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Thanks, Tor.
I appreciate the feed back. I think you are right not to try to move to the new system since you have a good deal of time invested in customizing your existing workbook. When I get this latest update is to the point where I think it is stable it may be worth the effort as after that you will be able to accept or fall back from my later software changes without having to re-work with your customization or change your workbook. I'll be willing to perform the conversion of your existing workbook to the new system whenever you think it is worthwhile. Most of the effort is just to remove the VBA code from your workbook and then insert blank columns into the Inventory worksheet where the new data will go. Your layout, categories and units pages shouldn't have to be changed. Of course I will probably find I changed something in that area that shouldn't have an impact, but does. That's why I'm willing to do the conversion. I know I'll find things that need to be fixed in the code.Anyway if you want to see how it works, I've included my Inventory and Maintenance workbooks in the download file. One thing I found useful in the Maintenance Log has nothing to do with maintenance. I use it to log boat events that I may want to track for usage, for example:
- dates when water tanks were switched
- dates when propane tanks switched
- dates when composting head emptied (holding tank for others)
BTW, anything the Inventory program doesn't do that you would like to see in an update?
On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 9:32 AM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:John,I use the Inventory Workbook regularly (and LOVE it!). Have not gotten to the Maintenance program yet, but intend to. For me to switch over to the new, combined workbook I'd have this additional issue: I have changed the Layout (including the drawing), Inventory Category Tables and Units table to fit my boat. I suppose I'll just be able to copy/paste those columns, but thought I'd mention it.
I'm one of the guys who should probably wait until you're completely finished tweaking the new, integrated applications before switching over, but will make the move when you say it's ready.
Every time I find something with a few mouse clicks that would otherwise require tearing half the boat apart, I am grateful to you for sharing your creation with us. Thank you for these awesome programs.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Thanks, Tor. I think the manual refers to an oil drain pump different from the one I have. I didn't think to remove the filler cap (never did that on the other engines), but it makes sense.
Anyway, I sent an email to the mechanic to did the install and he said there is a a vent on the dipstick tube about 3/4″ down from the top. I haven't opened the engine box to verify what he said, but it makes sense because of the tight seal on the top of the dipstick. This allows air to escape from the tube while the dispstick is being inserted (something Rich mentioned) until the dipstick seal covers the vent hole. The hose I put over the dipstick tube probably did not cover this vent. My mechanic says he usually wraps a piece of electrical tape over the vent hole when he drains the oil, then removes it when he is done.
I'm not going to attempt another oil change right now. I'll live with the 2 qts removed and a fresh filter for the next few months. I turned in my rental car yesterday and this marina (Melbourne Harbor) does not provide for oil disposal. There is a gas station about 3/4 miles away that took the 2 qts I pulled out, but I had to do a little begging. Of course if I was a real jerk I'd just drop the old oil in the marina's dumpster sometime after O'Dark-thirty, but I can't make myself do that. It's a real mystery to me how a marina can get a “Clean Marina” certification and not provide for the proper disposal of engine oil, but it is apparently not required in FL. That said I know what happens in the Bahamas. When I changed the oil in Marsh Harbor a few years ago I asked the marina manager where I could dispose of the oil. He looked at me like I was dumbest person he'd ever met and said, “Put it in the dumpster, of course”.Anyway, I'll try the hose over the dipstick tube with electrical tape in a few months. Maybe I'll discover the folks in the Bahamas now have another place for the oil than the dumpster.
On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 4:16 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:John,When I was barely knee high to a sheet winch my daddy once told me, “Son, when all else fails read the instructions.” The Yanmar JH4 Series Operation Manual (P/N: 49961-206351) says on page 41 (Section 4.3.1), “It is easiest and most effective to drain the engine lubricating oil after operation while the engine is still warm. 1. Remove the lubricating oil dipstick. Attach the oil drain pump and pump out the oil. For easier draining, remove the oil filler cap (yellow) at the top of the rocker arm cover.” And so on.
Sounds like maybe you didn't have a tight enough seal when you slid the hose over the dipstick tube. You might try it again with a hose clamp, and with the oil filler cap removed. I'd be interested to hear how you make out since I'm about to face the exact same challenge.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Thanks, Bob.
I considered putting a drain fitting on the sump when the engine was being installed, but changing the oil on the W60 via the dipstick was such a simple process I decided not to do it. Hopefully there is a dipstick extractor that works on this engine.
