4600 Purchase - Things to look out for?

[Benalisa]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and have an offer to purchase a 1998 4600 with 370 Cummins. I thought I would reach out to the group for any guidance on things to look for before I seal the deal. I am having the typical things taken care of such as the survey (being done later this month), engines inspected as well as a sea trial.

Any 4600 owners out there have anything to add? I guess I'm looking for the "I wish I would have known that before" items.

Thanks,
Al

[dbriceno]

370's may be a little under powered. I just had to replace my sanitation hoses (2000 4600SCB). It smelled awful in the cabin. Over $2000. 500 hour service on engines ~$10000. I just had my dripless shaft seals changed, the graphite half was getting brittle. $2000 in parts, I'm afraid of getting the labor bill, it was a real bitch pulling the flange off the shafts.

I love the boat. The interior and bridge are awesome. I wish the cockpit was bigger. It should have been a 48 instead of a 46

Dan

[Benalisa]

Thanks for the feedback. Underpowered, do you have these engines in your boat? I will definately check this out during the sea trial. Is your boat a saltwater boat? What did you do for the $10K engine service? Seems a little high. Sanitation hoses and shaft seals I understand.

[dbriceno]

I have the 450 Cummins motors. I cruise at 19knots at 2200 rpm, top out at about 23knots at 2600 rpm. Yes, it is a saltwater boat. The service entailed removing and cleaning the turbos, heat exchangers, air handlers, impellers, etc. He also reran my battery lines that had some sharp turns that actually improved my engine starting which had issues. I'm not sure what else. Some parts needed to be machined and refurbished. Others were replaced. The $10000 is approximate. Could have been $9000. I actually had it done at 700 hours. I also reupholstered the sofa, new canvas & new carpet.

[shrew]

Originally Posted by dbriceno

I just had to replace my sanitation hoses (2000 4600SCB). It smelled awful in the cabin. Over $2000. 500 hour service on engines ~$10000. I just had my dripless shaft seals changed, the graphite half was getting brittle. $2000 in parts,

This maintenance will be necessary at some point in any boat. It's not specific to the make and model.

[iantan]

I've had mine for just over two years now and it's mostly maintenance issues you have to deal with.

The main thing I had to do was, as dbriceno has mentioned, the sanitation hoses. I know why its not done, its a pain in the ..... to do. I did it myself for the cost of the hoses and when you are there check the holding tank macerator pump, the screws holding the impeller to the pump rot and if you switch the pump on, well use your imagination. I'm not sure what type of toilets you have but I replaced mine when doing the hoses.

Apart from that it is just general maintenance items and a slow upgrade of all the things in an 18 yr old boat.

if the boat has been regularly used most items should be okay, ours was used infrequently and I had a few blocked breather vents, the worst was the water which would act like a geyser when being filled up.

We love the boat and use it most weekends in the summer. In fact I'm thinking of buying something bigger and selling my 46 but that's another story.

[TJK]

I bought my 1999 4600 SCB with twin Cummins 450s last year. I went all over the country to look at a half dozens of them. In terms of fundamental hull and structure, all of them were impressively solid, considering they are 14 to 18 years old boats. There is no “core” issue since the hull is solid fiberglass. None of them had any sign of water leak around windows (very common in other flybridge types). My boat passed the survey with flying colors. Maxum/US Marine did very good job building this boat back then. You just have to look out for the common parts and components issues, such as water/bilge pumps, hoses, batteries, thru hull valves, lights and etc. but that’s not a big deal…. Good surveyor will find the issues.

As for the Cummins 370 engines, they are great engines. Make sure that you get the rated WOT 3000 RPM and possibly get around 22 knots during sea trial and survey. I personally prefer my C450s, but as long as you are planning to cruise around 15 to 16 knots, C370s should be fine. And the boat stays up on plane and cruises very well around that speed.

TJK

[Flightlevel]

I have a 1999 46 SCB Maxum. the biggest problem I encountered after I purchased the boat was that the railings around the outside all leaked into the interior. There was no sealant under any of the stanchions. the leakage resulted in me having to remove the entertainment center the kitchen counter sides and replace all of that laminate with a matching formica and reinstall it. It was a very very big job. the added benefit was that I remove the TV and Replaced it with 3 drawers that supplement the kitchen and installed a flat screen on the top Corner next to the door.

[TJK]

Wow, I am sorry to hear that. That is a biggest water leaking story I have ever heard on 46 SCB.... glad you fixed them and made it better.

[dbriceno]

I also had leak problems. Since the rails are flimsy at best (probably the worst part of the entire boat) be sure to examine the stanchions. Push on the rails to see if the stanchion lifts off the hull. I had 2 stanchions on the starboard side, forward of the dinette window, that were quite bad. It took a while to discover them. I had major carpet wetness under the dinette table (look for stains). It is extremely difficult to remove the rails. I used some clear silicone around the base of the offending stanchions and it solved my problem. If you have the boat shrink wrapped, do the entire boat. One season I only wrapped the bridge and they tied lines to the rails which flexed the rails and opened a gap at the stanchion. Not good.

[TJK]

Hmmm, in your case, the water must have traced through something then intruded into the cabin area… most likely via the electric wires? In my boat, some rain water seeps (not much) through somewhere and goes down to the bilge. I know this because it only happens after it rains heavily. I have not yet tracked the source. I am suspecting that it is coming from somewhere around the lazarette door or transom compartment drains area…..

This happened to most of the boats I owned before (the bigger the boat, the more likely) so as long as the water goes straight down to the bilge, I am not going too crazy to fix it for now…… it’s been so dry in NE this year anyway. It will be one of my off season projects.

[Flightlevel]

thank you for your reply. The majority all the water leaking into my boat was through the handrail stanchions. I sealed all of the bolts with silicone matt and frames I have not had any problems since. the a sliding glass door appears to have a lot of corrosion under the paint. I found this out when I replace the rollers on the door. I think for a winter project I may remove this door frame and clean all the corrosion and repaint.