Author Topic: What is your best improvement on the boat and why? (Read 32810 times)

Cabtrack · « **Reply #25 on:** November 16 2018, 09:04 »

The most recent improvements is the folding cutting board for cleaning the fish, keeeping the mess out and the 25mm stainless tube handrails, could not stand the wire. The biggest improvement was epoxying around the companionway to get rid of the squeaks, absolutely no squeaks in this Bavaria.

SYJetzt · « **Reply #26 on:** November 23 2018, 21:32 »

really impressive handrails!
I think i need something too

how did you attach the tubes to the stanchions?
Did you get new stanchions or did you adapt the present ones?
Did you do the job yourself or with a metalworker ?
How did you get the tubes so perfectly bent ?
If possible post some photos from the details !

Thx
Robert
SY Jetzt!

Cabtrack · « **Reply #27 on:** November 24 2018, 04:40 »

Hi Robert
Thanks for the kind words. Yes I made it all up myself and this is how I Did it.
1. Put a string line from the pulpit to the push pit where the hand rail will go. Measure from the string line to the stanchions at 90 degrees to the to the string line. Do the same for port and starboard.also mark the string line at each point where the stanchions are at 90 degrees to the string line and measure.
2. Measure from where your hand rail will start and finish at either end of the string line.
3. Draw a straight line on a long flat surface and measure the distance for each stanchions then measure out the distance to the stanchion.
4. Use a very long straight edge to scribe an arch that disscects all the stanchions and the start and finish.
5. Tig weld all the lengths of tube together allow a bit extra. Make sure you purge the tube as you weld
6. I made a roller to roll the length in a curve see photo. Make sure you roll it pretty close to what you have marked on the floor.
7. The had part is to bend the tube so it hits the push pit and pulpit rail at 90 degrees.
8. I used the same stanchions. Cut the top of the stanchion through where the wire goes and file to fit the tube and it gives you a bit more meat to weld too. Try not to put too much heat in when welding as the stainless distorts easily.
9. Cable tie the tube to the stanchions and fit ends to push pit and pulpit with hinged tees.
10. Weld it up if it looks good.
11. Use the lever in the photo to take out distortion gently.
I shall take some more photos and post them. Hope this helps

SYJetzt · « **Reply #28 on:** November 26 2018, 07:35 »

Hello cabtrack,

you did a great work !
It seems to be a bigger job than expected and the pipe roller bender is an extra project too

Due to the fact, that our boat is over 700 kilometers away from us, the project needs to wait until next spring.

Do you have any experience about the stability of the tube handrails and the whole construction, if hit when manouvering?
In our harbour basin two bigger charter companies operate a lot of boats and the da**** charter crews caused a lot of damages on our boat (3 bent stanchions, torn wires, and 4 loosened stanchion bases in only two seasons

.
i´m afraid of welding all parts together, and if hit anywhere, i have to replace the whole railing including stanchions, pulpit and pushpit (means doing the job again!).
Any suggestions?

Cabtrack · « **Reply #29 on:** November 26 2018, 08:49 »

Hi Robert
Yes probably a good idea to leave the wire on or find a quiet marina. We are at a quiet marina no traffic and no charter companies. Spend the money on more fenders. Col

Noelio Abrunhosa · « **Reply #30 on:** December 09 2018, 13:20 »

i have taken some ideas from Odysseus. the ones i enjoy are
1. fitted a proper shower with a tmv so temperature is constant regardless of any other taps being opened.
2. fitted a timer on shower bilge pump. i didnt have enough hands to hold the shower, the soap and press the shower bilge pump
3. fitted led lights in engine room
4. fitted cockpit table (great for summer sundowners)
5 . this is my favourite one. made 2 openings under front bed , one fitted sliding basket drawers and the other one a waeco freezer.
this job now only needs to fit the trimwork to make my skew cuts look tidy

Sitesurfer · « **Reply #31 on:** December 10 2018, 16:40 »

This weekend I'm trialing the first fit of a Raspberry Pi control centre (that's about the only way I can describe it) into my B36.
I'm using a 7" touch screen to provide environmental and boat data, create lighting systems and act as a data logger.

