2900 Twin 4.3 Questions delivery Friday 13th - Maxum Boat Owners Club

jimbenton · 07-04-2007, 03:48 AM

Well, I think I did all my home work and have finally decided to buy this boat. I posted an earlier question regarding twin 6 cylinders vs one big block and think I will be fine. Im getting out of my 2500 after one year. i guess i got the 2ft fever early. the 2900 has an LOA of 29ft 10inches but there is a 2 foot anchor holder (for lack of know term) on the front of the boat. this boat is really less than 28 feet. I dont know how maxum gets away with this, but anyway since it was a left over 06 model and i was able to nogoiate a little better price, I went for it. The interior design is dated but I still like the layout. the aft cabin has a larger entry way so its easier for me and my wife to crawl in. Im going to miss the wet bar on the deck, I guess the cabin sink and the transome shower will have to make up for it. Im having some difficulty finding fuel usage comparisions between the two vessels. I hope some one here can help me. The two engines really take up most of the room in the bay, I am sure it will be difficult to service, i dont really see a way to step down into it. also there are only two batteries on the boat one for each engine but there are two switch boxes. there doesnt seem to be room for two more batteries. does any one here have a 04,05,06 twin engine 2900? or know how i can add the extra batts. The boat list at 9100 pounds but with the two engine option will that change the charactoristic of the boat handling? more porpoising etc? hope to see some of you guys at mattawoman, Tim's and Bellmont bay shout if you see "Aquaphobic"

[/code]

sross · 07-04-2007, 06:36 AM

Hey congratz on the boat! We just bought the older version (2001) with the big block single. I've got lots of plans to fill up the engine bay with batteries, gensets and spare outboard .. hehe - but I'd trade for the Twin 6s any day.

The length issue: yeah Maxum plays with the nomenclature. So does everyone else! Have you seen how long the swim grids and transom walls are on the Sea Rays and Chapparals? Funny thing is, Maxum used to call this boat the 2700SCR .. then changed nothing and called it the 2800SCR, now its 2900, but is now being phased out. Nevertheless, the 2855 Bayliner seems bigger inside the cabin.

As for porpoising: I sure wish Maxum had put a water tank under the V-berth like some other mfrs did. I'd be tempted to put something with mass in there myself, but already have a water-cooled air conditioning system in there (which is of no use up here in the PNW - and hasn't been used since NEW).

cheers, enjoy the boat!

jimbenton · 07-17-2007, 12:54 AM

What a weekend I dont even know where to begin. first off we took delivery of our brand new maxum 2900 on friday the 13th. I laughed at the date last week, but it reallly was a nightmare. We were supposed to have our sea trial at 9;00AM that got change to 4 pm. I went down to the maxum dealer in woodbridge at 1:30pm and they had pulled the starboard drive due to heating issues after putting the boat in the water that morning.

The boat was filthy, the fluid levels in the drive were down. there was something oily in the bilge along with other debris. The extra tie down cleats I order had not been installed and the swim platform latter would not retract. The dealer said I could be in the water by July 4th to enjoy the holiday but then changed the date to the 13th to insure proper time for boat delivery. I agreed to this because although i was excited about the delivery, having it done right was more important. When i saw the condition of the boat at 1:30pm I began to get anxious because it did not seem they could prepare this boat by 4:00pm.

By six oclock we were not on the water yet. It was a beautiful day but for a few clouds. the captain that was to take us out was the most disappointing person around boats I have met to date with my limited experience. I was hoping this person could clue me in on the difference of going from a single engine boat to a twin engine , didnt happen. I was also hoping he could tell me some of the differences I would experience with a boat 5 feet longer and three thousand pounds heavier. that didnt happen. the only thing this captain was interested in was getting back and having me sign off on a 40 point checklist that we had not gone over.

fast foward to the good part. Saturday morning we lost water pressure to the fresh water system. so the transome shower,sinks,and head do not work. Later on that day We took the boat out and could not get it up on plane. long story but a friend help me figure it out ....something the capt should have done. Sunday was hot so we decided to use our new air conditioner. I powered on the system and waited to hear the water falling on the starboard side and it never started. I turned the system off and back on several times trying to diagnose the problem. the air seems cool enough but I couldnt figure out why no water was coming out of the port.

something told me to lift of the mattress on the forward birth to see what the problem might be..... LORD !!!! I got a two inch hose running at full tilt right under the bed. some yahoo forgot to put a clamp on the hose! I am supposed to have the first winterization free but I think I'll pay my marina before I let thos duck wads touch it again.

Maybe I may find happiness with this boat but It wont be because of the service I got from the dealer. these guys are interested in numbers only.

I still got a dirty bilge with some oil dripping from somewhere and its floating away from the stearn and being noticed by others on the dock.

