone else experience this? As always, thanks for your input.