Our 2003 C310!

[jssailem]

Thanks. They are a nice addition to the boat. Great seat up and out of the way for a crew member wanting to see everything but not do the work.
Or a Captain shouting directions.

 

[Tom J]

She is a keeper, but you can still think fondly about your first sailboat...

I feel that way about my O'Day 23. Lots of firsts with that boat and good times with family and friends.

 

[Scotty C-M]

Wow. Nice boat!! I just read the entire thread. I don't often do that, but it was a fun read with JRT's positive attitude to search for such a fine boat. The comments from the members were all helpful and interesting. A really great thread. If I might add some thoughts ...

I really like that bimini. It would be nice to find a way to keep it nice and tall, and still be able to get good main trim. Try some adjustments, if they don't work, a sailmaker might be able to help for a small fee. I love my bimini because I really need the shade (so that my dermatologist dosen't have to keep cutting pieces off me!).


It looks like the boat has very good attention to detail, and is in great shape. Hope your family has a great time. Keep the posts coming. I imagine I'm not the only one interested in how things go.

 

[JRT]

Thanks for the feedback @Scotty C-M. We like the bimini too, it will keep the sun burn down and makes a nice comfortable cockpit for the summer. I just need to get it adjusted a bit better.

We are pretty positive about the new boat for sure. I have a lot to learn and really get comfortable on a more complex boat then we had. It is helpful that everyone wants to learn so we are sharing the duties and making it a fun time when we go out.

What did shock me was my wife was talking about when we could sleep on the boat! It might be at our slip for a weekend but it will be fun and a new memory for everyone.

 

[Ward H]

What did shock me was my wife was talking about when we could sleep on the boat! It might be at our slip for a weekend but it will be fun and a new memory for everyone.

The crack of the bat and there it is! A Home Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And without spending weeks working on the boat to get it ready to go sailing.

 

[jwing]

Hi John:
I admire Zak's setup at NASM. A boat large enough to be a comfortable and social weekend stay-aboard, plus a Y-Flyer for sportier and light air sailing. The kids can do their own sailing and have kid fun, but return to the mother ship for family time.

 

[Tom J]

What did shock me was my wife was talking about when we could sleep on the boat! It might be at our slip for a weekend but it will be fun and a new memory for everyone.

Socializing on the dock, especially with other sailors, is always a good time. Sometimes it's just hard to keep enough beer on ice, though!
Your cockpit might become a focal point for gatherings, since it is large enough to accommodate family and friends. We found that a couple of those free standing lounge chairs from WM, backed up to the forward bulkhead of the cockpit, allow us to stretch out and relax nicely.

 

[Tom J]

Hi John:
I admire Zak's setup at NASM. A boat large enough to be a comfortable and social weekend stay-aboard, plus a Y-Flyer for sportier and light air sailing. The kids can do their own sailing and have kid fun, but return to the mother ship for family time.

I purchased the sail kit for our dinghy so that we could do some light air sailing while the big boat is docked or an a mooring. I've taken the grandkids for rides, and the wife will take it for a spin up the river. Sometimes I miss the sportier aspect of sailing a small boat, Like JRT said, and this setup really fills the bill.

 

[Alansails]

We still have thoughts of the memories we made on our Catalina 25 BUT we are making more memories on our 310 and they are different memories-sailing farther,more comfortable etc. Eileen compares it to going from a tent camper to a travel trailer!
We have been in the water now for a week, getting projects done-still more to do but Going sailing this trip!

 

[JRT]

So I did manage to mess up leaving our new marina. Some how I got out of the channel big time and the depth went all they way to 4' before I managed to get turned around and back out to deeper waters. This seems really odd to me as I never felt like we actually hit anything or stopped. Just to establish the conditions of our sailing area, Lake Guntersville is a fresh water, flooded lake, by damns on the Tennessee River, so the bed is mud and grass. I had the throttle down low and we maintained a slow 2+ knots during this self inflicted terror episode. My helm control was good and I never felt any resistance at all and was able to perform a very tight 180 turn and beeline back out the way we came in till I was back with a non alarming depth of 6+ feet. I'll dive on the boat bottom when the actual water temp warms up, probably in a month, and I really don't expect to see any issues.

I think I understand why I had the clearance and didn't actually run aground which is because the depth transducer in front of the keel is already below the waterline. The actually depth from that point is I'm guessing is less then 4' which is why we didn't run aground. This is of course a wing keel C310, pretty much stock and other then the new battery bank and Factory AC not really carrying any significant heavy cargo other then the 4 of us. I guess I'm looking for some feedback, is the actual depth from the transducer to the bottom of the wing keel 4' or is even shorter? I know there are differences in keel depths, which sure seems nutty to me.

 

[Tom J]

So I did manage to mess up leaving our new marina. Some how I got out of the channel big time and the depth went all they way to 4' before I managed to get turned around and back out to deeper waters. This seems really odd to me as I never felt like we actually hit anything or stopped. Just to establish the conditions of our sailing area, Lake Guntersville is a fresh water, flooded lake, by damns on the Tennessee River, so the bed is mud and grass. I had the throttle down low and we maintained a slow 2+ knots during this self inflicted terror episode. My helm control was good and I never felt any resistance at all and was able to perform a very tight 180 turn and beeline back out the way we came in till I was back with a non alarming depth of 6+ feet. I'll dive on the boat bottom when the actual water temp gets, probably in a month, and I really don't expect to see any issues.

