What DON'T you like about your boat?

[hack4alivin]

2006 320.

1. Very tight bilge.
2. No drink holder for the person sitting next to the captain.
3. Front bed cushions were too hard, I replaced with memory foam and now I think it will be too soft. Havent slept on it yet.
4. Aft cabin bed too short. OK for a child or maybe a short grown-up. I'm 5.11 and cant lay straight on the bed.
5. Ledge to hold aft cabin cushion is too small and cushion falls when turned into a bed. - summer project
6. No air conditioning vent in the aft cabin. Aft cabin gets very cold while front berth is warm.
7. AC vent in front berth is a fixed grill. Doesnt allow air to be redirected away from my face when sleeping.
8. Water leak in the bathroom ran down a hose that filled the vacuum compartment under the cushions in the aft and ruined the vaccum. New BEAM replacement vacuum is 1 1/2 inches taller and doesnt fit. (original model discontinued). Need to do some modificatons.
9. Clock on Microwave has to be reset evertime 110v power is interupted.

I hope this isnt going to get posted in the classified section ;-)

Vince,

Where did you get the memory foam? I want to change mine as well.

 

[xravenx]

-Location on the generator impeller. It takes the better part of a day to change it and after I'm done I need to see a Dr.!
-Cockpit sink faucet is totaly useless. You can't even wash your hands in it!
-The icemaker makes 4 cubes a day. I just pulled it out and I'm looking for a fridge to put in it's place.

Jason,

My impeller is easy to change.........but I've have gas motors, may have more room then you. After carefully measuring to see if it would fit, I replaced the next to useless cockpit ice maker with a Norcold DE051 (I'm pretty sure that was the model #) Required increasing the opening about an 1 1/2" all the way around, very easy with a sawzall. If I would have gone with the smaller Norcold there would have been almost no cutting, but man that thing is little. Oh and that faucet is useless, that is on my list before splash day.

Really can't think of anything current on my boat I don't like.................oh wait, the cabin carpet, I'm tearing that out this weekend and installing something new.

John

 

[JYurgo]

- Lack of cockpit storage
- Little room for electronics
- Small gas tank

 

[sbw1]

Different SRs had different quirks and some common issues as well. All boats were bought new so these were not issues of owner neglect.
1979 26' Express. Good sea boat for its size but it leaked like a sieve when it rained. You had to leave the berth to avoid getting drenched through the leaky hatch. The cabin leaked too although less so. The vinyl stripes needed to be replaced at the water line due to the nicks they picked up from flotsom.
1986 30' WE. Also a good sea boat. Leaks in the windows. Stringer and transom rot due to limber hole issues that were unknown at the time. They looked finished but were not. Head and shower were pretty marginal due to technology limitations of the day. Vinyl stripes.
1993 37 Express. Hull/Deck joint on the port side leaked from day one and was never fully repaired in the 10 years I owned the boat. A/C was under the bed and very noisy. The drip pan leaked water when you would get the boat up on plane. Poor design. The windows leaked. The limber holes were still not properly glassed so I had to do that myself. Wouldn't you think they would have fixed that? The headliner under the wind shield got stained from a leak probably coming from a screw hole some where in the windshield. Hull design was pretty flat entry and the drawers and lockers as well as the TV opened up when cruising. I would have to push the TV back into its enclosure and wedge it with a rubber door stop and check every 30 minutes or so to make sure the TV was still secure when cruising. The transom door was secured with a piece of black nylon strap that became frayed and seemed out of place on a $140,000 boat (remember this is 1993). Vinyl stipes always needed some work. There was very little storage for extended cruising so livability was so-so. This was the nicest SR we owned but it was the highest maintenance from day one. I could have probably lived with most of these issues but in the end, it was the leaks that did me in. I always heard that all boats leak, but I've learned that this is not the case.

 

[HarttoHart]

I wish it was a new 350 DA and I had won the lottery.

I have had my 290 for 16 months and it has met my goals by 100%. I wanted the biggest boat I could fit in a 30'x12' slip at the marina. I love the boat.

Nothing is perfect though.....

The big one is that the couch/bed conversion set up is great on the 290 except that you have to be a Chinese contortionist to open the front hatch when it is folded up to be a couch.

The two small ones that annoy me are the fact that the best air flow from the a/c is in the head. The cabin cools fine but I store beer in the head to stay cold. Also, I should have upgraded the stereo but I can and will later.

 

[Vince_nj1]

Vince,

Where did you get the memory foam? I want to change mine as well.

I bought it from Overstock.com. 4 Inch memory foam in King size. I removed the padding from inside the original cushions and used them as templates to draw a line on the memory foam. I then cut the memory foam using a cerated bread knife, others on this board used a an electric knife. I even matched the angle of the cushion where it lies up against the bulkhead.

I actually bought 2 different versions. A 3lb density and a 4lb denisty. I kept the 4lb one for my bed at home and cut up the 3lb for the boat. I should have used the 4lb for the boat since it replaces the padding inside the cushion and the 3lb seems like it will bottom out. I'll probaly end up buying another 4lb pad to replace the 3lb one.

This the link for the 4lb version
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...ory-Foam-Mattress-Topper/1657609/product.html

Link for 3lb version. (in case you want one for home)
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...per-with-Contour-Pillows/2653504/product.html

 

[beachcombersc]

No screen door.
No HVAC vent in head.
Should have larger spaces for electronics.(helm)
Swim platform should be away from Genny vent.
Larger fresh water tank
The first stair to the cabin. Its in the helm....
Fresh cold water gets HOT in the summertime. (too close to the genny???)

