What have I gotten myself into?

Maine Sail · Dec 23, 2011

GopherIT said:
Quick question about the AC circuit breaker. It is a dual breaker attached with one switch. It is a Airpax and I could not find a replica anywhere. Is it two 30 amp circuits or 2 15 amp circuits? The boat appears to be wired for 30 amps. Why a double breaker on the AC circuit? I couldn't find anyting about the circuit board online for a 1979 Cherubini. Any ideas?

The main AC breakers in boats break both the hot/black wire and white/neutral wire thus the two poles. The branch circuit breakers only break the black wire and are single pole.

Have fun with your boat. You're doing the right thing by learning and reading.. Pretty soon you'll be having lots of fun... Don't let it get you down as there is light at the end of the maintenance tunnel...

gray_penguin · Dec 23, 2011

Welcome to the world of Cherubini

I got my 1978 33' in May of 2010 in Savanna Ga. My boat experience up to that point was all power boats. I did take the ASA 101 course and recommend it to anyone starting into sailing.

Although mine was in very sound shape structurally there were many issues. The scariest one for me was the Thru-Hulls. I HIGHLY recommend having those looked at asap and reading the How-to info that Maine Sail has a link to in his post. VERY helpful information there.

william
winddragon.net

H30Gary · Dec 24, 2011

Congratulations on your purchase. My inlaws purchased a 37 footer as their first sailboat. They had no sailing experience - he had a little motorboat experience. They lived on the boat in the Bay Area for a couple of years - mostly motoring around - then sailed to Tahiti. They never took any lessons, but did read a lot.

Is that how I'd recommend doing it? No. But it can be done. Good luck with the boat. Its a beauty.
Gary

Stephen Trapani · Dec 24, 2011

Quick note about surveyors and thru-hulls. I hired a surveyor when I was trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on the purchase. After examining the boat for a few hours he gave me a list of items that were okay and a list needing repair. After he left and after I decided to purchase the boat, it occurred to me that he had not mentioned the thru hulls on either list. I fumbled around looking for thru-hulls. One turned and turned endlessly it seemed, confusing me (it was fine, it's designed that way). Another one snapped off in my hand when I tried to close it. I called the surveyor and complained. He got angry. The point hit home: Knuckleheads are sometimes right and experts are sometimes wrong.

Maine Sail · Dec 24, 2011

Stephen Trapani said:
Quick note about surveyors and thru-hulls. I hired a surveyor when I was trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on the purchase. After examining the boat for a few hours he gave me a list of items that were okay and a list needing repair. After he left and after I decided to purchase the boat, it occurred to me that he had not mentioned the thru hulls on either list. I fumbled around looking for thru-hulls. One turned and turned endlessly it seemed, confusing me (it was fine, it's designed that way). Another one snapped off in my hand when I tried to close it. I called the surveyor and complained. He got angry. The point hit home: Knuckleheads are sometimes right and experts are sometimes wrong.

Stephen,

If his survey do not include a section on seacocks, thru-hulls, hoses and clamps then he was not properly surveying to NAMS or SAMS acceptable standards. A call to his affiliated organization, either NAMS or SAMS, may have been prudent as guys like this should not be allowed to continue to perform like this. If he was not a NAMS or SAMS surveyor he probably should not have been used...

This is just a small portion from our 32 page survey on our boat.

"In general, the fluid lines penetrating the hull at, or below, the load waterline are connected to bronze through hull connections which are adequately secured to the hull with proper backing, which was laminated glass fiber. Three seacocks demonstrated “stiff” but positive operation, and will require just routine servicing and greasing (see recommendations).

All hull penetrations were observed to be double clamped with all stainless labeled perforated hose clamps. The bands and screws were observed in good condition with no rust. The male hose adapters appeared to be long enough to engage the double clamps.

A light green patina of verdigris was observed on all seacocks but no corrosion or demetalization was present, except for the sink valve. Scraping the sink drain sea valve showed it to be showing some signs of demetalization evidenced by a pinker than normal appearance to the valve body. This valve was not identified as a Marine UL valve and had labeling consistent with a non-bronze valve. (see recommendations)

The seven below waterline seacocks should be permanently labeled for function and damage control plugs on lanyards should be installed in way of each through hull penetration below the vessel’s sheerline. "

Jimboyyy · Dec 25, 2011

another thing about surveys is that you may need one for your boat insurance. A survey will also tell you what needs or has to be repaired versus things that can be put off. When we purchased Dragonfly I knew she needed a bottom job, a new UV cover on the roller furling jib and some leaky hatches looked after. Now 2 years latter the bottom has been completed, the UV cover was replaced upon purchase, the leaky hatches are dealt with with some Sunbrella hatch covers (they still leak if not covered) and hopefully this spring the nonskid will be finished (see Kiwi grip in the SBO store) and the running rigging that was "serviceable" in the Survey will be updated....its all a process....an evolving love story------enjoy!

gray_penguin · Dec 25, 2011

This is an image of Galley Sink thru hull valve, located under the port side salon seat, that a previous owner installed. It is a 1-1/2" gate valve made of, I believe Yellow Brass, like you will find in your Home improvement or Harbor Freight type of store. Yellow brass is 33% Zinc and the Zinc gets eaten away over time because of electrical currents created by different metals in salt water.

After reading about this issue on the boat owners forums I sealed off the compartment this valve was located in. Any pressure or impact on this valve would have very bad results! The image you see is the result of ONE whack with a normal claw hammer.

I highly recommend reading Maine Sails How-to about this.
You are welcome to read about my progress on fixing up my boat here WindDragon

tcbilgerat · Dec 26, 2011

Merry Christmas,
As you see, everyone on this site is ready and willing to help. For a couple, a 33 ft boat is not too big. My first sailboat was a 1979 H30, and I sail alone. Having found a mate, I did buy another Hunter, 1980 H37c. Needed more room! My slip seemed tight the first few times I docked, but it was still a good desicion to get her. I am not going to reiterate all the great suggestions, but one. While doing repairs, do not forget to sail ! I joined a race team for wednesday and weekend sailing to get my fix. Get on opposing teams and have fun with it ! Also, I have a real mattress and get the best sleep in my life.