New owner for "Blues Crusier" question(s)

C

cdory25

New member
Introduction and first post: Hey everybody! I'm John and with my first mate, Karen, bought our first C-Dory. I keep the boat moored on the ICW in Flagler Beach, Florida. I had it delivered from Virginia and someday will buy a trailer. Probably have to buy a truck too as we have a V8 Dakota now. It can handle the towing weight but just looks tiny next to a trailered 25.

Being in FL, A/C is a must, thus I'll need a genset. The boat came from the factory with the stock Taylor Made? heat pump type A/C-heater. It only requires 3.4 amps to start and 2 to run. I was told that a Honda 1000i would run this and probably the water heater too. The local pawn shop has a 2000i for $450 although it looks kinda rough, it's a Honda. New, they are over a grand and for a little more you can get the Yamaha 2400. Weight wise you can't beat the 1000i if it'll run stuff. Also looking to get a 12v fan. Suggestions?

Just wanted to introduce ourselves and see what people in the warmer parts of the USA were using to stay comfortable at night.

Website question: Do pictures have to be in Photobucket or will this download them from my computer like Craig's list? Thanks!
 
We have the yamaha 2400 it weighs 70lb and thats a lot to haul around get the yamaha 1000 if that will get the job done. I think it weighs 38lb not sure
We use the getto style 5000 btu walmart special that fits in our front window . We also have the 12 volt breeze fan that they sell in most R/V or marine stores . this with window coverings is enough to keep the heat down .
 
The 1000 will not run the water heater. The heater is 1200 watts or more. The 1000 is actually less than 1000 watts. The problem with any of the AC units is the start up current. Buy a Kill-O-Watt meter--it is a slick gadget--and should be available for $20 from Amazon. You can measure the current draw on mains power and see how high it goes in watts or amps. The generator may have more voltage drop than mains, but it should still work at about the same amperage draw.

Taylor Made is the parent company and they have bought up CruiseAir, Marine Air Airrrrrr, Sentry, & Gunert. I am not certain which unit you have, but I would check it out with the Kill-o-watt before buying a generator. I also have run the Wally World 5000 BTU window AC on a 1000 EU Honda. For our RV type (Coleman 9200 BTU), we needed a 2000. If you can give us a little more information about the specific unit (model number for example) we might be able to get a bit more information.

Welcome aboard!
 
The Dakota would be a bit on the light side for a C Dory 25. You want to check the weight on a trailer, but some weigh north of 7500 lbs, and I believe your truck is rated at 7250 lbs. The truck is less than 5,000 lbs. Most like to tow with a heavy truck for the 25 and Tom Cats.

I also like the Fan tactic Endless Breeze fan. But there is a cheaper alternative--that is the "O2" fan from Wal Mart for $10 to $15. A good way to use the "endless breeze is to secure 1/2" dowels to the guard and put this over the hatch (along with insect screens.

In the forward cabin we have two fans--one in each aft corner. This helps to circulate the cool air from an Air Conditioner. We also have a portable fan or in some boats had two fans near the windshield, which circulates air in the main cabin.

Also there are several things which can be done to decrease heat accumulation. First is shade cloth from Lowes or Home Depot--this can shade the windows and hatch. We have a shade under the forward hatch (see recent post in "Thisaway" forum).

We also use the silver mylar bubble material cut to fit the windows--this really cuts down on heat transfer, and allows a 5,000 BTU AC unit to cool a 25 in over 100 degree heat.

Ask the moderator (Da Nag or Tyboo) for an album. You can down load directly from your computer to the album.
 
Yes we have the endless breeze also .Dr Bob is right check the needed amps for your A/C then you can buy the right genset .
We have the yamaha 2400 I have never used the unit in my boat way to heavy . They did not have a yamaha 2000 unit at that time .I hope you have window coverings they help a lot keeping the heat down . also fans can be all you need unless the humidity gets to you . Jim

The next time I put in the A/C I will take a picture and post it
 
Thanks for the info. As I stated in my first post, A/C draws 3.4 amps to start and two (2) to run. Can't find too much data on A/C except it has a Tecumsah (sp?) motor. Water heater is 1500 watts. It ain't the heat, it's the humidity. We always say that and it's truer on the water. It did come with Sunbrella window covers although I don't see that keeping us cooler since we put them up at dark for the dew and privacy. I guess evenings too would help.

"Thataway" seems to be the go to guy for everything CD, as I read a few of his posts. I'll have more questions as I continue to work out the bugs on this 500 hour boat. A big one is why is there always water on the pilothouse floor. It's just a little but I keep wiping it up and it keeps coming back. Also I know the shower drain leaks. I thought these boats had automatic bildge pumps but mine only comes on when I hit the dash mounted rocker. Do I leave it on? I believe I got ripped off on the survey so I'm refusing payment for now. Maybe some of these problems are my ignorance of these type boats.