I think I understand why I had the clearance and didn't actually run aground which is because the depth transducer in front of the keel is already below the waterline. The actually depth from that point is I'm guessing is less then 4' which is why we didn't run aground. This is of course a wing keel C310, pretty much stock and other then the new battery bank and Factory AC not really carrying any significant heavy cargo other then the 4 of us. I guess I'm looking for some feedback, is the actual depth from the transducer to the bottom of the wing keel 4' or is even shorter? I know there are differences in keel depths, which sure seems nutty to me.

As you said, JRT, the actual depth from the transducer to the bottom of the keel would be less than 4'. You can program different offsets into your depth indicator. I like to measure the distance from the transducer to the waterline and add that to the depth at the transducer. This gives a more accurate indication of the distance to the bottom from the waterline. In addition, you can program a depth alarm. I set mine at 5' for the wing keel. On one cruise down the inside of the Florida Keys, the depth alarm was going off continuously for several days.

 

[Ward H]

So I did manage to mess up

Nah, you're just experiencing new things with your new boat. I ran through mud 4 times in my first season, all but one I just powered through a tack. One I had to use the jib to help power me off a hump during a blow out tide.

I then decided my offset was off by a foot and reset it. That helped for the rest of the season.

Some like to set the depth sounder to show depth under the keel, I like to see depth of water. Like @Tom J I set a depth alarm for 5'.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Most sounders can be set with an offset. The PO’s might have set 0 at the bottom of the keel. Most purists ole to set the offset at water level. So depth more closely matches charts.

Here in the PNW the charts so either mean low water or low low water, depending on which side of the boarder. I get confused easily so I set it at the keel.

Les

 

[JRT]

I think I'll try the 0 for the bottom of the keel given our area and I rarely do any chart plotting for or day sail area.

 

[marchem]

I think I'll try the 0 for the bottom of the keel given our area and I rarely do any chart plotting for or day sail area.

My preference is for the depth display to read distance under the keel. Eliminates having to do math in tense situations. 0 = zero. Now, for fishing, and with a graphic display, I prefer the actual water depth. But it’s your boat, your choice.

 

[Tom J]

So I did manage to mess up leaving our new marina. Some how I got out of the channel big time and the depth went all they way to 4' before I managed to get turned around and back out to deeper waters.

Like Ward said, JRT, you didn't mess up. The only way you could mess up is by Not leaving the marina. I missed a marker leaving my marina one day (I'll blame it on the crowd of friends standing around me at the helm) and got stuck in the mud. I was able to back out and continue on with the trip. If you never leave the marina, you will never get stuck. If you do leave the marina, then sooner or later .....

 

[jssailem]

On @LeslieTroyer boat there are several depth displays using different transducers.
He is skilled with them. But still when we cruised “The Ditch” and the readings were close to 1foot we were barely creeping along.
The ditch is shoaled and at low low or is the mean low or minus. Well one of those. It can get a bit dicey.
Happy ending we cruised over the shoals and vowed not to try a plus 1 tidal level ever again. Or maybe the is plus 2. Whatever.

It’s just nice to have enough water under the boat.

 

[JRT]

Thanks all, tomorrow heading out with my family and my Mom. Should be fun, weather looks perfect.

It looks like my O'day 25 will be sold on Monday. Kinda of sad, I spent this morning on the old O'day cleaning her up, checking the motor, sails and getting our gear off of her. New owners are moving up from a day sailor for more comfort and room. They are active in the club so I have hope they will keep her nice and love her as much as we did.

 

[jssailem]

Oh wow JRT... You are now part of the circle of life.
Cool.

 

[JRT]

Well had a great fun day today, temps warmed up a bit so shorts were required. No issues leaving this time, and showed the crew the markers and how to follow them in case I needed to go below. Which what would be a boat trip without an alarm!

After about 15 min of motoring out the low oil pressure light and alarm went off. The temp was a normal 165-170 and everything seemed fine. Since I knew about the oil sensor on the bottom of the motor I figured that was what it was. As I explained to the crew I needed to shut the motor off and they were going to have to sail her on jib without me while I figured it out. Everyone took the challenge with my daughter helping guide my wife in adjusting the jib while my son manned the helm. As I worked below, there was great teamwork I could hear. I checked the oil it seemed fine but I added a bit more just to be safe. I then layed down and saw one of the wires was off the sensor right away. I wedged it back on and will be replacing the connectors later this week for sure.

Back topside everyone was doing great so I figured no need to fire the motor back up and might as well get the main up.

We sailed around our new sailing grounds for about 4 hours. Wind was 0 to 9.8 so when we finally broke 3 knots on sails alone there was a big cheer. Was nice day for sure and great memories. My Mom got in on the action too on our motor back and loved it.