Where's the looney bin on this boat?

[Phil Herring]

Every boat, from a ferrocement kit built by lizards to a Swan 54, has its quirks.

So, what is it about your boat that makes you crazy? A hard-to-start engine? A holding tank that always reads half full? How about that hatch leak right above your pillow?

Don't sweat the small stuff. Let's hear about the thing that truly makes your blood boil.

 

[jon hansen]

nothing, that's why i keep the boat

 

[RoyS]

Engine access in my 1980 Hunter 33. Starboard side of engine is only a few inches away from partition of head enclosure. Oil dipstick requires two hands squeezed in between engine and partition. One hand uses a finger to detect dipstick hole while other hand guides stick down to hole. It cannot be seen. Cannot be done when engine is hot because you will burn hands. Unsure who to blame, Hunter for not providing access or Yanmar for not providing a dipstick port on both sides of engine.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Engine access in my 1980 Hunter 33. Starboard side of engine is only a few inches away from partition of head enclosure. Oil dipstick requires two hands squeezed in between engine and partition. One hand uses a finger to detect dipstick hole while other hand guides stick down to hole. It cannot be seen. Cannot be done when engine is hot because you will burn hands. Unsure who to blame, Hunter for not providing access or Yanmar for not providing a dipstick port on both sides of engine.

Can you extend the dip port higher and get a longer dipstick?

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Terry Cox]

Where to begin.

1. The joy of trying to do any kind of work on the starboard side of the engine; oil filter, fuel filter, dip stick, throttle linkage, etc., etc., etc.

2. The ecstasy of replacing the stuffing box packing in under three hours.

3. The satisfaction of locating and then fixing water leaks, whether fresh or seawater.

4. The happiness of setting sail on a long extended cruise only to have it interrupted by, you name it.

 

[JamesG161]

nothing, that's why i keep the boat

But...
In the first 6 months of ownership

The poor attempts of fixing things by the Previous Owner.

The PO left about 9 different types of caulking. Caulking fixes everything.

Best example was the Jabsco head would leak at the pump head, but it was sea water.
During the maintenance fixes after purchase in Punta Gorda [I could not be there],

The mechanic tried a Jabsco rebuild kit and could not fix it. No charge by him or the kit.

Later I found, on board, 5 rebuild kits and a bag of pump O-Rings [about 20 inside].

We tried to rebuild it also, when my helper remarked...
"Hey this screw is different from the other 3 pump head screws" [it was a $&**ing wood screw]

One simple screw replacement solved the issue.

Hey, Anyone need some O-Rings?
Jim...

 

[DougM]

Three things:
The instrument panel on my Bene323 is located at cockpit deck level on the base of the starboard lazarette.Its a great location to bump and break off the key, and you can’t read the fuel gauge without practically standing on your head. (looks like Beneteau changed that a year or two later).

The raw water pump on the Yanmar diesel, located starboard, puts the pump cover aft. Requires removing the pump to change the impeller unless you are a blind, left handed, acrobat.

Why can’t someone figure out an electronic display that can be read in bright sunlight and not go black when wearing polarized sunglasses?

 

[DRhoads]

Dealing with the various versions of Sea Talk

 

[Justin_NSA]

My bimini! The way the PO designed the bow system, it can't be closed. Too many support struts facing the wrong way. It's huge and it is really appreciated in the summer, but this time of year I don't need it. I also don't like the fact that it is exposed to the elements 24x7. I already had to replace a zipper that broke in a wind storm.
My next important project is to figure out where I can replace machine screws with quick release pins or screws with knobs so I can fold everything back to the back stays, and then have a cover made.

 

[TomY]

It's definitely back here, in the lazeret, laseret or lazaretto (original).

It's a spot where two worlds - one wood, one fiberglass - come together (or collide).

A boat evolution museum of fiberglass and ribs, solid fiberglass decks and support beams. Full of ghost designers in musty tweed jackets, arguing about how to build a boat in 1959.

But I like it back here (once I unfold myself). It's dry and warm.

There is a good trick here for screwing in wire ties when you can't hold the screw. See it?

 

[capta]

Engine access in my 1980 Hunter 33. Starboard side of engine is only a few inches away from partition of head enclosure. Oil dipstick requires two hands squeezed in between engine and partition. One hand uses a finger to detect dipstick hole while other hand guides stick down to hole. It cannot be seen. Cannot be done when engine is hot because you will burn hands. Unsure who to blame, Hunter for not providing access or Yanmar for not providing a dipstick port on both sides of engine.

