New Manatee owner

[Lbkrra]

I'm a new member and the new owner of Mango Mama, a36 Kadey Krogen Manatee. We love the boat but are changing the name, so look for us as Aquasition. The prior owner did a wonderful job upgrading the living area of the yacht,but left the pilot house for the future ......that would be the area that I would like to ask advice about.
The pilot house physically(the structure) needs upgrading. Nav equipment is sparse at best...auto pilot ,depth, compass,and
Normal Volvo engine gages. Basically the whole nav panel needs rearranging and upgrading.Does anyone have ideas about the best way to go about this pilot house transformation?

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[O C Diver]

I'm a new member and the new owner of Mango Mama, a36 Kadey Krogen Manatee. We love the boat but are changing the name, so look for us as Aquasition. The prior owner did a wonderful job upgrading the living area of the yacht,but left the pilot house for the future ......that would be the area that I would like to ask advice about.
The pilot house physically(the structure) needs upgrading. Nav equipment is sparse at best...auto pilot ,depth, compass,and
Normal Volvo engine gages. Basically the whole nav panel needs rearranging and upgrading.Does anyone have ideas about the best way to go about this pilot house transformation?

Would suggest you pm Healhustler on this forum. A Manatee owner and very knowledgeable on most things Manatee. His pics of rare manatee images such as the only manatee catamaran are legendary on this forum.

Ted

 

[markpierce]

... Basically the whole nav panel needs rearranging and upgrading.Does anyone have ideas about the best way to go about this pilot house transformation?

Do a mock-up.

First photo was builder's first attempt. Final arrangement per me. Oriented navigation displays (radar, horn control, GPS, and searchlight control, as opposed to autopilot, fuel meter, rudder angle, and depth/fish finder) on the side a co-helmsman can access.

 

[Wxx3]

welcome aboard.
There is also a strong manatee group on krogen Cruisers.

Richard

 

[HiDHo]

Welcome aboard. We have done some re-fitting to our pilothouse but left the orginal setup for the engine gauges. Have added cushions, red/white over head light fixture, Furuno GPS, Radar, lose of engine cooling water alarm, icom VHF and helm seat. Have plans to replace the center tilt out window and either replace canvas/eisenglass or do sliders.

 

[Moonstruck]

It looks as if we are getting enough Manatees to make a group. Why don't you guys start a group in the "Trawler Builders Forum", and call it--------The Manatee Zone.

 

[healhustler]

Don's not far off.....we are getting a few over here. Trouble is that if we start something like Don suggests, the thread will be full of Manatee wannabe's like Don!

Anyway, welcome aboard new Manatee owners. Mango Mama is a good boat, and if the helm-pilothouse area is your biggest concern, I envy you guys.

Mark's idea of a mock-up is also what I'm doing. The Manatee helm area is an ideal rigid platform for modern mods and takes well to making new holes and patching of old ones. Consider whether or not you're going to use a helm chair and where your eye level would be. Screens could be easily built in or set on pedestals. You already know that visibility from a Manatee helm may be the best four corner view in any two-deck trawler. The view forward is unimpeded. If you're buying new electronics, try them out in the positions you think you'd like to have them and check the forward view while sitting and standing. Quite a bit of compromise is OK if you use pedestals and large screens, but the white fiberglass finish reflects a lot of light. Even new KK owners have blacked out some helm areas that caused eye stress. Keep us informed.

 

[Moonstruck]

Don's not far off.....we are getting a few over here. Trouble is that if we start something like Don suggests, the thread will be full of Manatee wannabe's like Don!

Larry, how did you guess? Well there maybe a little Manatee envy here.

 

[Lbkrra]

Manatee pilot house redo

Mark and Larry,
Thanks for your thoughts and input. The mock up idea is great for the nav instruments and I will work on that. The pilot house structure seems to offer a great opportunity for improvement. Have any of you thought about how you would like to rework the pilot house? I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about the best ways to make it more substantial and comfortable.......maybe even enlarging it. Has anyone air conditioned the pilot house effectively? Is it even possible? The roof on the pilot house of Mango Mama holds water, has anyone delt with that problem in a reasonably economical way? What was the solution?
Thanks all for your knowledgable advice.

 

[Moby Nick]

Just returned from a Florida vacation where we saw a t-shirt with "I love Manatees; they taste like chicken".

 

[HiDHo]

Water on the pilothouse roof, Larry took his completely apart so he can fill you in on any roof repairs.
You will find out by trial and soaking the best position to be in to avoid the waterfall when accessing the pilothouse port or starboard side.
I used black or dark grey instruments and have not found the reflection to be a problem.
Don the Manatee Zone sign is very appropriate since it's very hard to make a wake, don't know how many jet ski people have raced out on to be disappointed by the lack of wake the Manatee hull produces.
Bill

 

[healhustler]

Mark and Larry,
. The pilot house structure seems to offer a great opportunity for improvement. Have any of you thought about how you would like to rework the pilot house? I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about the best ways to make it more substantial and comfortable.......maybe even enlarging it. Has anyone air conditioned the pilot house effectively? Is it even possible? The roof on the pilot house of Mango Mama holds water, has anyone delt with that problem in a reasonably economical way? What was the solution?
.

Bob: You've got a lot on your plate with any 80's trawler and the Manatee is no exception. The question is: How much can you modify the boat without ruining the assets of the vessel. The CG of the vessel is excellent and its handling is something I would want to preserve in whatever mods I make. Rebuilding a roof, adding new electronics, and especially extending the pilothouse are all things that really need close monitoring to preserve the CG and roll rate as much as possible. My boat is a North-Sea style hard pilothouse with a 4 ft. longer roof, sliding windows and about 12 ft. more of aluminum framing with no obvious issues, even when caught in a 6 ft. confused chop. I can't comment on how she rolls compared to a conventional pilothouse version because I haven't been behind one to make any comparison. But I have to figure there must be another 150 to 200 lbs. of pilothouse weight, and most of it up top.

A/C to the Pilothouse is also something I'll be doing in the next couple of months, but I'll be staying away from the marine roof-top units for the concerns mentioned above. Extending the Pilothouse is something I've been collecting information about for some time now, but the extension will need to involve using lighter, stronger materials than the original. Most Manatees have a low spot along side or at the rear of the pilothouse, probably due to years of mast and boom use and gradual weakening of the deck from core moisture and the weight of the pilothouse itself. As you can see, the pilothouse aft corners and the mast are located right over the center of the salon windows. It would be remiss to do any pilothouse extension without giving due attention to those issues, if they exist.

I think the Manatee has excellent reserve stability and responds well to custom modifications. Still, when I took the stripe off mine, I did get some flack from other owners. This boat is still an appreciating asset if you take good care of it. Now that they are getting old, maybe necessity will allow us to do some other improvements while still preserving it's value, but there will always be the purists that look for the most original boat they can find.

 

[healhustler]

I was just walking around the marina just up the street and was surprised to find Mango Mama parked out at the end. Bob....if you're still visiting here on Trawler Forum, give me a shout over the PM. I live right here in Bay Isles, Longboat Key (on the compound of Longboat Moorings Marina). I should have my boat over here in a month or so. You should probably look at my pilothouse structure before you make any mods to Mango Mama.