What's the best

Pat

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Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
I have the 272 LE....the boat needed a helmsman's seat so my best friend made me a beautiful curved seat with plans from an
issue of Practical Sailor....it is still beautiful and has been in use since Spring of 1986....then there is a teak cockpit grate(s) that
I ordered from a fellow in Florida...it is in two sections fore & aft in the cockpit.....it too is made like a tank and is a very beautiful addition to the boat....I ordered the cockpit grate(s) in roughly 2009 and they are beautiful too....we've taken good care of these additions....I've had to do a few revisions to the cockpit grates as the awthartship bracing on the under sides tend to hold the water in the cockpit when it rains....I've added what is in effect limber holes in each of the awartharthsip stringers to allow storm water to drain into the cockpit drain at the aft end of the boat......also had to add additional weight in the aft end of the quarterberth to improve the drainage from fore to aft.....maybe more than you wanted to know.....Patrick in paradise..
 
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Pat

.
Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
forgot to mention that my wife ordered a teak dining table attached to the wheel pedestal....the first one was made by Edson, and it was not big enough to serve two very well so we she bought another one at the Newport, RI Boat Show in 2013...It is very functional for two people....the only negative was it took maybe 5 or 6 men in the cockpit to figure out how to attach it to the pedestal.....it is helpful for serving a buffet in the cockpit....or great for two...Patrick again......
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,523
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
An awning that zips onto the front of our Bimini and stretches over the cabin, attached to the cap shrouds with shock cords.

Provides 100% shade in the cockpit.
Keeps the sun off the cabin roof
Allows us to leave the hatch open and use the cockpit in the rain
Directs wind at anchor to the cockpit
Flaps on each side can be raised for the view away from he sun
Rigs in 5 minutes

You can see it in Hunter 27 75-84 Owner Mods. For some reason I can’t copy the link.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Thanks @capta . Maybe I can get Santa to bring me some for Christmas. B&H Photo hads them for $469... Look pretty good. Hate to say it but as I try to focus my hands tend to shake and number reading becomes more like number guessing.
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
ights/
Thanks @capta . Maybe I can get Santa to bring me some for Christmas. B&H Photo hads them for $469... Look pretty good. Hate to say it but as I try to focus my hands tend to shake and number reading becomes more like number guessing.
I couldn't believe how much easier they make counting the seconds of lights and reading the numbers on marks etc and reading the names of vessels from much farther off.
 
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Oct 28, 2013
678
Hunter 20 Lake Monroe
Bow anchor locker. Been several years now since I added it but I can still remember how much it sucked carrying the anchor, chain, and rode forward.

Sam
 
Dec 29, 2008
805
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Probably the best is our new SeaFrost 12V refrigeration, powered by 400 watts of solar panels. LOVE it!

But, I'm also very pleased with the hatch actuators I installed on our main hatch over our galley. It is 8 feet above the galley sole, and weighs about 40 pounds. The only way to close it in the middle of the night if it started raining were to either, 1) climb up a flight of stairs into the pilothouse, then another flight of stairs to the quarter deck, then walk around the pilot house and take out the 2x4 holding up the hatch, or 2) climb up on top of the galley counter and stand on it while lifting up the hatch and removing the 2x4, all while the rain is coming in.

Now, we just have to push on a rocker switch to raise or lower the hatch from the comfort of standing in the galley, or reaching into the companionway from the pilot house to the rocker switch. I'm particularly proud of this addition.
 

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Jul 9, 2018
65
Catalina 25 Lake Monroe
Probably the best is our new SeaFrost 12V refrigeration, powered by 400 watts of solar panels. LOVE it!

But, I'm also very pleased with the hatch actuators I installed on our main hatch over our galley.
Nice! Did you install these yourself? And what was the cost? I'm really strong and can raise my poptop, but it's really awkward and no one else can do it. I was thinking of adding a hydrolic arm to assist, but curious how much more it'd be to just add a motorized one.
 
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Dec 29, 2008
805
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Nice! Did you install these yourself? And what was the cost? I'm really strong and can raise my poptop, but it's really awkward and no one else can do it. I was thinking of adding a hydrolic arm to assist, but curious how much more it'd be to just add a motorized one.
$50 on Amazon:
1 of Firgelli Automations 200 lb Force 12V Linear Actuator with Mounting Brackets (6") [ASIN: B06VVF1WTT]

upload_2018-12-5_18-14-55.jpeg
 
Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
Number one is the Admiral. After that all else is just details. Having said that all those devices just serve to enhance the experience but I'd certainly add a plotter and autopilot if I didn't have one. It's pretty hard to beat new sails too.


Ken
 
Aug 28, 2006
564
Bavaria 35E seattle
i'll append to my previous reply (re chartplotter at the helm) and say the recent acquisition of a whisker pole is darn nice. Boat didn't come with one.
 
Nov 25, 2018
17
Hunter 40 Boston
Just purchased my 87 hunter 40 at the end of the season. I was able to catch Black Friday and cyber monday deals on navigation and sonar equipment.......... Gotta know where you are and how deep you are
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I think your correct.
Adding me to your boat will be my favorite addition.
Adding you to my boat would be your favorite addition. But with the broken wing, not sure you could make the jump all the way out here. Know if you did leave the Lilly pond we would show you a fun time and sights that can amaze.

Seattle’s Bell Harbor with Mount Rainer in the background.
upload_2018-12-6_5-40-57.jpeg


@LeslieTroyer’s Mahalo in Saratoga Passage.
upload_2018-12-6_5-44-17.jpeg


Or a sunrise in the Canadian Gulf Islands.
upload_2018-12-6_5-46-49.jpeg


Ya’ll come join us.....sometime.
 

RoyS

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Jun 3, 2012
1,739
Hunter 33 Steamboat Wharf, Hull, MA
Chart Plotter at helm. Took mine for granted until I sailed in a boat without a functioning one, frightening! You become dependent on the thing.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
frightening! You become dependent on the thing.
Or you can open a chart. Unless you have to be somewhere at a certain time, plotters are less needed than a good chart to get in and out of port. We become dependent on our electronics. Perhaps that is the charm of the Golden Globe race. A return to the Golden years of sailing.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Or you can open a chart. Unless you have to be somewhere at a certain time, plotters are less needed than a good chart to get in and out of port. We become dependent on our electronics. Perhaps that is the charm of the Golden Globe race. A return to the Golden years of sailing.
I'm not so sure about the "Golden Years of Sailing." Of the 18 boats that started the GG, only 7 remain.

https://mailchi.mp/fcc32decc8a1/hnuzddxdcn-756753?e=2daceb3878

And Amazon is releasing another Donald Crowhurst movie this month.