1985 the boat that started it all. 1961 Lyman wood lapstrake. 40 HP Johnson. Leaked like crazy when it went in the water until the wood swelled. I remember this boat because I went to Provincetown once from Plymouth. Had 12 gallons of gas. NO radio a screwy compass you had to tap to get it to move and ibises a Phillips 66 gas station road map to plot my course. I made it to P Town and circled around and figured I was still on the first gas can so I headed home without getting gas. I had a spare 6 gallons right? About 20 minutes out of P Town the can went dry. I switched over and continued on my way. However got some rough seas. Made it back to the boat ramp on fumes. Yes to be young and reckless again! She is tied down for Hurricane Bob

Need to replace battery. Chargers for AGM. Advice on battery needed?

Looking at a 1986 4207. Owner claims he had the starboard engine rebuilt for about $12,000. Is that a reasonable price? Boat is in Seabrook/Kemah TX.
Thanks,
Bob

Is there a chart of fuel consumption at different sppeeds/RPMs? Coming from a sailing background where that was never an issue.
Thanks,
Bob

Are there any particular issues to look at? It has the Mercruiser 350s.
Thanks,
Bob

I got the O’Sea vinyl today, along with proper tools. My rex 607Z (Sailrite clone) is at teh ready. However, I am at a loss of direction. My panels I am replacing the vinyl in are pretty well made. I was told to stitch the new over the old, however, I don't think this will look good.

I know some say if I remove the old vinyl, I may lose the shape. SO, I was thinking of taping the old panel down to a table so shape is preserved. Use the seam ripper and remove the old vinyl. Use as a pattern, use basting tape to slide the new vinyl into the fabric channel. The Sunbrella is still pretty stiff, so it is not floppy. Then once fastened in with the tape on bOTH sides, remove from the table and stitch in. Here is what the side panel looks like. Ides? Advice?..To be continued!

Hi all! Our NovaKool (RFU8000) on our 2002 396 has been working intermittent recently when supplied only from DC power. On AC power it works great with no issues.

I pulled the unit out and pulled all connections, cleaned them and verified no corrosion issues at the fridge. The only issue I found was a low voltage of 11.7 - 11.8VDC at the input to the electrical box where AC and DC come together. House voltage was 12.4VDC at the time. So at this point I am thinking a ground/corrosion issues on the feed.

I then called NovaKool - great customer service BTW - just to make sure there was nothing else I should be looking at while I had it removed (that thing is heavy!). He said his concern was the low voltage and said the unit has a low-voltage protection cutout at 11.4VDC. Other than that he said the compressor is a DC unit and since it is working fine on AC then the converter and "black box" seem to be working okay.

So I have been chasing down wiring now and per the DC schematic the red wire runs straight from the DC panel to the fridge. But, I am not sure where the black wire ties in. I am guessing it goes to a bus bar somewhere but I am not sure where.

I found a common DC grounding bar in the engineroom on centerline all the way forward on the bulkhead and removed/cleaned/reinstalled each of those connections (10 total) but no change.

Are there other DC grounding bars that I haven't found that I can go after? How easy is it to pull open the DC panel on a 396 (i.e. are wires long enough)? Any other words of wisdom?

Electrical gremlins!!

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post - just trying to give as much info as possible.

need spiral staircase to swim platform

Hi Everyone,

My Name is Andy, I just joined this group. I have a 1987 27' Carver Montego. I have owned it for a couple of years. I do have some maintenance issues that I could use some help addressing if anyone has any info. The Vacu flush seems to have lost is seal maybe. It has some backflow and when I pump it out I have to put a stopper in the toilet to create a vacuum for pump out.

Holy Cow, I must live under a rock. Never heard of this or seen one before but it seems like this device may be mandatory. Not that I am going to comply but wanted to get other peoples experiences regarding this elusive black ball. Have been inspected and boarded several times by coast guard and usually pass with flying colors. https://www.boatsnews.com/story/28786/i ... -mandatory