The following notes are a summary of the discussions from the
2025 C&C Rendezvous Tech Talk. 

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Access Port Strategies

• Impulse – installed a locking hatch where the dip stick is located to make oil changing easy. Purchased the hatch on Amazon. 

• Blue Heaven has not added additional hatches, but has tried a lot of strategies to access everything including an access poll, grabber etc. 

• Momentum has added a 20 inch square panel to access the steering. 

• Carpe Diem added a big hatch. Also thinking about adding another big hatch at the end of the quarter berth. 

• Canoe cove added the hatch for Masquerade.

• Archangel said just make sure that the structure around the hole will support the hatch size. 

Tank Monitors

• Red Sled purchased WEMA tank monitoring. Has a display for 7 tanks. The type was based on calling Coopers Charters and asking which devices required the least amount of maintenance. 

• L’il Ollie’s tank management system not integrated, but is programmable. Senders are on the outside of the tank. 

• Xanax uses a remote monitoring system called Snake River (https://www.gmcrvparts.com/product-p/gmfg703k.htm). 

• Leap Frog has a PECO tank monitoring system.
   

Stuffing box – how many drips should it have?

• Archangel suggested one a minute while sitting

• Archangel has also moved to teflon which will not heat up and drips less. Comment was made that Teflon could potentially cut the shaft so make sure you check it. 

• DO NOT USE the graphite seal.

• Archangel has seen some people use a stainless steel puck to stop it from moving. 

• Prairie Princess had an inexpensive vent hose on the dripless bearing, but the hose cracked. 

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Polyflex fitting

• Somerset asked if one should use the Polyflex fitting from Australia. No one had any experience with this product. 
   

Fender storage

• Two of the 34+’s hang the fenders on the back rails of the boat when cruising and down the hatch when racing. Just watch that the fender is not covering the heater exhaust.   

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Whisker Pole – where to buy

• Blue Heaven is looking for one

• Pro-tech Yacht has a bunch in the yard (North Vancouver)

• Tradewinds Boat Exchange may also have some (Sidney)

• There are also a few in the Poulsbo area
   

How to convince the husband to get a dodger

• Suggest get one that is easy to remove. Red Sled’s dodger uses cotter pins to easily removed for racing
   

Tides Track or equivalent

• Many of the boats have added this to their mast so they can quickly drop the sail.

• Most felt this was a game changer for how quickly the sail can be dropped and it keeps you off the deck.

• Cost ranges between $1,500 - $2,000. Note the sail also needs to be adjusted with the new cars. 
   

Anchor – how to get up over the bow roller

• Zephyrus suggested a good swivel (approx. $150)

• Alera uses the boat hook to turn the anchor to make it easier to pull over the roller

• Windstrel cleans the rode on the way up and uses the brush to turn it over 
   

Yanmar – cold starts

• Windstrel has a Yanmar 3G that has problems with cold starts.

• Habanero uses a  - Thermo start - Hoyle Tractor out of Texas fixed the issue (drips a few drops of oil)
   

Bilge Level Alarms

• Should have an alarm. Can buy some that phone you

• Barnacle Systems (https://www.brnkl.io/about/) from Victoria has security and monitoring systems (also offers a subscription)

• Prairie Princess knows of a boat that added a second bilge pump that was a bit higher that pees on your feet

• ABYC requires a counter 

• Blue Heaven has Bilge Buddy – subscription ($10-15 USD) - send reports 

• Water Witch – works well 
   

Milky windows – how to fix

• $30 kits including Mcguires that cleans headlights
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Coating for the Prop

• Archangel bought a zinc primer from Canadian Tire for $15 a couple of years ago. He sprayed it on the max prop and has very little growth and the zincs are lasting longer. 

• Prop Speed, another product is used at a lot of yards, however it is quite expensive.

• A neighbouring boat can cause major problems. Can ask the Marina to test the current in the water.

• Galvanic Isolators are recommended. Can purchase second hand or new at places like Tradewinds, Spencers, Allbay (all rendezvous sponsors)

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Shaft

• If you have a bent shaft, make sure you take the shaft, coupling etc to the company that is fixing it to ensure it will fit properly. 

• Lapping compound helped with the fit.

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Safety Items

• Skirmish – talked about the importance of crotch straps on PFDs

• Discussed different ways to pull a ladder down from the water

• Windstrel put a ring on the railing to release the ladder

• Some use a monkey ring

• Try your safety gear to make sure these things work

• Make sure the ladder goes down far enough into the water (two steps) – must go down 18 inches 

• One ladder is available on Binnacle for approx. $280

• Knife in your life jacket that is easy to open

• Jack lines – Zephyrus got at West Marine, sets them up before leaving dock

• Someone suggested adding a couple of twists in jack lines

• Make sure you can also get into the dinghy if you fall out. There are simple steps for this.

• Red Sled reviews a safety card with all guests who go sailing

• Attainable Adventure Cruising – John Harries (https://www.morganscloud.com/author/admin/) – talks about all kinds of safety issues

• Get double ended tethers if you are getting them so it is easier to move on the deck

• Good info from Drew Fry from Practical Sailor

• Make sure your wooden plugs are tied to the thru hulls

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How to clean your teak 

• Lemon oil cleaner then teak oil 

• Gold Clean (very good on teak)

• Feed and Wax is good to use on teak. (https://www.homehardware.ca/en/16-oz-feed-n-wax-wood-preserver/p/4548388?srsltid=AfmBOoqjH5YKAZm3V_SI98hJMsoG9tUpEIqiFzwQ1mlcJYeuX59y6B9I)

• Fabulon, a polyurethane, is good to use because it has a grip on the stairs. It's a varnish that they use in gyms. It's hard to get in Canada. 

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Cleaning Spreaders

• Archangel suggested using diluted Salt Away to strip it; then soap and water to clean; then between aluminum and stainless use anicoat to make sure to avoid corrosion

• Other suggested products to clean the spreaders are 30 Seconds and Wet & Forget. 30 Seconds is a bleach compound so make sure it doesn’t get on the clothes or canvas.

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Rod Rigging

• Rockababy just replaced and came in under budget (Approx. $5K US)

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Lifelines

• Dyneema rope is not a good product to use as the knots can slip. Insurance companies will not support this product. 

• Can’t have more than 2 inches of play

• Watch the coating. Could be corroded underneath.

• Look for the delta – is something changing? 

• Prairie Princess changed their lifelines to stainless

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Water Tanks

• Water tank leaking by the hatch. Clean it up and do a plastic weld if it is outside of the o-ring. 

• Great plastic replacement tank from Barr or Industrial Plastics. 

• Can buy the weld material from Amazon and use the heat gun. 

• For dripping between tanks – Alera got replacements from Gardina (the garden hose people). 

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Separating on the forward bulkhead

• Archangel suggested making a repair when the boat is at rest. Takes tension off.

• You should haul out to get everything to a standard state. Can use fiberglass or 5200 for repair.

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Babystay usage 

• Use your babystay at about 12 knots. Just enough. Rebalances the rig. Not jiggly. Watch tightening your backstay – can cause cracking. Order for tightening is halyard tension; forestay tension; backstay; babystay; then check the backstay. 

• Blue Heaven lets every line loose when not used.

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For any errors or omissions please contact cncrdv@gmail.com.

Thanks for participating!