I have just signed the contract on a lightly used 1998 376. I have survey's and sea trial scheduled in a couple weeks. What type of commons problems should I be looking for? Any suggestions? Engine has 150 hrs, full batten main (elec winch), autohelm 6000 autopilot,1000w inverter. Thanks.
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Tony Wilcox
376 new to you
I purchased a 97 boat in 1998, No major problems, You will need the elec. winch, as long as its not the OP1 or OP2 that Lewmar sold a few years ago. they did withdraw it but I believe it may be back on the market. I now have a Lewmar 44st which works great. Make sure all lines are slack when you hoist the main ( reef, vang ,main sheet) I had a few small wear points on the sails after a couple of years, now I am used to not letting the main out to far,not having the ability to wing on wing is one of the drawbacks of this rig. Fridge/freezer seals hard and not adequate led to iceing badly in3-4 days, this is a problem I am still trying to get resolved with my dealer. I have 15 gelcoat voids that I am currently in discushion with Hunter to possibly get some help towards fixing. The Autohelm 6000 sounds good I have the 4000 on mine and it is at the top of its rated useage for this boat. Oh the tank indicator on holding tank had to be replaced. I have replaced the standard 17"X15" prop with a three blade feathering, this works a treat, the original prop was no good in 4" plus waves for driving through. Overall my wife and I are very pleased with our 376. I hope you get to enjoy this one yourself The batteries and alternator also need to be upgraded, although I see there is an inverter aboard so perhaps the electrical supply has been altered. The only other upgrade I have done was to install an electric windlass. Tony Wilcox "Innovator"
I purchased a 97 boat in 1998, No major problems, You will need the elec. winch, as long as its not the OP1 or OP2 that Lewmar sold a few years ago. they did withdraw it but I believe it may be back on the market. I now have a Lewmar 44st which works great. Make sure all lines are slack when you hoist the main ( reef, vang ,main sheet) I had a few small wear points on the sails after a couple of years, now I am used to not letting the main out to far,not having the ability to wing on wing is one of the drawbacks of this rig. Fridge/freezer seals hard and not adequate led to iceing badly in3-4 days, this is a problem I am still trying to get resolved with my dealer. I have 15 gelcoat voids that I am currently in discushion with Hunter to possibly get some help towards fixing. The Autohelm 6000 sounds good I have the 4000 on mine and it is at the top of its rated useage for this boat. Oh the tank indicator on holding tank had to be replaced. I have replaced the standard 17"X15" prop with a three blade feathering, this works a treat, the original prop was no good in 4" plus waves for driving through. Overall my wife and I are very pleased with our 376. I hope you get to enjoy this one yourself The batteries and alternator also need to be upgraded, although I see there is an inverter aboard so perhaps the electrical supply has been altered. The only other upgrade I have done was to install an electric windlass. Tony Wilcox "Innovator"
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Rich
Common 376 Problems
Bob, I have a '97 376. Not a lot of problems that I would call "common". Biggest is raising the main. If you have an electric winch you will be fine, but make sure the battery bank has been upgraded. I doubled the capacity on mine. I hear a lot of complaints about jamming with the windlass-locker layout but it's never been a problem for me. The freezer does ice up, not quite every 4 days. I run mine 24/7 and have to defrost it about every 3-4 months. One other nagging complaint has to do with cranking the engine. Not unique to this boat but many production boats. Check to see if the previous owner had a relay between the house bank and starting battery installed. There's a lot of info in the archives regarding this. Overall this has been a great boat so far. Good luck and I'm sure I'll see you on the water. Where are you planning to keep the boat? I'm on Harbor Island.
Bob, I have a '97 376. Not a lot of problems that I would call "common". Biggest is raising the main. If you have an electric winch you will be fine, but make sure the battery bank has been upgraded. I doubled the capacity on mine. I hear a lot of complaints about jamming with the windlass-locker layout but it's never been a problem for me. The freezer does ice up, not quite every 4 days. I run mine 24/7 and have to defrost it about every 3-4 months. One other nagging complaint has to do with cranking the engine. Not unique to this boat but many production boats. Check to see if the previous owner had a relay between the house bank and starting battery installed. There's a lot of info in the archives regarding this. Overall this has been a great boat so far. Good luck and I'm sure I'll see you on the water. Where are you planning to keep the boat? I'm on Harbor Island.
