Beneteau Swift Trawler 44

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Ole Hank said:
I added grommets to the bottom of the cushions and to the compartments that have no way to drain. Not sure how much it will help, I just did it a few weeks ago.
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Not sure that I understand.. any pictures?
 
I will be on the boat in another week and get you some at that time.
 
mystery said:
Thanks. My freezer sections on my Dometics on my other boat hold temps without issue but they are AC/DC, may play a part.



I dont think its feasible for me to store my cushions inside. They all are covered. Just trying to figure out proper cleaning and how to keep them from soaking up water like a sponge. I may try to get the foam wrapped in plastic (after they fully dry).
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I'd start simple with Simple Green and a scrub brush. Should clean up well.

As for foam, you could always have it replaced with open cell foam which is probably what the Sea Ray had if they didn't hold water. Will cost you though. Foam for cushions is preposterously expensive given what it is.
 
MichaelB1969 said:
I'd start simple with Simple Green and a scrub brush. Should clean up well.

As for foam, you could always have it replaced with open cell foam which is probably what the Sea Ray had if they didn't hold water. Will cost you though. Foam for cushions is preposterously expensive given what it is.
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Thanks will give that a try.

So yours absorb water as well and take forever to dry out?
 
Not sure, I've always had them covered. I did clean them once and hosed them down but I think they dried in a reasonable about of time when left in the sun in a vertical position (in other words, not flat).
 
The open cell is the way to go, but as Michael said its not cheap. The problem with my cushions and likely tours is the foam material, which sucks.
 
I had my Bimini replaced with Sunbrella for around $1,000. I try to Keep it out of Sun whenever possible.
 
rclarke246 said:
I had my Bimini replaced with Sunbrella for around $1,000. I try to Keep it out of Sun whenever possible.
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Oh so yours was not Sunbrella to begin with? Mine has a Sunbrella tag on it. Can't believe that my other boat's canvas was still going strong after 15+ years and this one was falling apart at less than two years old!
 
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Very impressed thus far with St-Barts yachts and Beneteau working to tackle my punch list of issues. I was very worried after a poor experience with Nautic Group (the dealer in TX) uncertain if it was a dealer issue or Beneteau not wanting to do warranty work (as they lead me to believe) but it looks like that was more of a dealer issue. I am getting more and more excited to complete the last 1,000 miles of my journey north and having a great summer aboard. Have some upgrades I want to do after the kinks are worked out. My buddy that joined for a part of the previous 1,800 mile trip is already looking to buy a Swift Trawler 35.
 
Anyone know what this canister is with the red lid and two wires coming out of the bottom?

Its mounted next to the AC junction box for my flybridge grill.

Thanks!
 

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air power for the horn
Add a few drops of oil each season
 
mystery said:
Very impressed thus far with St-Barts yachts and Beneteau working to tackle my punch list of issues. I was very worried after a poor experience with Nautic Group (the dealer in TX) uncertain if it was a dealer issue or Beneteau not wanting to do warranty work (as they lead me to believe) but it looks like that was more of a dealer issue. I am getting more and more excited to complete the last 1,000 miles of my journey north and having a great summer aboard. Have some upgrades I want to do after the kinks are worked out. My buddy that joined for a part of the previous 1,800 mile trip is already looking to buy a Swift Trawler 35.
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Unfortunately St-Barts says they do not have any time over the coming weeks to tackle any remaining issues. They did take care of the critical issues that would've prevented me from continuing my trip North so I guess that is something. I am going to try to fix a few things myself and will try reaching out to Beneteau directly to see if they will approve the other items if I can find a contractor (or parts, if I opt to fix things myself). The one nagging issue is that I am still having issues with the bathroom shower/sink drains. I think drilling a hole in the sump box to act as a vent may solve but I am then concerned if the sump fails to pump that will mean over flow into the bilge.
 
I originally had problems with showers and sinks and still do sporadically. I resolve the problem by pulling the filter in the showers and running a cleaning device that you can push down and it picks up hair etc. After that I put the shower hose and blow water down, use plunger as required. Seems to fix the problem for a few weeks. Also cleaned the sensor in the holding tank which had crud built up on it. Not sure if this helped but all runs good now.
 
Ole Hank said:
I originally had problems with showers and sinks and still do sporadically. I resolve the problem by pulling the filter in the showers and running a cleaning device that you can push down and it picks up hair etc. After that I put the shower hose and blow water down, use plunger as required. Seems to fix the problem for a few weeks. Also cleaned the sensor in the holding tank which had crud built up on it. Not sure if this helped but all runs good now.
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Thanks do the drain filters just pop off if I pull? I don't want to break it.. Also, do you mind sharing what cleaning device you use? You do the same on the sinks?
 
Shower drains have a basket and they pull out. The gadget we use we got from bed bath and beyond, it is for removing hair from sinks. They should be able to help you. Its about 2 feet long and looks like a large pipe cleaner.
 
I don't think my drain comes out.

