360/370 express questions

[rose_surfer]

We're considering downsizing from our viking 58 to something a bit more "economical" and with a shallower draft. We bought the viking when we lived up north and the enclosed bridge made for year round boating, and draft wasn't a problem. Now we live on the bannana river in east central florida, bridge clearance and draft are major considerations, and our uses have changed. We actually fish a little more now and cruise a little less (but still probably not more than 50% fishing, with some trips to the bahamas and/or keys). We're a family of 4 - girls are 8th and 10th grade, so basically adult sized. If we do this, we'd be looking for an older 360. I already know we'll need to do the mod to add the 2nd chair at the helm - my wife absolutely needs to keep lookout while underway for her own sanity. Budget will be about $200k, would love to spend less, but could spend a little more.

I've poured through this and other forums and got a bunch of my questions answered, but I was hoping folks could chime in on a few of the specifics below. Input is especially welcome from folks who have spent a lot of time on the 360/370:

• Trip 300's seem like the more or less consensus best power option. Are there any twin 350 owners who would argue for that setup instead? My priorities, in order, is an efficient cruise at 30kts (ideally maintainable in typical 2-3' windchop), upkeep cost, and reliability/redundancy. I couldn't care less about top end.
• Is tankage a problem for multi day trips? I've found conflicting info but it seems like its around 60 fresh/25 black. Anyone have experience weekending on this boat with a family of 4? I'd like to be able to go 2-3 days between pumpouts/water fills, perhaps with most (but not all) showers being taken at the marina.
• How is the storage? Can you keep enough things in the galley to prep a meal? How about lockers for clothes, etc? Again, considering 4 people, how long of a trip is reasonable? Just a weekend? 5-6 days? A week?
• Access in and out of the midberth - the little access doorway looks tiny. What happens if the person sleeping on the aft side has to get up in the middle of the night? is it even possible to climb over the other person to get out? Is it big enough that two 5 1/2' people could sleep across it (head toward aft, feet toward bow) so either can get out without trampling the other?
• Is the shower usable? Seems like most boats i've been in with curtain shower "enclosures" the curtain just gets in the way and you make a mess anyway and a lot of people just take the curtain down and get the whole bathroom wet when showering.

Other options we're considering are the Intrepid 430 SY (more expensive - very hard to stay in budget, smaller cockpit, but faster, has a private stateroom, seperate shower stall, more helm seating), tiara/pursuit 3800 (pros and cons of diesels vs outboards), or a 37-43' convertible (will have to be old to be affordable, so rolling the dice on pricey maintenance issues, and don't want 2 stroke diesels, draft will be an issue with some)

 

[Fishermanbb]

I had a 360 for 11 Years. It’s a fantastic boat. We fished it heavily but also cruised. Usually when we cruised there were 4 or 5 of us. We went anywhere from 2-8 days at a time. Tanks are plenty big enough for several days before fill-up/pumps out if you use sparingly - Meaning…don’t waste water or use then head when you have alternatives. We never had an issue. Rear berth exit is just what it looks like - tight. However, that’s where the kids slept and they never had an issue crawling in/out at any time of the night or day. I was in there plenty and never had San issue but it is an on your knees activity either way. Shower is perfectly fine with the curtain. As for storage……You need to figure out what works for you. There really isn’t enough to effectively stow away enough items for 4-5 people over a 7 day cruise. We put or bathroom stuff in the head for the entire trip with no issues. Our cloths were kept in soft bags and when we went to sleep we dropped the rear canvas and put the soft bags up at the helm for the night. During the day they stayed down below. IF there are only 4 of you then this would be unnecessary as you could just leave them on the dinette or dinettes berth and use the forward and aft berths for sleeping. We usually needed all of the berths so we couldn’t do that. We found plenty of space for all of our adventures but it won’t compare to your Viking as far as comfort. Cooking in the galley was easy but we rarely did it. We used the microwave a lot but we cooked on grills mostly. Sink was fine for washing dishes though. All-in-all it was truly a great boat in every way. I had trip 250’s (Which no matter what all of the people who never owned one says - was fine for power.). Not A rocket ship but never had any issues. I ran one with twin 350’s and didn’t like it as much but really couldn’t tell the difference. Trip 300’s would be fine for this boat. It’s a tank, handles easily ( I ran mine solo all the time), and both fishes and cruises well. Best of luck in your search!