We'll see how it gets on

I made a small video on the progress, which shows the super simple (but not gopping) interface - aimed at crew being able to use it rather than being super techie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO3Ik1AIfPA

Bav32 · « **Reply #32 on:** December 10 2018, 19:46 »

Quote from: Sitesurfer on December 10 2018, 16:40

This weekend I'm trialing the first fit of a Raspberry Pi control centre (that's about the only way I can describe it) into my B36.
I'm using a 7" touch screen to provide environmental and boat data, create lighting systems and act as a data logger.

We'll see how it gets on

I made a small video on the progress, which shows the super simple (but not gopping) interface - aimed at crew being able to use it rather than being super techie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO3Ik1AIfPA

That is exactly what I have been thinking of. I haven't tried raspberry, but I have worked with arduino a little bit.

Here is what I was planning to do:
- outside/inside temperature
- fridge temperature (and maby control)
- bilge water level alarm
- battery voltage meter
- motion sensors inside boat for alarming
- gps for anchoring and tracking
- internet access for monitoring and alarming remotely

This is all supposed to be installed in a way that I can remove everything easely if I would sell the boat at some point.

We really should start an own thread about these systems

SV Chill · « **Reply #33 on:** March 04 2019, 00:01 »

I’ve sent notes on my fridge insulation to those asking. It’s a bit long, so if anyone else is interested, let me know.
Chill

Ziffius · « **Reply #34 on:** March 04 2019, 12:28 »

I would be interested in your fridge notes - please send me a copy. Cheers

sy_Anniina · « **Reply #35 on:** March 04 2019, 19:15 »

Likewise, please send me also a copy.

BR

Tommi

s/y Anniina, B40 2001

Yngmar · « **Reply #36 on:** March 05 2019, 08:21 »

Quote from: SV Chill on March 04 2019, 00:01

I’ve sent notes on my fridge insulation to those asking. It’s a bit long, so if anyone else is interested, let me know.
Chill

The post size limit here is generous, and if you can't fit it in one post you can make another thread and link to it here

landes_h · « **Reply #37 on:** March 15 2019, 17:46 »

Solar Panels - 2x100W
Sterling A2B Charger
NASA Battery Monitor

SofiaB · « **Reply #38 on:** March 16 2019, 15:51 »

Adult size toilet. Tecma 3G Ultra for fresh or sea water.

Seagoon · « **Reply #39 on:** July 21 2019, 08:08 »

Folding Lewmar wheel. Much easier to get past when swimming at anchor.

Jeffatoms · « **Reply #40 on:** July 21 2019, 16:59 »

As a live-aboard owner of a 1998 Bavaria Ocean 38, there are TWO things that stand together equally as the best things we could do to make this great boat even better, both as a home and as a sailboat we actively use.

The first was a gift from the previous owner of fully enclosed Sunbrella cockpit canvas made by iversondesign.com. It essentially makes the cockpit a "sunroom" here in the Sailish Sea where the sun is dim and the air moist much of the year. There are 13 panels that stretch from the "windshield" to the traveler and the best part is that we can add and remove the zippered panels as the conditions dictate. This makes sailing in inclimite weather very enjoyable and the bimini makes for a great sunscreen on hot days like we found sailing yesterday.

The other was an upgrade to a Torrid Marine 10 gallon water heater with a high temperature thermostatic mixing valve. (Disclaimer-I am a part owner of Torrid Marine). This effectively doubled our hot water capacity so that all domestic activities including showers for two have enough hot water to get the job done. Since this upgrade, Torrid introduced the Explorer Series 18 that was designed specifically for the 38 Ocean. We look forward to a good excuse to upgrade again so that we can take advantage of the dual independent coolant heat exchanger coils and dual independent electrical heating elements. The hot coolant coolant will route to both our engine and our Espar hydronic heater while the electric elements will be powered by shore power and likely solar.

The upgrade list is long but these two made a great sailboat a great home as well.

