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Similar experience on my last cruise, about two weeks ago! The little handle on the basket screen assy had broken off, but I continued to use it. The little basket handle contacts the bottom of the lid on the strainer assy, holding the basket down, so without the handle, my strainer could ‘float’ upwards. During the middle of the night (of course) I noticed the AC unit cycling…not good. Got the wife up to so we could troubleshoot. No water exiting the boat, so checked to see the pump was operating. It wasn’t, but was hot as a fire cracker. The pump is pretty new, so I was upset. Took the strainer out and it was clean. Re-installed, screwed the lid on, and turned on the unit. Now it was working! I could only surmise there was a thermal switch in the pump unit itself, and when it cooled, it began to operate normally. Of course I’ve purchased a new strainer basket to prevent re-occurrence, and all has been well since.
David Tye
#189One other configuration for your consideration. Blue Moon has a 16,000 BTU unit located under the aft bunk, in a compartment adjacent the starting battery. I don’t have duct work. I have two evaporator/fan units, one over the aft bunk, and one at the stbd forward end of the main cabin. Refrigerant coolant lines run to the evaporator/fan units. It performs ‘adequately’ in the N. Florida climate in July/August, but won’t exactly run you out during the day. At night you can hang meat in the boat. I try to keep the forward cabin closed off during the day to save cool air.
David Tye
#189I haven’t been able to get on the site till now!
I got the double SS sink installed, and it turned out very nice. The garbage can still fits, barely, and I have two large, deep sinks. I’ll get some pics loaded if I ever figure it out.
Just returned from the islands offshore Biloxi/Gulfport/Mobile. Hot, but very interesting. The fish life was pretty incredible, and the Maritime and Fisheries museum in Biloxi is a must see.
David
Blue MoonAnother idea on the solar panel conundrum: I bought a 50W thin flex panel that is easy to move about the boat and follow the sun. I have two 140W panels mounted over the bimini, but the shadowing issues on the ketch are vexing. I store the 50W panel under the forward cabin mattress (1/8″ thick), and built a 35 foot extension cord. Then I hung a pigtail from the solar panel controller (on the nav panel) so that it hangs down slightly, but unobtrusively, over the nav table. When we’re anchored for more than overnight, I plug in the extension cord and deploy the 50W panel. It’s not too large, but I can always find a spot on deck in direct sunlight, so I net 2 to 3 amps all day. Not a huge amount, but a nice augment to the rigid panels and the wind turbine.
David Tye
Blue Moon, #189I look forward to seeing your completed project, Tor. Of course, once you have that nice dodger built, it’s a pretty easy matter to climb on the dodger from the front to do your mizzen mast work…a thought I’m sure you’ve had. That is how I currently do mine when the connector panels are ‘in’. My hard dodger top is in no way as sturdy as what you’re building, so I step lightly.
David
I’m new to the W58, but could the problem be in the extruded exhaust manifold? My weak understanding is that coolant flows through the extruded exhaust manifold, cooling the exhaust gasses. Perhaps if the exhaust gas is getting to the coolant due to corrosion in a chamber, or whatever, it might result in the positive test result you got. Would also explain why no water in the lubricating oil, and no oil in the coolant. If I’m wrong on my understanding of the system, I hope someone will set me straight!
David
Blue Moon #189I use a gallon counter (meter), available at ACE, and I’m sure other fine retailers. It’s pretty cheap and screws to the end of your fill hose. I have a separate short length of hose on the ‘out’ end of the meter that I stick in the filler port. These gallon counters aren’t too accurate, but I know from experience that as I approach 50 gallons (on the stbd and port tanks) I’m full.
I broke open a tank on my previous vessel while rounding the North end of Bimini in a pounding sea. I had filled my tank to the limit with no air gap…my bad. I’m more careful now.
David
Blue Moon #189Sink arrived. Looks great. A little utilitarian, but just fine. We’ll need to make some holes for the soap dispenser and foot pump water. And I need to cut the Corian to accommodate the slightly larger size. This project isn’t on the near term list of things to do…so it’ll be a while before install. I’ll let ya’ll know how it goes once I get to it.
