The following notes are a summary of the discussions from the 2018 C&C Rendezvous Tech Talk. Contact the boat that was referenced if you need more information.

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Water

Condensation issues

• In the winter, the key is ventilation and temperature. Some ideas include:

• Get plastic vents (see Timara for ideas)

• Dehumidifier (Alera has one that drains into the sink)

• Crystals such as Damp Rid (available at Marine stores and some Home Depots)

• Keep hatches open a bit

• Use a heater

• Fury added a home style bathroom vent in the head

• New dehumidifier that fills water tanks. Stars and Stripes saw these in Florida.

 

Exit Water (holding tank)

• Suggestions for the smell issues include:

  • Buy a copper hose – most expensive. These hoses don’t smell as much.

  • Fury used PVC hard pipe which is a good solution if there is room.

  • Timara suggested using NoFlex Digestive Sewage Treatment (approx. $23)

  • Flush the head with fresh water before closing the valves

  • Prairie Princess using tablets

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Water – other

• Home Depot carries gaskets that fit the fresh water tank

• Water in bilge – check your vented loops

• Windstrel has blisters in the water tank

  • Feedback is if there are blisters, the plastic is delaminating which releases toxic chemicals. Suggest replacing tank or spray an epoxy to re-seal.

• Fury recommended leaving water in the bow tank to help keep the bow down to slice more effectively through the water

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Leaky windows

Fresh water pump

Raw water constrictions /issues

Water in the bulkhead?

 

PSS seal coupling

• Windstrel has to burp it when it gets a rattle. Spoke to the company in Everett. Suggestion was there may be a shaft vibration that is causing the rattle.

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Solar Panels

• Mistral has 100 watt solar panel

• Negative feedback on Zantrax controllers

• Timara recommended spending the money on the controller. Two types:

  • MPCM controllers – 18 – 20 volts. This controller knows voltage down to 12 volts.  The extra voltage goes into heat

  • MPPT – Good, more efficient and cool

  • As for price, the MPPT is about 4 times the cost but is worth it

  • Good brand is Blue Sea Systems Electric

• Timara used two Magma BBQ panels off the stern that can be gimbled to face the sun

• More efficient to be able to tilt than larger flat panels

• Flexible solar panels not a good idea – break faster

• If you have a fridge go larger – 4 groups of 31 (2 x 40 watt)

• Pressure water uses approximately 8 ½ amps on Namba

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LED Lighting

• Recommend updating all lights to LED

• Steveston Marine has some really nice lights that go red first then white. When you hold the switch, you can dim them.

• Impulse has LED strip lighting with a remote.

• If replacing navigation lights – make sure to check distance and colour required by law. A couple of boats mentioned using regular lights for this as the motor is usually on.

• Good providers

  • Go-Power in Victoria

  • Polar Battery in Burnaby

• If you go beyond 100 amps on alternator, recommend using Serpentine Belts

 

Rudder Post

• Bushings – can get them made. Namba got his done from ProTech for $600

• Bracket on rudder post was broken (more?)

• If the rudder post is not properly greased, water will come in. Watch the belts – not too loose not to tight. Measure with something like we use on the shrouds.

• Squeak in wheel – gave it a bit of lube (what did Mark say about this?)

 

Wheels

• Edson wheel

  • Pop metal brakes

  • Made out of stainless

• Throttle handle – Prairie Princess had one machined in Calgary

 

Polyglow / finish hull / oxidation?

 

Authentic C&C Parts

• www.HollandMarine.com

• www.southshoreyachts.com

• Can also get copies of your boat plans from the C&C Maritime Museum

 

Heating

• Impulse got a new forced air system from Planar (www.planarheaters.com) in Cloverdale. The unit was very reasonable compared to other solutions. They got it installed for an all-in price of $2,500.

• Recommend an electric bed pad – takes the dampness out

 

Cooking Improvements

• Habanero uses Pressurized alcohol. Suggestion was to move to propane. With propane, challenge is where to put the tank. Some mount on the outside of the stern. Tanks are approximately $300.

• Special hose made

 

Fuel Tanks

• Fury only has a 20-gallon fuel tank as this boat was a racer. Didn’t seem to be an issue for most. Stars and Stripes added an additional tank. If you want more information about this, contact Don directly.

 

Safety

MOB

• New Bluetooth Man Over Board (MOB) alarm and tracking system from Weems & Plath that if someone goes overboard, you can use your phone to find location. The device activates as soon as it hits water and no network is required. Stars and Stripes uses a CrewWatcher (www.crewwatcher.com) for Jazzy. The website is crewsaver.com but buy from others such as Defender as it is cheaper. Weems and Platt also sell it.

• Stars and Stripes uses the MOB when anchoring. If you drag, your alarm will sound. Recommendation to make sure your MOB is not connected to your distress calling.

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Grab Bag

• Discussion about grab bags in the event you must abandon ship. Suggest we share lists of what should be in this bag. Here is a link to an article with useful information. West Marine also has some suggestions in this advisory article.

• Swiftsure Safety Checklist  link  was mentioned.

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Emergency Water Issues

• Discussion was thru haul plugs should have a string tied to the hose by the thru haul in the event you need to plug a hole in a hurry. During a haul out make sure to try the plugs from the outside.

• Brass thru hulls?

• One boat had used sports socks as a plug in an emergency

• Shaft problem – Stars and Stripes used a broom handle as it was the right size. The issue was the coupling came loose. Make sure there is a zinc up against the ___________.

• Make sure to check the fittings – give them a bang with a mallet.

• In the event of big waters, make sure to lock your slats, hatches etc. so they do not come loose.

• Rule of thumb – in the event you think you have to abandon ship, make sure you step up into your life raft. Many boats where people have abandoned ship were later found still floating.

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Rescuing

• Suggested cutting up an old sail for a lifting device if you need to bring someone out of the water.

• Make sure to bring someone up horizontally, not vertically to minimize trauma to the heart by having to heat the extremities.

• Put hot packs under their arms to help them get to temperature

• Put a cap on their head to minimize heat loss.

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Where Are You?

• Discussion around a recent emergency call where the boat did not know their location. Make sure to be aware of where you are at all times.

• New DSC (Digital selective calling) capable radios always display your GPS coordinates. They also have a distress button that will automatically send out your location.

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Checklist

• Impulse has check lists for preparing to depart. Here is a sample pre-departure check list. Contact Impulse for their version.

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​Check Emergency Tools

• Recommendation to figure out how your emergency tiller works prior to needing it in an emergency.

• Recent incident had a boat using the manual bilge pump. It was difficult to do and had a very short handle. Review how this works as well.

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Other Discussions

• Next hats – get without the button as it hurts when the button is the point of contact with something hard.

 

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

 

Thanks for participating!