Outstanding First Season

TikiTease

TikiTease

New Member
Mar 2, 2019
9
Boat Info
1992 330 EC
Engines
Twin 7.4L Mercruiser Straight Drive
Greetings!

My wife and I purchased our '92 330EC (photos below) back in March from a member of the Vallejo Yacht Club. Then named "Mudd Slinga," she had been in the club for a while and we heard from fellow members that she was an outstanding boat. Old timers of course told us we were crazy for buying a powerboat (VYC is primarily a sailing club) due to fuel costs but whatever, I like the kind of crazy we are. Though I grew up with bass boats in the family (down in Louisiana), boat ownership is new to us...and this boat felt REALLY big at first!

Now renamed "Lagniappe," (a cajun french term for 'something extra' or 'nice surprise) and comfortably settled in a nice covered berth I'm now planning a few winter projects. I've used the search feature here to try to gain insight to some of this but have had limited success. I'm hoping perhaps someone here has some knowledge to share, or can point me in the right direction.

Some background: I had a bunch of engine work performed in April to ensure she was good-to-go (With under 700 hours on the big blocks I feel she has a lot of life left in her) following our taking posession. The work performed involved installation of new exhaust manifolds, risers, hoses, etc, new distributor cap/rotors as well as a new port-side carb and stb. side raw water pump and a few other minor things. Expensive, yes, but she's running great. Even so, a few questions...

1. I'm getting a bit of vapor out of the port-side exhaust and it seems that she burns a bit more fuel on that side. From reading the forum here I thought at first it might be the mechanical choke not working properly and causing the engine to run a bit rich, but that's the side that has the new carb. Have any of you encountered anything similar to this? Could it be as simple as a carb adjustment?

2. I'm in need of two windshield wiper arms and motors (center and stb). I saw somewhere here that Sea Ray used wipers and motors from a truck for some models but haven't been able to chase down what I need and where to find. Any ideas?

3. Interior under cabinet lights in the galley which were working perfectly suddenly do not illuminate. I'll be working on this after the holiday - perhaps the switch went bad.

4. Some of the trim around the windows is beginning to fail and would benefit from replacement. Is there a source for this sort of thing?

Other things on the list for winter:
  • New water heater element
  • Professional detail (she needs it!)
  • Installation of new VHF (of course the radio I purchased is smaller than the hole cut for the radio being replaced...I have to make a blank).
  • And hopefully...new canvas (and perhaps cockpit carpet?)
All and all my wife and I are really enjoying Lagniappe. Can't wait to get back on the water!!

Thanks for listening...

JV
Vallejo, CA

IMG_2044.jpg
IMG_2072.jpg
 
Welcome and don't worry about the comments from the sailors - as they get older most of them (myself included) join the powerboat ranks.

FYI I made a backing plate for my new VHF out of 1/4 black starboard (I have a black VHF) and it looks great.
 
TikiTease said:
Greetings!

My wife and I purchased our '92 330EC (photos below) back in March from a member of the Vallejo Yacht Club. Then named "Mudd Slinga," she had been in the club for a while and we heard from fellow members that she was an outstanding boat. Old timers of course told us we were crazy for buying a powerboat (VYC is primarily a sailing club) due to fuel costs but whatever, I like the kind of crazy we are. Though I grew up with bass boats in the family (down in Louisiana), boat ownership is new to us...and this boat felt REALLY big at first!

Now renamed "Lagniappe," (a cajun french term for 'something extra' or 'nice surprise) and comfortably settled in a nice covered berth I'm now planning a few winter projects. I've used the search feature here to try to gain insight to some of this but have had limited success. I'm hoping perhaps someone here has some knowledge to share, or can point me in the right direction.

Some background: I had a bunch of engine work performed in April to ensure she was good-to-go (With under 700 hours on the big blocks I feel she has a lot of life left in her) following our taking posession. The work performed involved installation of new exhaust manifolds, risers, hoses, etc, new distributor cap/rotors as well as a new port-side carb and stb. side raw water pump and a few other minor things. Expensive, yes, but she's running great. Even so, a few questions...

1. I'm getting a bit of vapor out of the port-side exhaust and it seems that she burns a bit more fuel on that side. From reading the forum here I thought at first it might be the mechanical choke not working properly and causing the engine to run a bit rich, but that's the side that has the new carb. Have any of you encountered anything similar to this? Could it be as simple as a carb adjustment?

2. I'm in need of two windshield wiper arms and motors (center and stb). I saw somewhere here that Sea Ray used wipers and motors from a truck for some models but haven't been able to chase down what I need and where to find. Any ideas?

3. Interior under cabinet lights in the galley which were working perfectly suddenly do not illuminate. I'll be working on this after the holiday - perhaps the switch went bad.

4. Some of the trim around the windows is beginning to fail and would benefit from replacement. Is there a source for this sort of thing?

Other things on the list for winter:
  • New water heater element
  • Professional detail (she needs it!)
  • Installation of new VHF (of course the radio I purchased is smaller than the hole cut for the radio being replaced...I have to make a blank).
  • And hopefully...new canvas (and perhaps cockpit carpet?)
All and all my wife and I are really enjoying Lagniappe. Can't wait to get back on the water!!

Thanks for listening...

JV
Vallejo, CA

View attachment 77780 View attachment 77781
Click to expand...
Welcome to CSR and congrats with the boat. The thing about Sailing is it's like watching Grass grow ! What they don't realize , We power boaters have a schedule to keep! Enjoy the new Boat lol
 
JV Great name for the boat. We boat often with folks from Forked Island LA. They are in Benicia so you'll likely run into them, when you visit. They run a 400SD 'Isle Decide' on A dock. We will see you guys I'm sure when BYC cruises in to VYC the first weekend in Jan. Good luck with your projects this winter.
Rusty
Carpe Diem
 
I wouldn’t worry too much about fuel burn unless it’s extreme. Make sure both gas tanks are the same size. If you have a generator, understand that it typically will pull fuel from the starboard tank. FYI my boat has unequal fuel usage.
 
Welcome. Another displaced Louisiana boy. Where did you grow boating in LA?

Jaybeaux
 
Welcome to CSR, but I have one question....what are all those little skinny poles sticking up in your first picture? Just kidding. There are a lot of reformed sailors on here. Those are the ones who saw the light. Those still sailing haven't learned enough to come to the right side.
 
Jaybeaux said:
Welcome. Another displaced Louisiana boy. Where did you grow boating in LA?

Jaybeaux
Click to expand...

Hey Jaybeaux - it was down in Morgan City. My Dad was a big bass fisherman, I just liked to drive the boat!

Jimbeaux.
 
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Concerning your fuel burn question....you say one burns a bit more. It is normal for engines to have different burn rates. You might be surprised at the variation in HP that comes out of an engine factory for brand new engines. Crusader presented a seminar on 8.1s that I attended. Manufacturers represent that their engines will produce X HP. That is so they don't get sued by consumers for misrepresenting their products. The advertised number is conservative with the actual number being higher according to the presenters. I believe one mentioned that 5% variation is considered acceptable. I've noticed that fuel burn rates are affected by sea conditions. Quartering seas cause engines to experience different work loads and therefore achieve different fuel burn rates. Finally, I have friends who have purchased new boats and have found that one engine is consistently more fuel efficient than the other. That gets back to the manufacturing variation factor. Unless there is a big difference in how your engines perform, I would chalk up the differences to expected variation.
 
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