www.iFourWinns.com

So hows the heat factor on the teak style carpet? I'm dissapointed, I just got off the phone w/ FW directly (since no dealer is in a hurry to get back to me on finalizing a teak carpet purchase) and they have halted production of this carpet due it's heat absorption. That sucks!! I told them the ESP flexiteak doesn't bother me and I typically have the bimini up so it shouldn't be a big deal. Not too bad in MD & VA anyway.. Looks like I'll have to go the aftermarket route. I liked the price of the FW carpet

Wait, the fabric carpet gets too hot? WTF? Or are you talking about the glued-on flexiteek stuff? I've got the flexiteek stuff and it does indeed get too hot to walk upon. And this being here on the Chesapeake, so don't be too sure about the heat issues.

If it's the carpet then is this the same stuff that Corinthian is/was selling before they 'ran out'? Might the shortage also be an issue for FW, or was it a heat issue for them too?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Heck yea, I was even thinking before, "I wonder if Bill will ask how hot it gets?" Not sure about corinthian's but don't see why it'd be any different. Same color and texture... My thinking is that it's mostly shaded by the canvas top. Curious to hear feedback of those that have it. I think Sierra is on a cruise this week but maybe he'll chime in on this. Bill I have the flexi too and it really doesn't bother me. But I'm in and out of the water a lot as well as just hose it down a few times if I'm hanging out at the marina and that keeps it cool. But you can't really hose down the carpet like that

I'm pretty surprised to hear of carpet getting too hot. I can only imagine it would be due to the carpet being made out of some sort of synthetic that doesn't dissipate heat as effectively as the regular carpet does. Perhaps a combination with the backing material is a problem. I'm always ready to rain on someone's parade when they ask about the flexiteek, but carpet? Go figure.

I had the factory carpet down in the cockpit full time. The backing on it eventually dryrotted. I've got nothing down on it now. But when it was down it never got anywhere near as hot as the flexiteek material. Not even the section leading out the transom door, which was in full sun a great majority of the time. And it was medium beige shade of carpet. Not 'dark' but certainly brown enough to hide the typical foot traffic crud that makes non-slip look messy.

Oy, so now what the hell do I get?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

It hasn't even occurred to me that my new swim platform carpet has gotten hot. Thinking back to Memorial Day weekend, which was hot, it was out the for the three days I was at anchor without any issues. I will be cruising over the next week and expect some hot weather again so I'll pay closer attention and report back. But I don't think it's a problem. Particularly in the shade.

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

OK, I give. where is the A/C located on a 348? the manual says the A/C is " . . . located either underneath the dinette lid or in the aft cabin ..." What & where is the dinette lid? i looked under the dinette couch - no A/C there. it's not in the aft cabin either.

Also, where is the air return? Has anyone tried removing the louvered doors & grills to clean the filters?

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2006 348 Vista
"some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield"

I have a 358 which is the same boat. My a/c unit is located under the cabin entry stair case. The central vac outlet and the air return are also located right there. If you found that louvered door with the a/c filter, you have found the area where the a/c unit is!

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2008 Four Winns V358 (T 6.2L Merc Bravo III's with DTS and SeaCore)
2006 Sea Ray 340DA
2006 Sea Ray 320DA
2005 Maxum 3100 SE

As Better Luck says look under the stairs. That whole panel comes off with fours screws and you can get pretty good access. Now if you have the old style "drunk" stairs it might be a little more crowded. You might have to pull the stairs out.

The big intake under the stairs has a thin filter on it and it's pretty easy to clean. I don't think the small louvered outputs have any filters. I don't think the outputs are that easy to remove. Don't forget that a lot of the things that look like vents are really speakers.

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

thanx guys.

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2006 348 Vista
"some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield"

I prefer the term 'puzzle steps'. "LEFT FOOT FIRST" as I tell all my passengers...

