Have an old teak pedestal table in the garage? I took mine apart: the ”four-holer”, which attached to the Edson pedestal guard with a stainless strap curved at both ends, fits our pedestal, too. Slide it down until it rests on the instrument pod and you have a great place for drinks, binoculars, a horn, gloves and whatever. Add rubber holders on each side for a hand-held VHF and a cell phone. Add a “Holdz-it” on one side for the GPS.
How about a holder for the bell? We added a brass eye for a small nautical kerosene lamp, nice for romantic dinners. When we’re securing the boat the four-holer comes right off and hangs on one of the hooks in the lazarette.
This is wonderful!
Now you’ve got a teak table top, perhaps with folding leaves. Lose
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Dutchman/Boom Lift
Dave Peffer
11/1/1997
Hull #: 20
Earlier hull numbers have an adjustable two-part boom lift designed to permit setting up the Dutchman exactly. This has a nasty tendency to shake out of the cam cleat at the end of the boom, and re-setting it with the sail luffing is no picnic. I opted to set the system up perfectly, then whipped the two parts of the boom lift together just above the cam cleat. No more loose line and the whipping can easily be cut when necessary.
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Dodger Alternative
Dave Peffer
10/1/1998
Hull #: 20
Those of us on lakes less massive than the Great ones usually don’t need a dodger, but would like to keep dry when it rains. I needed a bimini (this is not an option, but a survival item in Texas), so I had the canvas shop make up a windshield. It zips onto the forward edge of the bimini and attaches to the coachroof forward of the companionway and just aft of the traveler with a plastic track/bolt rope setup identical to a dodger’s. This works like a charm and stores in a felt-lined tube in the lazarette when not needed.
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Dock Side Water Connection
Dave Peffer
7/1/1998
Hull #: 20
A few weeks ago we were asked by the Coast Guard to display a life jacket for each passenger, requiring us to take one of the PFD bags out of the lazarette. The gal who put it back in didn’t see that sneaky blue tube, and hung up the bag on it, then pushed extra hard. Result: the right-angle fitting from the regulator cracked. When we fired up the fresh water to do dishes the pump ran on and on, but we had no pressure. It took awhile to find this blasted leak!
I have temporarily plugged the end of the tube after removing the fittings, but have to replace the thing if I ever want to use the dockside connection for water. Those who have not (yet) broken it can avoid the problem by disconnecting the blue tube, turning
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Who wants to climb down into the lazarette to fetch stored items? Why not hang them up in easy reach? We were going to install athwartships stringers under the seat hatch hinges to install hooks but found stainless line hangers at West Marine (model # 243834). These install on the bolts holding the helmsman’s seat supports without any modification, at all, and the hooks are full half-circles. Nothing can fall off even in a full spinnaker broach. We have the emergency tiller and access-plate wrench, a boat hook, spare lines and fenders, a loud-hailer, the windshield and a bag for the dinghy oars on these. A boarding ladder and bucket are fitted with light retrieving lines, which are also hung on these hooks for easy retrieval. The PFD bags sold by marine stores fit snugly through the lazarette hatches, and we keep
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Dock Line Storage
Jim Jaeschke
5/1/1998
Hull #: 73
We made a locker for storing dock lines by removing the starboard holder for the spare propane tank. This opened up a large spot for dock lines in the unusable spot underneath the deck. If you do this, it is important to seal this area off since water can pour into the boat. We did this by fiber glassing in plywood walls to totally seal off the interior of the boat. The drain hose used for the spare propane tank locker was then fitted to this new compartment.
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After good meals, a key factor in crew comfort is adequate cabin heat. What a treat a warm cabin is after a cold watch…and how nice it is to be able to dry clothes at sea! We have had experience with diesel heaters before in our Catalina 42 and friends’ boats. They are very economical to run (about 0.5 liters per hour), are quiet/safe in operation, and offer loads of nice hot air.
An Eberspacher Model D3LC was chosen for its heat output and reputation for quality. They are readily available in the USA through selected dealers.
This model was designed for a slightly smaller boat, but installation space and other factors must be considered. Finding a way to mount the heater, locate the exhaust, and run the heat output required careful planning. After much thought, we settled on mounting the main
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Head Lid and Seat Support
Dave Peffer 10/1/1998
Hull #: 20
The earlier hull numbers were designed without support for the lid and seat in the raised position, which means the hinges break. I made a “T” support of teak, which is screwed into the bulkhead behind the head. Since the bulkhead does not line up with the hinge axis, the “T” is angled 8 degrees to provide a direct 90-degree support for the lid. A rubber tip protects the lid. Looks OK, works fine.
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Spare Propane Locker Becomes Cockpit Cooler
Dave Peffer
11/1/1998
Hull #: 20
We rarely need two propane bottles aboard, and we don’t want to open our refrigerator more often than absolutely necessary. My solution was to line the outside of the spare (starboard) propane locker with insulation, working from below in the lazarette. I used three wraps of roll insulation (from a home store) which sandwiches bubble-wrap between layers of foil, lightly gluing it and wrapping it in place with nylon strapping. The bottom was covered with expanded foam insulation board, and the joints sealed withlatex expanding foam insulation (Find this stuff! It cleans up with water!).
The locker cover was lined with the same rigid board insulation. Here I cut one piece to fit inside the water-exclusion fiddle, another to extend down just into the round part of the locker, using contact cement to hold them in place on
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Gotta have them. Even the red light over the galley hurts night vision from the cockpit. We added two night lights: one in the head next to and six inches above the seat of the commode below the sink, and one on the curve at the aft end of the starboard settee just above the cabin sole and just inboard of the navigator’s chair hinge support. When installing the latter be sure to remove the settee cushion base (only six or eight screws hold it down) to find the right spot for the light and to avoid drilling a hole in the holding tank, which fits snugly into this corner! You will find a simple electrician’s snake invaluable in such electrical installations. For some reason these lights are hard to find, but I got some from M&E Marine. You may have
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