I've seen the Wal-Mart air in the front window trick but seems unneccassy as there's already a built in. I will check out there fans. I bought a small truck fan because they told me it plugged into the cigar lighter. It didn't.

I also need a good grill for outside grilling. Most marine types are very expensive and what do you do with it when not in use. Probably too many questions for one post but I want to get on the water soon.

I should probably go back to the pawn shop and snatch that 2000i Honda, eh? I just seem to be getting taken advatage of a lot lately. You know "once burned, twice shy".

Please tell me how do I get hold of a moderator w/o cussing or being inappropriate?

Thanks again everybody!
 
Moderator--just look up their name in the "member list" on the heading. They are # 2 and #3 on the list. Click on the name, and send a private message. They do have some other life, but will get back very quickly and set up the album.

AC draw. I questioned the draw because it is so low. I have never seen an AC unit with that low a draw--not that it cannot be achieved. I have a tendency to not believe things that are too good to be true...The smallest AC unit I know of for boats is the Mermaid which is 5200 BTU. It is designed to run off a Honda EU 1000 or even off a 1000 watt inverter (the recommended inverter is 1800 watts) and a 400 amp hour battery bank.

Here are the specs on the mermaid.
Cool = 4.4 amps, R/C = 5.5 amps.
Add approximately one amp for the standard seawater pumps.
Start up amperage is calculated by running amperage multiplied by 1.8.
So you would be running 5.4 amps for the AC, and a start up of over 9 amps.

Theoretically you would only be getting about 2000 BTU out of a 2 amp draw AC unit--this is why I question it--and suggest you buy the Kill-o watt tester, which you will find many other uses for. (For example many docks have low voltage, and this will check this out--you can find out how much current that battery charger is drawing over a week etc... Also measure frequency--usually it is 60 hz, but if you travel, there are some places which are 50 hz.

Yes there is supposed to be an auto bilge pump--unfortunately the switches are a problem and not always reliable. That is a whole thread worth of subject matter. For example--the "new" 22 I just bought switch does not work properly--and I worked with it, and now it is working better, but not enough to trust.

I believe your bilge pump is just inside of the step in the cabin--or is there one aft in the sump under the deck aft of the fuel tank?

Hard to know where the water is coming from. Check to see if it is salt (taste test--follow with a good alcoholic drink--to sanitize the mouth!

:lol:

Fresh water--water tank, water heater, any one of many hose connections--shower is often suspect.

Salt water: thru hull fitting-(wash down, AC pump, aft drain, some boats had a leak from the brass strip in the bow--more on the 22's)

Shower drain leak--is it at the drain fitting? At the hose clamp, or at the sump box? There are many places where it can leak. Also some of the shower pressure fittings were made with a British Standard Pipe thread mated to an American Standard--just a little off. This should have been rectified by your boat however.

As for surveyors--some are excellent, most are not. But you still have to pay for service. Just missing a couple of things should not happen, but it does all of the time. I can tell you stories of many thousands of dollars of things missed, and the surveyor could not be held liable.

You can hard wire the truck fan into the electrical system (be sure it is fused)--One of the features of the C Dory is that they are easy to customize and most of us do that. I prefer the marine fan, because less chance of corrosion. But one boat had a Russian made truck fan--it worked for a while!

Thanks for the compliment--I have been fortunate enough to have owned a lot of boats and this is my 4th C Dory, so I have mucked around inside of them...however I am not always right , or I might miss something.
 
Okay, a little more searching discovered that the A/C is a 12,000 BTU Cruiseair unit. The amps I saw earlier was just the fan i guess.

The shower leaks at the clamp between the drain fitting and the hose. I pulled the hose, cut off 2" and reattached but it didn't help so we just haven't used it yet.

Water on floor is fresh water.

Aft bilge is much lower and spit out about a gallon. Boat would probably sink before the cabin bildge (under step) came on.

I've sent Moderator a PM.

I will order the "Kill-o-watt" thingy from Amazon.com as it sounds like useful tool to have.

Thanks!
 
Wow--12,000 BTU--you can rent the boat out as a meat locker or freezer!

But--that may not start on the Honda EU 2000. There is a easy starter (different than just the easy start relays) from Dometic: It is called a "SmartStart" Dometic owns the CruiseaAir (not Taylor Made)--and the Smart Start will reduce start up current up to 65%....no guarantee, but your best generator will probably be the Yahama 2400. It is more expensive and heavier than the Honda--It is rated to start up to 13,500 high efficiency AC units. Comparison: Honda Eu2000 13.3 amps rated, Yahama 2400 16.7 amps. Honda 46 lbs, Yahama 75 lbs weight. The Honda is able to be paralleled to give twice the output--the Yahama is not able to be paralleled.

