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Category Archives: Purchase

Raymarine electronics

Raymarine Electronics at the helm of Yes Please.

Raymarine Electronics at the helm of Yes Please.

I have never been a big fan of Raymarine Electronics. Almost all of the charter boats that I have operated came equipped with them, so I am familiar with how they work. I also see them on a lot of local boats, so am guessing it is a popular brand.

Yes Please came equipped with Raymarine Electronics, so it was time to re-program the AIS unit with the new boat name (formerly Maverick) and to troubleshoot a very annoying alarm that constantly pops up that the “connection to the DSM module has been lost”. The first order of business was to find the modules, then figure out how to access them. It took a bit of hard pulling on the Autopilot, and eventually the dash popped off and I was able to see how things were hooked up.

DSM and Sea Talk modules

DSM and Sea Talk modules

My mini-usb cable turned out to be a little too short, which necessitated holding the laptop with one hand while typing with the other. Eventually, I was able to re-program the AIS unit with the new “Yes Please” boat name and then updated the AIS firmware to the latest version. This was very easy to do using the ProAIS software and USB drivers. I was also glad the laptop batteries were in good shape, since I forgot the power cable. DOH!

Next, I updated the E120 chart plotter to the latest version of firmware, which helped with troubleshooting the Raymarine SeaTalk network issues. Then I began to investigate the dropping DSM module error that constantly appears.

AIS module well hidden below the helm.

AIS module well hidden below the helm.

It turns out that the Raymarine Depth Sounder Module (DSM300) was the victim of very poor engineering. The Ray supplied power cable is too thin (insufficient gauge) to handle the 8 amps of load required. As a result, when the DSM pings, it attempts to draw 8 Amps of current through the too thin wire, which drops the voltage below the unit’s minimum voltage set point (obviously set too high), so the unit drops out and restarts. Wow, engineering has fallen a long way since Raytheon invented the Magnetron (radar) during WWII!

Yes Please, our new boat

Grand Banks Eastbay 39 Sx

Grand Banks Eastbay 39 sx

We picked up our new boat in Seattle and cruised home to Olympia. There were gale warnings in the Marine Forecast, so we used the extra speed to our advantage to get home just as the big winds arrived. It was a pleasant cruise at about 16 knots that would have taken us an entire day in the old 7 knot trawler.

Our new boat, named Yes Please, is a 2007 Grand Banks Eastbay 39 sx.

The Galley area of Yes Please

The Galley area of Yes Please

She sports a pair of Cummins QSC8.3 liter engines that put out 490 HP each. The interior is laid out perfectly for a cruising couple, with no wasted space and not a lot of extra storage, which I am hoping keeps down the clutter. The new boat is a perfect weekend boat, which will also work well for multi-week trips up to the islands.

Survey Says…

Hull Inspection haulout at Seaview, Shilshole.

Hull Inspection haulout at Seaview, Shilshole.

Matt Harris and Kevin Ambrose did the surveys on the new boat. Both the hull survey and mechanical survey went very well, with the only surprise being a chunk of wood jammed into the starboard cutlass bearing (strut). It took a lot of work with chisels, pliers, knives and finally a packing puller to get the wood chunk out, but once removed the bearing seemed solid.

During the Sea Trial, we hit 28 knots at full throttle and found the boat cruised comfortably at 20 knots. Kevin noted that the engines were in “like new” condition and purred underway. The Smartcraft monitor made checking the engine parameters underway very easy.

28 knots in choppy seas is pretty impressive

28 knots in choppy seas is pretty impressive

All the zincs were replaced while the boat was hanging in the slings at Seaview. I was very impressed at how quickly and professionally Seaview handled the haulout, repair and zinc replacement.

Boat Shopping

Shopping for a new boat is always a lot of fun. Yachtworld is bookmarked and several boats that are for sale there piqued my interest. With the Boat Show approaching at the end of January, we made several trips to Seattle and Anacortes to look at boats.

I am primarily looking for something a little smaller (around 40′ instead of Sea Eagle’s 50′), that can go a little faster and is a little easier to maintain. The boat should be better at weekend trips, with the option of a few annual long range trips as well.

I looked at a couple of Nordhavn 40’s, but they are just too small and felt crowded to me. I love the Nordhavn quality and engineering, but am thinking I won’t buy another Nordy until I retire and want to only go seven knots again.

American Tug 41

American Tug 41

We looked at (and tried to purchase) an American Tug, which is a well built boat with the Master Stateroom amidship where it belongs. They want a lot of money for those tugs and I quickly bowed out of a bidding war.

We looked at a couple of Nordic Tugs, which are also very nice boats. However, the word on the net is that the wave slap on the hard chines while at anchor is simply “diabolical”. The boat also seemed a bit tippy as people walked around the decks.

Coastal Craft

Coastal Craft

I checked out a Coastal Craft, which are beautiful, aluminum hulled boats that are built just over the border in Canada. I thought seriously about buying one, but they are more $$ than a Nordhavn.

We fell in love with a Hans Christiansen Independence Trawler named Carolina. She’s beautiful, very old, built like a tank, but slow and I wasn’t ready to take on an old slow boat again. Such a shame.

Carolina

Carolina

We really liked a friend’s Fathom Trawler that is for sale after doing the Great Loop twice. It had almost everything we wanted in a boat, but just didn’t feel right.

Many of the boats we looked at in December and January will be at the boat show in Seattle. Side by side comparisons will no doubt narrow the field of possibilities to a select few. Stay tuned…

Goodbye Sea Eagle

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle, Ewing Island

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle off Ewing Island background.

I’m sad to report that Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle has been sold. Life changes (an unpleasant divorce and an unscrupulous attorney) forced me to sell her.

The new owners are from Alaska and I wish them well with their new N47.

If you are wondering where in the world Sea Eagle is, you can always check up on her through the AIS transmitter at Marine Traffic.

Good Luck

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

After a day’s delay due to missing paperwork (the title for the dink), we find ourselves very poor, but very happy as the proud new owners of Sea Eagle. We are both very much looking forward to exploring the waters around San Francisco in the coming weeks during our shakedown cruise on the Bay.

View from the Stidd Helm Chair

View from the Stidd Helm Chair

Survey

Matt Harris came down from Bellingham (WA) to survey the Sea Eagle. We started very early on Friday morning and took the boat across San Francisco bay to pull her out of the water. The weather was lovely, with San Francisco’s famous fog pouring over the Golden Gate bridge and hills of Sausalito.

Matt (and Scott) worked his butt off for two very long days and did an outstanding job of checking every square inch of the Sea Eagle. He found items on the boat that Frank and Marlies didn’t even know existed. My favorite was the remote control for the autopilot. Frank’s comment was, “you mean all this time, I could have been sitting back on the settee driving the boat?”

(photo above is Matt and Scott inspecting the runout on the propellor)

First visit

open The Boyd’s first stepped aboard the Sea Eagle on March 2nd, 2013, in Sausalito, CA.

When Scott was introduced to Frank Dinsmore and asked, “are you the owner?” Frank smiled, pointed at his wife Marlies and said, “Oh no, this is her boat!” It was obvious from those very first moments on the boat that both families would become good friends and that this was the boat we had been searching for.

Janet was introduced to Marlies Dunsmore, who proclaimed “you know, we’re not going to sell this boat to someone that we don’t like!” It turns out that was not a problem at all!

The following day, we looked at Eden, a newer Nordhavn 47, with a lot fewer hours, but decided it lacked the charm of the Sea Eagle and made our offer on hull 28.