The filter panel comes out of the cabinet. Just slide it up a bit and pull it out. Cleans up pretty well, just don't blast it to pieces with a hose. Also note there's a strip of filter material on the AC condenser itself. Likewise be careful when cleaning it. You can also vacuum off the fins of the condenser. It's usually best to do this when the AC isn't running so you're not vacuuming against the airflow. This "can" be done from the opening left by the filter panel. I say "can" but you have to have pretty long arms (and a healthy vocabulary of obscenities). If you want better access to the AC unit then you'll want to remove the wooden access panel. Four screws and it comes right out. If you have the vacuum option you'll want to remove it first, especially with the puzzle steps.

If you have the puzzle steps you may want to remove them in order to get better access into the cabinet. I've done work back there (installing some electronic stuff) and it was a lot less hassle to do so without the steps in the way. The whole staircase comes out rather easily. It's just four screws from the deck above and then another four (or so) in the bottom base. It *really* helps to have a right-angle power screwdriver to get to those bottom screws. Then the whole thing comes out. You may want to make sure you've got a step-stool or something (bucket, cooler, etc) down there with you ahead of time, in case you need to go back up on deck.

The outputs do not have filters on them. If there's not a decent flow coming out then check that the hose leading to it hasn't gotten crimped. There are four hoses on the AC unit. One to the mid-cabin, the head, the main cabin and then the forward cabin. Cold air leaks right there near the AC unit will make it less efficient. When you're inside that cabinet make sure to check each hose and see that they're not leaking.

I noticed the line going back to the mid-cabin was a little loose. I used a big zip tie and some aluminized tape (not cloth duck tape) and made a better seal.

The one leading to the head had gotten a bit crimped where it makes the turn up at the top of that cabinet area. It took a bit of jiggingly from both above and below to get the hose better situated. There's an access hatch in the ceiling that helps get to the top part of the hose. I then put a piece of foam under the point where the hose made the turn up from behind the cabinet and it greatly improved the airflow in the head.

The one feeding the forward berth is behind the seat back of the couch.

So if you're not getting a consistent amount of airflow from all of the vents then check the hoses.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Well I'm going to post this here since I think a few of you guys have the Ray DSM. It appears my temp transducer has died. Water temps are around 168 deg F! Just checking to see if this went out with anybody else and if they dealt direct with Raymarine on getting it covered under warranty?

I have been dealing with my dealer/FW on my persistent transducer issues but it is believed that my problem has more to do with the transducer's placement than the gear itself. If it is a hassle to deal with the dealer, it certainly couldn't hurt to contact Raymarine directly. I have found them to be quite responsive and helpful in the past. Hopefully that hasn't changed since their acquisition.

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Update -

After four days on the hook in hot temperatures and constant, direct sun, I can report that the carpet does, in fact, get hot. No more or less than the exposed pieces of OEM cockpit carpet, but I didn't want to mislead anyone into thinking it was some heat-defying miracle fabric.

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

That's great news and perfectly acceptable, even if it were to be a bit hotter than oem, as with the flexiteak the tradeoff is totally worth it. Interesting that the factory cited 'significantly hotter.' Maybe that's code for significantly less profitable! Oh well... It was a HOT weekend to be a flexiteak owner, more noticeable this weekend then ever before. But it's just that morning singe - then it's wet all day. And all the compliments I got on it all weekend make it totally worth it. Can't wait to get the matching carpet!

Any one having Sirius weather issues?? I can not seem to get a signal from Sirius Weather. My Sirius radios work fine, when switching Raymarine C80 to a full weather page I don't receive any data. I have been on the phone with Sirius and had them resend the signal over and over again but nothing. It's not just me, another Fourwinns owner in my marina is having the same issue however a Formula owner right behind me gets his signal just fine. When on the weather page I can move the cursor to a zone and when I hit OK it gives me the information of the zone I am in however there is no data such as wind speed, wave height etc. I have been into the setup menu and all the functions are turned on. Any one have any suggestions or having the same issue????

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2008.Fourwinns V358
1999 SeaRay340 Sundancer
1989 SeaRay 260 Cuddy