Recent content by DavidM

A non licensed handyman often can do a better job than a full time “mechanic”. I never heard of a handyman’s work voiding a warranty. David

The bow thruster is probably wired to the two main batteries. They are old and use of the bow thruster pulls the voltage down and trips your electronics. This can be confirmed with a voltmeter on the batteries terminals while you use the bow thruster. If the voltage drops to 11.0 volts or...

An 8 kW generator should be able to run at least two 16,000 btu/hr A/Cs, probably three and still have some left over for a microwave or ??? Most boaters install too much generator capacity. David

Consider anchoring at Liberty State Park to push a little farther. Barnegat to Sandy Hook is a short run. But maybe you want to stick to marinas and NJ marinas in that area are obscene- $6/ft. Great boat, BTW. David

The DD 8.2 gets a bad rep but there are ways to minimize problems. The first is to run them slow. That engine will run nearly forever at displacement speeds. The second is to install a vent line for the cooling system on the #6 cylinder. At heavier loads a gas pocket can develop on #6, and...

You cannot retrofit the 34T’s forward berth to a true, rectangular Queen. There is not enough space. I am 5’-9” and it was fine with me, but your 6’-1” could be tight. You really should go look at one yourself and also determine whether the overhead clearance in the salon is ok. The MS 34T is...

I had a NexGen 3.5 kW unit in my MS Pilot 34. Engine runs at 2,800 rpm and a belt drives generator at 3,600. Good compromise. Simple, reliable design. Uses a Kubota diesel as I recall. David

Why a 10 amp fuse? Safe, conservative choice with 100 watt panel that has a maximum current output of 7-8 amps. Fuses are cheap to replace if the OP adds another panel. David

Wire the positive output of the controller to the 12V positive and the negative to the 12V negative of the batteries. Put a 10 amp fuse in the positive lead near the batteries. Use 10 gauge wire. David

:thumb: David

Be careful at 9+ kts. At that speed you are beginning to “climb over the hump” which puts extra stress on the engine and significantly increases fuel consumption. With that engine you really have a displacement trawler. I had a MS 34T (a similar boat) with the Yanmar 370 hp engine. It was just...

1. Balmar is a top brand, but expensive. There are other externally regulated alternators, but don’t know about quality. 2.Definitely go with external regulator and temp sensor. 3. Solar can be added at anytime. Wire the controller’s output directly (through an appropriately sized fuse) to the...

You can extrapolate the curve backwards from 1,400 to 1,000 rpm and come close. Maybe 3 gph and 35 hp per engine. Note that that is about 11 hp per gph which is much lower than the 16 hp per gph of most diesels at the midpoint of the power curve. But the poorer specific fuel consumption is...

Did you own a Shannon sailboat? One of my favorites, so their trawlers should also be nice. David

You could wire the panels all in parallel which would limit shading interaction among the panels. But you have to have a controller that can accept the higher current and a wire gauge big enough to limit the voltage drop. David