Best Of
Re: New to me 2006 390EC
You can calibrate it to show the correct temperature. If it's like mine, do this at the display panel:
Turn the unit off.
Press and hold MODE and DOWN for 3 seconds (unit enters programming mode)
Press UP until it says "09" (function 9 is temperature calibration)
Press MODE - it will display the current temperature
Press UP or DOWN until it displays the correct temperature
Press FAN to save and return to programming mode
Press FAN again to exit programming mode
Turn the unit off.
Press and hold MODE and DOWN for 3 seconds (unit enters programming mode)
Press UP until it says "09" (function 9 is temperature calibration)
Press MODE - it will display the current temperature
Press UP or DOWN until it displays the correct temperature
Press FAN to save and return to programming mode
Press FAN again to exit programming mode
LaRea
1 ·
Re: 342 - Time for a new windlass
You won't regret it. When you get it you will see that they made some very simple but obviously smart engineering changes that make it work so much better.
davidbrooks
1 ·
Re: 342 - Time for a new windlass
I swapped out for the 700. And wished I had done it years ago. It's pretty straightforward to get to you simply have to remove the mirror to get to the access hole for the chain. You also need long arms or a decent extension to get to the bottom of the bolts. The bolts all line up and the wiring calls for the same gauge wiring so it is a pretty straightforward replacement.
davidbrooks
2 ·
Re: Smarty pants, I really could use your help! 350 Mag trouble SOLVED?? MAJOR UPDATE
My bad sensor did not throw a code either. On my 350MAG MPI, it is on the top of the intake, behind the throttle body. One screw holds it in. One wire connection.
Black_Diamond
1 ·
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Re: Seakeeper Ride
The install went very smoothly. I do have to give it to them. They must have the best instructions i have ever come across. I also installed a Smooth Moves seat Base for the passenger. We tested them out watching the blue angels for the USNA graduation. There are soo many boats out that the water gets pretty rough for a smaller boat like me. When they finish up it is a bit like the cannon ball express with everyone trying to get out of there. This year i pulled anchor and got out just before the crowd realized it was over but it was still rough. Bottom line was that my wife didnt complain about neck and back pain that night or the next day. Last year she would of been asking where the pills were. i tried to take a video of it in action but you couldnt tell from the video how it was softening the ride. Absolutely no change in fuel consumption, speed or RPMs.
davidbrooks
3 ·
Re: Dash Panel replacement...
@J3ff i redid mine a few years ago. I vinyl wrapped some of the existing panels but the main gauge panel I wanted to change the configuration. If you are keeping the gauges the same and your old panels are intact you can look into hydro dipping them. Google it. Here are some pics of mine
I made a wood form to match the shape of the old dash and heated a piece of acrylic then vinyl wrapped all the panels. I used a cheap label maker to label the breakers using a clear tape with white lettering. Maybe you can warm the panel they sent you to get it to fit ? Just be aware the heat gun did make the acrylic blush a bit so i needed to vinyl wrap that as well
I made a wood form to match the shape of the old dash and heated a piece of acrylic then vinyl wrapped all the panels. I used a cheap label maker to label the breakers using a clear tape with white lettering. Maybe you can warm the panel they sent you to get it to fit ? Just be aware the heat gun did make the acrylic blush a bit so i needed to vinyl wrap that as well
Pat310
3 ·
Dash Panel replacement...
LIttle hiccup with the breaker panel and still needs some work to finish it off, but it's noon in the keys, work stopped for the day.. main problem is now I need to buy new gauges to get rid of the yellow and everything else around it looks old and in need of replacement lol. 
J3ff
2 ·
Re: Meet the new La Rea!
(Cross-post from our blog at LaRea.net)
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Confessions from a Maintenance Junkie
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Confessions from a Maintenance Junkie
This article shares a glimpse of my obsession with boat maintenance. Depending on your point of view, you might find it beautiful and/or disturbing.
Some boaters have chronic bad luck with their boats. Over the years, I observed that those unlucky boaters ignored routine boat maintenance. So I adopted the philosophy that maintenance is how I can "manufacture" good luck. I started paying more and more attention to maintenance, tracking it, trying to make myself luckier. Now the tracking has evolved into full obsession.
My enabler? A computer spreadsheet with thousands of notes, tables and formulas. It summarizes everything: upgrades, repairs, wiring diagrams, costs. And yes, recurring maintenance. The boring stuff -- oil changes, fuel filters, yada yada yada.
There's a maintenance "dashboard" that tracks 29 jobs. Each time I finish a job, I record the date and engine hours, plus service notes such as the condition of spent parts. Formulas calculate the interval since last service. Other formulas tell me when the next service is due, and they automatically flag jobs as yellow (due soon) or red (due now).
The picture shows my dashboard as of today. Because I just spent a month in our home port, almost everything is green. Woohooo! Only three jobs are flagged as red. Two are new additions to the list -- red because I don't know when the previous owner did them. The other red reminds me to find an inspector for the fire suppression system, because the DC area has no qualified inspectors.
That's my confession. I'm obsessed with maintenance, but in a good way. The result is hard real-world data based on OUR vessel and OUR cruising habits. It tells me that when I change the generator oil every 280 hours, I get healthy lab reports from the oil testing lab. It warns that my engine anodes only last 9 months, not 12 months. It says "relax for another year before shelling out $550 for new air filters."
The spreadsheet is my factory for manufacturing good luck, and we do seem to have very, very good luck!
LaRea
5 ·