34' LRC opinions

[knbmabry]

Hello!

I am considering purchasing this 34' LRC and I am asking other owners for they're thoughts and advice.*

My first concerns are the absence of a generator, It does have trojan batteries and invertor.

No furnace and tight birth. thinking of adding heat/ac unit?

Remodeling the two birth's to a larger one birth as it is just the two of us.

Welcome any input!

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/pl_boat_detail.jsp?&units=Feet&id=2440712&lang=en&slim=broker&&hosturl=royalmarinesales&&ywo=royalmarinesales&


-- Edited by knbmabry on Monday 26th of March 2012 11:22:04 PM

 

[Edelweiss]

So are those Volvo engines or something else?* Hard to tell from the pics. Must have been repowered at some point as in 79 they were probably still putting Perkins in them.

I'm sure the guys on here with 34's will tell you they are a great boat.* Californians are well built and very seaworthy.* Maybe they can give you an idea on price comparisons too.

If you're adding a/c, you're probably going to have to upgrade to a generator, which is a good idea anyway.

Larry B


-- Edited by Edelweiss on Monday 26th of March 2012 11:48:41 PM

 

[knbmabry]

Yes, repowered with Volvos TAMD41PA mid 90's with under 600 hours, very clean engine room, I just wish it had a generator, I want the ability to be self contained at anchor and am not sure how long the batteries will last running an invertor. I have been searching and researching for quite some time and finding a boat of this size and caliber with diesels in this price range has been hard to find.
Keith

 

[Fighterpilot]

Look the fuel tanks over very closely. If they haven't been replaced, leakage is a possibility, if not now than later. We bought a 1982 in last fall with a known leaking fuel tank. We cut it out vice cutting the deck. Our generator is located aft between the fuel tanks on center line so there is ample room if you decide to install. Ours is a Westerbeke 4.4, 2 cylinder, vibrating machine.
You won't have the air conditioning requirements we have here in Florida, but a 4.4KW with a 16,000BTU air conditoner down here just isn't enough. In your neck of the woods the genny and a/c would probably be fine. Join boatdiesel.com for the best in diesel advice and information. Also pretty good for the other systems as well. Also, a good source for advice on selection of hardware such as generators. One of the moderators has been in the boat business for 30 years out there in Calif. and is highly respected so a great source of information.

Your boat looks clean and well cared for. Much more so than the one we bought, but we paid less than half of that asking price. We knew we were getting a project boat but we had the time and money to work it. We searched for 6 months, and for the most part found the $50000s at the price range on the lower end. Found our boat on Ebay after he had cut the price in half and a bonus it was close to home so minimal get it home costs. The boat seems to be well built and handle well. Children friendly with the deep walkaround capability. We have the 3208NAs and see about 16knots cruise at 2400rpm.

 

[FlyWright]

Keith,

Welcome to the forum!* Lots of Californian owners here, so you'll hopefully get lots of good advice to this thread.

Like FP said, the fuel tanks seem to be the achilles heal of the 34.* The prop shafts sling water onto the tanks encouraging corrosion.* I see 'your' boat has shields deflecting this water away from the tanks.* Many have converted to dripless shaft logs for this reason.*

Mine is a 1977 model without*a generator.* We use a Honda 2000 to supplement when needed on anchor for a few days.* I'm also adding a 100A alternator to charge my new 660AH house bank.* I run a 1200W *inverter for mainly microwave,*shop vac*and coffee maker.* I have propane for stove/oven and a 12v/110v fridge.* With this new battery bank, electrical capacity is not a problem.*

I also have no heat or air conditioning.* I don't know your intended use or location, but we find that having no air is not really an issue, even in the CA Delta where it often get over 100.* The days are spent outside and in the water and evenings are cool and that allows us to sleep well.* In the winter, we have small ceramic heaters we can use on shore power or with the Honda generator.* I also have a portable propane heater with O2 senser and tipover protection that warms the boat nicely on cold mornings.*

I agree that the midship berth is tight and awkward since it's not an island bed.* We*have fwd bunks which make a perfect storage area that we'd miss if they we gone.*

The boat has a reputation for being stout and very seaworthy.* The hull is VERY thick and strong.* I like the fact that you've got a re-engined vessel there with low time engines that should last you a lifetime.* Great hardtop and canvas over the cockpit.* That will add a lot of living space to your boat in cool/wet weather.* Not many 34's have that feature.* Also, your transom gate is a big plus!*

Things I'd look for:*

Sagging deck at aft pilothouse corners

Leaking or corroding fuel tank

Substandard wiring by previous owners over the years

This photo*shows sanitation hoses.*

There appear to be some lightweight, flexible corrugated hoses there that might not be intended for sanitation system use.* I can't quite make out the function of the one at the bottom that sags like a trap then exits to the right, but it looks like a smell problem.* That whole thing is an 'interesting' managerie of parts.* Is that a 110v romex wire there between the hoses?

BTW, I have the same grey non-skid on my boat and it gets very hot to the bare foot in the summer sun.

Keep us posted on your boat quest.

 

[Alaskahick]

Clean looking boat. Ditto on the sagging rear deck at the corners of the cabin. The PO of mine had installed extra supports in the engine room to control that sagging. No sagging, no puddles.

I don't have a built in generator either and will be using a Honda 2000. No AC for me, I just need to charge batteries on long camping trips and run the microwave once in awhile. A heater is a requirement up here so I'll be installing an Espar within the next year.

The admiral and I purchased Spirit last fall in Everett, WA after shopping for about a year. I was really looking at single engine trawlers but with the remote cruises here in AK I was pleased when I came across these twin engine beauties. One goes down and I can still get back to port. Life is good.

Mine was in excellent shape with lots on upgrades and rebuilt Perkins (only 1700 hours on them) and I got a screaming deal. The price yours is at is what they were running last summer.

 

[Peter B]

Over all, looks like a damn nice boat that have been well looked after. Old teak deck has been replaced by fibreglass and non-skid like mine, so as long as the tanks are ok, as someone else mentioned, it does not look like there should be too much else wrong come survey time.

 

[FlyWright]

... Old teak deck has been replaced by fibreglass and non-skid like mine...

The 34 Californian LRC originally came with fiberglass/non-skid decks, not teak. If there are teak decks out there on this model, it was a retrofit.