Californian Manuals Discussion

I sure was hoping my newly bought 42'er had owners manual but, so far, nada. Thanks for the scans we have though. Seems owners manuals for them are scarcer than hen's teeth.

I will update if I find anything interesting to share as for as manuals go.

owners manual

I have an 89 or 90 Carver made manual for my 1986 Marshall built 48 MV that I can copy for anyone that needs it. The real stuff like wiring info is not included and Carver made many changes after taking over in late 86.

I have all the manuals for the 42 circa 1979 including the schematics a component diagrams for the Benmar auto pilot. If anyone needs specific info I'd be glad to scan.

Tellico Bob said:

I have an 89 or 90 Carver made manual for my 1986 Marshall built 48 MV that I can copy for anyone that needs it. The real stuff like wiring info is not included and Carver made many changes after taking over in late 86.

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I would like a copy. I do we arrange it?

Do you want the 79 owners manual or the Benmar docs? The Benmar is model 16B. I can post a PDF to the forum or you can pm me with your email address and I'll send it over.

Capt. Jon,
the manual is on my boat in nashville and i can copy it and mail it to you. I have never scanned it so mail is all i can do for now. I am going to the boat next monday and will be there till thursday.

Tellico bob

Moderator Note:

I moved this discussion on the manuals to its own thread to retain the Resource Thread as links or contact info only. This will help maintain a clean list of information available to Californian owners.

Tellico Bob said:

Capt. Jon,
the manual is on my boat in nashville and i can copy it and mail it to you. I have never scanned it so mail is all i can do for now. I am going to the boat next monday and will be there till thursday.

Tellico bob

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That would be awesome! I can email you a FedEx label so you can take it to a drop box if that would be more convenient. Again thank you!

manual

Capt. Jon

What ever works best for you. I have no problem sending it via snail mail. I will bring the manual home with me next week and get on it. What year is your boat and what do you have for power?

Tellico Bob

Bob, the boat is a 1988 48' CPMY. HIN build is June of the same year hull number #12. The boat is a Tustin built boat but during Carvers ownership. Power is Cat 3208 TA's.

Capt. Jon and all others,
Do you know of anyone with a 1986 48 MY like mine. Do you know how many boats were built in 86 while Marshall owned the company. I assume since you have a CP you do not have the center stateroom the we have. We looked at a 1991 48 MY, Carver built that had the galley to port and a queen size berth forward. Is this what you have?

Tellico Bob

We have been on several 48's while looking for our current boat. Some of them in the Nashville area. Looked at two of them there. One a Tustin built 48' and the other a Carver NC built. There is a definite difference between the two yards on how the boats were built.

Yes, our 48' is the two stateroom model. Queen forward galley on the port. Boats built with bunks forward had the galley to starboard. The cockpit model makes line handling much easier but aft visibility is still about the same.

Once you start looking at the last built boats from Tustin you can tell they were starting to wind down. I found a news paper article from 1989 or 1990 where they were only building 3 boats that year and the plant was shutting down.

Bob, how long have you owned your boat? Is it in recent purchase? One of the boats we looked at there was the brokers personal boat. We also looked at a 1991 there with the layout you mentioned.

That would be the boat. It may also be the last Marshall built boat before Carver took over or it may have been under construction at the time of the sale. The broker owned it for around seven years and as far as I can tell did nothing good or bad except defer all maintanence. At some point there was an electrical problem on the boat and everything was burnd out. When we looked at the boat last October the only thing that worked were two new flat screen TVs. I have replaced all three heat pumps, all the appliances, and will soon be installing all new electronics on the bridge. The boat failed its first two sea trials and cost the seller 5k. I have removed and replaced all the floresent lights with LEDs. I was drawing over 30 amps and now I am under 10 with everything turned on. Replaced two of the heads and rebuilt one. All new canvas with stratglass for the back deck and bridge. The list just goes on and by not having the seller do anything except lower the price I get to do everything my way. We took delivery in November and moved it to a different marina from where you saw it. We are at Blue Turtle Bay aka Black Jack Cove. To my knowledge there are two other Calif. on the lake. Tellico Bob

If the cushions on the bridge back bench seat are still there it was my size 11 EE foot that busted it. Sorry! It was snowing and freezing when we looked and I stepped on it coming off the sun deck roof.

