Completely Overwhelmed

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

My guess is the wing/get home engine has very few hours unless the main blew out far from home. Does the wing engine have an hour or Holmes meter on it to give you run time? If it's a diesel, a certified CAT mechanic is well qualified to give it a once over even if it isn't a CAT brand. If low hours then a cursory look at hoses, belts, cooling system, heat exchanger zincs and a run up to temp checking any electrical components running off it could be done by the CAT guy in an extra hour or so. It should start right up, if it doesn't then may need some maintenance. Usual when you do regular maintenance on a main, you also should do it on the wing... that would include oil change, coolant change, exchanger zincs, through hull checks and lube as well as drive linkage to main shaft depending on what system you have.
My experience with both CAT and Detroit mechanics is they know their stuff and have a regular hourly chargeout rate for mech checks and oil analysis. If further work is necessary, they can give you a pretty good estimate what the charges for repair work will be.
Good idea to be present and ask them to explain what they are checking, the get home coupling system to you and run over any maintenance records the PO has available. Hope this helps... cheers, Phil

Ok Phil, that's what I'll do, thanks!!!

The wing does have a meter. It reads a couple hundred hrs. Is that high or low for a wing?

[markpierce]

Haven't purchased your boat yet? where's your courage? because that's what it takes.



Quit your delay. "Get on the horse!"

[Sandero]

take pictures...

[Capt Phil]

GG, a couple of hundred hours on the wing says to me that the owner has run it regularly to make certain it is in good shape. An oil analysis may tell you more. The worst thing he/she could have done is let the engine sit without running it up to temp and being a diesel, which I suspect, rev it up and run her at higher revs for a while. Hopefully, they have also engaged the get home coupling a few times to make sure it performs without chatter and is aligned correctly depending on the coupling set up. They can be connected by chain, disc (like a transmission) or gearing. Not a good idea to run the main and the get home engine at the same time unless disengaged or some way to do that. On your sea trial, have the owner run both and write down how to shut down the main and engage the get home. Usually there is a manual engaging mechanism. If it is a power engager, look into having a manual over ride that you can engage the get home without power in case of a power failure. defjef's suggestion is a good one because if you do need service or advice, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Another issue you might check into is whether or not the get home engine has charging ability which is pretty critical for charging batteries if your main is out and your gen set packs up.
The get home engine should have a seperate fuel pick up and filter than the main as well. I had a bad experience with a fuel problem that clogged up the filters which affected both the main engine, the gen set fuel system and the get home because they all ran off the same fuel filter system. Once it was sorted out, I ran a seperate fuel line to the get home while I worked on the rest of the system. Cause was dirty fuel that got stirred up and lack of sufficient filters to keep changing them out. Fifty miles out at sea is no place to sort the mess out, believe me!
Don't hesitate to PM me with engine makes and coupler set up if you wish... I'm not an expert, just a lot of sea miles on different vessels... good luck, cheers, Phil

[downunder]

Originally Posted by GalaxyGirl

Ok Bob, I like that one. I'm going to be open-minded. I'll add it to the list for next week. I'm going to call the broker tomorrow to set up the showing.

I wish they had given the fuel burn. That thing goes very fast, which can't be a good thing.

Definitely have a good look at that 68ft Malcolm Tennant catamaran.

The designer died a couple of years ago from a fall at home. He and his cruising powercat designs are considered top shelf world leading and I would expect the NZ build quality also to be top class.

His designs can be run at any speed to manage fuel burn.

A quality cabinet maker would have most of the skills for working on refitting a boat.

[deckofficer]

Another Malcolm Tennant design for sale in Florida. 2006 Malcolm Tennant 55 - Boats.com

8 kt @ 3 gph. 2006 55'

[markpierce]

A "real/strong" woman would make her choice, especially after a year's continuous advice from others, unless she was dependent upon a man to make choices for her.

[Airshac]

Originally Posted by markpierce

A "real/strong" woman would make her choice, especially after a year's continuous advice from others, unless she was dependent upon a man to make choices for her.

Wtf! Do you mean to add a winkey face or smiley face to the end of that statement?

[markpierce]

I suppose most of us have humble boat beginnings, such as this (although mine had no engine) so we could build our boating knowledge and confidence. But that's hardly an excuse for continual diddle daddling. Do it or not!

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Airshac

Wtf! Do you mean to add a winkey face or smiley face to the end of that statement?

No, men should stop coddling the woman.

[Stu Jackson]

Aw, c'mon, I've tried to contribute, been proven wrong, and have been subtly reminded about it.

I wish her all the best of luck.

No smiley needed, I mean it.

[Airshac]

I think this thread is great! So maybe she is dragging her feet, who cares! It's her time/money/family on the line. But there is a lot of useful information dished out here daily. Coddled or not it is "enriching" the CF community.
I have learned a ton about cats. I never would have considered cruising in one but after reading about all the benefits that's def what ill look at to go cruising with my wife and kids.

[ranger58sb]

Took us a lot longer than a year to identify, find, and buy our last two boats... even with years of boating background before that.

-Chris

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by Airshac

I think this thread is great! So maybe she is dragging her feet, who cares! It's her time/money/family on the line. But there is a lot of useful information dished out here daily. Coddled or not it is "enriching" the CF community.
I have learned a ton about cats. I never would have considered cruising in one but after reading about all the benefits that's def what ill look at to go cruising with my wife and kids.

Before cats (we'll call BC) folks weren't taking trailerable 26' outboard powered boats displacing < 7000 lbs from Alaska to Siberia and back, Hawaii to Midway, or East Coast to Bermuda. Then along comes Larry Graf, current owner of Aspen powercats, former owner of Glacier Bay Catamarans, and on the GB model 2690, a small 26' cabin cat hulled boat does all the above and then some. If a little 26' boat does that well off shore, think how that scales up to the size GG is looking at. Today, owner's of powercats take for granted how well even the smallest cats perform offshore and trips from the PNW, San Juan Islands, Desolation Sound, all the way to the namesake of these small boats Glacier Bay, Alaska are routine. Here is an interesting blog of a 72 year old retired engineer who took the above trip.

The Great Adventure

As you can see from the blog, there is a method to my madness of trying to push GG towards cats, and it isn't just for their fraction of displacement that would allow her to captain in short time, for her needs it is just a superior design.

[Airshac]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Before cats (we'll call BC) folks weren't taking trailerable 26' outboard powered boats displacing < 7000 lbs from Alaska to Siberia and back, Hawaii to Midway, or East Coast to Bermuda. Then along comes Larry Graf, current owner of Aspen powercats, former owner of Glacier Bay Catamarans, and on the GB model 2690, a small 26' cabin cat hulled boat does all the above and then some. If a little 26' boat does that well off shore, think how that scales up to the size GG is looking at. Today, owner's of powercats take for granted how well even the smallest cats perform offshore and trips from the PNW, San Juan Islands, Desolation Sound, all the way to the namesake of these small boats Glacier Bay, Alaska are routine. Here is an interesting blog of a 72 year old retired engineer who took the above trip.

The Great Adventure

As you can see from the blog, there is a method to my madness of trying to push GG towards cats, and it isn't just for their fraction of displacement that would allow her to captain in short time, for her needs it is just a superior design.

Oh I totally agree, it seems like the smartest choice after learning more about them.