GeoffV · « **Reply #41 on:** July 22 2019, 08:17 »

Quote from: Noelio Abrunhosa on December 09 2018, 13:20

i have taken some ideas from Odysseus. the ones i enjoy are
1. fitted a proper shower with a tmv so temperature is constant regardless of any other taps being opened.
2. fitted a timer on shower bilge pump. i didnt have enough hands to hold the shower, the soap and press the shower bilge pump
3. fitted led lights in engine room
4. fitted cockpit table (great for summer sundowners)
5 . this is my favourite one. made 2 openings under front bed , one fitted sliding basket drawers and the other one a waeco freezer.
this job now only needs to fit the trimwork to make my skew cuts look tidy

Do you get problems with condensation coming off the Waeco?

Odysseus · « **Reply #42 on:** July 22 2019, 09:03 »

I have a Waeco and I made a thermal jacket, I get a very small amount of condensation on top when I take jacket top off to open lid..

Had this for 4 years now and has been a great success as we buy in bulk from supermarkets.

It draws 3.5 amps when running, much less than the fridge and with the jacket runs a lot less.

Hope this helps

Odysseus
Bav 38

avelzian · « **Reply #43 on:** July 22 2019, 10:59 »

Quote from: SV Chill on March 04 2019, 00:01

I’ve sent notes on my fridge insulation to those asking. It’s a bit long, so if anyone else is interested, let me know.
Chill

Yes please. I’d also like to see your fridge notes.
Many thanks,
Alastair

Yngmar · « **Reply #44 on:** July 22 2019, 13:46 »

Quote from: Jeffatoms on July 21 2019, 16:59

The first was a gift from the previous owner of fully enclosed Sunbrella cockpit canvas made by iversondesign.com.

I'd love to see a few photos of this for inspiration, as I'm not very happy with ours. Does it stay well clear of the mainsheet at all angles of sail? This seems to be the biggest issue on the centre cockpit boats.

Sitesurfer · « **Reply #45 on:** July 22 2019, 14:11 »

Quote from: SV Chill on March 04 2019, 00:01

I’ve sent notes on my fridge insulation to those asking. It’s a bit long, so if anyone else is interested, let me know.
Chill

Oooh yes please, I feel a winter job coming on.

MarkTheBike · « **Reply #46 on:** July 22 2019, 16:19 »

Quote from: SV Chill on March 04 2019, 00:01

I’ve sent notes on my fridge insulation to those asking. It’s a bit long, so if anyone else is interested, let me know.
Chill

Yes please, Chill. Constant thorn in my side. Which twit thought it was a good idea to run unjacketed warm air ducting under the fridge??? Idiots...

Baltic · « **Reply #47 on:** July 23 2019, 14:53 »

Yes please, Chill.
Send.

Jeffatoms · « **Reply #48 on:** July 26 2019, 01:54 »

Quote from: Yngmar on July 22 2019, 13:46

Quote from: Jeffatoms on July 21 2019, 16:59
The first was a gift from the previous owner of fully enclosed Sunbrella cockpit canvas made by iversondesign.com.

I'd love to see a few photos of this for inspiration, as I'm not very happy with ours. Does it stay well clear of the mainsheet at all angles of sail? This seems to be the biggest issue on the centre cockpit boats.

Jeffatoms · « **Reply #49 on:** July 26 2019, 02:12 »

Yngmar, here are a couple showing the full enclosure just before the haulout survey during a rainy Seattle February. As mentioned previously, this is a standard design by Iverson and the panels come off as needed. Currently we are cruising with just the bimini sunshade up and all side curtains removed.

The traveler and main sheet are not impeded in any configuration. We recently circumnavigated the San Juan islands and moored between a 2001 B38Ocean and Tartan 3700(?) with a similar Iverson enclosure. The other B38O owner appreciated (envied) their two covers. The Tartan design was similar but it was a custom fit to the boat that had accommodations and modifications made to the bimini to allow for solar panel mounts and related wiring.

We liked it and contacted Iverson and they said, "we can modify your existing bimini to work with your planned solar upgrade when you are ready." What a bonus having a world recognized leader in sailboat enclosures ready willing and able to work with our changing needs.