David
We’ve ordered the restaurant supply sink. Thanks for the tip. Will let ya’ll know how it looks when we receive.
David
Blue MoonJust a short report to let those that are interested that the Shaft-Lok is installed on Blue Moon and seems to do the trick. I sailed Sunday at speeds to 8 knots with no shaft rotation and no noise. Amazing how quiet it is without all that racket. I had to slow the shaft considerably for the lock to work, the major downside of a ‘lock’ vs a ‘brake’. I found the best technique to be to slow the boat till the shaft stopped, then fall off a bit to speed up, and as the shaft starts to turn, push in the knob.
Installation was straightforward on the jack shaft. Access is pretty easy by pulling up the floor panel over the V-drive. I had to fiberglass in a small block to the hull to accept the anti-torque bracket, but nothing to that. I did not cut a hole in the cabin sole for access. Overall I’m happy with the product, though my experience is admittedly limited to one outing.
David Tye
Blue Moon, #189Hello Chuck,
My opinion is that you are overthinking this thing. I don’t think there is much value added in elevating your stanchion bases. However, if your stanchion bases are like mine, the fiberglass to which they are mounted (the deck) is cracked and weak. I too will be refinishing my decks in the near future. My plan on the area where the stanchion bases are attached is to grind out the upper layer of glass and core material, to a perimeter that is outside the existing boundary of the stanchion bases… then building that area back with solid glass/epoxy resin, eliminating the balsa core. This will result in an incompressible area on the deck, with no possibility of water intrusion into the core. Then I will replace the existing fiberglass layup backing plates with 1/4″ aluminum plates, and remount the stanchion bases in 4000 or 4200. I’ve done this with one base already and it worked fine and looks great. It’s super solid and there is no water intrusion below decks. Anyway, that’s my thought on the subject. Good luck!
David Tye
Blue Moon, #189Thanks for the reply Rich. The units on e-bay do look like a fine LED alternative to what I have. And no, Ken, that is not me bidding right now.
I did speak with the PO, who told me that my deck lights aren’t the original units, and that he replaced the spreader lights every 3-4 years since 1985, when he acquired the vessel. He advised simply acquiring a new assy from Wests or similar. Probably a good time to upgrade.
David
For general information, below is the reply I most recently received from Ken Nigel, of Shaft-Loc:
We received five beautiful photos and boat information…nice work! Yes, the information confirms the Mod II EL unit is the proper choice.
The Mod II EL unit can be placed on either shaft.
A. HOSE This has nothing to do with the Shaft Lok but in photo #1 (attached) the hose in lower right center of the picture looks crimped a bit. My take on that situation is that it will weaken further and close off completely. Think about replacing that hose sooner rather than later. Anne and I lived on Sea Ya II for 6 months a year for 8 years… http://www.shaftlok.com/MacGregor_65.htm
B. The propeller shaft photo shows the packing nut. Having the Shaft Lok unit here would make servicing the packing gland difficult. Plus this area may produce some sea water fine spray at times.
C. The V Drive shaft is higher out of the bilge area and it seems to have a full length keyway which could be used for one of the Shaft Lok stainless set screws…making the installation a bit easier. Also, the Mod II EL 1” bore is $621 and the 1 ½” is $819. Both unit components are in stock and will ship in 2 to 3 days after receipt of funds.
D. A full scale drawing is also attached. Making a simple cardboard template may help you with the installation layout. The Mod II EL unit does not have to be in a vertical position. It can be mounted at 12 O’clock, 11 O’ clock or 9 O’clock or any angle, even upside down (but that would mean issues for routing the cable or locking the unit with the S.S.Locking System.) Keep in mind that the ATB (Anti-Torque Bracket) needs to be at 90 degrees to the force (parallel with the long axis of the name plate) generated by the locked propeller while sailing.
E. Shipping via: United States Postal Service Two Day Priority Mail, insured with tracking number is $39.65. UPS is $37.58 insured and tracking with 3 to 4 days enroute. Both include $10 for Shaft Lok delivery to the carrier.
Fair Winds,
Ken Nigel
Shaft Lok Inc.
New Berlin, WI
1 262 786 6800
