New Hunter 31 owner

[bobmorning]

I posted a few weeks ago about a Hunter 31. The survey came back great Our surveyor spent 6 hours on the boat and said it was one of the better Hunter's for it's age that he has seen in a while.

Wife and I did what we have dreamed of and settled yesterday. Given that it was 102 degrees on the Chesapeake we passed on sailing. The seller was most patient and spent 2 hours going over every system with us.

We were also fortunate that the boat came with almost all the manuals for the appliances and equipment on the boat and it came with a Yanmar Operating Manual and a Shop Manual for the 2GM.

I picked up a copy of Bob Casey's Sailboat Maintenance Book and realized this book is going to be indispensable going forward. I also picked up a copy of This Old Boat magazine a few weeks ago and found it to be chock full of good stuff.

We are both very mechanically inclined, she built her own home before she met me and I've restored cars in the past, so we aren't afraid of DIY projects.

Now my first questions:

1) The boat was installed with 2 Optima 34M AGM batteries. Both are wired to provide both starting and house current. The manual with the batteries says the 34M's are designed for starting and are not warranted or recommended for deep cycle applications. Your thoughts? Is this something to be concerned about?

2) The boat has a DataMarine S-100KL Digital Knotmeter, the display works but the seller told us that it does not display any value other than 0.0.
I have the manual for the knotmeter. Any ideas on where to start troubleshooting? Transducer, wiring?

3) The vinyl coverings on the lifelines are in poor shape. The underlying cable appears in good shape, not corroded or rusted. Can the coverings be replaced and the cable reused? If so where does one buy stuff for old Hunters? There is a West Marine nearby but my initial reaction to their pricing was retail+++. Where does one go online to buy marine hardware?
I'm sure this is a personal choice, but your opinions are valuable to someone without any past experience in these matters.

Thanks for any assistance and I'm sure I will be a frequent visitor.

Sincerely,
Bob Morningstar

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

1.If you will have prolonged load on the batteries while sailing or at anchor, you should have deep cycles batteries dedicated for that purpose.
2. both, wiring first
3. If rust/corrosion is evident on the outside of the coated wires, you can be certain it is worse inside. If you want to DIY, be very careful measuring as this is the worst and most common mistake and often why it may be cost effective to have them replaced by a rigger unless you are very confident in your ability. Nothing complicated but easy to screw up. West Marine will usually let you buy the materials there and make up your own lengths and fittings and they have the proper tools to swage the fittings at most of their stores.

 

[stephen Penny]

3. I had a local rigger replace the 23 year old lifelines last month with 3/16" bare 316 stainless steel wire since the labor cost is relatively small compared to the materials. The local rigger was lower cost than the cost of materials from on-line and West Marine. If I did it myslef I would have had to invest in tools I did not have for a one off project and that would have cost more. This was a low cost investment to ensure safe lifelines.

 

[Steve Dion]

1. I suggest that you get a couple of Group 27 or 31. The type of battery is up to your own ideas and wallet size. There is room for 2 G31's just above the shaft log and then you can use one of the Optima's for your starting battery. The G31 will give you about 190-220 amps (of which only about 50% is usable). The Optimas are probably 55 amps each, so they are really not great for housing keeping anyway.

2. Someone can probably tell you how to test the transducer (I cannot).

3. Your best bet is to replace the lifelines. You really should use un-coated lines. I would check with Seco South in Fl. and see if they already have the measurments. They can run as high as $800 for a new set. If you shop around you can probably get them for $400-500 with new pelican hooks.

Congratulations on the new boat. We owned a '85 H'31 until about 3 years ago. It was a really great boat, you will enjoy it.

 

[Alan]

3) I removed the plastic coating on the lifelines that had become cracked and cruddy looking with age. Stainless is only rustproof in an oxygen environment. The plastic coating promotes rusting of the stainless wire by creating an anaerobic environment. After removing the plastic coating with a razor knife and inspecting the wire for damage we covered the bare wire with 6' lengths of plastic shroud covers. They are available for a couple of dollars each.
Alternatively you could replace the wire entirely with a Spectra 12 strand such as Amsteel which is much kinder to skin and costs much less.