Topics

I have sold Perseverance to a friend, 2 slips south of me.  The new owner is the current owner of a Cat27.  On Tuesday he will own Perseverance.  Hopefully he will invite me out a lot.

I will be going to the "dark side" with a tritoon, which would be a better "social boat", but not a sailboat,  and one my wife has wanted for a while.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me learn how to make my time with Perseverance enjoyable.  I appreciate all of the time and advice that many of you have provided.  I have encouraged the new owner to be involved on this site also.

I have 2 house batteries and 1 starting batttery.  I try to remember to switch to the start battery under power and then switch to house when i shut off the engine, but i sometimes forget to switch back to house after shutting off the engine..  What is the problem with using the house batteries for starting and general usage, and keeping the remaining battery just as a backup if needed?

I am a day sailor that uses very little fuel over the course of a season.  Last season I used only 5 gal.  At the end of the season I treated the fuel for winter.  This year i have probably only used 1 or 2 gallons.  As i start thinking about winter, should i: 1. Just leave it alone - does the protection wear out after a year?, 2. Treat the fuel again as if it were all fresh fuel- can you overtreat the fuel? 3. Sail to the Caribbean for the winter? 4. Something else?

In about a month I want to replace my original (1986) elect panel with a Blue Sea 8084 panel.  The new panel is smaller than the one I am removing.  Has anyone installed this new panel? What creative ways did you account for the larger opening? This just looks like some time consuming work, but nothing difficult.  I have prelabeled all of the wires, and have good quality crimping tool and a supply of heat shrinks.  Any other advice would be welcome.

Pics would be great!

Last week i lost reverse and finally got someone out today to look at my boat.  The key came out of the coupling and the entire prop shaft pulled out about 0.5 in from the coupling. The set screws scored the end of the shaft.  The mechanic said i need a new shaft and coupling.  I dont like spending money, but i really don't like spending money on cheap stuff that will just break again. Therefore, after reading a lot of posts on this site, i think i am going to get a vetus coupling.  The yard will have the prop shaft fabricated locally.

My question is where is the best source of the coupling.  Neither Defender or Hamilton seem to have them.  Do i have to go through one of the "authorized dealers" from their website?  Does anyone have a good source that is both inexpensive and fast (yes, i know those don't usually go together!).

I was getting ready to take my boat out this afternoon, cast off the lines and realized that i did not have reverse. I did have forward.  I opened up the engine compartment to check the linkage and noticed that i had water spraying out of my dripless.  I tightened the clamps and it seemed to stop the spray. If i wiggle the bellows, it starts to spray again.  If i stop the wiggle, it stops.  I read as many posts as i can find on the dripless, but cant find the answer.  The water is coming out in front of the stainless steel collar that has the hose attached to it.  Didnt get a chance to take a picture, but will tomorrow.

Do i need to replace my dripless? Is there something i can fix? Will i get reverse back once it is fixed, or are these two seperate unrelated problems.

I live in Michigan, so i am on the hard.  I just started cleaning up in hopes of launching May 3.  I noticed i could not close my head door.  It is off by about 1/2 inch. Hinges are fine. All of the trim boards around the door are fine. Everything looks evenly spaced. Nothing looks cocked.  Aft cabin door is fine.  Could this be because it is on the hard? Door was fine last fall. I have had the boat for 3 years now, and never noticed this before. I have a custom metal cradle, but it does have one bent strut.  Has anyone else had this happen.  Hopefully it straightens out in the water!

One of my dock mates asked me when I last changed my transmission fluid.  I have only had the boat for two years and have not done it myself, but it got me curious.  I find no note in the POs records, but he only had the boat about 4 years.  Is this something I should do, just to be on the safe side?  I have read postings on how to do it, but there does not seem to be anything about <<if>> I should do it if everything is working fine.

The Garmin manual on the gWind indicates that I should remove the masthead transducer every winter, keep it charged up, and then reinstall in the spring.  Do people really do this? Or is that just a manufacturers CYA?

I need a new element for my Superstor SS-6M water heater.  Anyone know a good source?  I cant seem to find at WM, Defender, Hamilton

Simple rookie question. My port jib sheet rubs against the cowling. I have tried to adjust the position of the aft fairlead, but cannot find a point where it does not rub. I have Lewmar 46 winches.  Is this typical, or am I doing something wrong? Is there a fix?

The solar vent on my boat has never worked since i bought the boat last year.  While not a high priority, it has been on the todo list.  I went to the West Marine site to look them up. The Nicor day/night one was panned by reviewers. The standard comment was they had a longevity of about 1year. I would like to get one that does not require making the hole larger or smaller.  What has been the experience of members? Do they really have a short life span? Is there a better replacement? Is the non- day/night one more dependable?

Since a few people asked, I will start a new topic and share my experiences with installing a new chartplotter. Some of this might be obvious, but I am new to boat ownership and I appreciate the posts that contain a lot of info that is obvious to everyone else.

I have a 1986 Cat 34. It has a standard Edson Pedestal. It had a DataMarine depth display and a DataMarine speed display.  Each was in its own "pod", one on the left and one on the right of the binnacle.

I purchased a Garmin 741xs chartplotter over the winter (GREAT Prices at WM just before Christmas!). I studied a number of depth transducers and decided on a AirMar B150 Chirp Transducer. I don't fish, but I thought it would be good to have a picture of the bottom and not just a number. It was not that much more than a non-Chirp transducer. This has 2 frequencies, so I can get two different pics of the bottom. My "original to me" transducer was located aft of the keel, under the water tank. Impossible to get to, so we just left it in place and installed the new one ahead of the keel on the starboard side. Access is under the forward dining bench. It is also near the speed transducer.

