1-week log: Spinnakers, Batteries, LED's +

[reedbr]

I had some updates for several separate discussions going on in the forum, but as I'm lazy I'll toss it all into a single post here.  I just completed a 10-day trip with the family in the northern Chesapeake Bay and wanted to kick some of these thoughts out while they are fresh in my mind:

(1)  Spinnakers- I'm now hooked.  I borrowed an old symmetrical from a family member and bought the lines, blocks, and ATN "Tacker" to run it as a cruising rig.  I flew it three times over the cruise, learning a little more each time as this was all new to me.  Yesterday I was hauling down the Bay at 6-7 knots before the wind moved forward of the beam and I had to stop all the fun.  These things are great!  I got my Tacker through Defender (B model, $100), the blocks I mounted on the outside toe rail track and got from Garhauer for ~$50.  The line I got through the eBay store of "Discount Rope and Line" http://stores.ebay.com/Discount-Rope-and-Line_W0QQsspagenameZL2QQtZkm.  He was cheap and easy to work with.  Quick shipping too.  The sock was with the sail already and was critical for me to control it.  I even had a successful (and planned) gybe or two.  

(2)  Batteries- I had no problems here.  I have two lead acid wet cell 4D's in the stock location with stock wiring, original Flyback charger and the stock alternator.  I stayed on the hook every night except one.  The batteries are 3 seasons old now.  I ran the engine 25 hours in 10 days, an average of 2.5 hours/day.  I plugged in to charge that one night only and ran the whole time with the battery in the "All" position.  I had 5 people aboard, a heavy refrigeration load but no microwave and no inverter, no TV, no PC.  The engine started every morning without a hesitation.  Note that I was cruising with other boats most of the time, so I had an emergency backup in them.  I have ordered a jump-start battery with built in inverter for future cruises, just to be safe

(3)  FANS-  God bless Hella Turbo fans.  Did anybody notice it was HOT last week!

(4)  LED's- as promised, I played with LED lights.  A few things on this.  First, although the MkII stock fixtures are FriLight 10w halogen fixtures, every bulb I removed in my boat was 20w.  If the previous owner upgraded them from 10w to 20w, they did so in EVERY fixture, even the second one way back in the aft cabin.  My guess is that they are this way from the factory though.  No signs of burning in any fixture.  Anyway, I ordered some LED's from SuperBright LED's http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=MR16 and tried them out.  They ended up being MR16's for the bulb size.  I got the white 12 LED wide beam fixture.  You can read by the light, but only if you are right underneath of it.  Otherwise it is a poor substitute for the halogens.  I think I will try the 24-30 LED fixtures next and see how it goes.  I placed the LED's in fixtures that left me the choice of how much light I wanted.  For instance, in the forward and aft cabins, I had one fixture with halogen and one with LED's and chose based on how much light I needed.  That seemed to be an acceptable arrangement.  You can tell they draw almost nothing though, so you can leave it on more than you would the halogens.    

(5)  Sheet Bags-  I don't have any and was avoiding them, but my line clutter on the cabin top was awful.  Things seem to get pretty tangled up in sheet bags, for me at least.  I have been eying the Beneteau arrangement of a neighbor for awhile and decided that was for me.  They are a small button-shaped 1" disc that hooks a line around your sheets and holds them on the cabin top.  I finally called Beneateau parts and ordered 6 of them for $5 each.  I installed them while I was out and am very happy.  I just drilled 6 small holes (3 on each side) in the cabin top near the edge and screwed and caulked the buttons in place.  I might even have a picture on the digital camera, I'll check when I go through them.

(6)  Holding Tank- What the heck was Catalina thinking?  60 gallons of water, 20 gallons of fuel, but only a 17 gallon holding tank?  This is pitiful.  Even with strict instructions on how many pumps on "wet bowl" we still overflowed once and pumped out it three times (basically, any time the service was available to me just to be safe).  Yes, that is cruising with 5 on board, but come on.  I only used 13.8 gallons of fuel, about 60 of water, and probably 25-30 in holding tank and that became my primary cruising limitation.  The good news is that the ODØRLØS tank treatment worked as advertised http://www.odorlos.com/.  No smell whatsoever.  I used one full packet of dry per tank (advertised for 40 gallons per packet, but what the heck, it worked at that dosage).

This is my third year with the 34 and my third cruise of this length.  Overall I am very happy with this boat, especially as I get more of the little nitpick items fixed the way I like them.  Oh, that reminds me, towel bars in the head.  Mine didn't come with any.  I went to Lowes (like Home Depot) and picked up an 18" handicap rail and installed it on the wall which adjoins the nav station.  It is a double-purpose grab rail and towel bar and worked out well, plus it's stainless and has a sure-grip surface.

Now I need to get back to work...once my desk stops rocking.

[dmorrison]

Brian,
I agree with you 100% about the spinnaker!  In July we went on a two week cruise in Maine with the Catalina Association of New England.  On one perfect day we had the whole fleet flying spinnakers on a run the length of Casco Bay.  What a sight!

[Ron Hill]

Brian : Glad that you passed on your thoughts.

Only one comment - don't mix LED bulbs with another types in the same fixture.  The heat generated from the conventional bulb in the fixture could melt the plastic in the LED bulb and cause a fire.  

Se you at the Fleet 12 meeting - if not before.    

[Jeff McKinney]

I was on a raft up with Brian during his cruise. The line bags that came with my boat are a HUGE help, but his solution is probably as good or even a little better as you can find each line quickly vs. rooting through the bags.

Ditto on the asymmetric. Really nice when the wind poops out. The one thing I added was some low lead cars (LLC-2) from Garhauer on the outside tracks to keep the sheet lines under control (a twing line & snatch block would do the same thing).

The Hella fans were a huge help, but I've ordered a wind scoop to improve air flow below.

While a 17 gallon holding tank does seem a bit small, IMHO having 3 sub-teens on board would stress a 30 gallon tank.

Thank goodness the heat & humity has dropped off. A heat index of >100 really ruins the fun.  

[Ron Hill]

Guys : For the forward hatch you might want to look at a "Breeze Booster" as it's free standing and doesn't depend on a halyard like a "Wind Scoop".