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People who live in glass houses .... You of all people should understand. I strongly doubt the "major bugs" claim but - if it is true - have you reported them? And if not why not?

I dunno where you boat but its obviously not in Georgia Strait.

I was there last year but we won't make it this year. I was generally underwhelmed last year but our absence is due to scheduling not ennui.

In addition to condensate not getting blown off, which has already been discussed, extended idling can lead to oil dilution with diesel fuel. The process is that incomplete combustion in a cold chamber leaves unburnt fuel to work its way down the cylinders. In the big scheme of things most of...

You're no dumbass - you wouldn't be asking the questions if you were. I posted this link on the other thread. I think its a good primer to start to understand some of the issues around charging and different battery technologies. Your start batteries are important - without them you don't go...

Its hard to imagine a situation where what your highly respected advisor is recommending would be the best choice. You haven't told us enough about your installation to give you much advice but assuming you have a house battery bank that is larger than your starting bank the advice you are...

I don't think its so much that they are unsuited for AGM batteries as that any internally regulated alternator is a poor choice for charging deep cycle batteries. There used to be a site called Phrannie.org which did an excellent job of explaining all the various factors that influence the...

Its typically better to replace all the batteries that will be charged together at the same time. Obviously that doesn't always happen. Personally I try to have my batteries identical and the same age. YMMV. I'm sure someone will chime in to tell you that what you want to do will work just...

With respect I don't think its a very good setup and just because the P.O. did something doesn't preclude you improving it. In a nutshell, battery banks should be large enough that you never discharge them past 50% and ideally less than that. Their lifespan goes up exponentially as you...

The last time I compared flooded cells were definitely cheaper watts. But unless you are prepared to religiously do the maintenance don't go there. I have flooded cells on Gray Hawk and AGMs on my bus. When the flooded cells come due for replacement I will replace them with AGMs - the extra...

"Rough water" is water that is worse than what you are comfortable going out in. Its a moving target for everybody and more so between individual captains. Perula is a little fishing village south of Puerto Vallarta where a few diehard gringo fishermen like to hang out in the winter. They...

What Peter said - start NOW. People tend to continue the patterns of their life into retirement. Sure there's the occasional few who make drastic lifestyle changes but most people do the same things they did while they were working, they just stop going to work regularly. So if they did a lot...

I am unaware of any such cutoff as it relates to the specific situation you propose. Transient dock space is $xx per foot times whatever length you are prepared to admit to and can get away with claiming. In the summer in the Pacific Northwet $xx is $1.50 to $3 per foot. The larger the...

I'm not as disciplined about it as I should be but I try to keep routes and tracks and on a thumb drive so they are easy to move back and forth between my "regular" laptop and the nav laptop. And I agree, having quick access to the software and charts on my regular computer is wonderful. I've...

If you are talking about the CHS charts then you need to install the BSB4 plugin to view them in OpenCPN. Do a search on the OpenCPN sub-forum on Cruiser's Forum or look on OpenCPN.org for directions. I've found that plugin to be not entirely intuitive but it does work well once you get it...

At some level you have asked "how long is a piece of string?" but I understand that you have to start your search somewhere. Everybody's need for space is different. We came to Gray Hawk after 4 years living full time in a 40' by 8' motorcoach so our perception was that a 43 foot vessel was...

For a lot of boaters the decision is not whether to go out in snotty weather but whether to go out at all. I can't count the number of boats in our marina that I have literally never seen untied from the dock. These are (apparently) seaworthy boats that get looked after, just never used. It...

Your picture is there. Post or don't post, we'll all survive.

Bragging rights? We have 6500 watts and we never work it hard. No AC but an all electric galley. For the size of boat you are considering I think 6 to 8 kw would be ideal. And some limited solar capacity to float the batteries at anchor.

I think the oil coolers are less than $100 each at Fisheries. No way I'd put them back on if the hose ends are so worn that they are collapsing as you pull the hoses off.

That's worth knowing. The farmer in me thought I was saving them by not using them.

I guess there's also a measureable chance that an EMP will take out my entire electronics suite but there's some risks I'm prepared to live with.

This is a very timely thread because I'm recuperating after getting the sh*t beat out of me yesterday crossing Georgia Strait. Once again AGENDA + BOAT = TROUBLE. I've got some friends coming into Vancouver early next week and a buddy who is going to scrape his bottom up at McNabb Creek on a...

I haven't read the 4th edition yet. I have read Beebe's original and the Nordhavn edition (3rd). I know Denis, just haven't got around to buying his edition. I strongly recommend reading the 1st, 3rd and 4th editions. My understanding is that the 1st and 2nd editions are very similar BICBW...

Or maybe the operating pressure of an aux pump is sufficient to open inline check valves. :banghead