PORTSTBDGENFinish Hrs 228.7 232.0 945.4
Start Hrs 215.0 218.4 895.8
Used 13.7 13.6 49.6
Engines and Generators:
The sending units for the fuel tanks need to be either calibrated or re-calibrated. The tanks are lowering equally now but the gauges showed that I had used ½ a tank when the dipstick showed I had only used ¼ a tank. This was confirmed when I filled up at Dangling Rope to make sure how much I had used. If the sending units are not the kind that can be calibrated then we should invest in the kind that can be. I believe there are several of us who could install and/or calibrate the sending units.
110 V and 12 V System:
The stereo did not work when we arrived to load the boat on Wednesday evening. We messed with it for an hour and really never got it working. We finally had someone from LPM come over and they got it working in about 45 minutes. The next morning before we left the doc we tried it again and it was not working. I worked on it half way to Rock Creek where we stayed the first night and could not get it working properly. When I got it working the heat dissipation bar on the side of the stereo head unit heated up so hot you could not touch it. We went to Wall Mart and bought a boom box and will leave it on the boat. The boom box does not take batteries so it has to be used either with the generator on or with the plug by the sink (one of only two inverted plugs in the forward area). My vote for our next big expenditure is to install a proper stereo in the boat. I will put together a proposal that includes the cost and send it off to you for member consideration. I am not sure when I would have time to do it before the end of the season but I volunteer to install it with my nephew. I will include my preliminary ideas at the bottom of this Email.
We may have at least a few batteries that are not getting or holding a full charge from the inverter. It is only charging the batteries to 88% after over 6 hours. After only 1 ½ hours of use with only the fridge the batteries are showing 80% use level. During the night the only thing we have running off of the inverter is the fridge. By about 3 AM the voltage is so low that all of the O2 sensors start going off (since they are wired to the house batteries and are very sensitive to voltage. We might consider using the 9 Volt units with replaceable batteries). The only way to get those things to stop beeping is to either cut the wires OR run the generator (at 3 AM in the morning). I did not cut anything BUT I was tempted. 5 alarms beeping at 3 AM is not my idea of an enjoyable evening. The juice is so low that by 3 AM there is not enough power to even run the wash down pumps for lake water of the pumps for fresh water. Keep in mind the ONLY thing we had going was the fridge. We need to have every battery tested replaced with a quality battery if it/they will not hold a charge. I feel for the people who are going to be using the boat later in the summer when things are hotter.
The following day I ran the generator almost all day and left everything but the fridge off to try and get a full charge on the battery bank. That seemed to work. We did not have a problem the rest of the trip but we ran the gen everyday for at least 6 hours. It may be that sitting all winter lowered the batteries enough that taking a charge one time out was a problem. If that is the case we are going to lose our batteries sooner than necessary. We should make arrangements with Lake Powell Marine to plug in the shore power at least once a month for a few days while the boat is sitting over the winter and also make sure that the charging system is working on shore power.
Problems Inside Boat:
The oven that was used to replace our original unit must be for use with Natural Gas and not Propane OR there is something wrong with it. It is a Crosley brand. It is close to impossible to control the temp on the plates on top of the stop and you cannot control the flame inside the oven. After the ladies started the oven the first time I walked in just in time to see flames coming out of the sides of the oven door. We came very close to setting the houseboat on fire. Once again we had all the O2 sensors going full blast. I tested the oven the next day to see what is going and you cannot control the flames in the oven. The flames are on more than full tilt even when the oven is set at it lowest setting (you would have to see it to believe it). Needles to say we were using the BBQ allot and not using the stove at all.
I don’t believe the water was drained from the hot water tank last fall. When we went to use the lake water system the water that came out was the foulest smelling stuff I have ever smelled. The water that came out of the hot water tank was even worse. I had to drain the hot water tank myself and flush it twice to get rid of the smell. I left the water in my personal boat untreated once for a few months over the summer and it did not smell half that bad. I talked to Chris and he sad they had gotten some bad water from the city and have had a few other boats they had to flush with chlorine. It is hard to imagine that water got that bad that quickly. I asked him to flush the system. My guess would be that if the boat sits for a week in the heat the water will stink. He said they would keep an eye on it.
The outside wash down spigots would not work. I finally crawled under the main hold area and found one valve that had been left closed.
