New 2000 Maxum 3300 SCR - New Member

[tackleshep]

Hello all. As long as paperwork is done right early next week my wife and I will be the owners of a 2000 Maxum 3300 SCR. She's a good looking boat with only 250 hours on the twin 454 motors and is loaded with everything from the Genset to the Glass Enclosure. While we are not new to boating (we have had 17' and 24' runabouts) this will be our first cruiser as well as my first twin engine.

Sure be glad to hear any secrets or concerns you guys have with the Maxum brand and look forward to sharing our time with you all.

I'd love to hear any of your suggestions for what we really need to do to enjoy a big boat like this. If there are any ideas you have I'd love to hear them. The only thing this baby needs for sure is a BBQ grill. Any suggestions on types or for you SCR owners best location or way to install. Don't really see a good place in the cockpit but looking at bow or swim platform with an arm to put it up out of the way. Swim platform is great but also have two young kids who use it all the time. Thoughts?

Thanks guys.

Marc

[seapuppy]

welcome to the zoo...nice sounding boat...only thing I can tell you is that there is now 2 more things to worry about..second is never approach the dock faster than you want to crash into it.........

looking fwd to seeing some pic's..

SP

[mauiwaui]

Sounds great!!! Check the bilge pumps (hatch on floor under aft cabin and the other in engine bay). make sure the automatic switch is operational...not just the helm switch. Next, change the raw water pump empellars...because you never know. Most importantly, go have a blast!!! Post some pictures when you can. Oh yeah, I'm still puzzled on where to put a grill on my 3300...

[tackleshep]

Thanks for the input guys. I know this is a small but growing group, I look forward to sharing our experiences with you.

We had our official sea trial tonight. Just a little background on this deal. The boat was new in 2000 and owned by a Chiropractic clinic who put 240 hours on the boat over 8 years. It was obviously a floating party boat and not really slept on.

In June of 2008 the boat was purchased by a very experienced 70 year old couple who has owned boats as big as a 44' bridge cruiser on the lake of the Ozarks. These guys did it right and had the boat completely surveyed and inspected as well as appraised by a third party. The cockpit has a little wear (and by that I mean a couple little marks on the captains seat) the cabin actually looks brand new. I can't find a single mar or mark on any thing on in there.

The couple who bought it had some really bad times. After having the boat shipped to Kansas the man actually lost his leg to a disease and during recovery completely tore everything in his other leg. There boating days just came to an end and actually he works for my bank and has been forced to retire earlier than he wanted just based on the severe nature of his condition. (very sad)

The end result is they managed to put 10 hours on the boat and 5 hours on the 5K generator which has only 135 hours on it. It had new bottom paint in 08 and has been sitting in it's great slip since it was winterized in August of 2008.

The first year they tried to sell they refused to take any loss on the boat and then the economy hit them pretty hard. In addition to that unlike you lucky guys it's hard to get to the open sea in kansas. We sit on Perry Lake which is a larger lake for Kansas but not huge by any stretch. We have two marinas and probably 350 boats in both of them plus another 350 boats that visit on a regular basis. We have a great party cove that usually sees 100-200 boats (and the party) tied up on the weekends.

The point is a 35' boat with twin 454's is really not needed. For weather or rough water your not looking for power to just survive. Just not an issue. For us a 30 footer would have worked but we paid $27,000 less than it was bought for in 2008 and couldn't buy a smaller boat for that money. I think at just over 50K we came out in pretty good shape. (as long as the bank gives me a check in the morning.)

I am just chompping at the bit to get her on the open water and start enjoying it with our two kids......we have jetski's borrowed for the upcoming family reunion weekend.

I'll post sea trial report in the next.

[tackleshep]

As I said before the boat was just turned on for the first time yesterday since August of 2008. it was in the care of the marina and was completely winterized and sealed at the time. With the exception of the spider crap and a lot of dust she's actually in great condition

We started with the accessories and fired up the shore power and cabin stuff. The generator fired up like my car. Immediately the air kicked on and blew cold immediately. Fridge, ice maker, water systems, and heat pump all went great. The boat has 6 onboard batteries plus charging system that was all lit up. Then engine compartment looked better than my house. It was clean and HUGE. All in all I was very happy with the condition and the accessory start up.

Looking over the engine compartment I saw that all the batteries were new in 2008, 2009, and they did two new ones when the summerized. So happy with that. The blower and auto bilge kicked on and tested out. Better than that we had to pour water to get the bilge to work as it was stone dry in there so feel good on that one.

Noticed that the oil was changed in 2008 and only 10 hours ago but I'm going ahead and asking it to be changed now just so I know were working with new oil.

Next she fired up with no problems, engines actually pured and sounded great. Immediately we had problems with the tilt gauges and the motors going up and down. The marina owner simply said that the solenoids were "tired" and said they should replace them. (when I say they I mean anybody but me - I think the marina owner and boat owner have a relationship so don't care but it's getting replaced)

Depth finder and all lights were in good shape. The horn was broken but we knew that and it's being replaced with new. Also the pressurized water inlet was leaking and already on the list of things to get replaced. Also the remote spotlight worked for a while and then didn't so those are also getting fixed.

Next tested the windlass which just flat didn't work. The switch in on the dash but the controls are on the bow. So next that went on the list.

From your comments and just my boating history I already knew I was out $400 bucks to replace all the impellers on the motors and generator. I know they were only used for 10 hours but there are certain things I don't want to guess about and oil and impellers would be those two.

