Hi Twisted
Like others I have found your blog to be a great read. I toured an N55 a few months ago when we were both at a little family run marina in the Broughton's. So I have good context for your build process, design choices etc. I agree the 60 will be superior to the 55.
Lots of people seem to agree. Since Nordhavn introduced the 60, there have been zero orders for 55s. A big part of that is pricing. The 60 costs 3% more than a 55, so it's pretty crazy not to step up.
As to solar, if you had a hardtop over the flybridge, wouldn't that give you a lot of acreage to use? I have 1800 W, love it, but would have more if it would fit. But then I decided not to have AC, and I use propane for cooking and so no longer have a generator on board. Other than 2 x John Deere's with 200A alternators on each engine.
Actually, I do have a hardtop over the flybridge, and that's where I figured on placing the solar. Great minds think alike. Boy I wish I could fit 1800W - that would be a no-brainer - but the hardtop really is limited to 750W. I can fit 3 250W panels across the front half of the hardtop. It's a nice fit. The issue with adding more behind them is the radar which is centered in the aft half of the hardtop. It directly blocks a panel in the center, and the 6' antenna will shade anything to either side. Also, on the port side of the Radar is where the ladder comes up so you need that landing area to be clear. If I really pushed it I could probably squeeze in another 200W using smaller panels tucked in here or there. It's always an option once I have real power load numbers.
The only other place for panels would be the boat deck extension that covers the cockpit. I could probably fit another 750W there, but it's problematic too. First, my wife doesn't want to give up the space. Not that I need another reason after that one, but the tender will overhang the boat deck extension and likely shade a large section of the panels. Plus, it seems like it would be pretty easy when craning the tender over the panels to accidentally crash it into one of them. But that area remains a possibility for some sort of phase II project, assuming Phase I ever happens.
I agree with your choices of PC for primary Nav.function. I use Nobletec Odyssey Time Zero in the PH, and am very happy with it. I have a Furuno NavNet3D MFD 12 on the flybridge to get the daylight viewing capacity. But I also tend to agree with your summation of NN3D and TZ products. I also have an Simrad NSS 8. I use it in the cockpit when fishing, when its not in use on my 14' RIB. Its a nice product, and I am a fan of the touch screen functionality.
A lot about electronics is personal preference. Another bunch is about where/how you will use it. I would have given Garmin very serious consideration, but instead rejected them very early because they do not support 3rd party and industry standard charts. There has yet to be a chart vendor who is the best everywhere, and I'm not willing to gamble that Garmin will suddenly be that supreme vendor. If I were just cruising the US and Canada, it would be a completely different story.
All the above is preference sorta stuff. But bugs are bugs and are not a matter of opinion. Granted, not everyone will run into them, but when you do they are very annoying. And worse yet is a company that doesn't fix them. Anyway, I've complained about my Furuno issues enough and have moved on with the new boat.
+1 for hydronic heating. I have a 'summer loop' built-in so that I can run the diesel heater just for hot water if I'm not at the dock, or haven't used the main engines, which also gives hot water. The summer loop means that the heating doesn't run through the boat when it isn't needed.
Yes, it's a nice feature and we have set it up that way too. It's also one less reason to run the generator while at anchor.
+1 for Spectra watermaker. They really are a good product, mine is the 400 gpd model which I figured would be enough.
I've got a 200 GPD unit currently and it works well. I especially like the auto flush feature, and unlike the Village Marine units, the auto flush keeps working through power blips like switching from generator to dock power, someone accidentally switching off your dock power for a moment, or losses of grid power. All of those cause the Village Marine to terminate it's auto flush and never restart.
I too look forward to your continuing updates.
Cheers,
Thanks!
