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I replaced the manual bilge pump a couple of years ago. I thought the old Whale pump was broken and couldn’t find a repair kit. After removing it, I found a small piece of wood jammed in the intake valve. I replaced with a Plastimo manual pump. The handle stows in the lid of the pump face, making it convenient. We use it exclusively to drain the sump. That way, we’re sure that the darn thing works if we ever need it. We of course have a large capacity electric pump with a float switch, but we never let the water level get that high unless we clean the bilge out. We also have a Y valve on the shower sump pump. I also keep a 115V sump pump on the boat. I can run that off the inverter.
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Rich Carter
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I looked into filling the sump area with a lightweight concrete product a couple of years ago. I found a distributor out in Arizona who supplies various mixes that use expanded polystyrene beads. The material is light enough to float, but almost as strong as regular concrete. I only needed three or four bags however. He couldn’t be bothered with such a small order. I’m still interested if anyone finds a source.
http://www.foamliteconcrete.com/
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Rich Carter
Blacksheep #47
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I see no reason that freewheeling would damage the V-drive. Even the RV-26, which has a pressure oil pump should be OK. I would expect that the rattle from the freewheeling drive train would be an annoyance. It would drive me nuts. The vice-grip solution is simple and I’m sure effective, but what happens if you forget to remove the darn thing or have an emergency that doesn’t give time to remove it?
There has been some research into which has less drag, a freewheeling prop or a locked prop. I think the jury is still out. Either would provide more drag than a feathering or folding prop. I’ve heard some discussion about using the freewheeling propeller to drive a battery charger. I wonder if extracting power from the configuration would increase drag. I suspect there is no free lunch. This probably isn’t an issue if your cruising grounds have a consistent breeze and you rarely go upwind.
Many feathering props will still freewheel. It must have something to do with the geometry of the blades. Folding props of course won’t freewheel. Either of the last two types will be inherently less reliable than a fixed prop. I suspect that both choices would be more reliable than a fixed prop that is freewheeling however. IMHO, you need a brake if you have a fixed prop. Here’s a link to shaftLock. Their web site is pretty crude.
http://www.shaftlok.comI have a folding 3-blade propeller. It’s pretty simple in design and works very well. No brake needed.
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Rich Carter
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Regarding being on this list, did I violate some rule by
something I wrote before 5/2007?Too many vices.
Sorry, couln’t resist.
Rich
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I have a clamp on vise that I can mount anywhere. If I need it, I pull the cushion off the aft bunk and use that as a work surface.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97160I also have a stand that converts a normal 3/8″ drill into a small drill-press.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00925923000P?mv=rrNo matter how many tools you put on the boat, you’ll never have the tool you need at hand.
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Rich Carter
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No, I replaced the whole engine and got rid of all the old spares. I got
tired of not being able to get spare parts.If you bring a spare fuel pump, you might consider vacuum bagging the thing
to make sure it doesn’t corrode.Rich
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Walter
If you aren’t going far from home, leave it there. These things are pretty delicate and you don’t want to damage it.I got a spare engine a few years ago. I figured that I could pull my pump off and send it out for service, leaving the pump from the spare engine as a backup. Big mistake. The pump shop (Boston Fuel Injection) ruined the pump. The engine wouldn’t run right after the pump was rebuilt. I had to raise the idle to keep it running.
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Rich Carter
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Walter
I replaced the original Mot high capacity alternator that came (as an option) with my old W60 with an industrial alternator. It is rated at 160A. It is very rare for my alternator to put out that kind of current because my batteries won’t accept that much current unless they are very low. So why bother with a large capacity alternator then?A large capacity alternator gets you to things:
1 – it has a bigger frame and cooling system so it will run cooler and more efficiently. It will last longer.
2 – it will put out more current at a lower RPM than a smaller alternator. In other words, it will charge your batteries at a lower RPM. I can charge my batteries and run my refrigeration compressor at 1000 RPM.When I repowered, I reused the alternator. Here’s my notes.
http://www.richardcarter.net/repower/AccessoryMount.htmlIf you are interested in a similar alternator, I can put you in contact with the shop that put it together for me. It should run about $200 not including the regulator.
