New owner-what is this?

[Jollymon16]

Hi y'all. I just picked up a 1980 F30 sedan cruiser. She needs a bit of work, mostly cosmetic. My question is "what is it". It's a bronze extension on the flybridge dash. Screw on cover. Looks like something with 2 pins plugs into it. Don't know how to post photos yet. Thanks

[Stripermann2]

It's probably your mast light base. The mast light would plug into this base.



Jamie

[prowlersfish]

You can post a photo as a attachment

[Jollymon16]

I don't think it's a light base. It comes out horizontal and is very close to the wheel. About 2 inches long

[captainmaniac]

If it is not for mast light, it could be an old school fitting to plug in a handheld spotlight. Seems strange to have it on an '80 vintage boat, but I saw a similar fitting on my father's old '69.

[prowlersfish]

Looks like a power plug maybe for a hand held spot lamp ?

[prowlersfish]

If it is not for mast light, it could be an old school fitting to plug in a handheld spotlight. Seems strange to have it on an '80 vintage boat, but I saw a similar fitting on my father's old '69.

Typing at the same time

[WayWeGo]

If it is for a handheld spotlight, you could replace it with a cigarette lighter or USB charging port. I need to add one to the flybridge as we are always running our phones down when cruising.

[Big D]

It's a proper marine waterproof polarized 12 volt outlet for accessories like spot lights and anything else one wants to plug in temporarily. The larger of the two ports should be the positive side.http://www.downwindmarine.com/Sea-Dog-P ... 00052.html

[Jollymon16]

Thanks guys. makes sense that is what it is. will have plenty more questions.

[MTurvey]

I have nothing further to add to the plug discussion - I just wanted to pop in and say Hello! to another 1980 F30 owner! I believe our model is called the convertible sedan, or the flybridge sedan.... something like that.

Feel free to ask me anything about your new money pit - I just might have the answer (or might be tackling a similar issue). This boat has been a learning experience to say the least There isn't a single space on this boat that I haven't blindly reached into/ squeezed thru / poked with a stick.

[Jollymon16]

Thanks. I will avail myself to you at some point. She has been sitting on a trailer for a while so I am slowly getting her ready for the water.

[MTurvey]

Don't rush to get her in the water - I always remember something I wanted to do/ check about a day after re-launching. Doh!

Make yourself familiar with/ make a sketch of all the thru hulls. Take detailed pictures. Inspect them thoroughly and replace/ repair anything that looks iffy. Find out what each ones goes to, and how to access and shut it off from the inside. You will thank yourself later! Put anti siphon valves on all of the outlet hoses (bilge, drains...etc).
Make note of your prop sizes. This is good info to have on hand....don't ask me how I know! hahaha

Clean your raw water intakes - they often look ok from the outside, but they are good at hiding things

Check all the metal plates/ fittings, etc below the water line. We found that one of the previous owners had used a variety of metals to secure everything from the prop shaft log to the rudders...etc. When we removed the rudders and prop shaft, the bolts basically crumbled when we tried to remove them. That was a sobering moment.
Do yourself a favor and replace every bolt/ screw....etc with ones made of silicon bronze. They are expensive, but its worth the peace of mind.

At least one of the previous owners had a death wish - I can't tell you how many things we have found that could have turned us into a mushroom cloud or sunk us. Its mindboggling.

What engines do you have? I've got these bizarre frankensteined Mercruisers. Engine block serial numbers come back to 228/ 305s.... but the documentation says they are 350s. They were rebuilt/ modified at some point (no records of course), so matching replacement parts is neat.

Well anyway - I could fill a book with all the neat-o things we've replaced/ fixed/ removed, but hopefully this gets you started. It never ends.

[Jollymon16]

I feel pretty lucky with the boat I got. everything has been bonded well, all through hulls, shafts, rudders etc.. are in great shape. she was freshwater most of her life, was in the salt for about 6 months before being put on a trailer about a year ago. plan to replace all the consumables (zincs, impellers, packing etc..) need to pull the prop shafts to replace the hoses the stuffing boxes mount to. had some water sitting for a while in the forward part of the boat so the floor in the galley needs replacing. the stove is missing, probably going to pull the counter tops and replace with corian or some solid type material. have pulled up all the fancy 1980's carpet and i am trying to decide what flooring to go with. I like the look of teak and holly but the real stuff is just too expensive. they have a convincing vinyl version that may be what I go with (any suggestions would be great) I would like to reconfigure the v-berth. I really dont like the original set up with the multi height single berths (this will be further down the road.) She has 318 cryslers, fresh rebuild on the port with about 80 hours and 400 hours on replaced starboard engine. all hoses new a year ago. neither of the tachs function, i dont really trust the oil pressure gauges or the fuel gauges so plan to replace all of them. there are no electronics onboard (GPS, bottom machine, radio) so that will have to be some money spent. wiring appears solid but I plan to check every wire and its connections. previous owner had only an 8D battery and ran everything off it. i will go with 2 marine starting batteries and have a separate house bank. there is no top for the fly bridge so i have to figure out something there. has the weird wet bar option in the cabin instead of a helm. doesnt seem very functional, must be missing some pieces. also missing the left side of the folding doors on the starboard side (that hide the fold out bed) thats going to be hard to replace. flybridge ladder is gone too, another hard and expensive to replace item. Lots more than this for sure but its a start.

[Big D]

Where do you dock her?