Messages

Ron,
Its not the vented wast stanchion, but the next one further forward by the shrouds.  My boat has a long ash batten board between the top salon shelf and the bottom of the side deck.  The ash batten is fitted between the inboard and outboard pair of bolts of the stanchion.  Even if I dremel a couple of notches in the top of the board, I cannot pull the board inward.  It is fixed some how. Glue maybe since I don't see screws?

Thanks,
Paul

I double checked the position of the bolts on these two stanchions and the starboard stanchion bolts are all in front of the ash batten boards like you said. But on the port side, two of the bolts are behind the ash batten.  It is like the ash batten board was not mounted flush against the inside of the hull.  Does anyone know how this board is fixed in place?  I do not want to break it try to remove it.

Thanks,
Paul

I am re-bedding my stanchion.  I did the vented ones already but I am having trouble figuring out how to move the ash batten panel that is back of the top salon shelves port and starboard.  The stanchions that are near the upper shrouds have their outboard two bolts behind those ash panels. Not sure how they are held in place and don't want to break them.  Anyone know how to move/remove them?

Thanks,
Paul

Had the same problem.  I first soaked it with PB blaster then after a while I tried to work the aluminum sparser back and forth. First using a hammer then pliers.  Took a while but eventually it worked free. Cleaned up both pieces then applied Tef-gel upon reassembly to prevent future corrosion.  Your mileage may vary depending on how corroded your pieces are.

Paul

We just replaced our AB fridge with a new one.  We bought it through defender.  The install was easy since the systems were so similar that all but two of the mounting holes for the compressor lined up.  They changed what side the refrigant line couplers are on and thus the mounting holes on that end were flipped in respect to the old one.  the holes for the evaporator and the thermostat lined up perfectly.  Whole remove and replace took 5 hours.  Works like a dream now.  The evaporator even came with two new vertical ice trays!  It has been in about a month with now issues what so ever.  In our setup the compressor is under the forward sette seat.

I take mine out every year.  I inspect it and replace the zinc. soak it in RydeLime.  I also rod out the tubes with a wire coat hanger.  Paint it and put it back in.  Make sure to "burp" the cooling system to avoid air pocket and over heating.

Ron,
Good idea on glueing a nickel to the tank.  I have had the "dog house"  cover off only once in the 7 years we have owned the boat and ALL the screws are the same length.  I don't know if that is something the PO or the factory did?  This is the first time that i have taken down the aft panel to expose the water tank.  Just wanted to give everyone a headsup on the potential issue with the water tank.
Paul & Cyndi

I have finally  chased down a mysterious intermittent leak in the aft cabin of our 88' MKI.  It was coming from the aft water tank.  It turns out that the two bottom screws on either end of the fiberglass cover for the steering gear had penetrated into the water tank within 3/4 of an inch from the top edge of the tank.  I discovered the leak by chance when I had filled the tank to overflowing and then a few minutes latter went into the aft cabin to get something.  I saw water leaking out below the steering gear cover and from the bottom of the aft wood panel.  I removed the cover, the port panel, and the aft panel to investigate.  If found two spots where the screws had penetrated the tank and over time had elongated the holes from the tank shifting port and starboard by about a quarter of an inch each way.   It turns out that all the screws were 1 inch long. The bottom outer screws need to be 3/4 inch to avoid penetrating the water tank. There is a recess in the middle top of the tank so the middle bottom screw does not come in contact with the tank.

I would recommend checking your aft water tank to see if your boat has a similar situation.

The water tank is manufactured by Ronco Plastics.  I called them for advice on how to repair the tank. 866-973-0597.  They said that the only way to properly repair the tank was to heat weld it and that an epoxy based repair product would not bond properly to the poly tank. They also said if I would bring the tank by or ship it to them they could repair it for about $20.  However the shipping cost to California and back to Texas was prohibitive.  Instead I had them ship some repair material and I heat welded the tank myself.  I would recommend watching some of the poly tank repair videos on heat welding on youtube.  It helped me get an idea of the technique to use in my repair. 

It was relatively easy and I did it with the tank in place using a heat gun and the thinner strips they sent me.  You want to use thinner repair strips so that you don't over heat the tank and deform it's shape while trying to melt the repair material into the hole.  I started by heating the strip end and then applied the strip to the tank while applying heat to the strip and the tank together. once the material gets hot enough it becomes pliable and "sticky" and you work the repair material into the hole until full.  I added a little more material beyond filling the hole to make sure I had a good bond to the surface of the tank.  Think rivet head.  I let the repairs cool and filled the tank to over flowing to check for leaks. No more leak.  I purchased two 3/4" long SS screws and ground the tips off to insure that they would not scratch through the tank again.
Paul & Cyndi

I ran into the same problem with the West Marine plastic mount.  I had to widen the slots at the bottom and to one side to make it fit a MKI stern rail.  I took one side of the mount and held it up to the stb t-rail spot and marked it with a sharpie. I then used a hack saw blade to remove the unwanted material from both sides of the mount.  Did the finish fitting with a dremel bit.

Paul & Cyndi

Hi Jerry,

I have an 1988 c34 and had the same problem where the mini rocker switches stopped working one by one.  Initially it was the cabin lights switch and as a temporary work around I just moved the cabin wire to an unused switch in the panel.  I replaced all the switches in the panel by calling Dennis Igarashi, a former Seaward employee.  see post for contact info http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7405.msg58687.html#msg58687.  Also see my post in this thread, it lists the part number you need to order from Dennis http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,8691.msg61733.html#msg61733

I would replace every one of them or at least every one in the bank (six per bank) that has the bad switch.  This is because of the labor involved with replacing one is 95% of replacing all in one bank.  Also, if one has gone bad the others are not far behind in my experience.  The failure does not seam to matter on how much use the switch sees.

