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Lots of good advice and perspective here. The one part I’m not following is the assertion that the AGM and LiFePO4 must be on separate chargers due to needing different charging profiles, when other people say it’s fine to use the AGM setting for charging LiFePO4. I wonder if we’re splitting...

Oof. Well, further rsearch indicates that LiFePO4 might be fine for house batteries, but will NOT work as my starter battery, due to discharge limits placed by the BMS. I guess I still need AGM for that one. Hope I can mix types on the same charging system.

Agree with optimizing charging as much as possible. But main gains are: 1. Significantly lighter weight batteries for tight quarters in ER (47lbs ea vs 140lbs ea). 2. Keeping same form factor and wiring, but with much less weight, means I can DIY, saving significant cost. 3. I have found that...

I have 3x 8D AGM 200Ah each. They are about 10 years old now and are no longer holding a strong charge (engine struggles to turn over on start). Plan is to replace them with LiFePO4 of same specs (200Ah, same dimensions). Charger is Xantrax Trucharge 40+, doesn’t have Li setting, but does have...

How do I find a good broker for selling an older trawler (Seattle area)? There are plenty that are happy to sell your $500K boat, but what about one that will still do a good job advising and selling for a $50K boat?

Anyone know what brand/model of raw water strainer this is? It’s got a cracked cover and is leaking. I’m trying to find a replacement part. It’s on a Ponderosa 35 (CHB).

Thanks, I think yore exactly right. This fits all the evidence points. Temp patch for now to stop the intrusion, then bigger resolution once I can haul out.

Bilge pump is only cycling every 45min or so, so not too bad. I’ll be in Friday Harbor tomorrow, can probably get a temp patch there (for the inside layer anyway).

To be clear, this is well below the waterline, and water is coming in from below, so I’m not going to be able dry and patch it. I’ll need to track down something that can cure underwater. But I do not believe this is a spot directly exposed to the exterior. It’s sitting almost directly along...

In the middle of a long 11hr run to the San Juan’s. Noticed bilge pump was running more than normal. Found a leak in the aft cabin bilge floor, right about centerline. There is a fingernail-sized chip of fiberglass missing and water is percolating up through it. This is aft of the stuffing...

I have a Ponderosa 35 (CHB class) with a single Ford Lehman engine and Borg-Warner Velvet Drive transmission. Not sure if these all have the same prop shafts... I need to install a new shaft anode (old one seems to have been lost), and I don’t know what size to get. Shaft diameter? Length? Style?

I returned to my boat after a couple weeks absence, and discovered a puddle of power steering fluid sitting below the wheel of my upper helm. This happened while it was not being used. I’ve never had so much as a drop leak before. What could have caused this?

Yep, I found the exact same. Lots of pots 10-15nm out, but didn’t see any more once fathoms dropped past about 100. 20nm out is a pretty safe distance.

Yep, mine went overnight, actually closer to 40hrs, went 20-25NM offshore.

I appreciate all the comments on this thread. Certainly the recommendations on the importance of timing with tides and weather were valuable. My original intent however was to talk about the boats. Most of the commenters have been people who made the trip in big bluewater boats, sailboats, or...

Thanks for the feedback, Greg. You're right, there are other components. I have the J300 Junction Unit and the RFC300 Heading Sensor, as well as other devices for rudder feedback and control which are functioning normally. There haven't been any physical changes impacting this system, other...

After years of faithful service, my Robertson AP300DL Autopilot suddenly gave me an error that it does not detect any compass input. I checked all the physical wiring, everything looks good. And all other features are functional (except obviously cannot autosteer now). Looking for other...

+1 on Shrew’s strategy. This works very well for us, especially on the departure.

Responding in the CHB forum to my original post... I took my CHB (Ponderosa 35) across the Columbia River Bar and up the Washington coast through the Straits of Juan de Fuca and into the Puget Sound. So yes, it can. I waited for good weather: swells 4ft/10sec, wind waves 2ft/4sec, and hit the...

What are the recommendations for transiting from the ocean around Cape Flattery and into the Straits of Juan de Fuca? I guess riding in on a flood is still advisable?

Thanks, that’s a good point. A swell with a broad period is more like an elevator than an escalator.

I’m getting ready to take my boat north up to the Puget Sound in the next couple weeks. I’ll of course look for a good weather window. But I notice swells are almost always straight out of the west, meaning they’ll be directly across my beam the whole way up. Given my rolly single engine...

If you are at all interested in bourbon, this is a fantastic documentary: Neat: The Story of Bourbon https://watch.amazon.com/detail?asin=B079VQ95BS

It’s all whiskey of course. So if I’m just referring generically that’s fine. But I certainly do distinguish for my own tastes. I typically feel like bourbon or rye, and sometimes Irish. I rarely drink Scotch or Canadian. There are a lot of amazing bourbons such as Blantons, EH Taylor, Angel’s...

This topic is near and dear for me. I’ll be crossing (out) for the first time next month in my single engine 35’ CHB trawler. I have studied EXTENSIVELY, but nothing beats experience. I’m only going to cross in good conditions, so I’m to the point where I’m not so worried about the bar itself...