It was a nice boat. It just need some TLC. Sounds like your working on giving it that.

Maybe we should start a thread with pictures of the interiors. There were several different configurations built. It might help a perspective new buyers see all of the different options. I would be curious myself.

Hey guys, can anyone tell me the fuel capacity of my CA 42 LRC. I have the 4 tank layout. Capacity of ea tank and total? All I have found is "estimated" cap from surveys she has had and I saw no numbers in posted documents.

I topped her off other day and she didn't hold near as much fuel as I thought she should - only 168gal when expecting 250 or more! And boy she is slow to fill. Kept backing up in fill tubes. Wondering if vents need a clean.

I also hate that fill tubes do not go directly into tank from top. Now, not only do the fuel gauges read incorrectly- if at all - but now I can't even use a dip stick. Do not want to be guessing should the Lord bless us with a Bahamas trip.

Thanks!

I suggest measuring them with a tape measure, particularly if they are rectangular. I wouldn't trust the sales literature as Californian must of had fuel capacity options. Mine (34LRC) supposedly has a 250 capacity total (2x125) but doesn't. I have put 250 gallons in once when the tanks were 1/3rd. full by stick measurement. They calculate to 175 Gals each. measure the length x the width x the height. Subtract about a half inch from all measured dim's to allow for tank thickness, before multiplying. The tanks are obviously less than 1/4 wall, but they are close. Convert cubic inches to cubic feet (divide by 1728) and multiply the result by 7.48 gal/cu ft. Then you will know for sure.

Capn Craig said:

I suggest measuring them with a tape measure, particularly if they are rectangular. I wouldn't trust the sales literature as Californian must of had fuel capacity options. Mine (34LRC) supposedly has a 250 capacity total (2x125) but doesn't. I have put 250 gallons in once when the tanks were 1/3rd. full by stick measurement. They calculate to 175 Gals each. measure the length x the width x the height. Subtract about a half inch from all measured dim's to allow for tank thickness, before multiplying. The tanks are obviously less than 1/4 wall, but they are close. Convert cubic inches to cubic feet (divide by 1728) and multiply the result by 7.48 gal/cu ft. Then you will know for sure.

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Good idea. I can get to most of the tank, I think. At least it will give me some idea.

Yes, both a real old and current survey have an estimated volume. Measuring is really only way to know for sure. Thanks!

Ok! I measured the fuel tanks on my Californian 42'. There are 4 tanks, two under each bed in Master Stateroom (repeating details for possible new folk looking for info.

My measurements came out 6.4'x1.9'x1.4'. These were estimates because I could not actually get all the way to the tanks.

Using the Tank Volume Calculator on CalculatorSoup.com gave this answer: 126.34 gal.

Rounding down I will take final volume as 125 gal. per tank. This gives total fuel capacity of 500 gal which is real close to old advertised numbers.

Pictures show where tanks are. The two starboard tanks have what look like something I might be able to open and stick a dip stick down into. The Port tanks have a cut out in the plywood but no access to measure.

This exercise helped me a lot. I hope it might help someone else.

Now. Where did I put that penetrating oil?!?!?

You are correct. The tanks if they are original should be 125 gallons each. Mine look similar to the photos you posted with the cutouts aft for access to the electric fuel senders. Someone at some point cut in mechanical fuel gauges in mine where your forward cut outs are.

When filling they do tend to back up the filler tube if you go to fast. The first time I filled I had a fuel geyser coming out the deck plate. I suspect where the vent lines attach to the tank that the tubes are likely restricted but I haven't looked at them that close yet. Just keep rags handy when filling. I wrap them around the nozzle and go slow just in case. If you listen close when filling you can hear when they are full.

