Messages

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: May 08, 2024, 11:57:31 PM »

Regarding anchors and anchor systems, there's a book I highly recommend called "Happy Hooking - the Art of Anchoring", and S/V Panope on Youtube has done an enormous amount of rigorous real-world, detailed testing on anchors. From both of these resources and my unhappiness with a typical Bruce-style Claw, I went with a Rocna Vulcan and will never, ever, go back to a Bruce-type Claw anchor again. The Vulcan is vastly superior in every way. Regarding anchor rollers, I see little, if any, advantage to long pulpits or rollers - you want just enough to allow the anchor to clear the bow on the way up, and any more is just extraneous IMHO.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: May 07, 2024, 11:29:12 PM »

Yeah Todd, putting the 3-way valves in the hydraulic line is definitely not mainstream. I did it myself by renting the hydraulic crimp tool from our very pleasant local hydraulic fitting shop. I'm to the point in my work as a marine systems designer/installer that I want to outfit the engines myself. It's a rare shop that will properly seal exposed plywood in thru-hulls, lay things out optimally, use correct fittings to seal the thru-hulls, and exhibit a decent level of craftsmanship.

Regarding your 20hp Suzuki kicker, that's just a regular unit, correct, not a high-thrust?
If you want to push these larger boats with smaller outboards, you really, really want high-thrust models.

Brian, I hear you about maybe wanting the weight on the transom, but despite my anchor winch, with my foam-core cabin and no head, I'm still transom heavy. If you're building the cabin from plywood, doing the anchor winch, and especially the bow thruster, then yeah, add'l weight on the transom makes sense....it's definitely a teeter-totter balancing act.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: May 05, 2024, 10:04:27 PM »

Regarding outboards:
I've installed a few Suzukis and a few Yamahas, including all the controls. The Yamahas are a lot lighter for same HP, plus you have the very attractive option of integrated electric steering/autopilot along with electric shift/throttle. The steering is silky smooth and once you use it there's no going back. No other outboard comes close to it for weight, and I think that's a critical issue for these boats.

If you go with a 200-250 hp main plus kicker, consider this: with my larger cabin, and the relatively high bow of our boats, wind pushes us around a LOT. If you are trying to get home with the kicker in an emergency with the wind blowing (let alone a squirrely sea), the 9.9 high thrust (I have the Suzuki) struggles to meet the task. I've tested it and it can work, but is on the very raw edge. Consider that the Yamaha 25 hi-thrust only weighs some 145 lb, and it's a FAR superior fit for our boats.

Furthermore, for kicker steering, the best option is Garmin Reactor 40 kicker autopilot, which controls throttle and steering with a unique and very cool handheld remote. It's the most robust versatile system I've seen yet. Only other option, if you decide to go with hydraulic steering on the main, is to install tees in the hydraulic line so you can shift over to either the kicker or main with your steering.

Definitely lots to consider. Twins are a valid option at 115-140HP, and they eliminate the hassles of what to do with the kicker steering, but it's a heavier system, slightly less fuel efficient, and if you troll for salmon frequently, you'd be better off with the Yamaha 25 high thrust, because idling the larger engines for long periods of time is hard on them.

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General Discussion about the Great Alaskan / Re: Perko door handle

« on: April 24, 2024, 02:54:31 PM »

Todd, both 4200 and 5200 are adhesives. 5200 was developed to glue decks down to hulls in production boat-building. On our boats, I see absolutely no need to use 5200 anywhere, and I only use 4200 for items like gluing on mounting boards to install a bunch of electrical products rather than screwing directly into the hull. For a sealant, I have used a variety and have come to really enjoy using Pettit's Anchortech Advanced Hybrid Sealant. It is holding up very well to UV, salt, freezing, is paintable, and can be applied down to 20F, and finally, it's reasonably priced. This is my go-to for sealing deck hardware, windows, and things like your door hardware.

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Boat Systems - Electrical, Electronics, Motors, Plumbing & Tankage etc / First ever legit LiFePO4 start battery

« on: February 18, 2024, 11:21:08 PM »

Epoch Batteries has been making a BIG splash the past year or so, and now have what I consider the best value LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries for house battery use by far. In addition, they've recently introduced the battery in the attached picture that can be used for ALL outboard engines up to 250HP. Today I rigorously questioned the applicability of this battery in an outboard powered boat, and got impressive answers back from their US rep. Bottom line: I can recommend this as a start battery in place of AGM, and at 30 lb, 120Amp-hour, a CCA of 1100 amps, in a group 27 size, the specs are simply amazing and precedent-setting.

This is 25-35 lb lighter than an equivalent AGM, can be installed INSIDE the cabin without ventilation (AGM requires a ventilated cabinet), or outside depending on your weight balance, and even under high cranking loads will deliver a solid 12.8 volts, whereas AGM voltage will sag to mid or high 11-ish volts on high winch/windlass loads. Thus this will lead to better windlass/winch performance and a longer life for the motors. Other thoughtful features are an external on/off switch, state of charge monitor, very useful bluetooth phone app, and internal heating for cold temperatures. Altogether this battery blows my mind and represents the very first lithium battery that meets all my specs for safety and reliability as an outboard start battery. You pay for it at 2x the cost of AGM, but I think it's worth it and I'll finally be changing my own boat to all lithium this year.

