StarChaser
Veteran Member
Hello all,
Her name is Starchaser and she's an '82 carver 3607 Aft cabin with 2 9.0L Internationals with ~ 3500hr on them. I'm the 6th owner, the last guy used her as a floating playpen & office and rarely left the dock. She's been a Florida boat for most of her life before I got her.
In 2015 I got a new job that required me to move to Maryland, so my son & I took her from Tampa bay, across the Okeechobee, up the ICW & broke down from bad fuel in S Carolina. I've been working to get her fixed & back in the water since. We found blisters & a bad patch job when we hauled her out last August.
My intention is to get her from Beaufort to Baltimore this summer and haul her out again to do a complete overhaul. New wiring, new plumbing, new SS fuel, water & waste tanks (I can weld TG), add propane, heat, new SS railings, Hard Bimini over the Aft deck, Radar arch, etc, etc, etc. TONS of work, but in the end, a solid Loop Cruiser for me & SWMBO's retirement.
All of which brings me to 3 questions:
# 1 There is an original 6.7Kw Westerbeke with ~300 (yes, three hundred) hours on it. It's enough to run the boat with everything currently aboard. However, it will NOT run unless I'm underway. It shuts down after ~10 minutes. The manual even states that I should get underway as soon as possible after starting it. NOT very useful. Any ideas as to why? How can I fix it so it'll run when on the hook?
# 2 Since there is no heat aboard (3 16k btu MarineAires for A/C but they are horrible for heat), & a 18Gal hot water heater. I want to toss the electric HW & add 2 Propane heaters, and 2 tankless Propane Hot water heaters. (1 for the Salon/Galley/forward cabin, 1 for the Aft cabin.) I think I can use a self venting duct for them. (Hot exhaust is in a metal pipe inside the Fresh air supply pipe. Similar to what a exhaust riser does on an inboard engine.) Has anyone used propane heaters and/or tankless hot water or am I in uncharted waters?
# 3 I'm also concerned about the Colregs re: Propane. If I'm reading them right, I need to have a single valved line to each appliance with only 1 appliance per tank. Is this right, or can I use a single propane tank (in a gas proof locker) to a supply valved manifold and then to a valve from the manifold to the appliance line and a valve at each appliance? Total # of appliances is 6 (2 Heaters, 2 Hot water, 3rd backup power for frig, and a Bar-B-Que grill). The 2nd way seems safer since I can isolate each appliance at both ends, but it also adds more points for potential gas leaks. I would also have CO & Propane detectors in the Locker, Bilge, and at the Appliances.
Setup: {Propane Locker - Tank valve> regulator> manifold> Appliance cut off valves>} Lines> Appliance valve> Appliance
Thanx
John
Her name is Starchaser and she's an '82 carver 3607 Aft cabin with 2 9.0L Internationals with ~ 3500hr on them. I'm the 6th owner, the last guy used her as a floating playpen & office and rarely left the dock. She's been a Florida boat for most of her life before I got her.
In 2015 I got a new job that required me to move to Maryland, so my son & I took her from Tampa bay, across the Okeechobee, up the ICW & broke down from bad fuel in S Carolina. I've been working to get her fixed & back in the water since. We found blisters & a bad patch job when we hauled her out last August.
My intention is to get her from Beaufort to Baltimore this summer and haul her out again to do a complete overhaul. New wiring, new plumbing, new SS fuel, water & waste tanks (I can weld TG), add propane, heat, new SS railings, Hard Bimini over the Aft deck, Radar arch, etc, etc, etc. TONS of work, but in the end, a solid Loop Cruiser for me & SWMBO's retirement.
All of which brings me to 3 questions:
# 1 There is an original 6.7Kw Westerbeke with ~300 (yes, three hundred) hours on it. It's enough to run the boat with everything currently aboard. However, it will NOT run unless I'm underway. It shuts down after ~10 minutes. The manual even states that I should get underway as soon as possible after starting it. NOT very useful. Any ideas as to why? How can I fix it so it'll run when on the hook?
# 2 Since there is no heat aboard (3 16k btu MarineAires for A/C but they are horrible for heat), & a 18Gal hot water heater. I want to toss the electric HW & add 2 Propane heaters, and 2 tankless Propane Hot water heaters. (1 for the Salon/Galley/forward cabin, 1 for the Aft cabin.) I think I can use a self venting duct for them. (Hot exhaust is in a metal pipe inside the Fresh air supply pipe. Similar to what a exhaust riser does on an inboard engine.) Has anyone used propane heaters and/or tankless hot water or am I in uncharted waters?
# 3 I'm also concerned about the Colregs re: Propane. If I'm reading them right, I need to have a single valved line to each appliance with only 1 appliance per tank. Is this right, or can I use a single propane tank (in a gas proof locker) to a supply valved manifold and then to a valve from the manifold to the appliance line and a valve at each appliance? Total # of appliances is 6 (2 Heaters, 2 Hot water, 3rd backup power for frig, and a Bar-B-Que grill). The 2nd way seems safer since I can isolate each appliance at both ends, but it also adds more points for potential gas leaks. I would also have CO & Propane detectors in the Locker, Bilge, and at the Appliances.
Setup: {Propane Locker - Tank valve> regulator> manifold> Appliance cut off valves>} Lines> Appliance valve> Appliance
Thanx
John