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Rich Carter
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Aaron
At the risk of going off on another religious tangent, the Fortress is without peer when used as a storm anchor. I think it is not suitable for day to day anchoring. I keep an FX-85 for a storm anchor stowed below. Maybe this is overkill. I don’t know what the correct size for a storm anchor is, nor would I trust anyone to compute this. Most articles I’ve read use 60kts as a benchmark. I figured that I’d find the biggest anchor that can be stowed below and match the ground tackle to whatever that rating is. The FX-85 is the biggest anchor I could find. A comparable sized CQR, Bruce, or even danforth would be too large to fit in your lazarette and would be too heavy to lift. The fortress disassembles for storage. The individual pieces are light enough to be easily handled. The two fasteners you mention are not under load. They just snug down the crossbar and keep it from sliding. The FX-85 is rated at 21,000 lbs holding power in hard sand. This is about 4 times w
hat yo
u need to anchor a 424 in 60kts of wind. In theory, this would hold the boat in over 100kts.Disadvantages of this kind of setup are that the anchor won’t set in weed and can have trouble resetting if the wind shifts directions (assuming that the thing would even pull out). You can increase the odds of the anchor resetting if you use a good length of heavy chain. It takes about 30 minutes to dig the fortress and the 200′ of 1″ rode and 40′ of 1/2″ chain out of the locker, set it up on the fordeck, and set the anchor. Once set, it can be very difficult to retrieve. Even running over it under power to pull it out is difficult. It won’t stow on the bow roller. Being made of aluminum with stainless fasteners, it would be subject to corrosion if left on deck.
Here’s an interesting link
http://www.rocna.com/press/press_0612_wm_ym_testing.pdf—
Rich Carter
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Watch out! We’re getting close to religion again.
There always seems to be another variation on an existing anchor design. These both look like plow anchors, but they lack the pivot and added a roll-bar. The roll-bar eliminates the need for the pivot. The pivot is a moving part, so getting rid of it must be a good thing. I’ve heard of rare circumstances where the pivot pin has failed. They are basically plow anchors though. Can they be better than what you already have?
If you must burn a boat unit, the mason looks like it might have more surface so it might hold a little better in sandy bottoms. Otherwise, I would expect them both to perform much like a plow. IMHO, if the price is the same as the plow, either is probably a better design. I can’t confirm this suspicion since I don’t own one and have no plans to change my ground tackle.
I have a 44# bruce that I swear by. The thing I like about the bruce is that it locks on the bow roller automatically. The patent has run out, so they are affordable. I would expect both these new anchors to be pricey because they are certainly protected by a patent. If I lost my primary anchor, I’d run out and buy exactly the same thing. My only complaint is that it isn’t particularly good in weed, but none of these appear to have an advantage there. The only thing I’ve found to work in weed is a large fisherman.
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Rich Carter
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I put one of these on my old W60.
http://www.walkerairsep.com/product_detail.asp?id=564I had to fabricate a manifold adapter. I made it from large diameter copper pipe fittings soldered together and screwed to the air intake port.
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Rich Carter
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Bob
That sounds about right as long as your engine is rated at 2800RPM continuous. You’re probably cavitating at higher speeds, so you fuel efficiency will suffer. You might try a little more prop.Rich
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Yup. I have my original fixed prop here on a shelf. It’s a 20×13, and was too much prop for my W60. I don’t remembery what you have for an engine. I think this is too big for a W58 too.
I think the problem with these boats is that Pearson didn’t put the right gear reduction in the drive train. From what I can tell, they should have used about a 2.5:1 gear reduction instead of the 2:1. With a 20″ prop and a low pitch, the tip will start to cavitate at high shaft speed. If you go down size and increase pitch, you don’t have enough surface area and the engine starts to burn fuel. You went down in size and decreased pitch. You’ll have to spin this too fast to get any speed. Most feathering props are adjustable. Try 18×12 or 18×13. Someone with the same engine could probably advise.I’ve got an 18.5×12, but I have a different engine and gear reduction.
Rich Carter
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Rick
Have you asked your prop shop to cut it down to 18×13? its bad for an engine if you are over propped.—
Rich Carter
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Dan,
I don’t know what the wind is like in Hawaii, but here in the Northeast we get a lot of light air. Even when we get wind, it always seems to be from the direction I need to go. A fixed prop is like a sea-anchor under sail. A folding or feathering propeller will significantly improve your sailing qualities.You’ll get a lot of opinions on this. I put on a 3-blade Slipstream folding propeller a couple of years ago and like it. Under sail, it provides better efficiency than the fixed propeller; even better than a feathering propeller. I would guess that performance under power is similar to a fixed propeller but I can’t vouch for it since I replaced both the prop and engine at the same time. I can say that the boat runs great under power. A folding prop has the advantage of offering nothing to catch a pot-line when under sail. I get good power in reverse too. The prop is stainless as is the shaft. It is very well made. I paid about $2k for it.
As I’ve heard, a feathering prop offers better performance in reverse than either a fixed or folding prop and offers the advantage of providing pitch adjustment without having to rework the propeller. They are much more expensive than a folding propeller. The last time I looked, they run about $3500.
If you switch to either a folding or feathering propeller, you may need to remachine the taper and threads on your shaft. It may be a good time to think about replacing the shaft.
My notes are below
http://www.richardcarter.net/repower/Propeller.html—
Rich Carter
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