Messages

Stu,
It's actually a space issue, by making a new panel with circuit beakers I can relocate the VHF and Stereo into the area originally used by by the 1-2-Both switch.
The battery bank has Current Limiters on everything connected to it for wiring protection.

Here is a pic of the panel I made for the last boat.

Stu,
We have a Xantrex battery monitor, and I agree with you that they are essential.

Without the monitor you not only do not know the state of the battery bank, but you have no real idea of your energy usage habits.

The On-Off switch was recycled from the starter battery setup. It is really nice when we have guests on board since you can tell them to turn the "Big Switch" to On and then flip on whatever they need to use.

This winter plans call for re-doing the switch/fuse panel with circuit breakers and using a breaker as a DC Power switch similar to the AC side.

I have a question for all of you.
Has any one else eliminated their Starter battery and the 1-2-Both Switch?

Two years ago I decided to simplify the power supply side of the boat, this resulted in dire predictions of being stranded off a lee shore with a hurricane approaching and being unable to start the engine, or something like that.

Cynosure has the following setup:
            3 Group 27 lead acids wired in parallel as the only battery bank
                          (they came with the boat and will become 4 GC-2's when they die)
            The alternator wired directly to the bank
            An On-Off battery switch at the electrical panel
            A Waeco CF-50 refrigerator Cooler
            An 85 watt solar panel
            Raymarine C-80 with GPS, Radar, Autopilot, Wind, Depth and Knotmeter

We are on a mooring or anchored out and typically spend several days on the boat each week during the summer.
We have never had an issue with starting and the Nav electronics don't drop out when the engine is started.

Has anyone else done this or thought about it?

Mike McD.
Here are a few pictures of the hardware details.
If you want more info let me know.

Mike, Phil was really close on  the source of the "Bimini Parts", they came from   http://www.bosunsupplies.com   , the mast track fittings came out of my "Basement Machine Shop".

  However,... one of the best kept secrets in recreational boat owner modification is the fact that alloy 6061 Aluminum is not too different than really hard wood to carbide wood working tools on a table saw or router table. The sail track fittings could have been made that way. (I did them on a small milling machine).

By the way http://mcmaster.com  is without a doubt one of the most useful places to find raw materials (plastics, aluminum, stainless steel (and S/S hardware) on the web. The have no dollar minimum and reasonable per unit minimums. My last order was 1 ft of 3/4 square nylon bar stock for about $14.00. Check it out.

The mast track fitting is a 3" long "Tee" that goes in the sail track with a "U" Channel over the leg of the "T" with a couple of screws tapped into the "T" to clamp the assembly to the mast and hold a slightly modified Stainless Steel Stanchion Ring.

I'll try to take a couple of close-ups of the sail track area tomorrow and post them.

Now that we have spent a couple of weekends on the boat I can not believe how much more enjoyable the settee is with unimpeded access!
 

The port in the deadlight provides some ventilation, but you can't leave it open in the rain. The overhead hatch is under the dodger so it can be open in the rain ( we are either on the mooring or at anchor 99% of the time we are on the boat). With the drop boards in the companionway there is a low pressure are in the dodger so even in the rain the overhead hatch is reasonably effective.

Of all the Catalina 34's we looked at while shopping all the ones with the port in the deadlight had cracking radiating from the port cutout. We are planning to replace all four deadlights this winter so we gt a head start by doing the overhead hatch this haul out.

We installed a Lewmar (Size 0 ?) on Cynosure (1987) this winter. I removed the solar vent and put the existing hole in the cutout for the new hatch, it's close, but it hah adequate clearance on the handrail and the winch. Pretty easy project (after you get the nerve to drill the first hole in the cabin top) I made a template to locate the hole saw locations for the corner radius's then just connected the corners with an oscillating saw and finished up with a sanding drum. the whole cut out job took about 2 hrs including making the template. Then I cut back the plywood core with a rotary file and sealed it with thickened epoxy.

The interior trim and screen is sold separately.

I just used several wraps of teflon tape on the fittings, I special ordered the vent fitting locations.
Do Not use the clear reinforced plastic hose on the vent line. I replaced mine before the tank change and the new hose permeated in a couple of weeks.

Yes, you will need to remove the tabbed in panels on the outboard and aft faces of the tank. An oscillating saw makes it a quick easy task. Just cut the fiberglass tabbing flush with the hull and grind it smooth after the tank is out (this is probably the easiest part of the job).

* Warning*  Unconventional installation using non-traditional technologies, viewer discretion advised!    

As some may remember we have been fighting "Head Odor" in the holding tank locker. After a decontamination effort that rivaled a germ warfare protocol I came to believe the unimaginable, the tank was permeated!

We have had the boat for three seasons now and I put a Raritan PH-II in the first year (twice the price of a Jabsco, ten times the value) and replaced all the outlet flex hose to the tank with 1" solid PVC. ( Yes, I know you can't do that . It's too small, too rigid, too .... . But we had this setup on our last boat, an 81 Hunter 33, for six years with no problems)

This winter I pulled the holding tank after flushing and rinsing multiple times at the pump-out then adding two gallons of Clorox and filling with fresh water and leaving it on the mooring for a week followed by a final pump-out (this makes opening lines and fittings much less objectionable). I put pipe plugs in all the openings and another gallon of Clorox in the tank and moved it to the cockpit until the new tank installation was complete. This spring as soon as the weather warmed up we had "head odor" in the cockpit. I can now confirm that plastic holding tanks can permeate!

The new Ronco B179 HD is white, you can see the tank level, and I had two vents installed in diagonal corners, the vent tubing is PEX, and the whole run slopes down to the tank. The Pump-out is 1" rigid PVC with a flexible connector at the deck fitting.

About the use of 1" rigid PVC, the PH-II outlet fitting is almost exactly the same inside diameter as 1" PVC pipe and the reduced volume means fewer pump strokes to clear the line to the tank.

I'll do an end of season follow up.

Nice work!! I'm envious of the finish.

We started with a smaller table but I really wanted to eliminate the pedestal.

For right now it has been swept under the rug!! The blue one you see in the picture.

The initial plan is to open it up in the teak and holly sole and and drop in a piece of scrap T&H for this season and then replace the whole piece next winter.

I was on the boat Sunday after getting the table finished, WHAT a difference in accessibility to the settee. Like the song says "walk right in, sit right down!!"

Between the table and replacing the permeated holding tank it looks like the "livability" factor is going way up.

You probably need to push the upper shelf back up to it's original location, both sides on our boat had sagged.

I cut a 2" wide piece of 1/2 ply to "Floor to ceiling" dimension at the end of the slider and after positioning it at the mid point fore and aft, the plastic lifts right out like you expect. I left them there and the sliders now slide smoothly.

When the new ones were made I went with finger holes instead of the handles to prevent the breakage problem associated with the handles stressing the plastic.

Cynosure has a new saloon table (or at least the trial prototype). It is about 18x24 folded and 36x24 fully opened. the prototype is melamine covered particle board so we can try it out for the season and see what needs to be changed before I make a "real one".

The big change is eliminating the pedestal, the new setup attaches to the mast track. The frame is 1 inch stainless tube and the three diagonal braces make the table solid with out getting in the way of knees or feet, with the table folded you can walk into either end of the settee without doing the "Butt Shuffle"

The leaves are supported by pull out supports when open.

Waterdog,
Where did you order it from?