So the Coast Guard made fun of my horn

Gunn

Gunn

Well-Known Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 4, 2006
2,335
Potomac River - MD
Boat Info
2003 280DA and 1995 Sea Ray 175
Engines
Twin 4.3l and 3.0l, all w/ AlphaI GenII drives
It was a beautiful Friday evening for a fireworks display put on at the end of this weeks local "River Concert Series" on the banks of the river, held every Friday in the summer. My house is directly across the river from this event and when we headed out for a quick cruise beforehand, there were already several boats getting into position. The Coast Guard was there too; we saw them board a large motor yacht while we headed against the traffic and away from the activity.

On our way back, the Coast Guard spotted us. Two of them boarded while their boat pulled away. We went through the drill and I was doing good. Last thing..."Do you have a horn on board?". Great. I'm floating there with nearly 50+ boats in hearing range and now I have to do this. Beep, beep goes my horn. I say "Kind of an embarrassing horn for this boat". He replies...."Yes, it sure is.". I should have pulled out my hand-held emergency air horn in the cabinet instead.

So...has anyone replaced their silly and embarrassing Road-Runner style horn with a much nicer sounding one, suitable for a sleek and beautiful sport cruiser? :smt001

Tom
 
Scott,

Where the heck is the 'horn' on the 340?? I have never been able to determine where the duck was coming from.
 
Don't replace your wimpy horn with another wimpy horn. Go for a MANLY horn like the dual trumpet....
3704467.jpg


or if you REALLY want to have fun, put on one of these babies. Nobody will laugh at your horn ever again! http://www.kahlenberg.com/commer.html
 
Hey, at least you can get a duck sound out of yours. My air horn hasn't worked since I purchased the boat (don't worry, I have backup) and when I disassembled it most of the internal parts appear to be missing. I assume that the PO attempted to repair it and just gave up, not that uncommon in this case. It appears to be the original horn and the air compressor does work so I'm now faced with replacing the trumpet portion or finding someone to rebuild/repair it. Anyone have any ideas how to go about getting this old horn working. It's otherwise in great shape so I'd rather repair it than replace it.
 
sfergson727 said:
After 2006, Sea Ray killed the duck horn and now is using a normal sounding one. The replacement is identical as to how it mounts, so it'll be a simple swap. Note, it's still electric, and cannot possibly compare to a air horn, but it's tons better than the duck fart.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll have to look into finding a replacement. And I would love an air horn, but would like to keep it as compact and hidden as possible. That would be more like the sound that should come out of a Sea Ray!
 
My kids always ask to honk our horn because even they understand how corny it is for the boat. I bought an air horn from PepBoys years and years ago for a car I had. I got the one that sounded sporty like you'd hear on an expensive foreign car but my buddy bought one for his little pickup truck that was deep and loud as hell, which was hilarious for the little truck but would be perfect on a Sea Ray, and it was only about $20 at the time so I figure maybe $35 now. Just hook up the power like the electric and its installed. They are plastic but believe me they work. It was a two horn deal so it had the twin horn sound.
 
We were boarded by the coast guard last weekend on Lake Champlain, and when they asked for a horn, I used the handheld... I couldn't imagine they'd think too much of our built-in horn. To me it sounds a little like a goose honk and I can't imagine another boat underway would even hear it. It's probably bordering on a safety violation. I might use it a little more to signal to boats I'm passing my intention, in fog, or to do the 5 blasts at someone who isn't yielding when they should (although given how many folks seem to understand the 'rules on the water' it might be wasted energy.

btw.. we passed with flying colors (the yellow form... and we were hoping for a nice sticker).
 
Mine quit working this spring. Got a new one from the dealer and they said it would be better. It does work, but still sounds more like it should be on a fiat! I would love to see how someone has installed one in the locker without too much modification.
 
themikehyde said:
@gunn -where is this concert series?
Click to expand...

Up near the head of the St. Mary's River at the college. You can barely hear the music from the anchorage area (pointed away from the water), but the view of the fireworks is great. Though this years were pretty bland; the "finale" lasted all of 3 seconds...

So...where exactly is the horn on the 280? In the anchor locker too?

Tom
 
I've got he Kahlenberg dual air horn on mine. Not sure if this is standard or was a previous upgrade. Scares the stuffing out of folks! Love it! :grin:
 
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Gofirstclass said:
Don't replace your wimpy horn with another wimpy horn. Go for a MANLY horn like the dual trumpet....
3704467.jpg


or if you REALLY want to have fun, put on one of these babies. Nobody will laugh at your horn ever again! http://www.kahlenberg.com/commer.html
Click to expand...
I've go one of these horns on my 340 and it stopped working... Now all I have is the AFLACK horn... My wife won't let me get it fixed, because she tells me "you have a horn that works" I avoid using my horn, which is probably best... I have a haler, which I have never used. I can figure our how to make it work as horn maybe I would not be afraid to blow my horn...
 
I have the dual trumpets and love them! The 320 had the duck farts and the Admiral made fun of me every time I sounded it...

The picture below shows how they were mounted by the PO.
 

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I am torn between the $50 safe and 'sound' replacement horn that fits nicely into it's intended location or the $120 upgrade that may or may not work?
 
Gunn said:
Looks and reads like a nice one. But I couldn't get their audio file to play. Unless the sound I heard was the horn, and in that case, I don't want it...
Click to expand...
On my speakers it sounds pretty good for a boat! I think I'll measure and see if it will fit. I like it.
 
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