A supposedly very knowledgeable mechanic told me the Yanmar dipstick tube went to the bottom of the sump. The dipstick itself does not go to the bottom of the tube. Or at least that is what I was told.
I may re-try the 1/2″ ID hose, this time using a hose clamp. Possibly I was getting air in between the hose and the tube.Haven't gotten to the Bahamas as yet, still in Melbourne. Wx held us up for most of the trip down the coast, forcing us to repeatedly go into the ICW. Finally my crew had to leave and I needed to put the boat somewhere before joining my brothers for Thanksgiving in MI. I had hoped to leave Melbourne today and get closer to the Ft. Pierce Inlet, but a strong cold front is due through tonight. This is the first time I've single-handed the boat in over a year, so I'm looking to start that adventure with settled weather. The cold front is also going to bring strong NE winds for several days, eventually swinging strong out of the E. So the Gulf Stream is going to be pretty rough for awhile. Hope to cross over to the Abacos early next week.
On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 9:38 AM, Robert Fine < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Hi John,
Typically, an oil dipstick tube does not go all the way to the bottom of the sump – it is press fit into the block and ends either just inside or at the inside wall of the block. The dipstick itself doesn't go to the bottom of the sump, either, since all it has to measure is a narrow band of oil levels (once it's too low, it's always too low, even when it gets lower). The best way, of course, is to put a fitting in the oil pan drain and pump it from there. If you have access to drills and taps, drain the oil from the sump via the suction tube, then get the rest out using the drain plug. It'll be messy.
Take the plug and drill and tap it for a 1/2″ pipe fitting and put the fitting in with teflon tape. From that fitting you can run a high temperature hose to a high spot and cap it. When you need to remove the oil, connect your vacuum extractor to that hose and you'll be golden. Or, you can use a piece of copper tubing in the dipstick hole – just make sure you cut the end at an angle so that you aren't just sucking the tube to the bottom of the sump.
How're the Bahamas? Are you having a good time? I'm jealous!
Bob
On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 9:13 AM, John Stevenson < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Like a number of 424 owners I repowered to a 4JH engine, specifically in my case the 4JH4-AE. Other than having the engine block coolant drain cock come loose during a motorsailing passage and dump all of the coolant in the engine pan, the new engine has performed very well. The one problem I'm having is changing the oil.
For my W60 and on my previous boat I used a dipstick vacuum extractor made by Tempo (now Moeller, I think), and it always extracted at least 4 qts from the W60. Using the same extractor I'm lucky to get 2 qts out of the Yanmar, and that requires multiple pumping. With the W60 I just pumped the extractor about a dozen times then went away for 10 minutes. When I came back the extractor contained 4 qts of oil.
With the Yanmar it appears I cannot get the thin tube of the extractor completely into the oil sump, so the tube is sucking air along with oil from the start. I've tried using a 1/2″ ID instead of the insertion hose. I softened it a bit with a heat gun, then forced it over the outside of the dipstick tube. I had been told the dipstick tube goes completely to the bottom of the sump, but that does not appear to be the case because I once more go a lot of air into the tube and even less oil.Any 4JH owner out there successfully using an extractor system that removes the bulk of the oil?
—
Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.com—
Bob Fine
s/v Pelican
Hull #8—
Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.comPost generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum
Rich,
Obviously our respective onboard guests are from different backgrounds. When I started my old W60 my guests would start looking around for the Ferris Wheel.On Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 5:05 PM, < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:My guess is that the wire from the alternator is used to activate the alarm only when the engine is running. I'd have to see which wire is involved. I use a wire from the tach output to close a relay that supplies power to stuff that should only be on when the engine is running. This could include an alarm, but I don't have it wired this way. The relay is required because the tach output is only about 6V; is a half-wave rectified signal.You don't want to use the tach output to enable your engine alarm if you use a muti-stage regulator with a delayed turn on. In this case, the alarm would only get enabled after the regulator time-out. This is typically a minute or two, more than long enough to cause problems with your engine should the oil pressure be low.
My W60 came with a stock engine alarm. Power to the alarm was gated through a pressure switch on the fuel pump. The alarm would get energized once the fuel pressure built up. This was typically well before the oil pressure built up, so the alarm would sound for a few seconds when the engine was cranked. Guests would frequently step out from their respective corners of the cockpit at the sound and start swinging at each other. I'd have to shut down and restart the engine to get them back in their corners. This drove me nuts, so I replaced it.