The boat was poorly detailed and not waxed. the anchor light will not stay up straight and keeps falling over. I got a 2500 dollar windlass with no way lock the chain to keep the anchor from mistakenly being deployed, and I asked for it. The tv gets two very fuzzy channels thats it. I got a 30 dollar black and white that gets better pictures.

Advise to newbies: set your delivery date a week after the time they say they can do it. If the capt doesnt know the 40 point checklist at sea trail delivery tell him to take the boat back until someone who does can sea trial the boat even if it means he has to re-trailer the boat and take it back to the dealer. I sure some of you may have gotten better service from this dealer but I for one am sorely dissapointed.

But....at least Iam on the water see you guys and tims, belmont and mattawoman
I'll be the hot sweaty guy in the blue maxum 2900 dragging a broken latter and looking for a working shower. Oh yeah anybody got any extra drive lube? mine is empy after the second day.

racer2c · 07-17-2007, 01:16 AM

Ouch. Holly Acres strikes again!

I had a similar experience with them. The rig out guy went over my boat in about five minutes. the sales guy was super nice...until the boat was sold, then he couldn't be bothered.

The service dept looked at my diesling issue at my first free oil change and said nothing was wrong with it.

My boat was OK, basically because I'm a sucker and bought the boat off the show room floor. Doh!

You're right, they are all about the numbers.

Aquia Cruiser · 07-17-2007, 02:44 AM

Congrats on the new 2900! We have a '96 2700SCR that's still running beautifully (7.4L/BIII). Curiously, your outdrive oil leak sounds just like the one I just had. It entailed a drive removal and seal replacement to fix (also replaced the gymbal bearing and bellows). Ouch - that hurt the pocketbook! :shock: She's working great now though. We had all our work done by Potomac Marine. Never cared for Holly Acres service at all, but at least you're under warranty. We were in Pilot House but just recenly moved to Hope Springs (a giant leap better, and much cheaper - they even have free marina wide Wi-Fi access). Did you make it out to Tim's II for the fireworks Saturday night? It was spectacular. And the trip back to the marina in the dark was fun afterwards 8) ! Hope to see you on the water soon. Look for the strangely named "Sweethearts Dance". All white with new tan canvas.

seapuppy · 07-17-2007, 02:56 AM

Man....sorry to hear about your plight....I know that there is a punch list to give the dealer for repairs but they sound like they didn't even check the boat out before delivery too you!!....be aggressive about any repairs during your warranty period...and I hope you got the extended warranty too!!...
here's to many yrs of smooth sailing once you get the problems worked out...... :?

NWINMaxum · 07-17-2007, 08:08 PM

glad to hear you bought a new boat! sorry for all the b.s you've gone thru. can you file something with the BBB or maybe call MAXUM directly and tell them? hope all turns out ok in the end.

racer2c · 07-18-2007, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWINMaxum

glad to hear you bought a new boat! sorry for all the b.s you've gone thru. can you file something with the BBB or maybe call MAXUM directly and tell them? hope all turns out ok in the end.

One thing is for sure, both Holly Acres and Maxum will inundate you with telephone surveys. I must have gotten four or five from each.

Tell em the truth. It's how they improve.

jimbenton · 07-18-2007, 01:07 PM

The dealer was closed on monday the 16th. I was ready to let these yahoos have it. but I remember I had gotten a couple of email addresses from the salespeople so I wrote a two page email detailing all the issues I had with the new boat. I even copied a couple of my close friends on it in case we ever ended up in court. around 9:30 am I started getting replies to my email from several sale people. Not one phone call. just email replies saying they would look into it. After I got off work and got home around 5:00pm I decided to follow up and call the service manager to see what the game plan was. He had no clue what I was talkig about. after waiting on the phone ten minutes he returns with a copy of the email I sent. I wanted so badly to take the boat out yesterday evening for just a five minute ride. we have about a three minute no wake zone as soon as I got passed that and pushed the motor to about 3500 rpm I started getting a alarm beeping and then a constant beeping. I turned the boat around and limped back in. Does anyone know why a boat beeps at a certain rpm? can the threshold on the rpm be changed. Also does anyone
know what kind of fuel usage a twin 4.3 L carborated with alpha ones will get. Some one told me 30 gallons and hour at cruise is this right.
I try and keep everyone informed of the fixes hopefully I'll be out on the water before long.

Aquia Cruiser · 07-18-2007, 11:31 PM

Sorry to hear you're having so many problems with our favorite :roll: dealer. An alarm at any speed means you're low on oil (engine or out drive), you're overheating, or something else major is wrong. DO NOT operate the boat if the alarm is sounding.

30 gal/hr at cruise sounds high to me. I have the single 7.4L w/ B3 I/O so it's difficult to compare (I get around 13 gal/hr at cruise speed of 28-29 MPH - GPS indicated). I would expect you to not be a lot worse, high teens to 20 gal/hr at most.

seapuppy · 07-19-2007, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquia Cruiser

Sorry to hear you're having so many problems with our favorite :roll: dealer. An alarm at any speed means you're low on oil (engine or out drive), you're overheating, or something else major is wrong. DO NOT operate the boat if the alarm is sounding.