 

[rose_surfer]

I had a 360 for 11 Years. It’s a fantastic boat. We fished it heavily but also cruised. Usually when we cruised there were 4 or 5 of us. We went anywhere from 2-8 days at a time. Tanks are plenty big enough for several days before fill-up/pumps out if you use sparingly - Meaning…don’t waste water or use then head when you have alternatives. We never had an issue. Rear berth exit is just what it looks like - tight. However, that’s where the kids slept and they never had an issue crawling in/out at any time of the night or day. I was in there plenty and never had San issue but it is an on your knees activity either way. Shower is perfectly fine with the curtain. As for storage……You need to figure out what works for you. There really isn’t enough to effectively stow away enough items for 4-5 people over a 7 day cruise. We put or bathroom stuff in the head for the entire trip with no issues. Our cloths were kept in soft bags and when we went to sleep we dropped the rear canvas and put the soft bags up at the helm for the night. During the day they stayed down below. IF there are only 4 of you then this would be unnecessary as you could just leave them on the dinette or dinettes berth and use the forward and aft berths for sleeping. We usually needed all of the berths so we couldn’t do that. We found plenty of space for all of our adventures but it won’t compare to your Viking as far as comfort. Cooking in the galley was easy but we rarely did it. We used the microwave a lot but we cooked on grills mostly. Sink was fine for washing dishes though. All-in-all it was truly a great boat in every way. I had trip 250’s (Which no matter what all of the people who never owned one says - was fine for power.). Not A rocket ship but never had any issues. I ran one with twin 350’s and didn’t like it as much but really couldn’t tell the difference. Trip 300’s would be fine for this boat. It’s a tank, handles easily ( I ran mine solo all the time), and both fishes and cruises well. Best of luck in your search!

Great input - thank you so much for taking the time to reply

 

[luckydude]

I don't have the 300 but I have the same block in my 250. I fish with people who have the 300s and they love them. No issues. The 350s I feel like I've heard about more problems with them, maybe they are sorted but you are looking at used so you may get the ones with problems. I'd push you towards trip 250/300s because you get better gas mileage from more engines that are working less hard.

Good luck.

 

[rose_surfer]

I don't have the 300 but I have the same block in my 250. I fish with people who have the 300s and they love them. No issues. The 350s I feel like I've heard about more problems with them, maybe they are sorted but you are looking at used so you may get the ones with problems. I'd push you towards trip 250/300s because you get better gas mileage from more engines that are working less hard.

Good luck.

This is what I would have thought as well. One other factor though, it seems, is that insurers look negatively on more than 2 outboards. Apparently (and nonsensically), for the same hull and same total horsepower, trips are harder to insure than twins. Insurance is tough here in FL so that factor could be the difference of having a couple of policies to chose from and having one, or even none.

 

[JJF]

The "C Series" 350s should be fine, but still have the flywheel replacement requirement. FWIW" I am at 430 hours and haven't run into the replacement yet.

By white water, do you mean fresh water? If so you could always use a bladder or get small water maker.

 

[Beyond A Wake]

I can tell you for sure that the insurers are not friendly for triples. I got quoted an insane amount for my 2019 335 with 3x300 and ended up with an agreed value rather than replacement.
I don't understand why that would be except for speed which these boats are not doing.
The 350's of later years are improved but be sure to find out before buying which years and what the problems were/are and how they are fixed. The flywheel is a lifetime warranty with frequent replacements after a certain amount of hours in a specific rpm range. Corrosion of exhaust and related areas up to engine block (I believe) were another if the problem areas and that was not only for 350's but also for others.
Consider repowering with 450's if feasible, they should be good.

Mho

h

 

[Fishermanbb]

One of the main reason trips are more expensive is that they are…trips. Three engines to insure vs. 2 ( or one). Regardless of horsepower it is far more expensive to replace 3 motors than 2. “C” series 350’s began with the 2016 model year. Most owners say they are bulletproof with the exception of having to replace the flywheel (under warrantee) for the life of the motor.

 

[Boat Insurance Guy]

I can tell you for sure that the insurers are not friendly for triples. I got quoted an insane amount for my 2019 335 with 3x300 and ended up with an agreed value rather than replacement.
I don't understand why that would be except for speed which these boats are not doing.
The 350's of later years are improved but be sure to find out before buying which years and what the problems were/are and how they are fixed. The flywheel is a lifetime warranty with frequent replacements after a certain amount of hours in a specific rpm range. Corrosion of exhaust and related areas up to engine block (I believe) were another if the problem areas and that was not only for 350's but also for others.
Consider repowering with 450's if feasible, they should be good.

Mho

h

h

It's not necessarily because of speed, but in Florida, it's more of a theft concern with triples and higher. Insurance actuaries can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the chance of theft increases greatly when you have 3 or more engines. That is why some companies are now putting in special theft deductibles and/or GPS tracking requirements on triples and higher.

 

[Beyond A Wake]

Stored in marina with cat 5 closed door rack storage with no history of any theft????
I would love to see statistics over boat thefts and common denominators for them. Maybe a cross reference to cars with more wheels!! Would work, all have just one engine except electric cars with one or more per axle.
I'm being a little cheesy and I'm sure some stats show that 3 engine Grady Whites have a higher theft occurrence than the ones with only 2 engines. Have not heard of any here in our area though, doesn't mean that there would not have been some.

All in all I think all insurance and the need for it have become a real pain and I am sure fraud has a lot to do with it as well (ex. Roof damage by hail further north) WHile I'm on it; Uninsured motorist insurance is just exploding for some reason, one of biggest part of auto insurance now, obviously due to too low minimum levels and too many vehicles without any insurance, enforcement issues.

Have to stop this rant as this is largely a US only problem.