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Rich Carter
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Cada,
One more customer for the PDF files. I assume these blue prints are being scanned at the full document size. Years ago I attempted to scan my blue prints, but I used my home scanner. I scanned each 8.5×11 section of the blue prints into JPEG files then used Photoshop to piece them back together. The results were not very good but better than nothing. I put them up on my website at http://www.svsarah.com/Sarah/ewSarahPlans.htm.
I would really like to get a professionally scanned image of the blueprints. My old paper ones have been folded for nearly 30 years. I'm afraid the next time I unfold one of them it will disintegrate. Anyone have a good (not folded) copy of the Ketch sail plan that they might be willing to contribute to the project?John
On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 6:16 PM, < ([email][/email])> wrote:
I have three orginal blue prints for the 424. One is sail plan for a slop, second is the deck hardware layout and the third is a top and side view of the interior. I know they can be scanned and put into a pdf format6 if there is enough interest.
I got them just before Pearson went out of business and they were cleaning out files. My guess is it would be about 30.00 each to have them scanned and converted to PDF. Hard copies are about 10.00 each.
Cada Grove
Juliee No. 100
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Regards,
John Stevenson
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Thatcher,
Sorry if I sounded as if I was arguing that what you stated was not true, which was not my intention. Nor was I trying to convince you to change your mount. I was just trying to clarify an apparent discrepancy between the documents you have and those I have. Anyway, I should certainly be directing these questions to the manufacturer.John
On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 11:44 PM, Thatcher Stone < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:John:I really don’t want to argue with anyone about this, really I don’t. My data is from the PO who kept fastidious records dating from 1982. I am just reading what’s there. Doyle AND an experienced rigger told me the same thing. Put that all together and I am not going to do it. Please, feel free to proceed as you wish. All the best of luck.
T
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I tried using the seat basin for laundry while in the Med. A bucket is definitely easier, at least for me.
John
On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 5:52 PM, Linus Martinez < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:I was told by the PO that he used the seat in the shower to wash clothes. He plugged it up, filled it with water and one of those tide power balls while sailing. I don't think I could get much in there so I have yet to give it a try.Linus
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Thatcher,
I've been looking at the AIR-X for some time (procrastination is my middle name) and have been considering possible locations for one on Sarah. I've found no prohibition for mounting the unit on the top of a mast in the documentation I've been looking at. As a matter of fact their installation manual recommends you put it as high as possible. I saw lots of AIR-X units on sailboats in Europe, including Jack Tyler's 424, and nearly all of them on ketches were on the mizzen masthead. Jack's installation served a two-year cruise in the Caribbean and two Atlantic crossings. So I wouldn't have any concern for a proper installation at the mizzen head. The only down side is the need to put mast steps on the mizzen so one can climb to the masthead and secure the unit when extreme winds are anticipated.
Your information may be from an earlier model or set of installation procedures or I just missed it.John
On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 10:00 AM, Thatcher Stone < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:The warranty states it is valid only when unit is installed in accord with
manufacturer's instructions. Instructions say, don't put it on the top.
Brace it on a platform part way up.
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For the past 5 years I've used vinyl-coated SS lifeline wire. It's probably not the most efficient conductor possible, but I don't get the corrosion I had in the past connecting copper wire to my SS backstay. Seems to work well.
On Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 7:58 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:Rich,When you say, “Peel back the shield and seal it on the ends,” how exactly do you “seal” that peeled-back shielding?
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Lee,
I run Fugawi and SOB on my PC as backups to the C120. I assume by, “interface with my Raymarine C120” you mean you intend to feed NMEA traffic to the PC from the C120. That shouldn't be a problem, but it negates the PC as a backup plotter to the C120. I feed my PC from a Brookhouse MUX that also converts the SeaTalk data to NMEA. That way I can run my PC with the C120 turned off (or broken). Fugawi is fairly simple product, not nealy as sophisticated as the two big guys – MaxSea and Nobeltec, but it is very flexible working with raster and NOAA ENCs. I use Fugawi for most of my route planning, then transfer (manually) the route to the C120 and SOB. I prefer SOB and the C-Map charts when underway.
One nice feature in Fugawi (and the other high priced products) is the ability to import and calibrate charts created in standard computer graphic file formats (jpg, gif, png, etc.). Right now I'm anchored just off the ICW in Top Sail Sound waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream and head for the Bahamas. I purchased a Gulf Stream analysis chart from Jenifer Clark before we departed Beaufort, NC this morning and I imported it into Fugawi so I can adjust my planned route to the Bahamas to work around the cold and warm water eddies.