 

[berth control]

sbw1 -
I hear you about the leaks. My boat leaks too. Side windows still leak a little, and the top deck hatches needed new rubber seals, now they are fine. I second the nylon strap too, mine are all frayed; but I can replace them for about 10 bucks and a half hour, so no big deal.

You are kind of harsh on the brand there - I am sure that your 2004 Tiara is built better than your 1993 Weekender was, but I wonder how much better the Tiara is than a 2004 amber jack of similar size? An not a single complaint about the Tiara?

 

[Fishnut]

Galley sink drains into a sump box.

Dumbest design award goes to this one.

 

[tmhudson2]

Vee berth is a little short for comfort.

 

[ghuskin]

I would like to have an aft access door to the swim platform. It can be a pain crawling across the stern.

 

[Turtlesboat]

my feet don't touch the floor when I sit on the head.

 

[uraldyx]

I have been extremely happy with mine. The only 2 things that come to mind are:

1. Would have like the snap in carpet better.
2. No useful cup holder at the helm, it is down in the side storage near the floor.

 

[Sea Gull]

Dumbest design award goes to this one.

I love that everything drains into the sump box. This means fewer hull penetrations for drains lending a very clean look to the hull sides. We do try to be careful about what goes down the drains, but I tend to think the stuff going down the galley sink drain is no worse than the stuff going down the shower drain.

My sump box is large enough with easy access so cleaning it is not such a chore.

 

[Four Suns]

my feet don't touch the floor when I sit on the head.

Ha ha

How is that Sea Ray's fault?

I would have mentioned the toilets designed for 11-year old girls to sit on but when I had the 480 built, I had the thing modified at the factory. They didn't install the fiberglass drop down lid on the toilets and I had them install bigger/elongated/big boy toilets... When I had the 380, there was no place to put the equipment when taking a dump.

 

[Four Suns]

I love that everything drains into the sump box. This means fewer hull penetrations for drains lending a very clean look to the hull sides. We do try to be careful about what goes down the drains, but I tend to think the stuff going down the galley sink drain is no worse than the stuff going down the shower drain.

My sump box is large enough with easy access so cleaning it is not such a chore.

You need to travel with my family.... on YOUR boat. Coke, cottage cheese, tuna, mayo, cheerios... sorta like an environmental experiment.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Ha ha

When I had the 380, there was no place to put the equipment when taking a dump.

there you go bragging again. I'm average height, I want me feet to touch. At least my galley sink drains overboard.

 

[Fishnut]

1. Spotlight mounted on the anchor locker. It shines on the rail so you can't see a thing and the power wire is subject to abuse.

2. The subpump below the steps that never works. In fact Searay know this design doesn't work. I am on my second unit and I constantly have water soaking the carpet. The dealer has given up trying to fix it.

3. Bigger swim platform

4. Floor to ceiling height in the shower is too short

5. I would get rid of the carpet in the cabin.

6. I would get rid of the fruffy stuff (drink table) in the cockpit in exchange for more seating and raise the port seats up to the same height as the captain's bench.

7. The infill table and support always falls down in the cabin. There needs to be a way to lock it into place.

8. dampers on the air conditioner vents.

9. The anchor needs a roller and or a power winch option. The design with the nav lights in the way is a design defect because they didn't clear it with the boat gods.


Life would be grand if I could solve 1,2 and 9. :grin:

 

[timinfla2]

I have had my ups and downs with my boat, as I bought it new and had to debug. After that initial round, there are still several items that I'd change.

1. The Blue LED lights on the helm switches look very cool at dusk, but when it's a moonless night, even with the dimness turned all the way down, they are still distractingly bright and annoying. This is a safety issue as it affects my night vision. I've thought about electrical tape over the lights...
2. The Dinette couch in the cabin is meant to convert into a bed. The problem is that SR should've designed it so it sloped it slightly outboard because as it is, it feels flat or even sloped inboard a bit and I can't fall asleep on it as I always feel I'm Just about to roll off the damned thing...
3. Amen to the clock on the microwave issue Vince. Part of me likes it though because if you're gone and power goes out, it's a good telltale of such and that you shouldn't trust your food in the fridge. Maybe if they had like a 60s time delay that would serve to notify of extended power outages and avoid constant resetting of the clock.
4. Lack of a good place for fender storage.
5. Ditto to Beachcomber - I love my buddy's Tiara that has a screen door in addition to the sliding hard door leading into the cabin from the helm area. I've seen some folks have a velcro solution but the door would be nice from the factory.
6. One of my major annoyances is that the bilge pump doesn't pump the bilge completely dry. There is always a good inch of water down there that accumulates when I wash the boat and the only way to get it out is to shop vac it or mop and bucket. WTF? Why wouldn't you put the intake for the bilge pump at the lowest point of the bilge?
7. The aft area of my cockpit is modular in that you can place 3 slats across the rear cockpit seats and put a sun pad on top and make a nice lounge area. The slats, however, are of very flimsy construction and seem weak and unreliable. They should've made the slats far more robust. But, I guess it's a good way to keep the fat chicks from sunning on your boat, LOL. So perhaps it's an asset...

 

[240da]

Fishnut:

How did your light end up on the anchor locker door? We have essentially the same boat and ours is on a bracket away from the door.

I do agree on the anchor roller issue.