30 gal/hr at cruise sounds high to me. I have the single 7.4L w/ B3 I/O so it's difficult to compare (I get around 13 gal/hr at cruise speed of 28-29 MPH - GPS indicated). I would expect you to not be a lot worse, high teens to 20 gal/hr at most.

remember he's got twins...so if your getting 14 gals/hr...he's going to easily double that.....

Aquia Cruiser · 07-19-2007, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seapuppy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquia Cruiser

Sorry to hear you're having so many problems with our favorite :roll: dealer. An alarm at any speed means you're low on oil (engine or out drive), you're overheating, or something else major is wrong. DO NOT operate the boat if the alarm is sounding.

30 gal/hr at cruise sounds high to me. I have the single 7.4L w/ B3 I/O so it's difficult to compare (I get around 13 gal/hr at cruise speed of 28-29 MPH - GPS indicated). I would expect you to not be a lot worse, high teens to 20 gal/hr at most.

remember he's got twins...so if your getting 14 gals/hr...he's going to easily double that.....

I actually wouldn't think so. I have a 300HP, 454 C.I.D, carbuerated, heavy big block. He has 4.3L, 190 H.P. twins. I have a good friend with twin 5.7 L, 250 H.P, in a 32 footer that gets around 22-24 gals/hr, so JB should get even better.

BillCT · 07-19-2007, 08:36 PM

That's too high. I have twin 8.1s and that's my fuel burn at 3400rpms.

jimbenton · 07-20-2007, 11:51 AM

I finally got our favorite dealer down to my boat. They cleaned the bilge,rewired the dvd,tv and stereo. Put new clamps on the air conditioner pump hose and replaced the city water inlet cap. They said the alarm I was hearing was related to the low outdrive lube level and that sometimes the level drops unexpectedly in new boats and that I must keep an eye one it. Im ok with that. The starboard temp issue is still being accessed, they believe its a malfuntioning gauge so a new one has been ordered, I'll post later on that fix. The anchor is still binding in the the pulpit loop so if they cant get a bigger loop I'll have to change to a different anchor. So I'll have to crawl out on the front for a little longer.

Ive gotten a few post back about fuel usage but I havnt figured out if some of the guys are talking about fuel usage per motor or fuel usage over all ( both motors combined) If the fuel usage is about 30 gals per hour then that should be about 15 gals per hour per motor right?

the 4.3 liter twin motors are carborated and have alpha one drives. the boat is a maxum 2900 se

Aquia Cruiser · 07-20-2007, 01:40 PM

My estimate of 22-24 was for both engines together. 30 is way too high for twin 4.3's.

Also, if you get a new anchor, consider a plow type (if that's not what you have now). I switched to one and found it much more effective in most spots on the Potomac (Especially around Tim's and Tims II) than the Danforth type.

seapuppy · 07-20-2007, 03:50 PM

when I figured that he might get 30 gals/hr...that was a combined both engines figure....figuring about 15 gals/hr per engine......the other thought that is in my own two little braincells.......a worse case scenario..with tide and winds...you might get 30 gal/hr or worse......however...on a good day your mileage goes really well and it probably drops to something like 12 gal/hr/engine.......just wanted to clear that up..I know my boat on a nasty day will suck gas like it's going out of style......

Aquia Cruiser · 07-20-2007, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seapuppy

when I figured that he might get 30 gals/hr...that was a combined both engines figure....figuring about 15 gals/hr per engine......the other thought that is in my own two little braincells.......a worse case scenario..with tide and winds...you might get 30 gal/hr or worse......however...on a good day your mileage goes really well and it probably drops to something like 12 gal/hr/engine.......just wanted to clear that up..I know my boat on a nasty day will suck gas like it's going out of style......

No problem..

We mostly have good days on the river. Easy to hold a constant speed on plane. But, we occasionally get some whoppers that can keep you fighting the controls (helm and RPM's) constantly. Then, gal/hr goes to "H... in a Handbasket" (not real sure where that saying comes from - I know my sons use it a lot).

jimbenton · 07-25-2007, 01:24 PM

Our favorite dealership sent two technitians out to my new boat to find out what the problem is with the starboard motor overheating. This is the third time they have sent people out to look at the engine. I think the techs are taking the orders seriously . they go down to the boat. LOOK AT IT. probably from the pier, and then leave. Alrighty then. I went to see the service manager yesterday and guess what he said. He will send a couple of guys down Wednesday to take a look at it. He says he will have some kind of an answer for me by Friday. Not a fix and answer. If I could sail that answer to mattawomen Id be happy. stay tuned same bat channel same bat time.