www.iFourWinns.com

May try the hose trick, will also bring up some needle nose pliers might be able to reach it

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

Why not try a plumber's snake. They make some plastic ones that have teeth and are about 12-20 inches long. May do the trick.

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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

If I'm remembering correctly, the drain fitting under the port side is L-shaped. If the blockage isn't 'right there' at the bottom of the L you're not going to have much luck forcing anything around that L to reach it. If you had something really long I suppose come in from the through hull and push it back to the L. That'd let you reach it. But the plastic snakes I've seen are usually only about 2' long and I think too wide to fit down the small drain opening.

I'd probably try using a hemostat or a very small set of needlenose as the opening is rather small (no more than 3/8" in diameter). But after I tried getting the gunk out of mine I gave up and just wedged the hose down onto the drain. I got lucky, it worked.

It would be better to have either plugs for the drains or a grate type of opening.

I don't know if it's any better on a model with outdrives, but with inboards these compartments get pretty warm inside. I always shake my head when I see that brochure picture showing sodas on ice in them. Other than sitting at the dock all day, in a covered slip, the ice would melt in minutes. Between the engine heat from below and the heat radiating from the foot-burning Flexi-teek from above there's no way those compartments would ever stay cold. Mine just end up being storage for water rafts like these:


I just loop a line through that hole at the feet and then tie it off to a stern cleat. The swim platform is just the right height to reel someone in and pour 'em a fresh margarita from the blender...

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Hey all, where are all of you guys? How is everyone doing? How are the new 358 owners and their boats? Any issues, any mods? any Galvonic isolator news? Why so quiet?

steven

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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

Steven - I was just thanking the same thing as was going to make the same post. OK, I'll begin...

I love this boat. As I've said before, I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. Yes, there are some elements I wished they had designed differently and my punchlist isn't fully resolved, but nothing has gotten in the way of my enjoying the summer on the water other than the weather.

The C02 detectors tend to go off when underway, camper top or not, when the cabin is sealed closed. Particularly the one in the forward berth. That one even goes off when the boat has been left closed up and sitting at the dock with nothing running. I know they are super-sensitive and imperfect from previous posts on this forum, so I have ordered a handheld C02 detector to measure the actual presence of C02. The fumes from the new construction can still be quite intense when the boat's been closed up for a week. I can't imagine that's part of the problem, but I'm looking into it.

I do find the bow rise to be more excessive than I feel it should be if I don't fully deploy my tabs, but I'm learning more about the attitude of the boat the more I use it - I'm only at 18.5 hours.

As I believe I've stated here before, I'll be adding a second ship's systems battery as the single battery doesn't have an extensive life which is to be expected with two fridges, the E80 and stereo running on the hook. I'll be spending my first nights on the hook next week and plan to give the genny a workout.

Mods - My Raymarine ST70 is up and running for engine data and fuel flow info. I still have some work to do to get it all fully functional, but I love the unit and I'm happy with my decision to put it in...


I also had the mid-cabin TV installed myself instead of doing the factory option. It's a bit bigger than the factory model (I believe 12" instead of 10") and pulls down the HD channels from my marina's cable system (at 720p, the best you'll do in a TV that size)...


Hopefully more will chime in with their thoughts and, perhaps more importantly, PICTURES!

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

Between travel and rain, I really disappointed with how much time I've spent on the boat. I'm still working a few kinks but all in all a very clean delivery.

My CO detectors are now disconnected. As far as I can tell they are falsely triggering on new boat fumes. I got a call from my marina that they were on constantly during the week. There was no one in the marina, no running engines within a 1/4 mile. We always sleep at our slip and no one runs anything during the night so safety isn't a concern. I've been running with hatches open in an effort to clean the fumes out. I haven't run with the canvas up since disconnecting, I hoping to reconnect soon.

I'll take some more pictures this weekend.

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

CO detectors can be defective. But they will also trigger when the 12v power from the battery is too low. Make sure it's not the battery running down. I believe it lights up the LEDs differently between a CO alarm and one for Low Voltage. Mine tripped on what seemed like a random basis and it turned out to be the low voltage situation.

Also, the maker of the alarm will refurbish or otherwise repair them. They're interested in making sure people have them in good working order. I would imagine if you contacted them directly they'd be more than willing to arrange to swap out those units. This would probably be faster than having the dealer do exactly the same thing (even though "they should"). Contact the vendor (whose name escapes me at the moment).

DO NOT LEAVE THEM DISCONNECTED IF YOU'RE ON THE BOAT. CO poisoning kills too many people each year. It's odorless, colorless and is the same 'weight' as regular air (unlike propane, which sinks).

You may also want to consider investing in a handheld unit. I picked up one off fleabay. It's handy for double-checking the idiot light on the regular units.

At the very least, pick up a residential CO monitor, one with an LCD is nice. That'll at least give some monitoring protection.

