Helmsman 38E Build Hull 61

[amxr39]

I’ve got some samples of material for that. I think I’m going to do with a light gray to match my hull color. There are systems that attach the snaps to the hull with “double faced tape” made to hold very strong. Beats drilling holes in my boat. Is that what you did?

 

[FWT]

My canvas guy screws in snaps.

 

[amxr39]

I was checking out a boat at my marina Saturday and he had the 3M stick on snaps. Had them for several years and very happy. So I’m thinking of doing that.

 

[chanprr]

I was checking out a boat at my marina Saturday and he had the 3M stick on snaps. Had them for several years and very happy. So I’m thinking of doing that.

Sounds like something I'll consider also.

 

[amxr39]

She is now off the coast of Japan headed to the Panama Canal. On a container ship, of course.

 

[Doug_Snider]

She is now off the coast of Japan headed to the Panama Canal. On a container ship, of course.

I love the way they marked the hull number on the shrink wrap in big numbers. That would have spared our Hull #50 two trips through the Panama Canal on its way from Shanghai to Seattle.
There are webcams at some of the locks if you want to catch a glimpse. On the return trip from Florida, our boat was on a yacht transport and clearly visible as it transited the canal.

 

[KDT]

Sounds like something I'll consider also.

I used the 3M stick-ons last year. So far, no problems. My canvas guy gave me a few xtras in case but have not needed any. No screw holes in the cabin house!!

 

[Ric]

I've had them for privacy screens on our diesel duck since 2019 with no failures to date.

 

[Helmsman]

I love the way they marked the hull number on the shrink wrap in big numbers. That would have spared our Hull #50 two trips through the Panama Canal on its way from Shanghai to Seattle.
There are webcams at some of the locks if you want to catch a glimpse. On the return trip from Florida, our boat was on a yacht transport and clearly visible as it transited the canal.

I was thinking the same thing! …..

 

[amxr39]

16 days ago we arrive in Charleston to watch my beautiful 38E being unloaded from the container ship. After commissioning and a few problems with the Cummins QSB 6.7, we finally departed Charleston and made it to Wacca Wache.

 

[amxr39]

Had my bimini top installed as well as a bridge cover. I opted for a bluish grayish color canvas that we think goes well with our gray hull and blue accent stripes.

 

[amxr39]

We did 84 miles today in hot and humid weather. I don’t have a generator. I do have 3 solar panels and 5 house batteries. I had my pilothouse air conditioner power supplied through a switch that connects to the Multiplus inverter. Interestingly, my house batteries stayed at 100% after several hours of use. We were in and out of the clouds too. The 160 amp engine alternator likely picked up the extra power needs. Unfortunately, the wiring block diagram does not provide the details needed to determine this thought.

 

[Helmsman]

Congratulations! Beautiful boat. I wouldn’t rely on the 100% battery charge report. Look at the actual voltage. That will be more accurate. Click on the Show details hyper link on the Cerbo, and it should show voltage.

 

[FWT]

Congratulations. She looks terrific

 

[KMAL]

16 days ago we arrive in Charleston to watch my beautiful 38E being unloaded from the container ship. After commissioning and a few problems with the Cummins QSB 6.7, we finally departed Charleston and made it to Wacca Wache.

Super cool with the windows - that's a major modification, so nice to have the folks at Helmsman and the yard participate in your vision. What problems did you have with the Cummins?

 

[NSM]

Those windows look even better from the outside. Great addition.

 

[amxr39]

Congratulations! Beautiful boat. I wouldn’t rely on the 100% battery charge report. Look at the actual voltage. That will be more accurate. Click on the Show details hyper link on the Cerbo, and it should show voltage.

I have a Touch 70 display that shows state of charge and battery voltage.

Super cool with the windows - that's a major modification, so nice to have the folks at Helmsman and the yard participate in your vision. What problems did you have with the Cummins?

On sea trial, when we attempted wot, we had several low few pressure warnings as the motor surged. Cummins replaced the intermediate gear pump and high pressure injector pump. Upon testing, still had same problem. Cummins retightened all the lines from the common rail to each injector. Still had problems, though not as severe. Cummins thinks there are three faulty injectors. They are on back order. So, not resolved yet.
We decided to try heading north to Wacca Wache, but only made it 5 miles and the engine coolant temp went to 219. I found d a shredded raw water pump belt. We anchored and got towed back to Charleston. Cummins couldn’t respond quickly, but Zimmerman Marine came right out in the morning. They ordered a new belt plus a spare and installed it the next afternoon. So far, the belt has been holding up after 125 miles.

 

[twistedtree]

Someone else had a similar problem with a newly commissioned Helmsman/Cummins. Doug Snider, I think. I think his solution was the high pressure injector pump.

 

[Jklotz]

Boat looks great. Windows in the forward birth look great! Hope they get the teething problems sorted out soon. I'm sure they will.

 

[KMAL]

I have a Touch 70 display that shows state of charge and battery voltage. View attachment 156755View attachment 156755

On sea trial, when we attempted wot, we had several low few pressure warnings as the motor surged. Cummins replaced the intermediate gear pump and high pressure injector pump. Upon testing, still had same problem. Cummins retightened all the lines from the common rail to each injector. Still had problems, though not as severe. Cummins thinks there are three faulty injectors. They are on back order. So, not resolved yet.
We decided to try heading north to Wacca Wache, but only made it 5 miles and the engine coolant temp went to 219. I found d a shredded raw water pump belt. We anchored and got towed back to Charleston. Cummins couldn’t respond quickly, but Zimmerman Marine came right out in the morning. They ordered a new belt plus a spare and installed it the next afternoon. So far, the belt has been holding up after 125 miles.