Many engines have an alternate dip stick hole on either side of the engine. Have you checked into that possibility?

 

[Jacktar]

I spent almost 2 hours trying to get 3 mounting screws out of a main battery switch working blindly because the screws were hidden from view. Once I got a very small regular head screwdriver to get them all out I discovered the PO had used 3 2 inch square drive screws to fasten the switch to a 1/8 inch thick fiberglass bulkhead!

 

[justsomeguy]

It's usually sleeping in the V berth.

 

[AlanRothenbush]

My gripe is Yanmar's (and other manufacturers) refusal to mount an oil filter in a manner that doesn't spill oil down the side of a nearly inaccessible block when removing the old filter, and doesn't allow you to (fully) fill up a new filter with clean oil during replacement.

Year after year, there's the awful trepidation of the first start after an oil change, as I listen to the low oil pressure squealer for what seems like hours ...

I'd relocate the oil filter, except that there's no room whatsoever to do so! So I guess I've got a second gripe, designers who shrink wrap a boat around an engine. It's one thing to drop an engine into a hull and drop the deck on top, it's quite another to lay up a hull around an already installed engine!

 

[danm1]

It's usually sleeping in the V berth.

Ditto. We have to use the dinette because we don't have v-feet.

 

[Dalliance]

I have the same gripes about oil dip stick access, the horizontal oil filter and the aft facing raw water pump. Those are minor annoyances to me.

The four loony bin ”What where they thinking?” issues for me are:
1) The skeg mounted rudder. No complaint about performance or the concept, but to drop the rudder for any kind of maintenance or repair you have to remove the skeg from the hull.
2) The mild steel compression post in the bilge. Not the infamous Hunter I-Beam that many on this site have dealt with. My ‘82 H30 has a 2x2 steel tube post and base plate which luckily is in OK shape but requires vigilant protection against corrosion. Always being a cold climate fresh water boat on the hard six months a year is probably the only reason it has survived so long.
3) The original bilge pump through hull discharge was directly behind the ac/dc electrical panel. Yikes! I decided to relocate it. When I tried to pull the hose off, the white plastic fitting was so brittle from UV exposure that it sheered right off in my hand. The discharge is now through a galley locker.
4) The water heater below the cockpit sole was dropped into the hull before the they put the deck on. Had to cut out part of the bottom of the starboard lazarette to replace it.

That said, quirks aside, I love my boat. It’s the perfect size for me, sails beautifully, has a classic look, and through many projects over the years, I’ve gotten to know every inch of it.

 

[Dalliance]

Many engines have an alternate dip stick hole on either side of the engine. Have you checked into that possibility?

Checked my Yanmar Service Manual and I see no alternate dip stick hole locations for the 1GM, 2GM or 3GM. All are on the starboard side. Too bad. Would have been a brilliant idea.

 

[capta]

Checked my Yanmar Service Manual and I see no alternate dip stick hole locations for the 1GM, 2GM or 3GM. All are on the starboard side. Too bad. Would have been a brilliant idea.

Ours has a square headed pipe plug on the alternate side just above where the pan bolts thread into the block. I don't believe it is mentioned in our shop manual, either. Look around. If you find it the dip stick tube should thread into that hole. Just be sure the reading is the same on the dip stick on both sides. Good luck.

 

[Dalliance]

Ours has a square headed pipe plug on the alternate side just above where the pan bolts thread into the block. I don't believe it is mentioned in our shop manual, either. Look around. If you find it the dip stick tube should thread into that hole. Just be sure the reading is the same on the dip stick on both sides. Good luck.

I will take a look the next time I’m at the boat.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I’m happy about most of how our boat is designed, except for about the first 2 feet.
- The front of the bow pulpit snags the foot of the jib when transitioning from a reach to a beat.
- The anchor roller doesn’t set up all that well for the tack of a spinnaker. It’s not a very long extension, and spinnaker sheets are always getting snagged on the pulpit and nav lights.
- You’re not supposed to anchor with the weight of the boat on the windless, but there’s no good way not to. With all chain rode maybe you could run a bridle to both cleats, but with rope rode you need to reach outside the pulpit, grab the rode, bring it to a cleat, and hope it doesn’t chafe on everything.