joep29

Hi, I recently purchased a 2002 38' Express Cruiser with twin 500EFI's and Bravo1 drives. I really love the boat but so far has been a nightmare with things breaking all over the place. fuel leak - found crack in filler hose and changed, fridge broke on week 2, ice maker broke on week 4, AC pump quit on week 5 and GPS / Radar unit screen died on week 7. I am 31 and have been a boat owner since 18 years old. I would say that I have a ton of experience driving and maintaining several boats - all performance to this point and all 8' beam or less. I know boats break and have since taken care of all of the above issues myself. Less than 300 hours on the engines and drives, boat is a solid 8 out of 10 for its age and kept on a Hydro-Hoist now - formally rack stored for first 10 years of its life. My biggest issue is that I am unable to keep this boat running level once on plane. Speed does not seem to matter, the boat will lean hard to the left or the right at 30mph or 55mph. If I make a slight trim adjustment the boat will level out for a few seconds and then lean hard in the other direction. Have also tried by adjusting the outdrive trim to no avail. I have never owned a boat this wide, is there a trick that I am missing? Could the tie-bar on the outdrives be mis-aligned? I am open to any suggestions at this point. The RPM's are equal on each engine so I know that its not an issue of to much "push" on one side or the other (unless gauge is wrong). I really do not think that the hull is warped as I have had several surveyor friends of mine look into this and I do not think that this was an issue for Fountain. I can also tell you that the boat has very even weight distribution as it sits level on the Hydro-Hoist - My former 42 Lightning with staggered engines did not sit level as the engines were at different points and caused a bit of a lean on the lift. Again, open to any and all suggestions.
thanks!!!
Joe

poiuy10

perhaps a trim or tab pump is bleeding off, letting the tabs go up or drive come back in/ out....

sprink58

I am not trying to be a $hit by suggesting this but is there any way water could be trapped in a compartment and moving back and forth?

RICHARD CUNY

I think when it is leaning take it back to the hoist and check the tabs and drives, this will rule that out.
Rich

joep29

Tabs all seem to be reading and moving properly, I checked while on the lift, the mechanical indicators on the dash are also working properly.

-Sprink58 - not a bad theory, water moving from one side to the other would cause an issue like this. Bilge is fairly dry and I checked all areas that can be checked over the weekend and didn't find enough water to be an issue - just some rain water that was trapped due to the level the boat sits on the lift.

Can the tie bar cause this problem? How to I check to ensure that the bar is set properly?
Thanks
Joe

38fountainecman

I have a 2006 38 EC with 496 Mag HOs. I would measure your drives at the tip of the nose cone and at the center of the prop shaft. I can check mine this weekend but I think they are 1/8" to 1/4" toed in (nose cones measure 1/4" shorter than prop shafts). Also, you can call Reggie III at Fountain Performance, I'm sure they would be happy to talk with you and nobody knows more than they do. I do have to work mine to keep level, but once I get it set, it stays there, unless wind conditions dictate otherwise. What drives and props are you running and do they turn in or out? Try switching them, just shift the levels backwards until you get them set and then you can switch the cable positions afterward. I did run bravo 1's on mine with four blade bravo props turning out and it ran level. Actually picked up 5 mph.

verbi69

Congrats on your new boat!! You have what I am looking for as my next boat!!

Slug-ger

Also, your a/c unit in the forward birth has a sump pump to drain off moisture created from the a/c. If that pump is not working than it will bleed water off into the forward v-birth area which is separated by a bulk-head from draining to the nearest bilge pump. If there is significant weight upfront then bow steer would explain shifting left to right. The only way to check it is to un-screw the sump pump bilge & fish something down to the vee (preferably boat leaning slightly forward) to see how deep it is. If you are experiencing sluggish planning that may also be a consequence of this issue.

SR-71

I own a 2004 38EC, also with 500EFI's and Merc XR drives. It has about 300 original hours. I can attest to systems breaking down. I currently have an issue with my A/C not working now (indicates HHH on the display) that I need to figure out, and I also need to figure out why I'm not getting power to my lower refrigerator. (Any OSO suggestions would be appreciated.)

I've found that owning a 38EC is similar to maintaining a RV... lot's of things can and do break. As for cruising, once I get my rpm, drives, and tabs set, the hull maintains a stationary position and doesn't fall off one side or the other. Only minor tab changes are required now and then depending on currents, movement in the boat, wind, etc.

One thing I read in your post concerns me. I know you said the hull is not warped, but you also mentioned it was, "... formally rack stored for first 10 years of its life. Do you know if the rack storage was designed to properly support the 38EC's stepped hull? The reason I mention this is because when I purchased my boat I was warned not to store my 38EC on a lift or trailer that had standard flat supports because the hull would warp. I transport my 38EC on a stepped support trailer, and most of the time it's stored on a Myco stepped boat cradle lift, specifically made for my 38EC's hull number (38EC's hull had a minor design change around the end of 2006).

Even with the minor repair issues that pop up now and then I really enjoy my 38EC. Hope you get your problems figured out quickly. It's a great boat. Keep us informed!

George k

Hi, did you resolve the issue with boat trim, I am looking at one with the same problem. Boat tilts over to port and on correcting quickly tilts to starboard, Does it both ways, if it was a stuck trim tab it would not do it both ways and back again in a short distance. Thanks George