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I was at the boat this week.  Took some photos!

Found the gound wire wasn't attached very well, crimped it a bit better, reattached, but I didn't notice any difference.

Apologies. https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?category=10025|10273&product=75153522&code=739729000038

pby : The picture needed is the REAR of the alternator where the tach wires attach.

Noting the alternator paint job - I find it nearly impossible to believe that the adjusting nut on the top bracket has paint that has never been broken!!!! Factory Paint???

A few thoughts

Ok! I'll look there.

That photo was from April 2021. That's the original westerbeke belt as far as I know.  Since been changed, and paint cracked. I actually needed the part number today as I'm shopping for another belt!

pby : As mentioned measure the depth of your tank and if you use a "float" sender then get the deepest float sender for your tank.

A thought

Measured!

Tank is aluminum, 40" long and just a touch over 12" high.

I'm assuming the Moeller 12" unit I posted in here is the correct unit?

https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?category=10025|10273&product=75153522&code=739729000038

Ok. Used the laser tach and the following was observed at the slip in neutral.

Idle:
Tach: 800
Actual: 1000

Full throttle to the stop:
Tach 2500
Actual: 3000

All linkage and stops looked correct and working as expected when moving through motion by my lovely wife and I watched it.

Checked racor and found no water and diesel looked clean to the eye. Have heard that marina is sensitive to fuel quality and there are no reported issues with fuel at marina.

The problem I have is that we didn't see 2500 on the tach but 1600, and the engine didn't sound like it has running full out.

Some local folks have said they have had issues with weeds at the head of the channel that require clearing when boat feels sluggish ...not sure if that was the issue?

All I can say is that at the slip in neutral the engine sounded good.

It's a lot of reading and information but do a search for "fuel gage".  Somewhere here is instructions for checking the fuel level sensor I think.  It's a float, lever and rheostat, very low teck.  Hardest part of checking it is emptying cockpit locker. Need a multimeter. Shamrocks was bad when I first got her, bought a generic one from local marine store, has worked for many years.
Honestly, I don't depend on the fuel gage much.  I use the hour meter.  Shamrock usually burns a little less than .7 gallons per hour.  Multiply .7 by hours since last fill up gives me the gallons to fill up.  Find your own burn rate by keeping a log of fuel use divided by engine hours. ie.  gallons per hour or g/h
Jim

On the topic of fuel consumption, when you say .7 gph, what RPM are you using?  The Universal Tech manual has double that at @2500 RPM.  Not arguing, just asking.  I realize I need to calc for my boat, but some rough guidelines are always helpful.

My M35B can only get to 2800 rpm (tach reading) before the lever physically hits the binnacle guard.  At 2300-2400, I'm going 7 knots in calm waters.

That's what I remember the boat doing last year.  It's not quite doing either of those numbers, and that's why it feels like something is off.  Other than the tach literally isn't reading more than 1800 full throttle...

If the Tach is off before you trash it exercise the DIP switches or rotary switch setting.  Contacts can become oxidized and produce false readings.  There's troubleshooting for that in a manual for the gauges.  If you don't find it on C34 Wiki I can probably find it elsewhere.

This it?

[your]

pby : I believe that the tach range for your engine should be  0 to about 2800 rpm (maybe slightly more when not in gear!!)  Idle should be about 1000 rpm so it idles smooth and doesn't rattle you teeth!!

Try Ken's suggestion about cleaning the Tach wire connections at the alternator.  Hard to tell you which colored wires on your alternator??  (mine are the white and the brown wires)

A few thoughts

I'll do that!  I found some photos that might help, but I don't see any wires in them, so maybe not very useful.

I replaced mine with a reed switch type sending unit from Catalina Direct. PN Z3529.

Yeah.  That's the part from CD https://www.catalinadirect.com/shop-by-boat/catalina-36/engine/instruments/fuel-tank-sending-unit-12quot-stainless-c-34-c-36-25-gal-tank/ '

that I think is a direct match for this:  https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?category=10025|10273&product=75153522&code=739729000038

No one knows what tank you have except you! Lots of changes possible, often varying boat to boat. Take off the bulkhead and measure the height of tank. Or even better, remove the sender and measure it.

True.  The boat is 2 hours away and I have to order it.  I've only got a limited time this weekend to fix it, so I'm willing to make an educated guess as to the size so I can work on it this weekend.

I found some photos that are not perfect, but they do show the size of the tank.  It seems to fill the space, and I think it's supposed to be 25 gallons.

I'm not at the boat to check, but would the 12" sender listed here but the correct replacement?

https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?category=10025|10273&product=75153522&code=739729000038

No clue, I am not a mechanic. Others may respond with more helpful info. However, if your boat goes 6+ knots (confirmed by GPS in slack water) with tach reading 1600, I suspect your tach is reading incorrectly.

LOL. Fair enough.

Something else that came to mind is that the boat was just moved to a marina where we used the marina's fuel.  Prior to that it was jerry can fed from Shell Gas Pumps.  I'm thinking maybe I should consider the possibility the filters need changed.

Previously, they were changed infrequently from what I can tell.  It was on my list for fall maintenance with the oil change for winterization.... but maybe it needs to be done now?  Seems wierd that a top up ONCE would cause an issue with filters though...

[VC-17 isn't compatible with any other paints]

Dan,

In Lake Michigan I've gone two seasons without repainting with no ill effects.  Will you be returning to Michigan after your trip and how long and where will you be in salt water? 

VC-17 isn't compatible with any other paints (see https://www.interlux.com/en/ca/support/boat-painting-tips/is-my-new-antifouling-compatible) so I'd select  paint based on where the boat will spend most of its time.

Kyle

That's why I keep using it.  If I had a chance to go with something else, without having to clean the hull to the gel coat I would.   Your choice of course, however I don't find the benefits of VC17 to be worth having to redo it with what looks like copper but is priced like gold...

Maybe have a look at this thread?  I posted my setup in this link: https://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,11730.msg94988.html#msg94988