The projects begin

Started on my long list of upgrades last weekend. I was pleasantly surprised how well it went. I was able remove the head hoses, potty and holding tank in an afternoon. Thanks to Sean for the project info. My hose setup was a little different and I was able to remove the tank without removing the lower support piece. The deck waste pumpout fitting came off very easily. I plan on having one hose from the tank to a Y valve that splits between the deck pumpout and the overboard discharge. The potty will always pump directly to the tank. This should minimize the amount of Odorsafe hose I need to buy at $7.50/ft.

I also started taking up the cabin sole. I was able to remove the bungs fairly easily and the trim and sole in the vberth came up without much difficulty. The only problem I am having is that the DPO poured on so much epoxy that it has glued the trim down from the top. I have to carefully break through the edges of the thick epoxy before the trim will come up.

Any tips on removing multiple layers of varnish and epoxy from the trim? I will be replacing the sole but hope to preserve the trim. I have most of the trim out and only 1 piece split at one of the bungs although this was in the head and all the trim in there was saturated so I will most likely replace all of it in the head. It was amazing how clean it was under the vberth. I expected lots of mildew and construction debris but aside from dirt and rotted wood around the edges, it looked brand new.

Tonight I clean the tank and rebuild the potty.:eek:

Oh yeah, I received a nice fat check from the wifes father this weekend for chistmas. I immediately ordered my new furler and folding prop. I guess the grumpy old fart is ok after all.:xmas_grin He is always bragging about his $200k Etap. Wait til he sees my Ericson next season. He will surely get some delayed buyers remorse!

Tim...what is a " $200k etap"??

It is a swedish made boat that claims to be unsinkable. My father in law does offshore passages and he thinks he doesn't need his liferaft anymore so he leaves it at home. I pointed out that most boats go down from a result of fire, not from a hole. He has been sailing a very short time(+/- 5 years) and he thinks he knows it all especially compared to a novice like me who has been sailing for over 30. Here is a link to a similar boat:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...rency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=74427&url=

BTW, I sailed it and the weatherhelm almost killed us(literally).

Etap Yachts

ETAP Yachting NV
Steenovenstraat 2
BE-2390 Malle
Belgium

Here is a home page URL --
http://www.etapyachting.com/index.php?lang=en

The UK sailing magazines seem to like them well enough, but I imagine that each model has its quirks...

Not having to carry a life raft would be reassuring when offshore, IMHO.

Loren

ps: the model 37S shows a sailing-oriented cockpit like some of the better BK Ericsons.

FWIW, see if you can plumb the pottie this way: One hose from pottie to tank, one hose from tank to overboard discharge and a third hose to the deck pumpout fitting. If your tank has the fittings available to do this that is. This makes for a very simple setup with no 3-way valve to fail. If you can pump overboard legally then simply open the seacock and pump away. If not, just leave the seacock closed and use the deck pumpout. Its foolproof. RT

That is how it is(was) now rob. I thought a Y valve was required by the CG. I know that if you have a Y valve and it is turned towards the overboard discharge when they inspect you, you get a fine.

KISS: Head plumbing made really simple.

Tim, You really don't need to use a Y-valve in your plumbing plans at all. Consider following a slightly modified form of the West Marine "Our Favorite Method" as seen on page 427 of their 2006 catalog. The only difference being that you replace the Y-valve (fig.8) with a T-fitting. Look at the illustration for a moment and you'll soon see that the Y-valve doesn't really serve a function. This of course assumes that you have a good O-ring seal on your deck fitting (7) and that you always keep the seacock (9) closed unless when in use. I have installed many head systems in my boats and others using this simple yet effective system. Worried about waste fouling in the length between the seacock and the T-fitting? Regular and simple use of Odorlos head treatment will solve that once and for all and you'll NEVER have head odor ever again. You really don't need to use expensive OdorSafe hose at all. As a matter of fact you can use the same hose you now have. The Odorlos will eliminate all hose smell in short order, honest. As far as disabling the overboard discharge, I simply removed the handle of my seacock and tied it to a tether. It normally rests in the bilge below the seacock and can be easily retrieved when needed and it satisfies the USCG regulation. Good luck, Glyn Judson E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA. Want photos of my installation? Email me back channel at glynjudson@adelphia.net.

Actual boarding experience

Rob's description is exactly what I have. Nice setup and I think it was standard in E38s as far back as 1980. If you're able to show the Coast Guard that your toilet output only goes to your holding tank, you *shouldn't* have a problem about not having a Y valve. When we were boarded in 2004 I couldn't find the Y valve, but I was able to show that the overboard valve was closed, that I had a holding tank, and that the toilet went directly to the tank.

These were 'West Coasties' and as young-guys-with-guns go, you have to wonder. They were polite and very professional, and they never slowed us down. Spooked the first mate a bit, but when she got over the idea of flying in formation for the boarding/de-boarding, she looked at the bright side. She found out I wasn't "wanted" by the feds. Your mileage may vary.

Cool technical side note: Had another power glitch just now, due to the high winds and general storminess in the NW, and when the computer finished rebooting and I launched Firefox, it asked me if I wanted to 'restore my previous session' and when I clicked on that it brought all my reply back to life. Nice feature of Firefox 2.0

Ciao,

Right now I can only empty my tank via the deck fitting, which limits the number of days I can use it w/o finding a pump out station. I like the idea of the 2nd hose from the tank to the thru-hull via the tee.

This hose would connect to the bottom of the tank and maybe rise up and then down again to get to the thru-hull. Wouldn't this mean that one could only empty the tank (via the thru-hull) down to the level of the highest point of the exit hose?

Also what about seawater coming back into the holding tank in the (unlikely) case where all of the exit hose and part of the tank were below the thru-hull "height"?

Thanks,

Loren Beach said:

The UK sailing magazines seem to like them well enough, but I imagine that each model has its quirks...

Click to expand...

Loren,

Have you ever seen a sailing magazine say anything really critical about a boat (read . . . "potential advertiser")?

This boat got very high reviews from Sail magazine a few years back. Of course there was a very nice full page ad in the same issue.

advertising vs reality


We may be on the edge of another "thread hijacking" but while we are here I should point out that its mainly the main stream American sailing magazines that have substituted "reviews" for ads for the last 15 years.

A friend turned me on to Practical Boat Owner, from the UK, a couple years ago. We are in the process of dropping our Sail and CW subscriptions. The large format Sailing, out of the mid West, is still a keeper. I pick up Lat 38 at the local chandlery, too.

You will find that the Brits have real under-sail tests, with positive and, gasp(!), negative things to print about the model being tested. What with some of the American stuff showing up over there, the test of a mid-size Catalina last year was fun reading. (They were actually not too hard on it, but wasted no words pointing out its faults.)

There will always be some suspicion about the link between a "review" and a full page ad in the same issue, IMHO.
Perhaps the best way to judge the impartiality of the magazine is to see where most of their money comes from -- Sail, Cruising World, and their ilk have very low subscription rates and are mostly advertiser-supported.

PBO and it's sister publication Yachting Monthly both are spendy to buy/subscribe to, but they are huge and jam-packed with good articles.
Just my opinion, but there is little else worth reading from cover to cover, except Latitude 38.


Opinions rendered while you wait. Deposit .02.

Cheers,

Loren