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Hi Noah
We've anchored in Mariners basin twice in the last 1.5 months, both times near the entrance in about 22ft with 3:1 scope. No problems with our Rocna 15 setting, and since the Manson is so similar I'm curious why you would have. The anchor came up relatively clean (nothing like La Playa) but the bottom was definitely mud. I did break down and add a Mantus swivel last year, mostly because the Rocna would invariable come up backwards, but I hadn't had any problems anchoring with the shackle-only anchor connection before. I doubt if that's the difference.

I've been using a standard regulator 90A alternator (Motorola 12V 90A Marine Alternator 110-603, pulley Mot 107-1, adapter bushing MOT 118-2) with the stock 3/8" belt for about 8 years with no issues. I have a 450AH flooded house bank (4 T-105s). If the batteries are depleted (100 or 200 AH down) the alternator will put out about 60A for about 15 minutes then settle down to 35-40. I'm sure an external programmable regulator could make the system more efficient, but I wanted something simple.

Thanks, Ken. I haven't pulled it yet but I'll see if I can get a match. Catalina (Julian) suggested Blue Sea may be marketing them for Carling now.

My breaker has started acting up (stuck OFF, fortunately) and rather than futz with lubricants I'm inclined to just replace it. It is a 20+ year-old boat, after all. Catalina says it's undoubtedly a Carling breaker, but part number? The owner's manual says simply "BREAKER, WINDLASS, 80A". Anyone replaced one of these guys? Windlass is a Maxwell VW500.

Thanks.

A "4th" for FSR. The stuff is magic.

My starter battery (Optima 8006-006-FFP BlueTop Group 34) is under the stbd settee in the compartment just forward of the water heater. I'm also using 4 Trojan T-105s for my house bank. A combiner (Bluesea 7610 solenoid SL series 120A 12/24 volt) lives in the same compartment as the house bank. I can send a couple of pictures if you'd like.

Hi John
Welcome back.
I just went through this exercise since we were considering moving to another slip. Our boat, from the Rocna to the aftmost edge of the swim step, is 35.5'.

No, I haven't noticed any heat build-up, but to be honest I haven't really been checking. Perhaps when the air temp heats up in a few months and the compressor has to work harder it'll be more noticeable. I'm not looking for "a solution in search of a problem" so I'll put off putting large holes in my boat until I can verify heat build-up IS an issue. I thought someone may have already added a vent and determined that it helped.

Here's the relevant section from the installation manual.

VENTILATION REQUIREMENTS
The ColdMachine is a device that moves heat from one place to another. It does not "create cold." The heat removed from your icebox by way of the evaporator is transferred to the air around the condensing unit. If you locate the condensing unit in a small, hot or confined enclosure, it will suffocate. Its built-in fan will have to re-circulate hotter air. It will run continuously, draw excess amps and not cool efficiently. It will never shut off and its performance will be unacceptable.
Let the unit breathe! Position the condensing unit so that its fan can intake air from one space and discharge it to another. Do not re-circulate the same air unless the compartment in which you mount the unit is 100 cubic feet/2.83 cubic meters or larger in volume, unobstructed, and mostly below the waterline.

Hi all
The Adler Barbour (now Dometic) compressor for our fridge is located in the stbd lazerette and vents into the enclosed space. From my rough eyeballing of the space there's no where near the recommended volume to vent the compressor properly, especially when both aft lockers are full of stuff (as they always seem to be). There's a space right above the compressor where hot air would get trapped, and it seems like that would be a obvious  place for a vent. So obvious to me that I'm wondering what I'm missing.

I've attached a couple of pictures of the proposed location. Anyone done this?

It gets even sillier. The Port of San Diego closed down the bay to recreational boating, but left its two main public anchorages (La Playa in Shelter Island and Glorietta Bay in Coronado) open. A true "you can't get there from here" situation. The Port has since figured out that didn't make a lot of sense, and closed the anchorages as well. Still this policy has me scratching my head.

