CARVER
OWNERS CLUB
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February 2008Headlines - Click on a Headline to see the Story |
Stories |
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From time to time the Club receives requests for information about replacement swim platforms and ladders. We've suggested several companies in the past. We were recently contacted by Butler Marine Systems in Duryea, PA http://www.butlermarine.com. Butler offers fiberglass and teak swim platforms, pulpits, and ladders. If you contact them, let them know that you heard about them from the Club.
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Whenever we send out email notices from the Club, we receive some responses that require us to complete a form before our email is forwarded to you. If you would like to receive our emails, notify your spam filter that we are not spam. Further, if you do receive an email that appears to be from the Carver Owners Club and it turns out to not be from us, call me at 1-800-540-2926 immediately. This is criminal activity (called spoofing) and we do prosecute. For whatever reason, Comcast is rejecting most of our emails. We've tried working with Comcast and with our email service provider without much success. Comcast says they remove us from the spam list and, then, reject our emails again. We are looking for alternatives. If you have an alternative email address, let me know or change your Comcast email address in the Club records to the alternative email account. Gmail and Yahoo are good alternatives.
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ICW Cruise - Crossing to the Bahamas I received the following email from a member. Let me know if you are interested in making this trip: "we've made the crossing from Lucaya and West End several times and would be happy to lend whatever experience we can (notice I did NOT say “expertise”). We went with the Loggerhead Marina group several times and played mother duck to many 28-35 footers if you have smaller boats interested in making that kind of crossing."
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The first set of checklists is now available in the Members' Only portion of the web site. These checklists deal with re-commissioning your boat after winter storage. They are based on the systems installed on your boat. For example, if you have an oil changing system installed on your boat, there is a checklist for oil changers. I've tried to include the most common systems installed, but have certainly omitted a few. Also, please note that the checklists are copyrighted materials. You may print out a copy of the checklists for your use. You may not reproduce the checklists - it's stealing from your fellow members. There are two "systems" of special interest, mainly because of the problems they can cause: icemakers and engine closed cooling. Icemakers Almost everyone who has an icemaker complains about it failing. According to Raritan, the problem starts when the icemaker is winterized. It seems that the thingies in the icemaker that make the ice are damaged by most commonly used anti-freezes. Raritan suggests that you disconnect the water supply line before running anti-freeze through the fresh water system and flushing the fresh water system before reconnecting the water supply line. You can flush the water feed line by running clear water through it. If you have a significant amount of anti-freeze in your fresh water system, make sure that all of the anti-freeze is flushed before reconnecting the water supply line. Engine Closed Cooling Most engines on Carvers have a closed water cooling system that requires anti-freeze and zincs. That's where the problems start. Most boat engines should have a 50-50 mix of anti-freeze and water because that generally gives the best protection against freezing. The 50-50 mix also gives the best cooling properties. However, some sloppy mechanics ignore testing the mix and simply fill the radiator with straight anti-freeze. The most common cause of engine overheating when you can't find a coolant leak is when straight anti-freeze is used instead of a mixture. As a part of your re-commissioning, test the anti-freeze with a simple "floating ball" tester (about $3 at Wal-Mart) to make sure that your anti-freeze mix is about 50/50. Don't test the overflow reservoir, that plastic thing on the side. Open the radiator cap itself and test. While you are testing the mix, you can also test for the second problem. When zincs dissolve, they make the coolant water more acidic which can corrode the internal engine and connected components. You can drain, dispose of, and replace the anti-freeze mixture or you can use specially designed test strips that determine the coolant mixture's pH. The strips are less expensive, unless you need to replace the anti-freeze anyway. You can get the pH strips at most pharmacies, diesel engine shops, or on-line at Amazon.com. Your engines may also have a coolant filter that contains a buffering compound.
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Changing Impellers
FYI my take on creating the simplest guarantee for maximum uptime-
1) Anytime you go to the trouble of taking off the impeller
cover- just put a new impeller in! You already have the tools
out, the furniture re-arranged, you are in the bilge, not having
the best time of your life, so make it productive!
2) When installing a new impeller here's a couple of old school
tips to make it effortless-
a) use a couple of tie wraps (wire ties) around the impeller
to shrink it's diameter so you can slide the impeller into the
housing remembering to have the blades face the correct way for
the rotation of the pump. Even if your pump is kaput, just have
someone crank the engine for a second so you can see which way
the pump rotates and shut the engine right back down. Of course
you will remember to use a felt tip pen to mark on the engine
the direction of rotation so you will never have to guess which
way the pump turns.
b) before placing the new impeller into the housing, coat the
new impeller with some dishwashing soap and then slide it into
the housing. This serves a couple of functions! It will make
the sliding of the impeller into the housing much easier and
will not tear the impeller blades upon installation. The second
function (after opening the sea-cock and making sure you don't
have any new leaks) is to check water flow out of the exhaust on
the side/rear of your vessel. If you are successful (this means
you Super wrench Dave!), you will notice a nice soapy bubble
water flow! This is a 2 beer job with a third one on ice to
celebrate your uneventful looking like a pro quick impeller
change!
Note: This procedure assumes that you have some minor tools
other than a hatchet, vice grips, and duct tape! Also required
is a willing bilge wench to hand you the proper amount of beer
as your job skills and confidence increase!
Dave for your engines, check out this web site:
http://sbmar.com/Products/Impellers.cfm. Cick on
seamax pumps. They have a fantastic pump for your engines if
you plan to keep the boat for a long time. Also they have a
superior replacement impeller for the standard Sherwood pump.
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| Grocery Shopping - Gourmet Style If you haven't found Woodburn's Food Market at Solomons, MD, you are missing a real treat on the Chesapeake Bay. This gourmet grocery is just west of the Holiday Inn and has a wonderful selection of exotic foods. Another delicious market is Morsels in Georgetown, SC. Morsels just opened and offers a great selection of South Carolina low country foods, as well as some very nice meats and wines. Morsels is on Front Street, an easy walk from any of the marinas or anchorages.
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Here are the events we've planned so far:
I also received the following note and will do better: "Thanks to
all who organize these events, and all the good works of the Carver
Owner's Club. No offense taken. It's a
good suggestion. |
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You may notice a new look for the web site in the next few weeks. The web site is being extensively reworked. I'm planning to add some new features that will continue to add value to your membership. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Another change is that the newsletter will be posted the second Tuesday of the month, except for June. The logistics of the Rendezvous keep us from issuing a June newsletter. One of the changes we will make is that the Club will accept advertising on its public web pages. The Club newsletter is read by more than 6,000 different viewers every month. The Boats for Sale listing averages around 1500 hits per day, with the number swelling to about 4500 per day the week before a major boat show. The paid member only pages will not have advertising. If you are interested in advertising on the Club web site, contact webdude@carverownersclub.com. If you forget your username or password, that can now be automatically sent to you from the web site. More specifically, it will be emailed to the email we have on file for you. If that email has expired, the automated feature will not work. It's helpful if you keep your email address up-to-date on the club records.
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