I think I found the issue. There is a vent line that goes to a thru-hull on the starboard side. This vent line is very long has varying loops and appears to be clogged with water. The dealer's suggested fix is to cut the line and vent it in the bilge compartment where the sump is. I haven't tried that yet. I wonder if anything bad can happen with it venting in the bilge? Only thing I can think of is that the sump does not pump and it overflows.

Also, that got me thinking, do these above the water thru-hulls have any protection from water intrusion? I am now thinking about my fuel tank vents...
 
what is the vent line venting? Where does it start from?
 
Attaching picture with my findings. Now I should give the Dealer some credit as after I provided some pictures and insistence there is no clog or obstruction in the lines and everything drains as soon as the sump lid is cracked open, there must be a venting issue, they pointed out that there was a design flaw in certain ST 44's that were produced where the vent extended too far. They didn't mention water could get in but that is what I found. Is anyone with a ST44 newer than 2015 able to check their venting setup?

Also, note that my HVAC drain manifold attaches to one of the shower drains at an upward angle. That probably needs to be corrected and should probably be attached to its own fitting on the sump.

Now what really concerns me is the fuel tank vents are the same type of fitting, to the right of the starboard entry door. I had some water in one of my tanks (flushed out now after emptying fuel/water separators several times) but adding that at one point I had issues with splash back while fueling at high speed pumps, I am starting to think these fittings are not ideal as they let water in, the question is what would be used in place that would only allow air to vent but not water to get in?
 

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mystery said:
Attaching picture with my findings. Now I should give the Dealer some credit as after I provided some pictures and insistence there is no clog or obstruction in the lines and everything drains as soon as the sump lid is cracked open, there must be a venting issue, they pointed out that there was a design flaw in certain ST 44's that were produced where the vent extended too far. They didn't mention water could get in but that is what I found. Is anyone with a ST44 newer than 2015 able to check their venting setup?

Also, note that my HVAC drain manifold attaches to one of the shower drains at an upward angle. That probably needs to be corrected and should probably be attached to its own fitting on the sump.

Now what really concerns me is the fuel tank vents are the same type of fitting, to the right of the starboard entry door. I had some water in one of my tanks (flushed out now after emptying fuel/water separators several times) but adding that at one point I had issues with splash back while fueling at high speed pumps, I am starting to think these fittings are not ideal as they let water in, the question is what would be used in place that would only allow air to vent but not water to get in?
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I can confirm the issue with the draining was the vent. I removed the connection to the sump temporarily and it drains without issue. I will be re-routing / fixing the vent line in the near future as well as probably connecting the HVAC manifold to its own port / fixing the angle on it.
 
Anyone have issues with their windshields when wearing sun glasses? I see spots on all the windows. It is very annoying and was causing eye strain as we were operating 8-10 hours a day. Attached is a picture of what I see.
 

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Where is the vent line from the lowers sinks & showers?

I do have to be careful of high volume fuel pumps. Had a geyser early on.

Any info is always appreciated. Thanks
 
Got the same issue with my windshield.
 
rclarke246 said:
Where is the vent line from the lowers sinks & showers?

I do have to be careful of high volume fuel pumps. Had a geyser early on.

Any info is always appreciated. Thanks
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Its the one on the sump that I circled in red in the picture in my prior post. I heard that Beneteau may have changed the vent design a few times.

What happened with your fuel pump?
 
rclarke246 said:
Got the same issue with my windshield.
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Just cheap euro tint? Never had such an issue before on any boat or car that I have owned. Maybe it just got to me after running so many hours each day but I don't look forward to staring through it while enroute to some of our favorite spots that are ~4 hours each way...
 
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Project I am working on now is upgrading the house battery bank. Looks like I will go with 10 x 6v golf car batteries = 5 pairs to make 12 v. I am trying to figure out the weight of each lead ballast brick on the port side and how to remove one. Looks like there are 14 of them. Might be 5200 that is cementing them in? I want to remove one to weigh. Potentially put some additional batteries there and rest down in the bilge area replacing the existing house and moving the engine bank slightly to accommodate the remaining 4. Should give me 1,075 amps at 20 hour rating or 50% of usable capacity = 537.5. Hopefully enough to be on the hook or a mooring for a few days without having to run the generator constantly.
 
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mystery said:
Anyone have issues with their windshields when wearing sun glasses? I see spots on all the windows. It is very annoying and was causing eye strain as we were operating 8-10 hours a day. Attached is a picture of what I see.
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You're looking through polarized sunglasses and polarized boat windows. You can get non-polarized sunglasses like Ray Ban for interior use and then use the polarized for exterior use.
 
FlyWright said:
You're looking through polarized sunglasses and polarized boat windows. You can get non-polarized sunglasses like Ray Ban for interior use and then use the polarized for exterior use.
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Thought I tried a non-polarized pair too and had the same issue. Problem is I have prescription sunglasses so that means I'd have to get a second frame and Rx lenses for interior use which seems a bit ridiculous. I don't have this issue in any car or boat I've been in before. Does that mean most don't use polarization on their windshields and for some strange reason Beneteau opted to?
 
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