Just after I posted last post with questions I found the thread on corrector weights. Most of my questions were answered there. Thanks! Still wondering if Commander owners who removed them like the change in performance?
Just after I posted last post with questions I found the thread on corrector weights. Most of my questions were answered there. Thanks! Still wondering if Commander owners who removed them like the change in performance?
While I did in fact remove the added ballast form C147 I ended up replacing it with very close to the same weight in batteries for my elec. drive. And while the replacement weight is approx. 1 foot higher in the boat Destiny sails very very well. I have had her out in 30mph winds and she will settle in with her rail just in the water and hold there.
I believe Mike who owns C227 took his added ballast out and did not replace it. Now I believe he has repowered with a Yanmar so you might try touching base with him.
JERRY CARPENTER - C147
A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiam.
I finally got around to installing a proper shuts off for the cockpit drains. I should have done it last year before the repower but put it off instead. Of course last spring when I launched one of the hoses leaked and I had to haul her had replace both hoses for the season. The job is a lot trickier with the engine in place but I managed it anyhow. First thing I realized was that the angle of the hull prevented me from simply installing a seacock. It would run straight into the engine if I tried to locate it in the same spot as the old drain hole. Also it is important to align the fitting with the drain tubes under the cockpit floor. The solution was to cut away the old tube from the hull and replace it with a new threaded fiberglass fitting that is aligned correctly. I found some nice extra heavy duty fiberglass threaded couplings from a company that manufactures these type of fittings for applications where fiberglass pipes are used to conduct corrosive liquids. Think chemical factory. They are really heavy duty, carefully machined, provide maximum flow and are cheap.
To cut away the old tube I made a guide by using a hole saw to cut the correct sized hole in a piece of plywood. I then taped the plywood to the hull and cut around the old stub from the outside. The hull is so thick that once you get the hole saw started in the hull you can gradually guide the blade to cut in at an angle toward the upper drain stub and produce an oblong hole that fits the coupling closely.
Once the old stub is gone from the hull I used a 4" grinder to expose fresh glass round the hole on the inside of the boat. Next step is to align the tube in the hole so it pointed at the upper stub. I wedged in some shims on the inside of the boat and laid a fillet of polyester filler on the outside of the boat to hold the tube in place. I laid in an epoxy fillet around the tube then glassed the tube to the hull. After this was dry I cut the tube flush on the outside and filled and faired with epoxy.
I coated the fresh tabbing on the inside with epoxy paint and installed a threaded nipple, 1 1/2" bronze ball valve, a pipe to hose adapter and a 6" piece of hose. I can easily reach the valve from the access doors in the cockpit floor and the interior. It was a pain in the ass but worth the piece of mind.
Water Tank.
I removed a very nice Monel water tank from under the v berth in the Gail Grace. I had no use for it and would rather have the storage space. I can't even guess what something like this would cost now. I had to break the brazing on the fill tube but otherwise it looks good. If anyone wants it I will pack it up and ship it - just pay the shipping.
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