My bet is yours are just defective. It happens.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

First thing I checked is the voltage, it was above 13 volts, this first happened in the slip on shore power.

I doubt that both detectors failed in exactly the same way. If I connect them and close all the hatches, within an hour they will both beep. This is with the boat engines and generator off, in the slip on shore power. None of the boats in the marina are running. I can't see how I am in any CO danger in this situation.

So far we have only been running the boat with the canvas down, so I'm sure the risk is very low up on deck. I am worried about below decks, so we don't let anyone ride around down there until this is fixed. No one wants to anyway. I need to eventually be able to run with the canvas up, so this needs fixing.

The other danger situation is on the hook with the generator running. I've tried it a few times for short periods, just to see if the generator worked. Obviously we can't stay or sleep down there without working CO detectors. We can't anchor overnight on our lake so this isn't an issue yet.

When I arrive tonight, I'll check the new boat smell, it's been getting better every week. I may try reconecting the detectors. If they go off at 2AM for no good reason, I'll be ticked off. I also have a battery powered digital detector at home maybe I'll bring it for a third opinion.

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

I think that's the best idea. Get something else to show the values when the ones in there trigger. That'll definitely indicate whether they're defective or not. Yes, you shouldn't have to expend the effort, but things break. You can either debug it a bit yourself or deal with getting the boat to the dealer and leaving it there. I often chose the former rather than go without the boat for too long. Once you discover they're defective I'm sure the folks at Xintex/Firebuoy (if that's the brand) will be glad to swap them out.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Well this was a welcome sign to come home to, lots of posts. I thought the same thing when my CO detectors went off, but I quickly learned I have generator issues that pop the house circuit and drain the house battery. Still working on that one. Nice pics Sierra!

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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

Mini review
Went out on Saturday evening with 15 adults on board. Let's just say that the 358 with the 6.2's is amazing. I put the trim tabs down all the way, opened up the throttles and she planed within 10 seconds and we were cruising at 35 MPH in no time at all. I was super impressed with the performance of this craft. She handled well, road well and performed beyond my expectations.

Now if we could get our generator issues resolved I would be extatic!

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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

Great to hear (except for the genny part). Fifteen people! I hope at least most of them had good boating manners - you are braver than me (although I have had seven boaters hanging comfortably in my cabin, a welcome change from my last cruiser).

Now all you need to do is post some pix!

I'm off to anchor out for the first time this week. I'll be on the hook for two nights and still deciding how to deal with battery management during the sleeping hours as I have yet to add a second ship's system battery. I'm pretty sure I won't run the genny overnight, although I'll be doing lots of testing with my handheld CO2 detector. After cooling down the cabin & killing the genny I may just power down the cockpit fridge and anything else that draws juice other than the cabin fridge and see how that goes.

_________________
Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

I tried, really I did but there really wasn't any choice other than to add more batteries. Given you're in a model with sterndrives you've got a huge amount of space for them. A shelf in front of one of your engines would probably be the simplest location. Perhaps on the starboard side, but check to see how it leans in the water first. Batteries are heavy and may have some effect on how the boat lists. I'm thinking two sheets of 3/4" marine plywood laminated together and painted with white epoxy paint would be good, screwed down into the stringers. Batteries are heavy so a single 3/4" sheet might not be enough to handle the weight across span between the stringers.

You can start by just putting one in parallel with the existing ships system battery. All you'll need is appropriately heavy gauge wire. I picked up mine cheap from http://www.skycraftsurplus.com. The only 'expensive' part was getting the battery terminal crimping tool. I found one cheap ($30) from an automobile battery shop. It's a hammer type, one with a pointed lug in a v-shaped groove. You SMACK the pin with a hammer and it crimps the terminal into the wire. Works well. Then it's just a matter of sealing it up with heat shink (a portable butane torch works great here).

If you add one battery, consider placing it on the shelf such that adding another one later would be possible. I went with two 6v golf cart style batteries, wired in series, to get the added amperage. But that decision was also driven by placement requirements. In an inboard 348 the engine room is laid out differently, leaving a big shelf area underneath the swim platform (sterndrives don't have this). I couldn't get a larger boat type battery and it's storage box back in that space. I had to go with two 'automotive sized' batteries. Given you have the space it might even be worth considering a large marine battery in a box across the stringers. That'd probably give you enough amperage to even support running the coffee, blender or even the AC off of it.

You can either drive yourself crazy trying to eek out added battery time or just bite the bullet and upgrade to more batteries.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Don't worry about the cockpit fridge. I believe it is a/c only and wont be an issue. We now have 25 hours on the boat and 80ish on the generator. We sleep with it on all the time with no issues. The CO detectors only come on when we are not charging the house battery because the circuit breaker keeps popping.

We can usually go a whole day without needing the generator to recharge.

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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

Cockpit fridge is dual voltage. I'll be running the genny a lot. Did you service your genny yet?

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Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards