2004 37
 

Hey guys I am looking to purchase the 04 that was listed here the last few months did a sea trial and had a survey done but have some questions.
Surveyor said transom had high moisture reading with a scanner but said composite materials will somerimes show this. Anyone know what the transom is made of in this boat? Also has some minor stress cracks in the gel starboard side forward of the step and some in the step itself. Is this common with the age of the boat? During the sea trial we crossed some waves and I noticed the top deck flexed is this normal? Overall boat seems to be in good shape for its age just want to be sure I am not getting in over my head with potential issues. Appreciate any feedback thanks.

The deck will flex, it does on mine. Also the transom should be composite on the 04', it is on my 03'. Others will most likely chime in also with more information.

You will not have any moisture issues on that boat. The transom is indeed divinycell/urethane composite material. Further specs have been posted here in the past.

Yes, the deck flexes a little bit. It's supposed to do that. There is no coring in the hull bottom. It is all hull fiberglass with gelcoat over the top. As such, fixing stress cracks should not be any significant issue, just grind back, prep, and re-gelcoat. Gelcoat can not be to thick, or too thin, as either will culminate in a stress crack. Sometimes, in the corners or odd positions of the mold (of any boat) the gelcoat can vary slightly and that's where these stress cracks show up.

Ok thanks for the info. There is a crack in the bottom lifting strake also but if the bottom is glass it should be a quick fix. 525s have 630 hrs with top ends done 200 or so hours ago. Ran great and no soot on the transom and oil psi seemed steady. Anything else i should look for with the hours on the motors? Drives were replaced 20 hrs ago so i am good there.

Likely not, but I would have the engines scanned regardless, just to see if anything is throwing codes, or has a history code. Do you have a Rinda Technologies Inc. Marine and Industrial Engine Diagnostic Tools scanner already? If not, you will want one. It would not hurt to do a compression test, but a leakdown would probably be overkill since the top ends were done.
Which boat are you looking at?

37 that was for sale in Massachusetts I believe the previous owner was a Tom from Indiana. Has the multicolor paint with the Pearl in it.

The previous owner Tom is meticulous with his stuff both maintenance and appearance. I'm Almost positive those motors have been rebuilt also but could be wrong.

I know both Al and Tom both stand up guys and take care of their boats. The only reason Tom sold it was to move to a newer AT with bigger power.

Got it home last week needs some TLC and has some blistering on the quarters from sitting in the water but seems mechanically solid. Talked to Tom motors had top ends done when he owned it and drives were replaced last year. Have a few questions though. Anyone know how to tell when the head tank is full? Also would like to be able make a 2nd berth I thought there was a way using the table. Is this something guys make or can it be bought from AT? Thanks

It's probably only a 6 gallon tank for the head. There is no gauge, but you could adapt one from an RV or the like. Does that unit have a 1 button flush, or a 3 button setup? 3 button means you can fill, drain, and flush one step at a time. That is the better setup, as you can control how much water goes in the waste tank.

And did that boat come with the table for the cabin? Most of them did. You just use short legs for the table, and have a filler cushion made for it. Monsoon has one. I'll see if I can find a picture.

Look close, and you can see the head control switch, 3 buttons:

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Has the one button flush, wonder if I can change it to three button. It has the table so I see what to do now. Does the table support that cushion alone or does the front of the cushion need to lay over the cushion in front of the main berth?

I had the same table/bed setup in mine. The table top supports the whole cushion. We always slept there. Very roomy and comfortable.

That table has 2 legs. You can only see one in that picture.
Instead of adding a second leg. You might could just add a lip made out of white Starboard at the front.

Thanks I will look into it. I have yet to find the AC unit also, any idea where it is? There is a box built to house the DVD player in the compartment off the head but not sure if that is the spot.

Look for the return vent.

They guy I got my AT from lost the post to make the bed. I have had a hard time finding the short ones. Anyone have a part number for them or where to get them?

The A/C is in the wall under the sink. Can get at it under the cabinet on the starboard side by the couch. Just forward of the bathroom door.

The AC units have been in 3 different locations depending on the boat and configuration:
-Forward of head, low, on starboard side. (most common)
-Under the country, low, on port side.
-Under the bottom cushion of the "U" portion of the U-shaped couch.

Found the AC behind head sink. Took it out this weekend what a blast. Went to pump the head tank and the pump had trouble pulling, heard a hissing and there is a thru hull fitting that appears to be a vent. Put my hand over it and I could feel the suction, is there a valve somewhere to close that off during a pump out?

Depends on the boat, but there might be a overboard dump valve that needs to be flipped. Such may be in the bilge, on the starboard side in the gunwale. But most of them do not have overboard pump out.

It will hiss though through that through valve when it's empty. It's only 6 gallons, so it sucks out pretty fast.

I know it sounds gross, but I used to pump it out with my big shop vac at the house. Since it only had weak girl pee and water in there, it wasn't bad at all. It was a good excuse to clean and disinfect the shop vac afterward. I haven't cleaned my shop vac now since I sold the boat a almost 2 years ago.

I believe mine has the overboard dump, but I always wondered how complete that dump is both for for cleanliness and winterizing. I have thought about the shop vac method as well. I usually scrub out my vac 2x a year anyway, is that odd? Lol

By the way, you said you pumped it out with the vac. Does that mean you you stuck the vac hose down the toilet?

I had my own Pump Out Attachment that screws into deck fill. I would use that, and attach the shop vac hose to that to pump out myself.

Also, the bilge pump under the cabin (for step bottom boats, at the step), may not get every last drop of water out. You can use your shop vac from the outside of the boat, by placing the shop vac hose over the thru-hull fitting, and sucking all the water out through the bilge pump. This works great for when you want to clean any residual water out after a good cabin cleaning.

No overboard dump the valve i thought was dump is the water inlet, didn't realize it uses sea water when toilet flushes. On another topic what drive position vs speed are you guys running? Previous owner had position 3 for 3,000-3,500 RPM which rides nice but I didn't get a chance to open it up last weekend. What position should the limits stop at? Also seems the drives don't end up at the same height with the switch on the throttle, assuming one trim pump runs slightly faster than the other. Is their any adjustment for this? Appreciate the feedback I am learning as I go.

Common issue on all boats with one trim pump being faster than the other. There is no adjustment.
The only thing you could try is to run a lighter weight oil in the slower one.

I always just bumped up the slower one when I stopped trimming. On these boats, about neutral trim is fastest. Always trim for conditions though. There are no trim limiters on the HP transom assemblies. I trimmed out to max by measuring and checked the indicators and made mental note to not go over that.

Use the dash switches to fine tune one of the drives to match the other. I purposely ordered my throttles and had a trim switch on each throttle. Switch on left throttle controlled BOTH drives. Switch on right throttle ONLY controlled the Starboard drive. That way I could use my thumb for trim adjustments when running, but I could use my pinky to fine tune when I got to cruising room; all without leaving the throttles.

Measure and mark neutral on your drives, using a long straight edge. Mark this on your trim indicator window with a sharpie. DRock is right, these boats are set up to run neutral trim. You may only use 2-3 ticks above neutral at cruising RPMs; sometimes.

I've posted about this in the past, but this is the same for every boat.
Set the boat at neutral trim.
Leave the tabs at neutral.
Set the throttles at 3000 or 3500 or maybe 4000 RPM on a long straight, flat, not-busy section of water.
Then "play" with your drive trim switches while watching the decimal places on your GPS speedometer. THAT'S how you find the best/fastest drive trim setting for the boat.

Also, when you get more used to the twin engine boat, you can eventually leave the tabs alone for trimming the boat side to side, and use the drives to change the angle of the bow. There are other posts on this as well.
Short version: If you punch the starboard drive out a bit more than the other, it will lift the port side of the bow.
Trim tabs waste gas.

Good info thanks. Need to school the new guy what position is neutral with the drives and what exactly is being measured?
Drock you said you trimmed up to max and measured to make a mental note not to trim over that limit but what told you the limit? Thanks

Google did years ago. Lol. I think it's 21 3/4" from center to center of the trim ram bolts

Ok now I get it. I'll check to see where my neutral position ends up on the indicators. Thanks!

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I would like to put drive showers on anyone know models that work? Dont think the Simrek Halo will fit but the Eddie Marine top mount looks like it may.

Max Machine Worx Power Boat Drives | Poker Run Boat Drives | Billet Lower End Performance Outdrives Lake Havasu Desert Storm

Their website isn't overly informative, but they have a setup that will work for you. I had them on with my Marine Machine steering system, just fine, as well as a few other folks.

I had the same ones as Brian. Great piece.

Thanks for the info, adding to my winter to do list that is getting quite long...

Cool thanks for the tip. Any other good PM for the drives besides oil changes? I also read a post about guys running Amsoil 75W 110 full synthetic in place of the Merc HP green lube, any truth to this? Want to do what I can to prolong drive life I know re- entry is what kills them.

I would run Merc or Bravo Shop gear lube. I have read about and have one friend that had a delay when shifting gears using Amsoil. He switched to Merc HP lube and the delay issue went away.