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Bob Frye
To Rich in San Diego
Thanks for the info Rich. I am currently at the Marriott and will try to stay there. I am selling myCatalina 30, and after I complete the sale on the 376 I hope to stay there. I live in AZ, so the Marriott has alot of advantages. Your comment on the battery relay. Are you talking about a switch to allow the house batteries to be used to start the engine? Also do you now what the "standard" battery setup was, and what did you increase it too? Have you had any engine problems? this one has 150 hrs and I'm thinking whether I want to spend an extra $300 on an engine survey on top of tha marine survey. Thanks. Bob
Thanks for the info Rich. I am currently at the Marriott and will try to stay there. I am selling myCatalina 30, and after I complete the sale on the 376 I hope to stay there. I live in AZ, so the Marriott has alot of advantages. Your comment on the battery relay. Are you talking about a switch to allow the house batteries to be used to start the engine? Also do you now what the "standard" battery setup was, and what did you increase it too? Have you had any engine problems? this one has 150 hrs and I'm thinking whether I want to spend an extra $300 on an engine survey on top of tha marine survey. Thanks. Bob
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Tom LaRocco
98 376 experience
Bob; We bought our 98 376 new and have been very pleased with it. We sail on the Cheasepeke where things can get "interesting" at times but we don't have any open ocean experience with it. We have the roller furling main, and so we don't have any of the issues with raising the standard main reported by many. I would recommend that you check the battery bank, if it still has the standard 4D house battery you may to to upgrade especially with the electric winch. We've had many problems with our anchor windless not feeding the rode down into the locker properly, we now put someone in the forward birth to pull on the line as we haul up the anchor to keep it from jamming. Next year I think we'll go to all chain and see if that helps. The Wema water and holding tank gauges are not the best. I had to have both replaced our first season (under warrenty) but now the holding tank guage is stuck at 3/4 full. I use a biocide in the diesel fuel to prevent stuff from growing and blocking the screen at the bottom of the fuel pick up tube. This caused my engine stall under load my second season. The Yanmar engine itself has been very reliable, I change oil and filter every 50 hours or before the winter haul out. I bought the Yanmar engine manual and have found it helpful. We've had no problems with our refrig and we run it 24/7 also. I've defrosted once this year. All in all we've been very happy with our 376, she handles well, sails fast, and has plently of room for partying with friends. Best of luck with yours. Tom LaRocco S/V Follow the Sun
Bob; We bought our 98 376 new and have been very pleased with it. We sail on the Cheasepeke where things can get "interesting" at times but we don't have any open ocean experience with it. We have the roller furling main, and so we don't have any of the issues with raising the standard main reported by many. I would recommend that you check the battery bank, if it still has the standard 4D house battery you may to to upgrade especially with the electric winch. We've had many problems with our anchor windless not feeding the rode down into the locker properly, we now put someone in the forward birth to pull on the line as we haul up the anchor to keep it from jamming. Next year I think we'll go to all chain and see if that helps. The Wema water and holding tank gauges are not the best. I had to have both replaced our first season (under warrenty) but now the holding tank guage is stuck at 3/4 full. I use a biocide in the diesel fuel to prevent stuff from growing and blocking the screen at the bottom of the fuel pick up tube. This caused my engine stall under load my second season. The Yanmar engine itself has been very reliable, I change oil and filter every 50 hours or before the winter haul out. I bought the Yanmar engine manual and have found it helpful. We've had no problems with our refrig and we run it 24/7 also. I've defrosted once this year. All in all we've been very happy with our 376, she handles well, sails fast, and has plently of room for partying with friends. Best of luck with yours. Tom LaRocco S/V Follow the Sun
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RICH
Doubled the Battery Bank for the Winch
Bob, The boat originally came with a single 4D house battery. I had a second one installed in order to power the electric winch. The relay was installed so that I can use the house bank to start the engine if and when necessary. As far as the Yanmar I think 150 hours is barely broken in and I'd be surprised if there was anything to worry about. I've never had a single problem with mine. I use a biocide and keep the tank topped off. I change the oil and filter every 125 hours or once per year, dismantle and clean the mixing elbow, heat exchanger, replace the impellor, tranny fluid and fuel filters once per year plus have the entire engine steam cleaned, touch up painted and coated with anti-corrosive once per year as well. I have a Yanmar mechanic that does this entire annual service for me and it costs about $350 including fluids and parts...worth every penny if you ask me. You might think about spending that money on a servicing instead so you know what's been done and you can start clean with a fully serviced engine. Let me know how you're progressing.
Bob, The boat originally came with a single 4D house battery. I had a second one installed in order to power the electric winch. The relay was installed so that I can use the house bank to start the engine if and when necessary. As far as the Yanmar I think 150 hours is barely broken in and I'd be surprised if there was anything to worry about. I've never had a single problem with mine. I use a biocide and keep the tank topped off. I change the oil and filter every 125 hours or once per year, dismantle and clean the mixing elbow, heat exchanger, replace the impellor, tranny fluid and fuel filters once per year plus have the entire engine steam cleaned, touch up painted and coated with anti-corrosive once per year as well. I have a Yanmar mechanic that does this entire annual service for me and it costs about $350 including fluids and parts...worth every penny if you ask me. You might think about spending that money on a servicing instead so you know what's been done and you can start clean with a fully serviced engine. Let me know how you're progressing.
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