But check the start up load first--then get the "Smart Start" if necessary, and finally buy the generator...it isn't hot enough ....yet.

As for the leak--start looking. examine every water fitting from the tank to the end use areas--there will be a hose clamp loose--double clamp where possible (including the drain.

Where does the air conditioner condensate drain go to? There should be a tube from the pan to the sump pump or bilge sump directly.
 
The A/C unit seems to have a lot of different names. I found the Cruisair name on what looks like a box of electronics, that also said 12,000 BTU (and a lot of other numbers), the Taylor Made name was on the fan, the Tecumseh name on a white canister/tank evaporator (?) and it has a Mermaid condensator, so no drain. I haven't used it yet anyway except to see that it works off of shore power.

I'll bet the hot water heater is leaking. It was out of the loop when I got the boat. Thought maybe that was how they winterized it since surveyor said it was perfect but you can see where it has been sealed with some kind of epoxy. I hooked it up. I had to put a new element in it too.

Guess I could put another clamp on the shower drain.

Thanks again! Guess now I wait for my Kill-o-Watt reader tool. My neighbor is an electrician and might have one now.
 
Your neighbor may have a clamp on ammeter--which in some ways is better--(usually more expensive). That is another way of measuring the current.

Where is the epoxy? Is it possible that the unit was not winterized and there was a freeze problem? Where did the boat come from?
 
Until I saw the 12,000 btu number I was going to say to look at the Yami EF2000 at 44 lbs but not for 12,000 btu.

Amazon has the Yami EF2400 for $1,331 and says it will start most 13,500 btu air conditioners.

As thataway mentioned, I like the option of two Honda or Yami 2000s in parallel. The advantage is each one is light enough to be handled by one person without paying for chiropractic bills. The disadvantage is finding a place for two generators.

Ron
 
Hi John,

Welcome aboard. Life with a boat: always something to deal with... new boat - shakedown stuff; used boat - fixing what the previous owner didn't. Is the water you have on the cabin floor coming from around the head compartment? Our boat (and others') had a similar problem; I traced ours down to the rub rail - holes were drilled to mount the rail that weren't filled. If you had a lot of spray, or rain, or water from washdown that ran along the rub rail, we would get water on the floor. I took the rub rail off, rebedded it, and that took care of the problem. This was on a new boat at the time, btw. Another source for water leaks is the non-compatible shower fittings - water leaks behind the shower head/controls because the connections used were not the same threads... it leaks into the galley storage area, then runs out on the floor of the cabin. Same with the water heater fittings. Frustrating, since the factory at the time seemed to continue doing this even after it was pointed out on this forum, but easy to replace the fittings.

I agree with you that the bilge pump under the step is pretty much worthless. If you replace the aft bilge pump, be sure to do so with one that can be wired direct to the battery so it will run "on demand" as well as with the switch. Check it from time to time - any bit of crud in there can clog up the screen openings to the pump. Incidentally, the cockpit hatches are not water-tight, so you will get water in there. We have a full camperback that does a good job in keeping water out. Like you, we live in a warm climate, so the camperback isn't used when it's hot. (We travel a lot, so the camperback does get used)

Everyone's door to the head leaks when the shower is used. Some people have made an angled "diverter" on the door, we use a shower curtain. And, we put down a bath mat outside the door. We wipe the head compartment down after we shower - it keeps water off the floor and keeps the humidity down in the boat.

Can't help with the air conditioning - our boat doesn't have it. Like others, we have used a window unit in the front center window. Runs great with the Honda 2000, when necessary. Speaking of the Honda 2000, it will run the water heater, but you will sure hear it when the Eco-throttle allows it to power up and down as the water heater need the power draw. We also use it to run a coffee maker, microwave, or toaster oven. It saved the day when our onboard charger died while cruising in Florida (I picked up a cord to run it directly to the batteries). I'm a big fan of that little Honda.

So, as you discover what the boat needs to bring it up to your standards, understand that this is not an unusual situation. Don't let it get you down; the 25 is an impressive small boat for all it does in such a compact package. Once you get these initial things taken care of, we're sending wishes for some smooth sailing.

Regarding the surveyor: most of the time, they can tell you that the hull "sounds" good, and their checks of all the ancillary items is often not more than "turn it on, see if it seems to work, turn it off." Still, not a bad idea to get the survey done... obvious faults should be caught. He did the work, so should get paid; you can discuss the problems you came up with and ask if he will work with you on the price. But, the boating community is pretty small - don't pay a bill and that word will get around.

Once you get it all shipshape, I hope you enjoy the heck out of the boat.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Back
Top