I would set the boat up with this as the start battery and also connect the anchor winch/windlass and pot puller to it. All other loads would go to house. I'd set up a Victron battery to battery charger between this battery and the house to limit charge current from the outboard, otherwise if this start battery is used for deep discharge loads and frequently has to be charged up by the alternator for 2+ hours or more from 20% state of charge, you risk burning up the alternators, which are NOT meant to be running anywhere near their nameplate capacity for long time periods.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: February 11, 2024, 12:27:42 PM »

Todd I'm quite positive the Kokopelli trailers have just a single set of bunks. That's what I recall of mine. It's rare that I have a problem centering the boat, but it does happen.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: February 11, 2024, 12:23:07 PM »

Todd, yes a plain FLA battery works fine for a start battery. However, with a bit more cash, you can buy a top notch AGM TPPL battery like I've been recommending and have zero maintenance and a very long life battery. In my opinion, regular FLA is dead technology. The modern AGM and lithium batteries are better in so many ways with no maintenance.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: February 11, 2024, 12:20:16 PM »

Todd J thanks for confirming the BMS shutting the lithium battery down when using the winch occasionally. Two things here: First, if you're anchored in an area that has decent current (very common in Alaska) and the possibility of wind, if you have both wind and current against the boat while you begin using the winch, the startup current will be higher because the load is higher, and the BMS will shut down immediately. In this case it's useful to motor to the anchor to avoid the BMS shutdown. Second, most of us have AGM start batteries. In many cases we can use these batteries to operate the anchor winch. If we plan ahead in our builds, spend just a bit more and get a TPPL AGM start battery (thin plate pure lead) such as Odyssey Extreme, which is IDEAL for large short duration loads such as anchor winches, and wire the anchor winch to the start battery. This assures there will be no BMS shutdown and a very smooth winching experience. We would never use the anchor winch without the engine running, so the small discharge of the start battery will be quickly recharged by the engine's alternator. This is my solution of choice for single-battery lithium house setups.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: February 08, 2024, 11:59:07 AM »

Good point about the boat not centering if the trailer is in too deep. I'll try backing in a bit less this summer and see how that works.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: February 07, 2024, 11:19:05 PM »

Interesting! I've always strongly preferred to back my trailer into the water and float the boat up to the bow roller. Seems like the dry friction of the bunks on the bottom paint or graphite will wear the finish down. Just seems like a recipe for more bottom paint maintenance. Any observations about that?

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: February 07, 2024, 11:15:12 PM »

Another vote for an anchor winch vs windlass. You can use ANY kind of rode you want, it rolls up into a compact package vs a large rode locker, way simpler operation, and way fewer problems. It's a superior system. Lonestar also makes a good product for comparison, though they lack the free fall.

If you go with an anchor winch, beware using a lithium battery to run it - the startup current on one of these can be a few/several hundred amps if fully loaded with wind/current against the boat when you first engage it (I've measured this), and FET-based BMS's on most lithium batteries will be unhappy with this. A larger 400 AH or more lithium bank usually works out fine, as long as they are quality batteries like Kilovault or Epoch. If your house bank has no reason to be that large, recommend a quality AGM TPPL battery like Odyssey Extreme for a start/anchor winch battery, then the large windlass load is isolated from your house system and you can run a light, smaller lithium house system. Your engine/alternator will be running when you use the anchor winch so no real worry about the load on the start battery.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: 13 Bananas New Jersey Kodiak

« on: December 06, 2023, 11:22:36 PM »

Interesting reading through the comments - a few things stand out to me that you might want to consider further:
1. Thinking that any Kodiak will get 3 nmpg is fantasy I think. For roundtrip averages, even regular GAs have difficulty averaging that on full trips consistently. Lindy's Kodiak, which he built heavy with lots of fancy hardwood cabinetry etc doesn't even get 2 nmpg right now with his brand new twin 175 Yamahas. So if it was me and you're building light and smart, I'd plan for no more than 2.5 nmpg and maybe even a bit less.

2. I'm curious why the generator? As an electrical designer/installer, I've now talked 3 clients out of generators and instead got them into good lithium house batteries and solar systems and they've loved that setup universally. The Kodiak has tons of roof space for solar panels.

3. House batteries way back at the transom sounds like an awful lot of weight/congestion back there, especially with twins, plus larger cable sizes needed to get to the main helm panel. Plus that takes space where you might want a washdown pump, bilge blower, final negative/ground/bonding bus, start batteries, fuel system parts like water separator, valves, etc. etc. My favorite place for batteries is just aft or just forward (in the case of lithium) of the aft cabin bulkhead. This puts them closer to the CG of the boat and in a convenient place for wire runs.

Keep up the good work, this is a fun one to watch!

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Blood on the Deck! (And Other Grand Adventures!) / Re: Fall Hunting

« on: October 27, 2023, 04:03:16 PM »

Glad you were able to hit this spectacular weather window - nicely done!

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: October 15, 2023, 10:13:27 AM »

Oh! Yes, certainly, the new pic looks much more convincing - that looks prefect to me, glad it's running about right in the water. Onward!

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: October 11, 2023, 10:23:27 PM »

In the recent pic with the level extended from bottom of hull out to the lower unit, it appears to me that the anti-ventilation plate is about 1 1/2 to 2" BELOW the level of the bottom of the hull, whereas it should be about 3/4 to 1" ABOVE the bottom of the hull for every 12" aft the prop is from the transom because water rises in this area. So it seems like your engine should be raised about 4" from where it is. You will have greatly improved steering, greatly improved ability to trim the engine properly, and you might even gain a bit of efficiency. As is now, it looks like the anti-ventilation plate will plowing through the water rather than up near the surface of the water as intended.