380 first thoughts
 

First my past experience has been mostly with cats both racing and pleasure. a few years back i bought a 353 fastech as it was more "user friendly" as my girlfriend puts it! lol End of last summer I got an offer on the 353 I couldn't say no to so I was boatless again this spring.

Just picked up my 2003 380 (after doing homework on bottom changes etc. I new i had to get a 2001 or newer) Love the size of the cabin and you feel almost swallowed up by the height of the feeboard in the cockpit compared to the fastech. First impressions are the boat is very well built, handles the rough with a very solid but not heavy feel. Very impressed, very nice performance. for a boat with that amount of room.

One thing i am curious about, after a beer or two how do you guys with 380's get up on the bow to retreive your anchors? lol
The bowrail on the fastech comes down the side so even though it wasn't comfortable you knew your feet weren't going to slide off. With a fresh coat of wax
on the 380 it's a bit of a balancing act!
So what are your tricks? front hatch, over the widnshield, up the sides, what? Just want to see the responses. Even thought of a removable 3 step cockpit ladder that would latch on the closed cabin door but i thought if the door ever broke from the pressure i would never find a new one.

One more question, neet a bimini and enclosure. Any help? (i can get made locally but wondered if someone has patterns?)

I find it a relatively easy walk along the sides with the non-slip. It is a dream compared to my previous boat (Crownline 266LTD).

My biggest complaint with my 380 Avenger is the lack of an anchor locker. I have considered building one, but do not have the courage to begin cutting!

I do miss the locker that the fastech had but to be honest it was so small you had to use a cut down anchor for it to fit. If you do give it a try let me know how it goes!

Here's what I have done to tie off the anchor to the bow...safely....

Needs two people.

Drop the anchor in from the cockpit.
Have one person let line out and hold.
Second person goes through the cabin up through the hatch and grabs the loose line (not the line between the person and the anchor) from the first person
Secure to the front cleat.
First person releases being sure there are no attennas in the way

If its only you, you can secure to a side cleat in place of the person holding - but this will only work with no current and calmer waters. Then release once secure to the front.

Candidly I would never carry an anchor to the front of the boat...beers or not.

To pull the anchor, just reverse the steps and you'll end up retrieving from the cockpit.


Be safe and have fun.

Jeff

I normally climb over the windshield on the port side. If it is really rough, I will climb thru the hatch. My boat has an anchor locker so I don't need to carry anything with me.

Happy Boating,

Josh

Any pictures of your anchor locker?

How exactly was the bottom modified on the later boats?

It was modified on the earlier boats, they ground 18" of strake off from the back of the hull... But people who have owned both say the 01+ handle better and are faster than the modified 98-00 years

The 24x7 like making the same change. Sounds easy right :D