Makes sense, George. My 34 has 2 125 gal tanks. They probably had a yard full of these tanks for the various models. I'll measure mine next time I'm in the belly of the beast to compare.

My tanks behave similarly...especially my stbd tank. It requires a slow fill to keep the pump from kicking off. I thought it was the vent, but replacing it and the vent line did not change anything.

My vent lines burp fuel so I use a Davis Instruments fuel catch bottle over the vent as I fill. It's held in place with 2 suction cups and I tether it to the boat. I place a small oil diaper in the bottle to absorb the fuel which is then easy to discard at the fuel dock.

I also installed fuel vent whistles in my vent lines to alert me when the tanks are full. They work very well.

FlyWright said:

Makes sense, George. My 34 has 2 125 gal tanks. They probably had a yard full of these tanks for the various models. I'll measure mine next time I'm in the belly of the beast to compare.

My tanks behave similarly...especially my stbd tank. It requires a slow fill to keep the pump from kicking off. I thought it was the vent, but replacing it and the vent line did not change anything.

My vent lines burp fuel so I use a Davis Instruments fuel catch bottle over the vent as I fill. It's held in place with 2 suction cups and I tether it to the boat. I place a small oil diaper in the bottle to absorb the fuel which is then easy to discard at the fuel dock.

I also installed fuel vent whistles in my vent lines to alert me when the tanks are full. They work very well.

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I did see fuel in water when I topped tanks off. Going to order one of those no spill bottles. Then I just have to get in lazarette and see where the vents are. ?

I talked to Lisa at Tanktender. I am really considering one of their systems to monitor the 4 fuel tanks and water tank. Seems install would be a breeze and I could locate the panel back in Master Stateroom for an easy run of those little nylon tubes.

Any thoughts on the Tank Tender?

Thanks guys for all the help!

Poo! The Davis No-Spill bottle is discontinued. But, I can still get one at "The No-Spill Store" online.

Tgmmarine.com/

Padre Geo, I measured my tanks and they match yours...17"H x 22"W x 76.5" L

Mine were replaced by the PO with aluminum tanks but he told me he had them made to the same dimensions to retain the 250 Gal total fuel capacity.

My 1984 34LRC has similar burping issues when filling; calls for a slow fill & patience. I bought the boat under the impression that I had 250 gal of fuel. Measurement shows it to be closer to 230 gal (115 gal each side). Gauges are a bit devious as well, so I use a dipstick marked in 1" increments. Works well for consumption calcs & to avoid spilling when refueling.

chc said:

My 1984 34LRC has similar burping issues when filling; calls for a slow fill & patience. I bought the boat under the impression that I had 250 gal of fuel. Measurement shows it to be closer to 230 gal (115 gal each side). Gauges are a bit devious as well, so I use a dipstick marked in 1" increments. Works well for consumption calcs & to avoid spilling when refueling.

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Well, no wonder you can make 23 Kts!! You're not carrying as much weight in fuel!! ...and at that speed, it just keeps getting better fast, right?

Capt. Jon,
Should have copies finished by Saturday. Just need an address to ship to. Manual is marked 1989.

Tellico Bob

Thanks Bob. I'll PM you with it.

TG said:

You are correct. The tanks if they are original should be 125 gallons each.

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When i bought my Californian new, the tank option was two 125 gal standard or 4 x 125's optional. I generally don't need that capacity, unless going up the inside passage to northern BC or AK. For the purpose of rolling over the fuel more often, I decided to burn off the fuel in two tanks, one port and one starboard, and close off the valves. Turned out to be a bad idea as it raised the stern of the boat to where rain water would accumulate on the deck when not under way. Would have had to re-ballast the boat and 250 gal of fuel = a lot of lead.

Good idea. Your owners manual is ready. just need instructions as to where you want me to ship it.

Bob, I sent you a private message with all my information a while back. Did you get it? If not I'll re-send it to you.