On Board with Mark Corke

Lumber yard skiff at Maine Boat Builders show

2010-03-20T09:00:47-04:00

There are all sorts pf boats at the Maine Boat builders show from super fancy and expensive to efficient and utilitarian. Just inside the door was this lumber yard skiff. I've written about these boats before but \I do like them for their simplicity and rugged good looks. This example was on sale with the engine for less than $19,000 which seems like a good deal.

Many of these skiffs have been constructed in differing layouts but this one on display has a center console which makes steering the boat easier as you are standing up, particularly as the bow is fairly high when running at speed. The console also looks just right to my mind. For a fairly modest boat there is a ton of room inside and this one which has seating in the bow and atop the ice box just forward of the console.

Maine Boat Builders show

2010-03-18T12:40:06-04:00

One of the best shows around has got to be the Maine Boat Builders Show in Portland. I try to get there every year and this year I am looking forward to it with much anticipation.

I plan to bring you a daily update in words and pictures of this unique show during the three days that it is on. Unlike any other, the show is held in an old railway works that is now the home to Portland Yacht Services. They clear the boats out for a few days and in come the booths. Don't expect pink pant and blue blazers at this event however, this is a gathering of the clan, hardcore boat builders and enthusiasts.

If you plan on being there and see me please do pop over and say hello.

Foam filled boats

2010-03-14T19:28:14-04:00

Here is an interesting video that I shot with my new video camera of the opening up of a Trigon 1591 which is basically a Boston Whaler knock off. Unless you're doing major repairs it's is not often that we get a chance to cut into boat like this so this video is really interesting. What you will see towards the end of the video you may find hard to believe. When the starboard side is cut open you'll see it is filled with foam as you would expect, but when the port side is cut open it is totally devoid of any foam. It is apparent that the boat was constructed this way so it is clearly a mixture of poor quality control and poor workmanship.

I am certain that when this boat was new the salesman assured the buyer that it was the best money could buy, was built to the highest standard and that the builder would stand by the quality of their product. Well now 19 years later that salesman has long since forgotten about this boat, the builder is out of business and can't stand by their product and now that we've cut the boat open it's clear it is in fact NOT built to a high standard.

Not only was the foam missing on the port side, but the laminate on this boat was very thin as well. Foam is used not only for flotation but, just as in the Boston Whaler, it is there to add support to the inner and outer skins. Without foam the boat flexes, is very noisy and has very little structural strength. The lesson to be learned here is that you don't always get what you think you see, so be a smart and educated boat buyer.

Hull to deck joints

2010-03-12T18:45:05-05:00

I apologize for the poor quality of this picture which I took with my new Kodak ZI8 camera of which you will hear more of later but at least you can see that this a hull to deck joint that has come apart. This joint is of a well know volume builder's 23 foot sport fishing boat. The boat was in a collision which damaged the hull but what is important is what was in fact holding the two parts together.

What you are seeing is two very small beads of caulking, probably 5200 above which is a hole left by the self tapping screws under the rub rail. That's it! On most of the boat there was so little caulk that it did not even seal the gap between the two parts of the boat and the occasional screws were so inadequate and close to the edge of the laminate that they offered no mechanical strength at all. When you consider that this boat was powered by a couple of 225 hp outboards it's amazing that the deck did not just pop off the first time that the boat hit a wave.

There is nothing wrong with using 3m 5200 as an adhesive, it's marvelous stuff but you have to have enough of it, two small beads like this just won't cut it.

Nordstar 31

2010-03-09T16:39:23-05:00

While I was at the Boston boat show I spent a far bit of time looking over the Nordstar 31 and I have to admit that I am rather taken with it. The Nordstar range of boats offered come in sizes from 24 to 40 feet and have the appearance like no other on the water. The enclosed wheel house and walk around deck gives the boat a work boat look to it at first glance but this belies the rather sumptuous interior appointments. The boat on display had leather upholstery and smelt just like a new car!

This is the interior helm position and with a plethora of windows the boat would I imagine be easy to drive as there was just about 360 degree visibility. I did try to take some extra pictures but I did not have a wide angle lens on the camera so trying to fit everything into the frame was a bit of problem but for additional information and images you can go to the Nordsatr website by clicking here.

The aft deck opens up butterfly fashion to give really good access to the engines which are a pair of Volvo D4's driving a brace of stern drives. Some while back this boat was available with conventional drives but these have now been dropped and the stern drive is the only option. Incidentally the stern drives are hidden below the swim platform aft so they do not stick out the back of the boat and spoil the lines.

The Nordstar range of boats is either one that you are either going to love or hate. I personally fall into the former category and I could see me doing some serious offshore passages in this boat, it's rated for winds up to and including Force 8 so this is no wimpy weekender. With the doors and windows open you will be able to feel the wind in your hair but close up and boating in the fall and winter months could be equally enjoyable. I can't wait to take the boat for a spin.

Blue Sea ACR install

2010-03-05T17:44:45-05:00

I have been following Tom Larkin's blog with interest. Tom is building a slightly modified Devlin Godzilla tug which he has called Coot, and is close now to having the boat finished and ready for the first splash. Most of the woodwork is finished and he is at the point of installing hardware and finishing off the electrical installation.

Very sensibly he is installing a Blue Sea ACR which very cleverly charges both the house and the engine start battery at the same time when the engine is running but as soon as the relay senses that there is no charge coming from the alternator, such as when the engine is shut down, it opens isolating the two batteries from each other. Thus as the house loads are drawn from the house battery the engine start battery is left undisturbed so no matter how much the house batteries are drained you are always sure to have a fully topped up battery to start the motor.