It does not appear that the thermostat for the temperature control is working properly. When set to auto cool the system never shuts off when it hits the desired temperature and the reading for the inside temperature never reads the actual inside temp even when it is freezing inside the boat. If you set the desired temp for 80 to 82 degrees then is shuts offs at the appropriate temp (72 to 74 degrees) and maintains that temp. The actual inside temp is about 72 degrees so the reading is at least 10 degrees off. Another warranty issue with the control unit.
Problems Outside the Boat:
We ran out of propane on the BBQ on the forward deck the first night out. I am not sure if it is our responsibility to make sure the bottles are full or not. We used the spare but if we had been planning on spending two weeks straight we would have been in trouble (given we could not use the stove). I talked to Chris he said that they are responsible for those tanks as well and it would be taken care of.
There is still a significant hydraulic in the steering system on the upper deck fly bridge.
The front of the awning structure still needs to be reinforced. It moves enough to create problems down the road. Coming back down the channel it really got rocking and rolling. I think this is not only going to be an issue down the road, it is a safety problem right now. When those tour boats go by it puts enough stress on that thing with it moving like that to have it come right off. I saw that happen last year with a houseboat in the channel by Antelope Point. 4 people got seriously injured because the whole thing came right off from the rocking action. The tours boats now slow as a result of that accident but there is still a huge wake that causes rocking.
I replaced all of the non-stainless screws on the upper deck and under the island that were rusting with stainless.
Wish List:
There should be at least one plug on the island on the upper deck that runs off the inverter. If the group agrees and I can figure out a way to get another breaker on the inverter breaker box I will install one in the fall if my nephew comes down.
A new stereo needs to be installed. I volunteer to design and install the system with my nephew this fall (or as soon as time allows). I would propose the following:
A new head system.
A new CD loading deck.
A speaker amplifier system for each area of 4 to 6 speakers (upper deck (1), salon/state room (1), rear and forward decks (1)).
Upgraded Infinity Marine speakers for the upper deck.
A set of AGM Group 27 batteries dedicated to the stereo system.
A Shore power charging system designed for AGM batteries that would work when the generator is on OR shore power is on.
An Upgraded Balmar Alternator with a computerized external regulator for the engine that is charging the AGM battery bank when the engines are running.
Mercury engines typically come with a 65 AMP alternator that is set for wet call batteries. In order to properly charge an AGM battery a higher alternator amp output is required with an external regulator to be able to specify the type of charge curve that is required for the batteries being used.
Existing wires for speakers would be used once wiring leaves the control console.
Whether or not a group of speakers are on or off would be controlled by whether or not the amp for those speakers is switched on (controlled by a lighted on/off switch).
This configuration would not include installation of subwoofers unless the group decided to do so since subwoofers drain a significant amount of power from the batteries. The configuration listed above is similar to the one installed on my personal boat. I have two 4 inch speakers, two 6 inch speakers and tow 10 inch subwoofers with one separate amp for the regular speakers and one for the subwoofers (that is switched so the subs can be shut off if needed). I have never drained my batteries low enough to have any affect on starting the engine of the boat and we leave the stereo on for hours on end while at the lake with the subs on.
Between the charging that is done when the engines are running and the charging that will take place with the shore power / generator unit these dedicated AGM batteries should not run out of juice. They should also last 5 seasons of hard use and will not suffer loss of performance with multiple deep loss of charges.
My next suggestion would be that we wire the audio system on the TV/DVD player with Surround Sound since it is equipped to handle it. We could use the small Boze speaker system so the speakers would not be noticeable.
We should have at least one extension chord on board.
A small fridge for the upper deck.
A BBQ for the upper deck.
NOTE:
The TV/DVD players are set up to use component system wires (green/blue/red). We need to hook them up with a 6’ component wire set and the picture will be noticeably clearer. Someone needs to take a set down and hook them up.
With the problems we have been having getting warranty work done or agreed to from the manufacturer of the houseboat I think we should hire a marine attorney to force the issue and get the work done right once and for all OR do the work ourselves or hire it out and send the bill to Stardust for payment. We should at least make the threat.
Other:
The boat ran great other than the problems listed above. As was mentioned in an earlier Email we should get at least a sand anchor for the nose of the boat to keep is from swinging around with the water going up. The Park Service issued a warning the last day we were there saying that for the next several weeks the water was going to go up at least 18 inches a day.
The satellite phone would have been worth it’s weight in gold when we had the problem with the oven. I would have called Chris on his cell phone and made him bring a new stove out.