Wow - not a comfortable start with Cummins - sorry to hear and hope you get to a great place with the engine in short order. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Helmsman]

I have a Touch 70 display that shows state of charge and battery voltage. View attachment 156755View attachment 156755

On sea trial, when we attempted wot, we had several low few pressure warnings as the motor surged. Cummins replaced the intermediate gear pump and high pressure injector pump. Upon testing, still had same problem. Cummins retightened all the lines from the common rail to each injector. Still had problems, though not as severe. Cummins thinks there are three faulty injectors. They are on back order. So, not resolved yet.
We decided to try heading north to Wacca Wache, but only made it 5 miles and the engine coolant temp went to 219. I found d a shredded raw water pump belt. We anchored and got towed back to Charleston. Cummins couldn’t respond quickly, but Zimmerman Marine came right out in the morning. They ordered a new belt plus a spare and installed it the next afternoon. So far, the belt has been holding up after 125 miles.

I really like the Cerbo being up top. Easy to check quickly without going into the cabin. The area behind the helm seat is a good place for it, with all of the room there is up there. You may want to post that in the Helmsman Hacks post. Great idea, and looks built in.

 

[Doug_Snider]

I have a Touch 70 display that shows state of charge and battery voltage. View attachment 156755View attachment 156755

On sea trial, when we attempted wot, we had several low few pressure warnings as the motor surged. Cummins replaced the intermediate gear pump and high pressure injector pump. Upon testing, still had same problem. Cummins retightened all the lines from the common rail to each injector. Still had problems, though not as severe. Cummins thinks there are three faulty injectors. They are on back order. So, not resolved yet.
We decided to try heading north to Wacca Wache, but only made it 5 miles and the engine coolant temp went to 219. I found d a shredded raw water pump belt. We anchored and got towed back to Charleston. Cummins couldn’t respond quickly, but Zimmerman Marine came right out in the morning. They ordered a new belt plus a spare and installed it the next afternoon. So far, the belt has been holding up after 125 miles.

We had problems with the Cummins engine on the day we brought the boat home from Lake Union. Early indications of a problem during commissioning were engine shutdowns immediately after starting. As we were leaving Shioshole Marina and approaching the opening in the breakwater, the engine quit and we started drifting toward the riprapped bank. I was able to get it restarted and we continued home. Cummins sent a tech who failed to impress us. It wasn’t until his fourth visit and the replacement of two pumps that the problem was solved. Up until then, he blamed leaky injectors, contaminated fuel, a bad actuator and bad filters. The Cummins regional service manager stepped in and we finally got some action. We are approaching 250 hours with no further problems. The problem was that the fuel was never reaching the demand pressure in the common rail. The engine would not run at WOT and faltered when the throttle was advanced too rapidly.

 

[amxr39]

We

We had problems with the Cummins engine on the day we brought the boat home from Lake Union. Early indications of a problem during commissioning were engine shutdowns immediately after starting. As we were leaving Shioshole Marina and approaching the opening in the breakwater, the engine quit and we started drifting toward the riprapped bank. I was able to get it restarted and we continued home. Cummins sent a tech who failed to impress us. It wasn’t until his fourth visit and the replacement of two pumps that the problem was solved. Up until then, he blamed leaky injectors, contaminated fuel, a bad actuator and bad filters. The Cummins regional service manager stepped in and we finally got some action. We are approaching 250 hours with no further problems. The problem was that the fuel was never reaching the demand pressure in the common rail. The engine would not run at WOT and faltered when the throttle was advanced too rapidly.

are not reaching adequate pressure at the common rail as well.

 

[amxr39]

Question for Helnsman owners. Much of the interior gelcoat has what appears to be calking smeared in many locations.
What did you use to remove it? Polish gets some of it, but the heavier deposits don’t budge.
Thank you.
Mike

 

[KMAL]

Question for Helnsman owners. Much of the interior gelcoat has what appears to be calking smeared in many locations.
What did you use to remove it? Polish gets some of it, but the heavier deposits don’t budge.
Thank you.
Mike

You can get solvents for caulking (Home Depot), however, I would test to make sure they do not damage your gelcoat.

 

[SIBERNUT]

The sticky snaps are called
"Snads", made by YKK zipper. Don't pay the $4 plus on eBay, my supplier sells them to me at $1.30 ea

 

[amxr39]

I’ve took delivery of my boat just a month ago. I have a question for others. Do you have a fair amount of rust on your staples, hawes cleats and mounting screws? I was surprised to see this. What have you done to clean it and does the rust return?
Thanks. Mike

 

[chanprr]

Very unfortunate. Usually clean with a rust remover. Dry and then polish with a good strong auto polish.
My 38E didn’t have this problem. The rails were tarnished at times but no visible rust.
From my discussions with Van over the past few months with the H46 build, Helmsman has changed some suppliers during the past year. That could have been a factor.
Thanks for your post.

 

[FWT]

Hit it with polish on a microfiber, then wax. Colonite and others make a stainless polish for the job but in a pinch gelcoat polish will do.

 

[KMAL]

I’ve took delivery of my boat just a month ago. I have a question for others. Do you have a fair amount of rust on your staples, hawes cleats and mounting screws? I was surprised to see this. What have you done to clean it and does the rust return?
Thanks. Mike

You should not be seeing rust on high quality stainless - for example the haws cleat. You should discuss with Scott to wither gain comfort or address an issue.