www.iFourWinns.com

I am a new owner of a 348, never had a cruiser before, always had performance boats. Since I now have children and a wife that doesnt like to "go fast", it was time to step into a 348. I have a slip at our local marina and am going to dock it there on Saturday when i pick it up. I am sure I will have lots of questions, so please bear with me and I hope at some point I can return the favor once I am familiar with the boat more. One question I have is when I keep the boat at the dock and leave it for the week (we will be mostly using it weekend and maybe some nights during the week), I am going to use the shore power. I can hook up to (2) 30 amp receptacles, what do I leave on and what do I turn off when the boat is unattended? Obviously the AC will not be used, but do I leave the water hose attached or remove that every time I leave the boat. I have read that you never leave the water hooked up to the boat, which sounds right, but I am curious what you guys leave on and turn off when not on the boat for a few days and what you have your electrical panel switches set for on and off.
Also am interested in knowing more about the battery switch under the starboard side under the seat. When we were doing the sea trial last week, the operator turned the switch to something, but I wasnt paying attention and it didnt phase me until now. All these things running through my head now before I pick up the boat and any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
C

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2002 348 Vista

I shut down the entire DC system and then shut down all of the AC system with the exception of the battery charger and refigerator. However, during the winter, I will switch on the cockpit ice maker as well because that runs power to my bilge heater. I am curious what others leave on as well. Welcome aboard.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

Thanks! I figured I would leave on the fridge and the battery charger. I assume I will leave on the cockpit freezer and the cabin fridge. Boat is out of the water Oct 31 for winterization, so all systems will be shut down. Thanks for the response.

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2002 348 Vista

I use a single 30A line from the shore and then use a splitter on the boat. I'm never using the full 30A of power, so a single line is easier. Now, if I knew I was going to be needing the AC, a hair dryer and the microwave all at the same time then, yes, I'd use a second line. But we don't use the cooktop, don't have a hair dryer on board and only fire up the microwave for a few minutes at a time.

I keep the water hose connected, but have TWO shut off valves. I have one at the boat, it's an angled shut off valve. The angle makes it easier to get the hose snaked out of the locker. I then have a second straight shut off valve inline at the pedestal. This in addition to the valve on the pedestal itself. This way I can be sure some other idiot trying to turn on their hose doesn't accidentally turn on my water. I've come back to the boat and discovered both the main valve and the hose inline valve turned on. I'm guessing someone in a nearby slip was trying to figure out how to turn on their hose and didn't close what they'd opened. Thus the angled one inside my locker kept the water off.

The point about not leaving the water connected is so a hose doesn't burst and flood your boat. Consider a worst-case scenario of rough weather causing a hose to rupture (like by ripping out the hose bib inside the locker) and then power goes out. Your on board batteries would eventually run down and the bilge pumps would stop. But that busted hose would keep on pumping water into your boat, eventually sinking it. Thus disconnecting the hose completely is often very good advice.

When I leave the boat I turn off the "Cabin Main" DC breaker. This kills DC power to everything on board except the bilge pumps and the radio's memory backup circuit. I leave the AC breakers on for the cockpit and galley fridges and the battery charger. Everything else is off. In the winter I also run my bilge heater from the icemaker circuit (snaked the power line up to the socket inside the cabinet). I don't generally bother to turn off the main switches at the transom.

When gone for the week I leave the AC in HU mode (read the manual, it's three buttons pressed together). This runs it every 15 minutes (or any other programmed interval) in order to reduce humidity in the cabin. Sometimes if I know I'm going to be back in a day or two I'll just crank it up to 82F and leave it running. In HU mode the cabin temp sometimes climbs as high as 88F. Power is included at our slip so I could get away with leaving it ice cold all the time, but prefer to do at least some small part for conserving energy. Which is a bit hypocritical since there's 220 gallons of gas feeding two 6.0L gas guzzling V8 engines... Heh.

Oh and if you use the head be sure to pump it out. Do not leave it sit there for weeks. Use it, that's what it's there for, but be sure to keep it pumped out on a regular basis. Otherwise it can get pretty stinky out the vent for the first couple of flushes. And DO NOT let it get full. Otherwise it'll back up into the vent line and ruin the charcoal filter back in the engine compartment. Trust me, I'm waaaaaay too familiar with the waste system on the 348...

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Funny, I have my bilge heater on the same pug as you.

As for me, I leave my fridge, battery charger and ice maker on since we store ice in there. I don't turn off much on the DC side except I always make sure the water pump is off.

With regard to the water hose. It's ok to leave it connected, but never leave it turned on unless you are at the boat. If a line broke internally, it would likely sink the boat If your bilge pump coukdnt keep up.

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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

I shut the DC off, and pretty much keep most the AC on. Turn off, microwave, stove, etc (things I don't use everyday anyways).

