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Messages - BillG

#1
Yes, you definitely want to plan your trip around the currents at Hell's Gate, but also plan you motoring around the currents in the C&D, if you don't it could mean a very very long trip.  I used to  bring my boat up from Rock Hall once a year to the C&D to winter there.  Always made the trip with the current and you are really moving.  I can only guess that if I had tried it against the currents I would only have been doing 2 or 3 mph over the land.
#2
Have you tried the sailing emporium across from waterman crab house.  I used to do CNG exchanges there, but heard they may have been bought by someone else.
#3
I've done the trip a couple of times and don't see that as a problem as long as weather and visibility are good.  There are very few places to stop along the NJ shore and an overnight trip is best. You can stay at Liberty Marina, across from Manhattan and begin the trip there to Cape May for the shortest passage but I've done LI Sound to the C&D canal in one trip as well.
#4
Not sure what kind of budget you have for improvements, but I would certainly take the advice and have an expert look at some of the hull damage.  i agree that it looks like it might have had a pretty hard grounding at one time.  Obviously something that needs to be done before splashing.  Also looks like the mast might be on the hard, so it is a great time to begin work on that before it goes back up. As another topic has pointed out, the mast needs to be down to replace sheaves, you won't believe the difference  in the new ones from garhauer.  Also a good time to replace halyards, upgrading the wires in the mast and any new antennas or cables.  Just the beginning!!!!
#5
I'm not sure I saw where you told us the watt rating of your heater, assuming it is 1500 watts and that  should be within the capabilities of the honda generators if it is the only thing that is turned on.  Have you taken a volt meter and checked the resistance of the element and have you checked whether you have a short to ground?
#6
Main Message Board / Re: new main sail and jib
February 25, 2016, 06:07:34 AM
If you are looking for local lofts, Doyle is located outside of Boston, another loft that has gotten good reviews on this site over the years is Kappa sail, located in westport CT, which is a couple hours from you.
#7
Main Message Board / Re: Head Plumbing - PO "add on"
January 02, 2016, 06:45:09 AM
hard to tell where the picture is taken, I assume the hanging locker by the nav station.  I know that I had a Y valve at one time on our boat,I always thought it was factory installed, dumping is not illegal if outside the restricted limits.  What I don't see in the picture is a vented loop which I think would be between the Y valve and the seacock.
#8
Well there's some money saved!!
#9
Try Kappa Sails, located in Westbrook CT,  I replaced my main with them and have friends who have also purchased from them, they have a great reputattion.
#10
Main Message Board / Re: New Owner of C34 #886
November 17, 2015, 04:46:31 AM
where is your  boat sitting for the winter?
#11
Main Message Board / Re: Batteries
September 17, 2015, 07:06:45 AM
you are right, there are only 2 options for charging on the newmar, and that is exactly what I installed 2 weeks ago, a blue seas ACR, (during Connecticuts only heat wave of the summer)
#12
Main Message Board / Re: Batteries
September 17, 2015, 06:12:33 AM
thanks for the responses.  Unfortunately I don't know the history and age of the battery, as it is in a case and I can't see the date stamp and the boat  was only purchased 2 months ago by my sister.  It is an interstate 8D and the charger is a Newmar PT40CE. The surveyor did tell them the battery  was not good, but would last the season.  not sure if he did a load test.  What I do know is that the surveyor failed to discover that the Xantrex Pathmaker, (a battery combiner) was not working and therefore this battery was never being charged while underway.  That is why I can say that the battery was probably being deeply discharged( beyond 50%) on a regular basis and is  probably sulfated beyond redemption. I think that mainesail may have hit it in that the voltage is rising so quick that the charger is limiting the voltage,  I have yet to see it rise beyond13.7 or 13.8. Plans are to replace this battery and I have suggested to them to use
four 6volt deep cycle batteries instead.
#13
Main Message Board / Batteries
September 16, 2015, 05:31:15 AM
I was out in my sister's new boat this weekend and noticed that the battery charger, which is a smart charger, failed every time to go into bulk charging.
Her house bank is an 8D and is on it last leg and she is hoping to finish the season before replacing.  Am not sure of its use and charging history but assume that it was discharged beyond 50% on a regular basis and undercharged.  My question is whether a battery is this shape could trick the smart charger into skipping the bulk stage and going right into absorption mode or could there be something wrong with the charger itself.  there is also a starter battery but it is separated with the house bank.
#14
Other questions to keep in mind; Age of the standing rigging, age of the sails, the electronics all seem to be Datamarine so that means they are original.
#15
Main Message Board / Re: Bilge pump not working
June 02, 2015, 05:28:06 AM
A lot of people will say that you should never put a check valve on the bilge pump, I did because I couldn't figure out how to stop the pump from constant cycling.  It would pump water out, then stop, the water in the hose would flow back and then it would cycle on again.  It kept repeating this until the batteries were dead.  When you remove the check valve, keep an eye on the pump to see what it is doing before you leave the boat for a couple of weeks.