CARVER OWNERS CLUB
This site is owned by, managed by, and exclusive to Carver, Californian, and Trojan owners.

May 2006
Headlines - Click on a Headline to see the Story

Stories

Several members correctly identified the What Is It? as exhaust pipe extensions.  A member decided to end his frustration with soot on the back of the boat by buying two truck exhaust extensions, painting them, and installing them on his boat.  The experiment was not completely successful, but he promises continued attempts.

One member did guess that the What Is It puzzle was a pair of periscopes for the captain and first mate if the boat was sinking. Thank you for sharing.  I should also mention that this member recently had surgery and the painkillers could be Limbaughing her.

The curse of the anchoring out cruiser is the short battery life, both in the length of time a battery holds a charge and the length of time the batteries can be charged.  The batteries on Cygnet lasted about two years.  We had one fail under warranty, so we ended up on a cycle to replace a battery every year.  Late in the summer, the older battery usually lasted about 6 hours or so on the hook, while the refrigerator was running.  There has to be a better way.  Don't suggest running the generator.  One of the nice things about being on the hook is the solitude and quiet. 

One option is solar power.  Recently, I saw a 466 with solar panels installed on the hard top over the aft deck.  The entire hard top was covered.  The owner, an electrical engineer who had some knowledge of solar cells, ran a mixture of photovoltaic cells, to produce electricity, and a heat exchanger, to provide hot water.  He told me that the system was not perfect, but worked pretty well.  The problems were keeping the plastic over the cells clean - apparently bird poop is acidic and etches the plastic membranes that reduce the cells' effectiveness.  Washing the plastic was a chore, too.  In some cases, there was not enough sunlight to properly heat the water or generate enough electricity.  He felt that this could be corrected by angling the solar array to get more sunlight.  The owner estimated his cost to be around $3500 for the installation and he did not think he would get his money back within the time that he owned the boat.

Another member researched solar panels and came up with this.

I am interested in finding some suggestions as to where and what type of extra batteries can be installed onto my 1994 350 aft cabin.  I had thought that golf cart batteries were the way to go, but have not found suitable places below deck.  A marine service recommended the new AGM's (2), and recommended they be installed into the aft suite cabinet where the TV is.  That makes them near the existing switch, shortens the wire runs, and allows the batteries to be in an occupied area since they are sealed. The down side is that the batteries weigh 128 pounds each, and the cost of installation and materials was nearly 5K.

Any suggestions?  Karen is not keen on spending that much to allow us hook time.  As it stands now our starting/house batteries do not last long with the refrigerator wearing them down quickly. - Jerry

Jerry, I have a real problem with keeping batteries, sealed or not, in the aft stateroom.  Batteries are nasty things.  I've seen additional batteries added to the front bilge (usually for a bow thruster).  If you have any suggestions for Jerry, please send them along to me.

Jerry brings up another interesting issue - the weight of the batteries.  Recently, a battery company contacted the club with a dry cell battery.  They promised 8D performance in a Group 31 size and weight.  That means that a regular size battery would have enormous cranking power and battery charge life.  We are still researching this.
 

One of the reasons gasoline prices are climbing is that refiners have to reformulate their fuel to accept up to 10% ethanol.  This probably will cause major problems with boating fuel systems.  For more information about the types of problems and possible solutions, go to Boat Talk or see your local mechanic for suggestions.

The ozone generator apparently is working better than expected.  We still have shares available if you would like to buy a time-share for eliminating odors.  Just email me and we'll work out the details.

Refrigerators are more efficient when they are full of stuff, especially frozen stuff.  Patsy and I tried several different things to freeze, including a couple of pounds of bait herring, before finally settling on refilling the water bottles we buy and sticking them in the freezer.  We keep it pretty full with the water bottles that we move to the cooler when fishing.

We almost double the length of time a battery charge lasts by doing this.  Sometimes, we turn the refrigerator off at night and let the ice filled freezer take care of things.  Which leads me to explain why we no longer use bait herring as freezer fill.  On Thursday, a thunderstorm hit the marina, knocking out power to the boat.  We arrived late Friday night after the bait fish thawed and dumped onto the galley floor.  We disassembled and cleaned the refrigerator (that's right, we took the damn thing apart, doors off and everything) between midnight and 2 am.  The water bottles would not have smelled so bad and probably would not have leaked everywhere.  So, do not fill the freezer with steaks, ice cream, or bait fish unless you have a greater tolerance for risk than I have.

Photos from the SNO's are available at http://www.carverownersclub.com/eventPhoto.php?event=SNO

•   June 11 - 18  - Second Annual Chesapeake Bay Cruise, up the Potomac to Washington, DC. Two days up, two days in DC area, and two days down, with one day to home port.

Patsy and I finally bought a boat in Fort Myers and are moving it up the East Coast to the Bay.  It's a 1996 440 Aft Cabin, currently named Cat's Meow.  We'll recommission the boat as Ibis (Sarah reminded us that all of our boats needed to be named after water birds) after some repairs.  There are a lot of people to thank in our search for the new boat.  First of all, Patsy and I thank everyone who offered and gave us places to stay while we were trying to work, move, and find a boat.  Next, our thanks to the staff at McDaniel Yacht Basin (410-287-8121).  Everyone there pitched in and helped at one time or another.  Including all of the sales staff, Bruce Jamison, Ray Lamia, and Tom Sassaman, who was our broker on this deal. Tom spent some interesting times talking to the other brokers involved. and calming me down from time to time.  It may sound strange, but the selling broker was helpful, too.  Chuck Hendron (239-415-9700), when I go to sell a boat, I hope my broker works as hard as you worked to care for your sellers' interests.  The sellers let us keep the boat in their back yard while we made the changes needed to move the boat.  I know that was sad for them.  Judy and Mac, you're the best. 

So, the featured boat this month is a payback.  Chuck has a 31' Santego with diesel engines. While this is unusual, the fuel economy is fantastic - about 1.5 miles per gallon.  For more details, go to 

http://yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatDetails.jsp?boat_id=1499184&checked_boats=1499184&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=69991&url=