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2001 328 Vista

Previous Boats:
2004 Sea Ray 220 Select

On:

AC - Battery charger, refrigerator, and ice maker (same as cockpit fridge)
DC - Refrigerator and ice maker

I leave the shore water connected but use a 90 degree shut off to avoid leaving it under pressure and risking a leak or rupture. BTW, I also added a quick disconnect right at the boat. This makes it very easy to attach/detach the hose. The reason I leave the DC on for the fridges is in case the marina looses power temoporarily. I really don't want what food I leave to spoil.

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2014 Vista V435
2011 Glastron GT180
2013 Sea Doo RXT-260

I used some quick disconnects in the past, but sea air corroded the hell out of them within a few months. I don't know that I'd want to be using plastic there as it would too easily snap off should something pull too hard on the hose. But then I suppose I'd rather have that snap instead of something more expensive on the boat.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I do pretty much the same as the what is listed with the exception that I leave the AC on to the Microwave. I always set the clock and if when we return and the clock is flashing 12:00, I know we have lost power. This way we can check what we have in the frig. Hate to find a frig full of bad food. Others on our dock leave an ice cube in a paper cup in the freezer as an indicator.

I have heard of a few people shutting the seacocks to the genset and AC when they leave. Have not gone that far. Figured that's what we pay insurance for.

I do have 2 shut offs on my fresh water.

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Jnizi

2007 Vista 338 "Better Yet"
Previously:
2007 Vista 258 " Just Right"
2005 Horizon 230

Thanks for all the responses guys, looks like everyone is pretty much doing the same thing here. I think I a going to plan on leaving the battery charger, fridges and perhaps leave the AC on (I am going to look at that HU button) and maybe leave it on about 75 or so. August sometimes is a scorcher her in the Boston area, I dont want to get to the boat and cant even go down in the cabin and it be so hot the AC is trying to catch up for hours.
Regarding the water, I am going to be sharing water with the boat next to me, I think I am going to install a splitter and use that as my shutoff before I leave the boat. My previous boat didnt use water as i didnt have a cabin, so he had the water all to himself.
Thanks for the responses. Can anyone tell me what to set the battery switch to under the seats on the starboard side? I didnt look at it and I know the surveyer was messing with it before he fired up anything on the boat. Are their more than one settings? On my old boat, I had battery 1/2 or both and off. Not sure what options this one has, perhaps the same?

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2002 348 Vista

I set my electric as everyone else does. Battery charger and fridges on, DC off. When you come back to power up the boat remember that the FWD BILGE PUMP and SWR SUMP PUMP breakers are normally off. You only turn them on to override the built in float switches.

I don't use the dock water hose, we never shower on the boat, so we don't use much water. We fill the tank whenever we get fuel or pump out.

Be careful with leaving the air conditioner on even in HU mode. Some marinas will give you a nasty letter for running it during the week if you are not there. Mainly for cost reasons.

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

jrcinnh- That is a good point, I probably wont be using the water on the boat except for the ice maker maybe. I would say if I do just use the holding tank water and fill it as needed. I am not sure what HU mode is, I think when I get the boat on Saturday, I will figure it out. My marina gives us a 200.00 allowance for electricity for the 6 months at the docks. Not sure how they track it as it seems as if everyone shares shore power at different stations. We dont have one dedicated shore power per slip, it seems like it is every other slip, so not sure how they keep track of it. I guess I will find out! lol

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2002 348 Vista

This is an excellent thing to point out. The breakers up there for those are switches to turn them on manually. The pumps themselves get power from the batteries directly, NOT through the panel breakers. There's a separate set of pop-out breakers back in the engine compartment for bilge pumps. You do not want to leave the breaker switches in the on position as that will cause the pumps to run dry and eventually ruin them. Only use them when the float switches aren't doing their job. Which can happen as float switches seem to be poorly made.

It's a good idea to always look into the bilges before taking the boat out. This to make sure there isn't a leak or that mold has developed.

When in the mid-cabin bilge it's also a good idea to operate the seacocks to make sure they're in smooth working order. If they don't get exercised regularly it's possible for them to seize up. This can be a big problem when you need to actually shut them off. A seized seacock could end up with you putting too much pressure on the handle and causing it to snap off the through hull fitting. Leading to a catastrophic amount of water pouring through the hole. Some people like to keep a set of wooden 'bung' plugs near them to deal with it should they break.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Bill,
Can you let me know where the seacocks are on the boat? I know there are a few, are they all located in the bilge? We have a Four Winns dealer that I called to have someone run through the boat with me for hour or so showing me what to look for etc. They will be doing he service on the boat etc., but of course just anxious to get all the information I can so I am prepared. Thanks Bill for all your input and also everyone else. I am sure more questions are going to come up, so look out!

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2002 348 Vista

Good idea. Does anyone know where you can get these w/o going to a marine store or is that about it? I don't imagine you can make them yourself. Thanks.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY