www.iFourWinns.com

As I bought a used Vista V258 (2008), I am finding new problem every day!
And the boat is still not in the sea!
1.
I found that everything under the front cushions (in the cabin) is wet!
I opened those compartments (left, right and front) and they are completely wet!
Where can that water be coming from? Windlass Chain compartment maybe?
Anyone had similar issue? How to solve that?
2.
When I connect the boat to shore electricity power, it starts showing me the "fault galvanic isolator" alert (red bulb).
It also says something about reversed polarity there.
I tried to rotate the electricity wire, but it remains...

I hope I will not find some more problems...

Thanx

If it's like my 278, the anchor chain compartment has two clamshell drainage points that need to be checked. They are slightly higher than the bottom of the compartment - the sealant at the bottom of the compartment needs to be checked too.

You say you have been connected to shore power but have not been to the sea yet. Is the boat in water or on a trailer/hard stand? Being in a wet pen with shore power connected is the only time that the galvanic isolater is going to achieve anything. If a boat is on dry land a multimeter or polarity checker might be a better way of checking the mains power.
Try this for more information http://www.skeiron.pl/zawartosc2_do_pod ... iajuv1fsv0 and look at Guest isolators at http://www.marinco.com

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John
2006 Four Winns Vista 278 (sold)

Thanx for those hints, I'll check that!
The boat is still on trailer, you're saying that the galvanic isolator is showing the error because of that?

I'm hoping a qualified electrician will join the discussion but in the mean time...
My 278 lives in a wet pen and when not in use is always plugged in to shore power for battery charging. A galvanic isolator is an asset in that it protects the boat from stray currents in the water, under these circumstances only. It doesn't do anything for the boat when I leave the dock or remove it from the water. When I'm on the water but away from the dock the red light flashes indicating that we have unplugged shore power.
The AC positive and negative lines from shore power pass uninterrupted to the boat's AC panel. The ground line from shore power to the boat is interrupted by the galvanic isolator which is nothing more than a cluster of back to back diodes. A capacitor bypasses the diodes to trip the ground fault interrupter (the safety switch on the AC panel) if current is detected in the ground wire. In a typical marina with boats connected to shore power, there may be stray DC currents in the water at about 1 volt which are potentially harmful to the vessel.
If you have a trailer boat which is going to be launched from boat ramps, the galvanic isolator does not have a role and error messages are likely to be erroneous. It wouldn't hurt to buy a cheap recepticle tester and test your home "shore power" and the boat's recepticles for polarity.
If you are looking for the galvanic isolator, I found mine by pulling the AC panel away from the wall.

Another way of thinking about this: Do all of your mains voltage appliances work? If your AC panel has a voltmeter and a safety switch, are they functioning? If everything works, don't worry about the galvanic isolator unless you get a berth in a marina.

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John
2006 Four Winns Vista 278 (sold)

Everything works fine, I'll see what it says when I connect it to real marina electricity, cause now it is on the trailer...
I'won't bother with that anymore...
I first need to solve water leaking problem in the front, under the cushions...

Check the bow eye you hook the trailer winch to. I had one loosen up and the pulling of the winch broke the seal. Wasn't a problem except when we were running at slow speed. The water would wet the bow eye and let water seep in. Same as if it rained and water ran down the bow and contacted the bow eye. Removed it, cleaned the holes of old sealant, new sealant and re install fixed the issue. Front locker was bone dry from then on.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Hmm, to be honest, I don't quite understamd what that bow eye is...?
Can you explain or maybe you have a pic?

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John
2006 Four Winns Vista 278 (sold)

Thanx for help, I solved this problem!
The sealant in the anchor chain compartment was worn and the water was coming from there into the cabin...
I glued liquid fiberglass allover the compartment and now it's better than new...