I also installed an AirMar ST850 Speed and Temp Transducer. This was supposed to be NMEA 2000, but my installer installed it along with the Depth directly in the back of the Chartplotter. He said something about "piggy-backing" them. There is only 1 port on the back of the transducer for sonar, so I don't know how he did it.

I also decided to install a NMEA2000 network at the same time.  I thought I would be connecting my speed transducer to it, but I didn't (see above). I did need it for the wind transducer, and also if I wanted to add anything else later.

Now to the binnacle. Since I was removing the 2 DataMarine heads, I needed to change the top plate. I decided to upgrade to the newer Edson 1 1/8" guard. I looked at Main Sail's Chartplotter mount, and would have bought that if I kept the same binnacle guard. I am also glad I did opt for the bigger guard. Even though it is only 1/8" larger, it is MUCH sturdier.  My Installer cut the height down a little, and welded on a bracket on it to mount the Chartplotter. I was able to feed the NMEA183, NMEA2000  and the sonar leads through 1 side. One concern is the trans linkage. You may have to adjust that to prevent the shift lever from hitting the binnacle guard.  Another concern that I had was the effect of the chartplotter on the compass. You can see from the pictures that the compass is a few inched below the chartplotter, and there is a mounting plate below the chartplotter. Turning the instrument power on and off at the Dist panel does not seem to affect the compass, so I don't think there is a problem. And if I needed the Ritchie compass to be accurate, I could always turn off the instrument power.

Next step was the wind transducer. I wanted to stay with one brand, so my choice was the Garmin wired or wireless.  To install the wireless, I was afraid I would have to remove the top plate. If so, I would have to unstep the mast. The other alternative was to use the wireless.  I opted for that. The transducer comes with a WSI (Wind Speed Indicator) connection box to connect the wireless signal to the GND10 box which in turn connects to the NMEA 2000 network.  Evidently I can add other items to the GND10 box. Not sure what. The Indicator and the WSI box came factory paired, so there was very little to installing it.  The WSI box needs to be near the mast, so we installed it under the forward end of the dining bench seat. To install the unit at the top of the mast, I hired a kid in the marina to climb my mast (using a Mast Mate), drill a few holes and mount it.  When I turned it on, it didn't immediately register, but connected in about 30 seconds. I still find that it sometimes requires this time. Once connected, it works perfect.  Additionally, the wireless one includes a barometric pressure sensor.

Pics Attached. If you have specific questions or want to see more pics, let me know.

I want to install a masthead wind tramsducer.  All of my electronics are Garmin, so i am considering the wired and wireless gWind models.  The advantage of the wired one is that it does not require bi-annual battery replacement and wired just seems more dependable.  (I am not sure if that is true or not).  I am leaning toward the wired one, but my local marine electronics guy says i will have to unstep the mast to do so, because he will have to take the top plate off, and that only comes off if you unfasten the fore and back stays.  Is this true? Does anyone have experience with the bluetooth versions?

I need to replace my depth transducer with a digital one.  The current one is located aft of the engine.  Seems like a crazy place to put.  Doesn't give much warning!  I am thinking pf just dusconnecting the old one, but leave it inplace.  I am thinkingnof installing the new one forward of the.keel.  Comments?

I am replacing my freshwater impeller for the first time (I just bought the boat). The PO left a number of impellers. The old one is held on with a snap ring, but the new ones he left don't use a snap ring. Is this just a different style? Can I use the new ones?  Also, the shaft came out when I tried to pull out the old impeller. It goes back in easily, but should I grease it before I put it back?

I am going to be installing a chartplotter this spring and want some advice on the best terminals to use for the NMEA0183 wire.  It has 2 16AWG power wires and 6 22AWG wires.  I have been looking at Euroterminals, regular marine screw terminals using crimp-on spade or round terminals or regular marine screw terminals and just wrap the wire around the terminal screw.  Which is best? I have looked on this site, but haven't found a related discussion.

This spring I will be installing a new Garmin 741xs. As part of that installation, I was going to drop the NMEA0183/power cable down the pedestal and then connecting to a terminal block (using crimp-on spade connectors) somewhere in/near the aft cabin. I will then extend the 8 wires from that terminal to another terminal block near my power distribution panel and my radio.

My question is: Is the use of the terminal block OK as opposed to crimping on butt connectors. I am thinking that the terminal block will allow me to connect multiple items to the power leads using jumpers on the terminal block, and also give me the ability to easily remove a wire if I want to change out a piece of hardware, such as my radio.

If the terminal block is the way to go, can I use a terminal block that I find in Lowe's? The terminal blocks I see on WM or Defender websites look the same as the ones at Lowe's.  All of the locations are protected from the weather, so I was thinking I did not need waterproof fittings. If I do need something different, what do people recommend?

I have looked through the Electrical 101 articles, but these seem to be talking about battery systems. Is there anything on the site for low voltage connections like these?

I am going to be installing a Garmin 741xs Chartplotter and a NMEA 2000 backbone. I will therefore have to replace my current speed and depth transducers (Old Datamarine). I am considering an Airmar DST 800 Triducer (Depth, Speed and Temp in one transducer). Has anyone had experience with these. Do they work as well as having separate tranducers?

I sail only in the Great Lakes, and mostly daysail.  I hope to do some overnight trips next summer. I want to buy a Chartplotter. I will eventually add a wind sensor and an AIS transponder. I am looking at the Garmin 741sx and the Raymarine e7d.  Any thoughts?  Does the association have equipment reviews anywhere?  I searched, but did not find any.

The heat insulation around my Universal 25 is breaking down and getting pretty messy. I pulled all of the old insulation out and now ready to reinstall. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what type or brand to use? What characteristics should I look for. Any other feedback?