Do most people use a water filter and if so, do you use them for the dock water and/or filling the tank?

We generally use bottled water for any cooking or drinking but I am curious about an option to use the "boat water."

I have a 1999 450 Pilothouse and have a water question. When we are at dock, we use the shore water which pressurizes all o four fixtures. With the cold weather we recently had, they shut down the water to save the pipes which meant we did not have water.

I guess I do not yet know how to turn on the pump to pull from the fresh water tank. The main panel was in the on position and I looked in the engine room for another switch but did not find one. I must be missing something, any thoughts as to where to turn on the pump?

Thank you

Good morning all.

My wife and I are planning our inaugural cruise from Pensacola to Key West in May. Having never done this, does anyone have some tips and advice as to duration and places to overnight? Is (for planning purposes) 3 days enough time to get down there or is 4 or 5 more the standard?

We have heard that the typical first stop is Tarpon Springs for the first night and that is a good distance away. It appears that we would be spending a good deal of time cutting the corner which could be fun, but wanted to see if that was the best way.

Thanks all and please understand that I am still learning all that I do not know. There is a whole lot of that.

Jim and Catherine

Looking at 03 and 04 396's and wondering if anyone can share performance spec's/opinion's for both Volvo 8.1's and Volvo TAMD 63P Volvo Diesels. Thinking at this size it's on the line of needing the diesels but... Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Looking to remove and reset my salon windows on a 1995 carver 430. I dont see a lot of support and concerned that windows support flybridge. Windshields also leak. Anyone have any information on these windows? Thanks in advance.

Hello all,

Anyone done a recent chart plotter upgrade? if so, from what to what?

The Caption and I are considering upgrading our 2006 Carver 36MY Raymarine 120C chart plotter, but wonder what the most user friendly/cost effective choice would be? We have the "factory" Raymarine suite, 120C chart plotter, TRI data display, radome radar Raymarine, GPS.

Would a newer Raymarine chart plotter utilize our existing radome radar Raymarine, our would we have to upgrade that as well? The new Doppler model looks intriguing.

We would also like the idea of AIS displayed on the chart plotter, and potentially adding it to our boat? via chart plotter or VHF radio? pro's and con's

Would like to hear what the "frugal" users out there have done?

As always, appreciate the insightful feedback and opinions.

cliff

Anyone drain and change their Dex-Cool Generator coolant? I have a Kohler 7.3E and the overflow tank coolant color looks more brown than orange.

Is there a drain plug or other trick to draining most of the coolant from the Generator, before topping it off with "fresh orange" Coolant.

As always, informative suggestions much appreciated.

Cliff

Our 2006 Carver 36MY 7.3E generator coolant looks more brown than orange, as DEXCOOL should appear.

What's the crafty owner's tips/tricks to drain the old coolant in order to make room for new coolant, but avoid a major mess in the bilge.

I am aware that I need to utilize the air bleed plug across from the filler neck in order to release the air pocket.

My initial thought was to remove the temp sensor to drain from there.

I don't see a good low point accessible drain plug. Maybe I'm missing something?

As always, any insightful support is appreciated.

Cliff

This maybe a stupid question but asking anyway. I have a 97 Carver 350 Mariner. If I hook my hose up to the dock freshwater and connect the other end of the hose to my boat, do I need to use the water pump or does it automatically pressurize with hose attached to the dock water? What about water heater? Thanks for any advise.

We've got an '88 model 3807 that we totally love, but the AC ducting off of the Salon unit continuously sweats to the point that dripping water seeps back underneath the aft cabin walls and wets the carpet. I've been able to get insulation around all the ductwork for the aft cabin unit and the v-berth unit, but the way that the duct is chased inside the wall pocket separating the salon from the aft cabin vanity desk is driving me crazy! The flex duct appears to be squeezed into a flattened oval shape just off the unit inside the aft cabin closet where it has to go through a ridiculously narrow, oblong cut into the starboard side riser or stair framing(?) before apparently then connecting to a flattened box that sneaks up inside the wall pocket to the vent on the aft salon wall near the ceiling.

Does anyone know a way to access this duct without having rip through at least three different sandwiched layers of wall plywood? Going through the finished salon wall would be disastrous, as I'd never be able to keep from scaring and damaging it. I first tried removing the vanity desk framing, then pulled off the mirroring to access its plywood behind, but then removing that sheet only found MORE plywood?!

Help please?