www.iFourWinns.com

Does anyone else besides me have trouble with the back storage locker door leaking when it rains? I have an 2004 288 vista and was wondering what others have done to properly seal the door.
Thanks

I used a soft rubber seal from Home Depot around 3 sides. Is it not perfect, but it is much better.


Steve

same problem on my 298, I am going to try the rubber seal as suggested

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1999 298 Vista [color=#FF0000]Sold!!!
twin Volvo 5.7GXI

Woody: Pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Alright, but stop me at one...make that one-thirty

I am having problem big time with the rainwater leaking in. Tried tightening door but to little avail.

I have found a piece of vinly molding and going to have epoxied just above door to provide a little "drip-edge". I really hope this works as everything i put in there gets wet and moldy. also makes it way into bilge.

Have the gaskets worked? Anybody else with the problem/solution?

Thanks

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2006 348 Vista
"Cruisin Home"
Hampton NH

To prevent mold, I would try some of these from West Marine:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=11223

They keep your "stuff" elevated and allow excess water to drain. I lined my rear locker with them and am happy so far. I dont have a rain water issue as our boat is in a covered slip, but still washing the boat etc...it gets wet back there.

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

The drip edge is not the solution. The molding/gasket material is your best bet. Common problem with these doors, and it's just
the way it is. Water in the bilge should not be a concern, unless it is filing up and activvating the bilge pump several
times per day.
I had the same issue with our 268, but only a few drops of water entered during a heavy downpour. The molding/gasket kept most
of it out. The design of the FW doors is less than ideal, I am thankful I do not have that problem with our Monterey door, in fact I keep newspaper in there to start the charcoal grill, and it never gets wet.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Thanks Cap-N-Morgan

Any help on what type of gasket material to buy, where to buy, how to attach??

I agree, poor design.

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2006 348 Vista
"Cruisin Home"
Hampton NH

I think I posted a thread on how I did this on my 348. I used some 1/2" wide white colored weatherstripping. It's held up pretty well for two seasons and has done a lot to keep rainwater out of the locker.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

thanks bill,

could you forward that thread, I cant seem to find.

I am going ahead with a white molding above door that should act as a drip edge to avoid water in top of door. I will also attempt your suggestion of weatherstripping. did you use the self adhesive type or did you use something else?

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2006 348 Vista
"Cruisin Home"
Hampton NH

I considered using a strip of garage door molding but decided against it. The problem is the flap would need to rest above the transom door. Which would mean I'd have to manually peel the molding every time I closed the door. That and it'd look like crap.

Here's the stuff I used:


I installed it like this:


I only installed it that far down on the sides because going any lower caused problems with the hinges. I had to adjust the catch for the latches. I had to move them out a bit to accommodate the added thickness of the weatherstripping. I could have removed the hinges and added some sort of shim in there to let me run the weatherstripping all the way down. But it wasn't necessary as that length down has kept most of the water out. Enough to solve most of my problem. I'd still like to add the scuppers found on newer models. Those drain the water straight out the back onto the platform instead of down holes in the engine compartment below. But it's not been a big enough deal to bother.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

thanks Bill

looks good. I will also add my molding (which I think has a decent chance of success). I will respond soon with Pics and results.

This is a great forum to trade info on these types of "design bugs" and how to solve. Last year was our first full season with the V348 and we seemed to have vetted out most of the common problems already discussed here.

I do a lot of scuba diving off our boat and this transom locker is perfect for storing 2 tanks during transit! The swim platform on this boat is the best of class, so comfortable for diving. transom shower caps it off great. Always fill my wetsuit with hot water prior to jumping in (water is almost always 45-50deg f at depth up here in new England). Kids love the swim platform. the admiral loves washing them off on the swim platform.

I would say that top "bugs" we have encountered are:

1) transom doors leaking during rain
2) shower/sink/AC sump ( modified to direct out everything but shower)
3) waste tanks and water tank guages dont work (live with it)
4) plugs on generator hard to service
5) some trouble with macerator (still havent fixed but tend to pump out all the time).
6) fuse on windlass footswitch blows easily (as a team we work around)
7) electronic throttles controls were terrible (kept reseting to dangerous settings). Replaced with direct calbe control.
had to replace sun/shade screen on forward berth. screen disintegrated. very costly. no way to just replace screen.
9) speakers in cockpit appears the cones (plastic may have melted or disintegrated. (we just dont blast the stereo and seems fine).


Have we hit on most of the issues or do we have more to learn?

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2006 348 Vista
"Cruisin Home"
Hampton NH

You can service the outside plug on the generator by going down behind the main battery switch panel. Score the caulk around it and pull out the whole box. There's just enough slack to make it work. Then you can reach down to access that outside plug. It's still a hassle though.

I don't have the macerator. I have replaced the tank sensors and gauge. I had the Xintex setup and switched to a Dometic. The Dometic 'sucks less'. If/when I have to replace anything again I'm likely to switch over to the external foil sensor kind.

Do you have inboard engines with the Teleflex throttles? I've had no trouble with them.

Speakers degrade. Just get another set of Clarions cheap somewhere. That way you won't have to deal with drilling holes for new screws. Mine lasted four seasons. I didn't bother getting the tweeter/speaker combo. I just went with the plain speakers instead. It's not like there's a lot of 'fidelity' to be had on a boat, y'know?

I've had no trouble with the footswitches for the windlass. The main breaker for it does trip if you try to use it to pull for too long with it. You learn not to do that. Instead I have the admiral cleat the line up there and use the engines to get the anchor loose if it's stuck. But it's all mud bottoms around here, so it generally comes up without a lot of force.

Just how low/high did you drill the hole for the galley sink? I may do that mod myself this year.

If/when you have to replace the hot water heater, the trim tab pump or the vacuum generator it's MUCH easier to access that area from above. The starboard side cockpit seating comes up and out. The whole bench/locker fiberglass deck panel comes up. You have to remove the seat back (screws in the creases) and then remove the screws down inside the locker. Then that WHOLE panel comes up and out. It's possible to do it alone but it helps to have a 2nd set of hands. Once that's out you get a LOT more access to the starboard side of the engine compartment.

There's a couple of other tricks but most of it is obvious.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

yeah inboards with the teleflex throttles were a nightmare. dealer had many problems with previous owner and with us having the computer reset one or both throttles to what I considereed a very dangerous setting. You just click the throttle in and it would go to full! the previous owner, dealer, and we all had close calls that resulted in some scratches. I then made call to yank them for direct throttles and couldnt be happier. Sold the teleflex on ebay for a pretty penny.

didnt know the starboard bench comes out..good to know in future. did you have to rplace hot water heater already?

yeah we go easier on windlass now...our bottoms do create a harder set. just funny that the fuse blows as opposed to the breaker in the back. breaker easy to set. fuse a little more pain in the ass (under windlass).

we'll jsut live with the tank sensors. I can see the waste having problems but the freshwater shouldnt.

speakers we will live with.

went as high as we could on sink, ended up well over water line..somewhat close to bathroom sink which was already thru-hulled. I will try and get a pic loaded.

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2006 348 Vista
"Cruisin Home"
Hampton NH