Well it seems our fresh water pump decided to crap out while winterizing our water system. Pump is presently a ShurFlo 2088-423-344 Diaphragm Pump. 2.8gpm, 12volt, 7.5max, 45psi, built 04/1999. Before I buy the same pump again, was wondering if anyone would recommend a upgrade unit and for what reason. Now mind you I have not double checked supply flow to the pump or taken the inlet filter apart and see if its possibly clogged since I have the system full of -50 Marine/RV antifreeze. Looking forward to all your suggestions!

2001 Mariner 350..... Has anyone changed their electric head to marine elegance.....does it fit in the same footprint....this is something I want to do over the off season and change out the charger....thoughts...

Please before you respond "just mark wheel where appears to be dead center", I want the system to work. Drives me crazy to have something not working as it should.
I have a 93 350 Aft Cabin with rudder synchronize gauge that is not registering. It appears the sender unit is mounted on the rudder link rod under the aft cabin bed. I see 3 red wires as part of the harness. 2 are attached to the sender. The 3rd is not attached and simply coiled and tied off. Does not appear to be a connection where it would attach and assuming just an extra. All connections on the gauge itself are connected and the light comes on with instrument lights but not registering for rudder position.
Does anyone know how I should test and or repair?

Got tired of the WallVac system most boats have. Hose was a pain, needed 110v and suction was OK at best, bags were a problem to find. Ended up getting a Dyson V7 trigger with power head. https://www.dysoncanada.ca/en/handhelds ... igger.html Works great everywhere one would need a vac suction is amazing. No cords or hose and fit perfectly under the fold up stair entering the boat where I do have access to my entertainment centre inverter plug so I can plug it in and charge no matter if I am on shore power or not. Was able to add a few panels inside and some trim outside to recoup the lost space where the wallvac was installed.

Original "Bar" hole on the left. Additional new Bar hole on the right.

Drove her down river for about 3 hrs to her winter resting place. Had her hauled and put on the dry. I pressure washed the hull and all fluids/filters have been changed. Just need to winterize the engines and water system not to mention a quick cleanup of the outside before putting her inside in unheated storage. Probably throw a big tarp over her just to keep the dust at bay.

May go back once in a while before the snow flies to finish up some little unfinished projects.

Looking to make a boarding platform from the dock to my swim platform on my 356. Dock and platform almost even. I see aluminum ones for $1500 but figure I could make one for less. Doesn’t need to be aluminum.

My wife has these great ideas. She asked me to find some mini cleats to replace most all the pull knobs of the cabinets and drawers on the boat. Oddly enough they were rather inexpensive being they are polished stainless steel @ slightly more than $6 cdn each delivered. Heck even an el cheapo Home Depot round plain knob is as much if not more. Chose the 4" model which is just right.https://www.banggood.com/316-Stainless- ... &ID=518173 The challenge here was to hide a single hole in the center left by the single hole factory knob. Low and behold there are cleats that do cover this. Used SS #8 oval head sheet metal Philips screws 1 1/2" long to secure. https://www.amazon.com/Screws-Phillips-Stainless-Self-tapping-Quantity/dp/B01LZJT4SD/ref=sr_1_4?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1538835817&sr=1-4&keywords=stainless+oval+head+sheet+metal+bright+finish+1+1%2F2%22 The picture does not do them justice, looks stunning in person.

New to me 2003 356. What is the First Mate system? I have a switch under the step at the battery switch panel labeled First Mate which is off since I took ownership. Should it be off?

I'm starting to plan to winterize my Carver 355 for the winter. Has anyone got a good way to close off the vents into the engine compartment? One year I stuffed them from the outside with foam rubber, but that was a pain. Last year I made covers out of marine vinyl with an additional thin layer of insulation, but the old snaps are worn out and it didn't seal well. I am thinking of making a wooden cover, putting a layer of foam inside and snapping it into place with spring clamps like this: https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... gKcXvD_BwE
Anyone done anything like this? Got a better idea?

I had both alternators rebuilt last spring, but the port motor is not charging. Figured it out when I lost power in the starboard motor due to my bad fuel issue out on the lake, and was coming back on the port motor with the lights, ref. and radio on. When I was pulling into the marina everything started getting dim, and the gauge was reading around 10v. I confirmed that the alternator was not charging by starting both motors, and shutting off the battery switches. When I do this the starboard motor stays running off of the alternator, port motor cuts off immediately. I took the alternator off and brought it back to the alternator rebuild place, and it checked out fine. They bench tested it, and put a new regulator on it for good measure, no charge. (good guys, for sure)

I wired the alternators the same way they were wired when I took them off. The port motor has one additional orange wire that was not used previously, it was folded back and taped off. To the best of my knowledge, the wiring is fairly simple - black (ground) to the case, purple to the excite post, and the fat orange wire to the starter/battery. Any idea what could be wrong?

I talked to the guy at the alt. rebuild place about my issue. He said the issue seems odd to him and thought it may be a loose belt. According to him, even if the excite wire is off, the alternator will usually self-excite around 2,000 rpm. The red wire goes straight to the battery, does that leave the ground as the potential problem source? Any idea what the additional red is for? The purple and black are around 14 gauge if I had to guess. The fat orange/red seems around 8-10 gauge, and the unused orange/red seems around 10-12. The belt is definitely not loose, and it's not slipping. The alternator isn't charging at any RPM.