TC255 Discovery Upgrades

D

Discovery

Active member
I have been doing a few modifications to Discovery, in preparation for our winter cruising.


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I have added 90 watts of solar panels, and a Shakespeare Sea Watch TV antenna.


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This shows the TV antenna in the stowed position.


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Here we have the 15" TV monitor in the up position.


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and in the viewing position.


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I removed the reversable seat and put in a forward port side cabinet.


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I raised the helm seat 4", also adds a place to store log book and other manuals etc.

We are planning to spend two or three months aboard Discovery this winter in Florida. The mods will make for more comfortable cruising.

Anyone else going to be in Florida this winter? We would enjoy spending time with some other C-Brats. Maybe stay long enough to do the Bahamas, if a crossing gets organized.
 
Brent, Did you build that forward dinette cabinet yoursel? great idea for more storage and better weight distribution.

I am wondering, did you move your house batteries forward, under the aft dinette seats? I seem to remember someone having done this on a TomCat to help with the weight distribution.

I like the folding antenna. John
 
drjohn,

Our batteries are in the trays to either side of the cockpit seat. Two on each side. Exide Orbital 31DM's. They are a spiral gel type. I did the cabinet work, the materials came from the factory. This was before the factory discontinued the direct customer support.

The extra weight on the port side does help to equalize the side to side trim. Next I am putting a Coolfreeze CF 50 Freezer, in the rear port side cabinet.
 
Brent, beautiful work! Great pictures too, thanks. I was hoping the TV folding mount was separate, but looks like it's part of the TV, true?
 
Hi Bent,

Very nice work!

I was just thinking where a good place to go cruising in the winter would be - too bad I still have to work. Maybe not too many more years. Until then I will read your posts and get a preview of places to go.


Steve
 
Very nice cabinet! I like the way you raised the seat, too...great use of that space. Hey, what kind of TV is that? We're in the market for one...is it a Sanyo? Also interested in that mount.

Rick
 
I want a friend just like Dave! Maybe we'll have to get him into a TomCat so's he can custom fit stuff like this for us!

Brent, I am amazed you travel so much, but still find time for this type of neat remodel. That extra port cabinet looks real handy.

John
 
Hi C-Brats,

The TV mount is a generic swivel type mount for a mid-size flat panel LCD. I changed it around from the configuration it came in. Only used the parts in a different order, so it articulates differently. Cost $48.00 on closeout at K-Mart. Regularly about $79.00

The TV is a Magnavox 15" LCD, it's from Walmart and was $228.00. The TV has a 110 V plug-in, that supplies a transformer/power supply. The power supply output was 12 v. at 4.5 amps. I just cut off the cord coming out of the power supply, and wired the TV directly to the boat 12 v. system, via a 5 amp fuse and switch. The switch also powers the antenna amplifier.

The Shakespeare antenna is a model 2025 and has a built-in (-10 to +25 db ) amplifier, cost $138.00 on Ebay

The helm seat riser was necessary because Dixie is too short to have a good view from the helm. She had been using a throwable life preserver cushion, but it slid around too much to be safe. I am 6' 4" and was pleased that it even improved my view from the helm.
 
Hi Brent,

We are planning to head for Florida after the first of the year. Nothing certain for timing, yet, as we're still working on some family stuff. Let's coordinate here to see if we can meet up.

Nice mods!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Great work, Brent!

Excellent placement of the various electronic components, too!

Have you started to notice any difference in acceleration or top speed with the increased weight?

Joe.
 
El & Bill, Hi, the solar panels are from Northern Tool & Equipment. 15 watts each, I think UniSolar is the manufacturer. Cost From $70.00 to $100.00 each, depending on the deal that's going at the time. I had 4 to start with. Used them for the Norcold fridge. Did an excellent job. We used the fridge 24/7 for two months, and never a battery issue. Now we are adding a Coolfreeze CF-50 fridge/freezer. Both the Norcold and the CF-50 will draw from the same battery bank. Two Exide Orbital 34DM gel batteries. They are charged by the 6 solar panels, and the port Honda 135, when running. Also a Ranger, 2 bank 10 amps/bank, charger, when on shore power.

JamesTXSD, We would enjoy meeting, and cruising with you. Let's keep in touch. Fred and Deb (TomCat 24) also expressed an interest in getting together in Florida. They spent last year at Marathon Key, and know the ropes.
 
Discovery":3hctuxjy said:
JamesTXSD, We would enjoy meeting, and cruising with you. Let's keep in touch. Fred and Deb (TomCat 24) also expressed an interest in getting together in Florida. They spent last year at Marathon Key, and know the ropes.
Click to expand...

Sounds great! We will be looking for a secure place to store the boat and trailer - keep us posted if you find something. Doesn't necessarily have to be in the Keys. We'll look forward to meeting up, if it works.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I have made a couple more improvements to Discovery in anticipation of our winter cruising to Florida and the Bahamas.

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I added a Scotty 1106 Depthpower Downrigger.

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and

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I also added a Waeco Coolfreeze CF-50 AC/DC, fridge/freezer, on a slide out tray, in the rear port cabinet.

Now if it would only warm up enough to wash and wax the boat, change the oil in the three Honda's, and get things loaded. We will be leaving from Utah on Dec. 26th and slowly heading east and south. Destination Florida the first week of Jan. Also hope to join others in a Bahamas crossing in Feb. or March.
 
Brent..Your installation of the freezer looks great. There is an access port on the floor inside that cabinet for the wash down valve. Is that an issue or do you just leave the valve open?

Margaret
 
Thataway,

We will plan to stop by when we reach Pensacola. The 10th should be about right. We have to go via Yuma Arizona. Got to get Grandma set up in her winter digs, before we can leave for a few months. Then follow interstate 8 and 10 all the way east.

Gene,

The hatch is accessible with the tray pulled all the way out. We just leave the raw water valve in the open position. To clean the water strainer however, I will have to set the Waeco off of the tray, to reach it .
 
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