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Thanks guys, I'll do that.

A strange one. I have a set of 4 lead acid golf cart batteries paralleled to give me about 360 ah at 12v. A couple of weeks ago the low volt alarm sounded on my Victron battery monitor, even though the calculated charge capacity was showing 97%. The boat's voltmeters were showing in the yellow range.

The batteries are less than a year old and I've never let the electrolyte levels fall.

Any ideas?

Thanks Ron.

So, just to be clear on this, are we saying that any steam in the exhaust is unacceptable??

Was this issue fixed in the MkII?

Thanks for the tips. I'll action all these points next time I'm down at the boat (2 weeks from now). I'm using a ribbed belt and tensioning by eye/finger pressure as per the manual. Sea temp is 12c at the moment so that shouldn't be a factor.

Hi all, thanks to everyone who helped me with my cooling issues. I flushed the HX, filled the header tank to the correct mark and burped the engine. But now I'm puzzling about what should be a normal operating temperature. At 1500 RPM the indicator reads a needle's width past the central vertical mark. At 1800 RPM the indicator reads a needle's width under 180 degrees, is this about right or too hot for a Universal M35?

Second question. I've taken much time and trouble to buy a correctly sized alternator belt, make sure it's aligned on the pulleys and tensioned correctly. But the darn thing will start slipping after a few hours. I really don't get this. The belts on my car go for thousands of hours without needing any attention, so why can't the boat belt do the same?

Hi Jim,

Yes, they're going to replace them but I guess (in the absence of alternatives) I'll have to keep a few extra spares.

I can't get over just how poor quality are the cabinet latches sold by Catalina Direct. Of the four new ones I bought from them, two are completely unusable because the adjusting bolts don't screw in or out. A third fitted OK but lasted about 2 months before the pathetic dab of glue that holds the front piece on broke off.

Are there any decent alternatives to these expensive, useless items?

Please forget this request. I did what I should have done in the first place and searched the forums. The answer is there in plain sight. 🙄🤦‍♂️

Hi all,

I'm trying to get sufficient access to the HX on my Mk II to replace the end seals.
This is almost impossible without removing the whole engine cover in the aft cabin.
I can't figure out how to do this. For example, where are the fixings holding it in place and how do you get it out with such limited headroom.

If anyone knows the magic solution please help!

Gutters are definitely not blocked but I do get a significant leak when hosing down. I'll check the hinges, but I'd be surprised if they alone could account for all the leakage.

Bump for this thread. Does anyone have a new improved way of preventing rain from leaking into the aft lazarette?

This has been a very useful discussion. Thanks folks. Apart from the new overheating issue, my engine starts in and instant and runs as sweet as a nut. So i'd always assumed it was fine. Back in the water in the first week of April so I'm going to take a closer look at it then.

Yup, all now filled with epoxy. It just puzzled me that the hull was totally fine and only the skeg had problems.

CopperCoat doesn't recommend an epoxy barrier layer. It goes straight on to the gelcoat which is keyed using an 80 grit sander.

I'll post some pics when it's done.