Messages

Steve

The guy in the slip behind me did this with his Swan.  He had the boat lifted and dried everything, he even drained his tanks.  He had the boat hanging in the slings and had the boat lowered back into the water little by little, then he would wait a couple of hours.  First the keel bolts, then transducers, shaft log, you get the idea.  It was in the slings for almost two days until he found the problem.  Seems extreme but it worked.  I can't image what the yard bill was.

Did I mention he has a Swan.

Cory

Stern View

I have read several posts outlining different systems members are using to lift there tenders.  Attached are pictures of our davit system.  We mounted the davits as far outboard as possible.  Our aluminum bottom rib is 11.5 feet long and the mounting points on the rib are 80 inches apart.  The davits ended up also being 80 inches wide once they were mounted.  This is important because the lines run fairly from the mounting points inside the rib to the end of the davits.  The extra width also made for a perfect mounting point for for the solar panel.  The panel is almost 70 inches wide.  The stern rail seats put the davit quite far out over the stern and required the bottom of the davits to be bent aft to be mounted.  We also had padeyes welded to the top of the davit and we ran 3/32 coated wire to the masthead.  We use turnbuckles on the davit to tension the wire.  This was overkill but it does relieve some strain on the sternrail.
The davits have a 4 to 1 block and tackle system.  The engine side needs to be 6 to 1.  I can lift it but it is very heavy.  Our rib has a 15 hp two stroke engine.  The rib weighs 125, the engine is 75, fuel is another 50 pounds for a total of 250 pounds.  The solar panel also weighs 50 pounds.  It would also be common for us to have another 25 to 40 pounds of stuff (beach toys, chairs, propane tank) in the rib.  At this weight I can say the entire system seems bulletproof.  The davits are also high enough to drop the swim ladder with the dinghy up.  We can bury the rail and the dinghy does not drag in the water.
The davits were built by Stainless Outfitters in Barrie ON.

Cory

Clearly a very successfull trip.  I think I have broken that much stuff on a long weekend.

Cory

chuck
We also have an intergated sail cover.  That's what we call it as the Doyle is a little different.  The doyle bags are usually sewn to the foot of the sail.  The bottom edge of our cover goes into a plastic track attached  to the boom.  Our lazy jacks are led to cheek blocks just above the spreaders and then down the mast.  Then they join together into one line and they are led back to a cam cleat next to the main halyard.  Makes them easy to adjust when lowering or raising the sail.  When I raise the sail I loosen the jacks and raise the sail.  When i drop the main I head upwind, pull the jacks tight and drop the main.  works great.  The battens will hang up on occasion, if you keep it pointed in to wind you are good.

The address below is for the oil separtor from jegs.  

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/52205/10002/-1

Cory

The M35 and M25 have a crankcase ventilation hose running from the top of the rocker cover that ends at or near the air filter assembly.  The system allows a small (or large) amount of oil contained in the vented air to drip out of the hose onto the engine or engine room floor. PIA

Many members have posted thoughts on sticking the hose into the filter so the oil is burned by the engine or into a can to be drained later.  Pros and cons to both solutions.

Our solution was to install a oil separator designed for crankcase ventilation from jegs.  The separator was $40 plus shipping and purchased on line.  We routed the hose from the rocker cover nipple to the separator and then from the separator into the filter.  The separator has a see through bowl that can be drained when the oil level rises.

The system works great, no increase in crankcase backpressure and the diesel smell seems to have dissipated.

Picture attached
Cory

Thanks, I will give it a try tonight.
I have taken pictures of this year upgrades (feather prop, flex coupling, davits, full enclosure, solar panels, shelving upgrades, crankcase vent oil separator) and I thought I would share them in case they inspired any ideas.

Cory

Can anyone tell me how to attach a picture to the message board.

Thanks Cory

I lost the half moon keyway once on my m25 raw water pump.  When I got totally desperate I stuck the vacuum down into the hidden area under the engine in my old Catalina 30.  Desperation makes you do crazy things, but when I checked the vacuum, it was in there.

Mental note:
If you have a m25, next time you order something from universal, order 3 extra keyways for the pump.  Two for yourself and one for the guy with his head stuck in the bilge cursing like crazy.  I would have paid a $100 for it that day.

Cory

Hi Pierre
Make life easy and replace it with a regular stainless bolt.  It is much easier to hold a regular bolt from turning when you tighten the nut from the inside.  You can reach through the port and hold a wrench instead of a screwdriver.  I changed mine last year when I resealed my chain plates. 

Food for thought
Cory

Thanks John
Good Memory
The filter fits perfect.

Cory

Those little stick on ones work great under the companion way stairs as well.  We put one under each stair.  After a visitor went ass over tea kettle and lander on the galley counter we came up with this idea.

Cory

JKAR
Sounds like an interesting project!
Have you considered solar. No smell, no noise, no vibrations.  We run a 125 watt panel on the davits, and a 75 watt on each side of the bimini.  We go unplugged all season.  In full sun the panels make around 15 amps.  Even in cloudy weather they always seem to giving a 3-4 amps.  The system is one of the best improvements we have made to the boat.

Food for thought
Cory

Roc
I will take a pic this week when I get back to the boat.  The setup is very simple.  I found the single line reefing was a nightmare at best.  I went back to separate tack and clew lines for both reefs and lead the four lines to cockpit via the port coach roof.  We also use a stack pack mainsail cover so all the extra line drops into the bag when the sail is stowed.  Keeps everything nice and neat.

We only had room for five rope clutches on the port coach roof so we had to decide what lines we wanted to have run to the cockpit.  The reefing lines take up four clutches on the port side.  The spinnaker halyard and spare Genoa halyard are now at the mast.  We raise or spinnaker from a sock at the mast anyway so this works better for us.

Cory