Various 98' 440 Express Questions

[InvincibleSummer]

Hello everyone. We bought a 1998 440 Express in Chicago late last October and just had enough time to get it across Lake Michigan to Saugatuck MI in time to get it put on-the-hard for the winter. We live in Texas, but will be spending summers on it. I have some questions and hoping y'all can help:

1) I need new mattresses for both V-berth and guest berths. I should have got dimensions last fall, but alas. Does anyone have dimensions and/or recommendations of where to buy mattresses/linens ... especially from sources that have records of mattress sizes for various boats?

2) The headliner needs to be replaced throughout. I've looked for someone in the West Michigan area to help, but no one responds ... gosh, they must be busy! Any recommendations other than doing it myself? I've seen the recent thread about headliners and am following it ... but did not want to hijack that thread asking if anyone has a source in the Great Lakes region.

3) She has Cummins 6CTA-8.3 450 Diamond Series engines. I'm very busy with my business here in Texas and did not have a lot of time to do assessments last fall. No survey was done (yeah, I know, I know!) When I looked at her in October, the water was cold and the air even colder (40s). They smoked white quite a bit on start up, but subsided within 3 minutes or so. That usually points to unburned diesel, which I saw a bit of film on the water. No black smoke at all. No smoke on sea trial. No film on water after returning from sea trial, so it seems it just had the issue when cold. I've heard Cummins is known for smoking white when cold, so I didn't give it too much thought. She preformed flawlessly on our voyage across Lake Michigan. But I am interested in knowing if anyone else has Cummins and their experience, especially in very cold water/air.

Thanks everyone!

[prowlersfish]

I really can't help with the first 2 as I don't know or have info on the Carver-built Trojans and I am not in the same area. As far as the Cummins Some smoke cold is normal and more so the colder the weather and water. Water temp plays a key due to the raw water aftercoolers. These engines have air heaters that help somewhat. If they are not working the smoke gets worse. They do draw a lot of power (12v) some folks disconnect them and deal with the smoke. I put a switch on mine so can turn them off. Using block heaters also will help.

[InvincibleSummer]

Thanks prowlersfish ... that is mighty helpful. I want to be a good slip neighbor as well as ecologically friendly, so I will have the heaters looked at. A switch to control it sounds like a smart option.

[prowlersfish]

Thanks prowlersfish ... that is mighty helpful. I want to be a good slip neighbor as well as ecologically friendly, so I will have the heaters looked at. A switch to control it sounds like a smart option.

Very easy to hook up, While the heaters are very high amp, The switch is installed in a low amp control circuit.

[knotayat]

I can only help with your 1st question. We were looking at new mattresses, as ours are 24 years old too. I decided to just go with a foam topper, 2" thick, but seemed like a quick option. We cut it to match and threw it on top of the original mattress. Made a world of difference, and quit looking for a replacement after that.

If I recall, the widest part was a couple inches wider than a queen size, but I found my receipt, and I ordered a 65" x 80", and worked just fine for me.

If you do get a custom mattress, make sure you get one that can fold so you can still access the storage under the bed.

Hope this helps,

Lance

[InvincibleSummer]

Thanks. The current mattresses are nasty and need to be replaced. I'm most likely going to go with Artisans Custom Mattress out of Saginaw Michigan. They can custom re-work TempurPedic mattresses. Expensive ... but, one gets what one pays for.