Recent content by Bendit

I am seriously considering a Riviera 36 - not a trawler, I know. I had one of these 20 years ago, before Pioneer and it was a great boat. The main reason is the cost of berthing 53' versus 40'. Also, the maintenance on Pioneer is becoming a bit much for me now...

Have used white vinegar for cleaning the HE for 20 years. Turn the raw water sea-cock off. Fill the HE and leave it for a week. Turn the water back on and off you go. No need to drain the vinegar.

Probably won't make much difference. I just changed out a 10 fin impeller on my Kubota genset engine for a 5 fin - all I could get at the time - and the water volume appears to be pretty much the same. Unscientific I know!

Always used Donaldson on my Cat 3406

The “mechanism” is simply a permanent magnet glued into a hole drilled in the chain wheel. As this passes a sensor mounted on the windlass base plate, or on the deck, each turn is counted. The sensor has a couple of wires which you run to the counter. It’s quite simple - must be cos I’ve...

Yep, I’ve had a Cruz Pro for 19 years. It has never failed. Would never go back to counting thingies you can’t see in the dark. I know that the chain deploys at 1 meter per second - or near as dammit - so a wrist watch is my back up chain counter - if ever needed.

We’ve had a single for the last 19 years. Had one failure - starter motor solenoid. We were safely at anchor so wasn’t a dire situation but had to get towed home. Pioneer is an ex commercial vessel with a commercially rated Cat 3406, full length keel and fully protected prop and rudder...

Yep. Diesel is now around $2.60 a liter here in NZ. So we’ve slowed down from 9.2kn @ 1300 rpm to 8kn @ 1050 rpm. Fuel burn has gone from 18 lph to 10 lph [emoji846]

Flemings are magnificent but I really hanker after an Offshore 54($) or a 62 ($$$)

I have a Cat 3406 (15 liter). 2 group 31s in series (24V) crank it over plenty fast enough. Group 31s in parallel for a 12V system would be fine for a 12 liter engine.

In a tight spot it’s hard to beat the Mk 1 eyeball.

Does sound reasonable, but unless the plotter has been adjusted for night viewing, turning it on can cause instant night blindness. I know someone who had a collision in a crowded anchorage when a wind change had everyone moving to another bay. He blamed night blindness due to the plotter. I...

Your fridge/freezer will be the biggest user of Ah. Consumption will depend on the on/off cycle which will largely be driven by the ambient temperature. Your consumption is similar to my experience - about 40Ah over night at 24v. 80Ah equivalent at 12v.

I’ve been quite happy with a 300 nit display, so I imagine a 400 nit would be fine.

It is possible that the leak is from a weld in the tank. Often tanks have welds where the end panels are fitted. I have stopped a small leak by peening over the weld with a ball-peen hammer. For a bigger leak, I've used epoxy putty. These were in a 40 year old aluminum fuel tank, which doesn't...