BTW, one big change from the last time I came down the ICW is the cellular internet access. I'm using a Verizon Broadband card and have been connected to the Internet for all but a few moments since we left Solomons, MD 2 weeks ago.John
On Sun, Nov 2, 2008 at 9:58 AM, Rich Carter < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:Lee
I've been using Nobletec VNS for many years now. It interfaces with tides-and-currents to display tidal information on an hourly basis right on the screen. If you cruise in areas that have strong currents, this is a very valuable feature.
http://www.nobeltec.com/products/prod_suite.aspRich
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West marine.
On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 12:50 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:John,Where'd you get the watertight hatch?
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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The locker shown here: http://www.svsarah.com/Sarah/ewUpgradeStorage.htm
On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 12:36 PM, John Stevenson < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Dan,
That locker door is what Bob described in his post. I'm the other guy who let the cut-out piece of plastic slide down under the shower pan. The space outboard of the shower pan is the width of the deck so there's a lot of space. The best use would be to put in a shelf, but for me that would have required a larger cutout and hatch (I can't get my shoulders through the existing hole to do any kind of installation work). I use this space as Bob does for towels and linens. I put them in small duffel bags that fit through the opening. They will not slide under the shower pan as the cutout did. They also will keep everything dry should the shower mixer start to leak.On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 12:27 PM, kalinowski < ([email][/email])> wrote:
John:
Thanks for the input. I'll investigate mixer fittings further to see what works. The idea of a bar for the shower head is a great idea. So is a light.
I noticed the locker door in your head picture. Is there much room back in there?
Thanks
Dan Kalinowski
Lady Leanne (135)
Honolulu—
Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.com—
Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.comPost generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum
Dan,
That locker door is what Bob described in his post. I'm the other guy who let the cut-out piece of plastic slide down under the shower pan. The space outboard of the shower pan is the width of the deck so there's a lot of space. The best use would be to put in a shelf, but for me that would have required a larger cutout and hatch (I can't get my shoulders through the existing hole to do any kind of installation work). I use this space as Bob does for towels and linens. I put them in small duffel bags that fit through the opening. They will not slide under the shower pan as the cutout did. They also will keep everything dry should the shower mixer start to leak.On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 12:27 PM, kalinowski < ([email][/email])> wrote:
John:
Thanks for the input. I'll investigate mixer fittings further to see what works. The idea of a bar for the shower head is a great idea. So is a light.
I noticed the locker door in your head picture. Is there much room back in there?
Thanks
Dan Kalinowski
Lady Leanne (135)
Honolulu—
Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.comPost generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum
Dan,
Definitely go the single lever mixer route. Its an easy install and it helps save water when taking a shower – no need to experiment with water termperature (except when running the engine – my hot water is scalding after an hour or so of engine operation).
Pics of what I did are here: http://www.svsarah.com/Sarah/ewUpgradeHead.htm.I would certainly like to know what Pearson intended for that little tub. I guess it could be used to bath a toddler or a small pet. I stopped the drain with a cork and used it for a while to wash clothes. Eventually I started using salt water for the wash and fresh water only for the rinse and went to a bucket in the cockpit. Now it's just a place that just collects soap scum. I may do what Bob plans – seal the seat to keep the tub dry. Maybe then I could use it for storage.
—
Regards,
John Stevenson
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Lee,
I looked into using rope for lifelines 4 years ago. I couldn't figure out how to stop chafe where the line goes through the stanchions. Viny hose doesn't leave much room for anything more than 1/8″ line. So I finally punted and went with the vinyl covered wire once more. That wire is already showing signs of age and I'll probably have to replace it within the next two years. If you come up with a good solution I'd like to hear about it. Bare SS wire is probably still the best solution.John
On Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 6:00 PM, Lee Yonkers < ([email][/email])> wrote:
I need to replace my coated lifelines. I know I don't want the coated type which leaves me to choose between stainless steel and very low stretch line from Samson or New England Rope. I spoke with the folks at Sampson and asked them about the three year replacement requirement. The guy said that the line will last nearly forever; it is the fittings (made by Johnson) that need to be replaced every three years at Johnson's recommendation . He also said that there are lots of boats with way more than three years on them and they are working fine.
All comments, suggestions and recommendations appreciated.
Lee
—
Regards,
John Stevenson
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