Here are some notes on the panel and the procedure that I used to replace the switches.

Notes:
1) All six switches in the right(forward) column of switches are soldered together with a single positive conductor fed from the single push button breaker feeding that bank of switches.

2) The left or aft column of switches is fed from two breakers, so there are two solid conductors soldered to the switches.  One for the top three switches.  And the other soldered to the bottom three switches.

3) the switches are held into the panel with black silicon caulk.  This is also what holds the individual switches together in the column in addition to the solid soldered conductor.  The Seaward also covered the backs of the switches with silicon only leaving the terminals exposed to protect the switches from moisture. 

4) You MUST disconnect and remove the panel from the bulkhead to replace one or all the switches.

Procedure:

0) Disconnect both the AC shore power cables AND the battery banks!!!  Don't want to do any AC/DC arc welding with your body parts!

1) VERY IMPORTANT!!!! You must label each wire that connects to the back of the panel before removal.  there are a lot of wires and many are just black and red.  You cannot rely just on pictures.  You will have three large gauge conductors to the 1-2-B battery switch.  You will have the DC ground buss.  you will have the AC wiring, and you will have all the DC branch circuit wires.  LABEL, LABEL, and LABEL!  This will make the assembly job much easier.

2) find a piece of soft foam at least 1/2" thick to lay the panel face down on.  This will protect the push-button breakers and the finish of the panel.

3) Remove the screw(s) holding the switch common positive conductor(s) to the push-button breakers.

4) Carefully remove the black silicon caulk holding the breaker group into the panel.  I used a x-acto knife to slowly cut away the silicon from the back side of the panel.

5) Remove the solder from the common conductor for the switch(s) that you intend to replace.  If you are replacing all the switches you could fabricate a new conductor to save the removal soldering time.

6) Solder the new switch(s) to the common positive conductor.  Be careful not to over heat the switch!  I ruined one by getting it too hot.  You can use a heat sink between the switch and the solder point to reduce the risk of overheating.  I would test each after soldering it in place.

7) Once the block of switches are together and tested they can be fitted back into the panel.  Fit the block into the panel and apply black silicon around the switch block and between the switches.  I covered the back of the switches like the factory did.

Place the foam used earlier on the chart table top to protect the panel finish and push-button breaker while you re-attach all the wires to the back of the panel.  This is where all those labeled wires make the job faster!

Fair Winds

Paul & Cyndi

My local Walmart is selling the T4 for the same price they sold the Rotela T. 13.99$ gallon.  So looks like they are not outing a premium on the synthetic.

We are back in Texas and I sent the bad alternator in to see if it was covered under warranty.   I am confused by their answer:

"I have inspected your alternator and it has blown diodes and  bad stator which is caused by overcharging and is not a manufacture defect. This is not covered under warranty and suggest possibly bad batteries."

I explained what my set up was and they said that this alternator was only meant to charge "starting" batteries and not deep cycle batteries.  But yet Mainsail uses this alternator in some applications which I have tried to duplicate on my boat minus the external regulator.  Am I getting the run around or am I missing something here?

I bought 4 new GC2 190AH golf cart batteries when I purchased this alternator and never let the batteries get bellow %50.  So I have a theoretical usable capacity or 190 x .8 or 152Ah and my energy budget is 120Ah peak usage.  so the bank size should be right. I am using the internal regulator of the alternator to control charging.  I ran the engine 1hr in the morning and 1 hr in the evening to keep the batteries up.  So I am confused as to why an alternator "marine grade" is burning itself up.  When charging I would watch the voltage go from just over 12v to 14v in about 15 -20 minuets.  I thought this would be the point where the internal regulator would hold the voltage constant and dial back the amperage as the battery charges through the absorption phase.

I am trying to understand if I am being taken here or do I need to do something else to avoid burning up the replacement alternator.

Paul

Hi,
Have you considered using used winches?  You can try eBay or on of the consignment shops around, sailor man or Boater Resale Shop of Texas to name two.
Paul

Hi,
We bought a 3" memory foam topper from Sam's for around $130 and cut it to fit over the top of the original OEM v- berth cushions.  My wife has a bad back and was kinky to get through a 3 day weekend on just the original cushions.  Now, after putting the topper on her back has not been sore at all over our 7 month cruse.  I find that bed comfort is a personal preference and you may have to try multiple solutions before you find what is right for you.  Also, we went with the 3" topper to avoid the claustrophobic feel of a taller matrice.
Paul

Hi James,

The c34 is a great boat.  We really like the layout.  We are at the end of a 6 month cruse from Texas to the Bahamas and back.  Our boat is an 88 tall rig with the fin keel and we were able to get to most places with the 5'7" draft.  There is 3 foot tide range in the Bahamas that you can use to your advantage as well. 

Water can be a problem or not.  We could go 7 days on the 70 gallons on the c34.  That was with 2 persons taking a shower a day and washing dishes.  We had 14 1 gallon jugs for drinking water. We met a person on a 34 boat that only held 50 gallons that lasted him 3 weeks!  It's all in how you manage your consumption .  He also collected rain water to fill his tanks. The most we paid for water in the Bahamas was 85 cents per gallon, but the typical price was 40 cents.  With the price of water makers in the $3500 range, you could buy a lot of water before reaching that price level.

I would defiantly invest in solar.  Well worth not having to run the engine or generator to charge the batteries.

I would search the site for Waterdog's trip from Canada to Mexico. 

Paul