So we get her in the open water and hit the gas, she stood up and started going but seemed sluggish. I then noticed that the starboard engine was running a 15% lower RPM's than the Port. We never really got over about 25 mph (some of this is obviously a good build up of algea on the bottom of the boat - which just needs some time to get worn off.) Also the gas is a couple years old so not a big deal. Within a minute of running at high rpm's I we got a heat alarm from that starboard engine so we shut her down. We ran back in with the one engine that still seemed to run fine.

The marina mechanic as well as me is pretty comfortable that the engine problem is completely impeller related as at idle it didn't heat up at all. So what that means is I get all new impellers for engines and genset and they are paying for it.

So end discussion I'm really pretty happy. All the little problems which could have been an issue three weeks from now all happened today and since our offer was contingent on 100% functionality the list of new parts and pieces on the house keeps getting longer.

So the work starts in the morning and if our goofy bank figures out how to print out paperwork (long story) we could own her by the end of the week. Really looking forward to this.

If you have any thoughts or concerns let me know.

[tackleshep]

BTW- until we own it and I spend 15 hours cleaning and waxing there will be no pictures. I have owned cars for 20 years and boats for just 5 and I've already waxed a boat 20 times more than any car.

[seapuppy]

welcome to the zoo...sounds like you have a great boat other than the few items...it's not a big deal ...small things like the horn..probably a few items that need to be replaced and you'll have a great boat...little elbow grease and she should be awesome....go ahead and take pic's of the new boat..we'd love to see the process of waxing and cleaning...


SP

[ss3964spd]

Well done Marc, long as the issue with the starboard engine running 15% slower than the port doesn't turn out to be a bigger problem it certainly seems as though the boat is a really good deal. The stone dry bilge, for a boat that had been sitting in the water, is a very positive sign - just be sure to drop by the marina unannounced before you sign the paper work anc check it again (in the even someone dried it out just prior to your sea trial).

Enjoy!

Dan

[tackleshep]

Great advice Dan, before this deal officially closes we will be out there a few times more. The comforting thing (kinda) is the fact that the marina owner who is showing this hadn't even had time to take it out himself. Sure the heck couldn't drive it very well and I doubt he took any time to have it cleaned up (the outside is filthy). But we will keep checking it out and really look forward to testing it with the new adjustments and parts.

Meanwhile I sit here waiting for a banker to call me with closing documents that were suppose to be done Saturday. Thats making me more nervous than the boat.

[tackleshep]

The deal is done and she is all mine. She was immediately pulled from the water today for a full inspection and shop cleaning. We have a problem with Zebra Mussels so with it sitting for a while they had taken up home in the ports under the boat. So with a few minor adjustments and tests we hope to be floating again by tommorrow night and ready for our first weekend on the water. here are the shore pics, nothing amazing just a big nice boat.

[ss3964spd]

Congrats Marc, glad the nail biting paid off and you now own a boat! Exciting, exciting, exciting!

She does look pretty clean from the few photos. I think I can speak for all on this forum when I say we all love pictures of members boats, kind of like boat porn. So take your camara with you for your first real outing!

Regards,

Dan

[HavaMax]

Marc, sounds like you have all the bases covered! Looks real good, now get out there and enjoy it. Take a look in my gallery and you can see some pics of where we have our grille mounted. Wish my swim platform was as big as yours..we love the layout. I can get you some better pics of the grille if you need them.....Jesse

[tackleshep]

Got her back in the water today, all things fixed and working great. Port motor still getting hot and now were sure its a thermostat, doesn't get warm at idle but does with full throttle. Once you let off it just doesn't cool down fast at all except for every other time you try it something happens and she cools fast. That thermostat has to be tired and not opening full. Were going to replace it first thing in the morning unless they don't have the part in which case were going to remove and check without it, that will tell us fast if we have any other problem. Just not much it can be after the pump and impeller has been replaced and motor is running great.

[tackleshep]

Originally Posted by HavaMax

Marc, sounds like you have all the bases covered! Looks real good, now get out there and enjoy it. Take a look in my gallery and you can see some pics of where we have our grille mounted. Wish my swim platform was as big as yours..we love the layout. I can get you some better pics of the grille if you need them.....Jesse

I'd love some closer pictures, I can't tell if your back is the same as ours. I think it looks like it would work well, I've been hesitant to do something on the platform as we spend a great majority of our time tied up and swimming and people are always walking down the line so something that could swing out of the way might be the key.

I've also considered putting a Magma on the rail on the bow. They make such a nice removable piece and special mounts for the rails. I worry about the weight and we don't run hard very often so not to worried about serious movement. The pros is we don't allow the kids on the bow or have any interior that can be hurt, the downside is I worry about the rigid nature of the rail and if it would be a structurally sound move. Opinions?

[HavaMax]

I will get you some closeup pics this weekend. I would not want to go out on the bow just to check shrimp on the Barbie!!! The magma works really well for us, and is pretty much out of the way. I guess you could swing it even further out of the way I suppose. The 33 is the same boat as the 32 (from what I can tell), just your swim platform is much bigger....We have had "big max" for just over a year now, although we boat year around, and it has been nothing short of great!!!

[tackleshep]

Havamax,

Ok spent the first weekend on the boat and gotta get the grill thing figured out fast. Looking at your pics it looks like you have it rail mounted?? Is that right or is it a deck mount? My rear is different than your and I think I'm going to have to go with a deck mounting. (scares me but it's important) I really am thinking about buying the grill and a deck mounting kit then having a metal works buddy of mine create an arm. I really need to figure out a way to lock it in for movement to the side then swing it for use then back out of the way. I'm afraid I've got to get creative. When you have those pics let me know this is bothering me.

[HavaMax]

Let me know if you need any other pics.....

[HavaMax]

......

[HavaMax]

Sorry they are so small..... The misses has been messn with the camera!!!

[ss3964spd]

LOL - even with my glasses I can't see those!~