Because the system is fully automatic with no switches to flip, or forget for that matter it is the almost perfect solution to avoiding waking up in the morning and finding that the engine start battery has insufficient power to crank over the engine.

In the past the nearest thing to this arrangement was the use of blocking diodes and although they did sterling service in many applications they are very inefficient and can lead to chronic undercharging of batteries which are sure to shorten their life.

I tend to agree with Tom that the schematic wiring diagram that comes with the ACR can be difficult to follow and I know that there was some head scratching on my part when I installed one last year. Faced with similar issues Tom has come up with one of the best diagrams that I have seen that shows the relationship between all the on board components.

You can click on it to make it larger but I especially like the way that he has shown those parts that will be hidden below the cabin sole and those such as the main switch panel etc that will be readily accessible adjacent to the helm. It sure beats the sketch that I did on the back of a corn flake packet when I did my install.

Affordable boats

2010-03-01T12:17:08-05:00

Before my visit to the Boston Boat show was cut short by the hurricane I did manage to snap off some interesting pictures. One of which is this WETA trimaran which I like the look of a lot. Only 14 feet in length it looks like a whole lot of fun. But what is interesting, almost more than the boat is that it was just part of what was called the affordability pavillion where each boat had a board similar to the one shown below listing the cost price along with what the finance rates would be if you wanted to go down that route.

Boats are all too often seen as expensive play things which real people cannot afford but I think this excellent initiative and goes some way to getting more regular folks out onto the water. I hope they do more of this sort of thing at other shows.

New England Hurricane

2010-02-27T20:50:51-05:00

It was less than 14 months ago that we got slammed up here in the North East with a huge ice storm that knocked out our power for 10 days and now history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. Although it's not ice this time but wind that has brought down power lines and smashed boats into heaps. The governor has declared a state of emergency and it looks like another long cold spell without power for me.

Apparently 90 mph winds were recorded in nearby Portsmouth and it was this that led to the sort of destruction that you see in the picture. The mess is going to take some time to clear up and some people will not be boating this year as their boats will be a total loss.

Can you hear me now? Installing a VHF radio

2010-02-24T17:43:02-05:00

Installing a VHF set is one of the best upgrades that you can do to your boat. A lot of boaters think that the use of a VHF set is now obsolete as they will just use their cell phones. This is very misguided as you may be out of cell range and you may not be able to call for help in an emergency. You will also be able to call a marina or another boat even if you don't know their name as most vessels and other radio stations maintain a listening watch on channel 16 which is the International distress and calling channel.

I installed a Uniden 525 similar to the one shown below.

You don't need a whole lot of tools but you do need to take your time and be through and precise. In addition to the tools and the actual radio you will also need an antenna and some cable to connect the radio to the power supply. You should follow any instructions that come with the radio with respect to cable sizing and fuses but these are pretty standard across the board. The step by step below should give you a good understanding of what is involved even if it does not match your particular application exactly.

1. Start by reading and fully understanding the instructions that come with the radio set. Then make a list of components that you will need which you can gather together before you start so that you will not have to run back and forth to the store once you actually get going.

2. Work out the position of the radio set and cable runs and affix the clips to hold the cables neatly out of the way. I have seen so many boats where the owner, in a hurry to get the radio working has just temporarily connected everything up and the wiring is mess. With the clips mounted screw the radio in position. The radio will either be mounted in a bracket, called a trunnion mount or will be flush mounted in a panel, usually close to the helm position.

3. Connect the power connection at the back of the radio to the black and red power lead. As shown here this is often a waterproof snap together connector. Starting at the back of the radio and working back towards the power supply enables excess cable to be removed. Avoid curled up excess cabling at the back of the radio at all costs which can lead to eddy currents causing interference to transmissions and mysterious compass deviations.

4. Strap down the cables so that they lie flat and neat.

5. Cut the cables to the correct length. They should be not too tight nor have too much slack in them, aim for a graceful loop when the wires terminate. The red wire will connect to the fused distribution panel just visible top left and the black to the negative bus bar on the right side.

6. Make neat and proper connections using crimped terminals and heat shrink. Never just simply wind a cable around a screw. The connection to the bus bar is a captive ring type while a spade connector was required for making the proper connection to the back of the distribution panel. For more on how to make proper electrical connections you can read my earlier post by clicking here.

7. Ensure that the correct size fuse is used to protect the equipment. A fuse that is too large will fail to blow if a fault develops and either the radio could be fried or a fire could start. The handbook that comes with the radio will tell you what size fuse is required.

8.The final step is to connect up the antenna which nearly always means that you have to put a plug onto the end of the coaxial cable from the antenna. Follow the instructions that come with the plug but ensure that the outer shield wire does not make contact with the central conductor as the plug is assembled. Doing so will seriously degrade the performance of the radio.

9. Screw the antenna plug onto the socket onto the back of the radio. You are now ready to turn the set on and make sure that it works properly. If there is a problem recheck all your connections.

New England Boat show

2010-02-23T08:57:29-05:00

It seems that I have only just returned from the Miami show and here I am at another. The New England Boat Show is at the Boston Convention and exhibition center and runs through till next Sunday the 28th of February. For at least part of the time I shall be there with fellow surveyors Norm LeBlanc and Joe Grenier. If you are planning a trip to the show please do drop by and say hello. As you can see in the picture we are easy to find right next door to the Raymarine booth.