[wejonesIII]

I’m looking for my next boat and the 3900 Sovran is on my short list. I have never had a boat with an enclosed helm and I’m curious how hot the helm area is at anchor or at the dock. Do you normally run the generator and a/c at the helm or is there enough ventilation to be comfortable?  We are in north Texas and we see a lot of upper 90’s with several days above 100 during July and August.

[Crown Royal]

Hi, I have a 3500 OPEN with the hardtop and boat on the sea of Cortez so similar weather as you. I find the hardtop is excellent against the direct sunlight, when I’m at the dock on shore power I generally use the AC but when running on the water the ventilation is usually enough to keep comfortable .

[Herrema4]

We have a 3900 Sovran and boat in Michigan. The last week it’s been in the 90s here and we have been traveling during this time. Love the hard top for keeping the sun off us. While running we can open the center window vent and get a lot of air moving thru the cockpit. We don’t use the drop curtains we have always liked the fresh air instead. At the dock it can be a little hot in the aft seating but we have had a sun shade made that we can put on when not running and cover the entire cockpit seating. The two a/c units in the cockpit do a really good job, we just really don’t use them much. We love our 3900.

[wejonesIII]

Thanks for the replies. I’m about 99% sure this is the boat I want. We spend a lot of time at anchor and I don’t want to have to run the generator to keep the upper cockpit comfortable.

The only other thing that I worry about is the pods. How has your experience been with them on your Sovran?

[Herrema4]

Our 3900 Sovran is a 2013 so the pods are gen F. At the time that was the latest gen that had the fixes the first generations needed. We bought the boat in 2019 and have put over 500 hours on since we got it. We have had no problems with the pods. When we have the fluids changed we get them analyzed and everything has been good. We didn’t buy it because it had pods. We didn’t not buy it because it had pods. It is an awesome boat. In the last week and a half we have run into 4 foot whitecaps, 5-6 following seas, and calm seas. It handles it all. Today we ran 120 miles and averaged a mile per gallon. If it is the earlier generation pods you want to get the maintenance records to know what has been done and if there have been any problems. Good luck.

[wejonesIII]

Our  3900 Sovran is a 2013 so the pods are gen F. At the time that was the latest gen that had the fixes the first generations needed. We bought the boat in 2019 and have put over 500 hours on since we got it. We have had no problems with the pods. When we have the fluids changed we get them analyzed and everything has been good. We didn’t buy it because it had pods. We didn’t not buy it because it had pods. It is an awesome boat. In the last week and a half we have run into 4 foot whitecaps, 5-6 following seas, and calm seas. It handles it all. Today we ran 120 miles and averaged a mile per gallon. If it is the earlier generation pods you want to get the maintenance records to know what has been done and if there have been any problems.  Good luck.

That’s great to hear, one of the boats I’m considering is a 2013. It’s a great boat all around and I will make sure I get the records and have a thorough mechanical inspection. Researching on the internet is tough since the few bad experiences get amplified and come from people that “heard it from a friend “ and not actual experience. 

I appreciate the feedback.