We store our 8'11" Achilles RIB upside-down on the foredeck. It's secured forward with a single strap from the painter ring to a Wichard 6505 folding padeye. Aft is secured on each side from the handles on the dink to the C34's grab rails. I'll also run a 3" ratcheting strap (not pictured) across the bottom (well the top, since it's upside down) that attaches to the forward shrouds' chain plates. This configuration is pretty secure, we can open the forward hatch a bit for ventilation if needed, there's plenty of room forward on the foredeck to work the anchor or deploy an asym, and the sidedecks are clear so we're not stumbling over tie-down lines if we have to go forward. Since it's usually just the two of us 8'11" is just fine.

We can have the dink in the water in about five minutes, with me guiding it and Sherrie providing the muscle on the spinnaker halyard. Even so, we still have to do all the other stuff that's associated with installing the outboard and getting the dink ready. We do look with some envy and those folks with davits who can have their boat in the water and ready to roll in two minutes.

- Mick

Hi folks
Well this post is timely. I've been considering dink davits (see post on on-deck gas storage) but I've always considered a 34 too small. I expected a lot more responses since dinghy stowage and deployment is an issue we all deal with at one point or another. It would be great to hear everyone's opinion and/or experience. But then there's this:

Mick Laver, Noah, Phil Spicer and 17 Guests are viewing this board.

C'mon guys! 35 bucks a year is a small price for such an invaluable resource as the C34 list.

Yeah I kind of lucked out. I think most boats of my vintage have the capstan-only version of the VW500. The first owner of the boat sailed out of Oxnard and cruised the Channel Islands frequently. Since the anchorages tend to be deeper he carried 100' of chain and 220' of 5/8" rope for his rode. He specified the combo head for the VW500 when he bought the boat. A friend bought a 2000 '34 about six years ago and tried to replace his capstan with the combo. No go, since Maxwell doesn't make them anymore. Quite frustrating for him, so he wound up replacing the 500 with a VW10-8.

Must be nice to have a gypsy for your chain.

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. I've decided to accept my friend's gracious offer of the 8hp Yamaha 2-stroke. Fuel in the cockpit lockers is a non-starter, but I can replace my 1.25 ga and 2.5 ga gas containers with a single 3 ga mix that will live in the anchor locker when not on the dink. See picture. I only see using the generator on longer trips, and then I'd have one or two 5ga gas containers on the rail. I can just transfer some gas to an empty 1.25 ga for the generator or to the 3ga for the Yamaha. Well that's the working theory.

Yes the 8hp 2-stroke weighs more  (by 20 lbs) than my 3.5hp 4-stroke, and where I could just lift the 3.5 off the rail mount and place it in the dinghy we'll have to use our Garhauer davit to drop the 8hp. We tried to do this yesterday and my wife was able to drop and lift the 8hp fairly easily with the davit. That's good, but I'm somewhat concerned that it's a process I can no longer do myself. I have been resisting dinghy davits, but they may be in our future.

Happy New Year, all.

I've recently got a new dink to replace my 1999 9'2" Avon. Great boat, but things do wear out. The 8'9" RIB I replaced it with seems to require a bit more oomph than the 3.5hp Tohatsu 4-stroke I've been using. The manufacturer (Achilles) recommends a 6hp, so I've been looking at the Tohatsu or Yamaha 6hp 4-strokes but haven't pulled the trigger. I was talking to a cruiser friend and he offers me a free 8hp Yamaha 2-stroke that he bought new in Panama. Knowing him it's in good shape, but six years ago I got rid of an Evinrude 3hp 2-stroke and bought the 3.5 Tohatsu so I didn't have to find storage for both gas (the generator) and gas-oil mix for the outboard. If I accept the 8hp Yamaha I'm right back to where I was with figuring out how to accommodate two different kinds of fuel on a (relatively) small boat.

Has anyone come up with a good solution for gas storage on a Mk II ... or a Mk I for that matter? Right now I can store 5 gallons (one 2.5ga can, two 1.25ga cans) in the anchor locker fairly easily. If we go a long distance I can store a 5 ga can on the rail as well. Thanks.