GA28 in Bakersfield California

[jov]

I finally got my boat and jig lowered. I decided to go with this method for attaching the wheels, because I had some 2x12 in my shop. I really liked the recommendation from Todd J but this way I didn't spend any extra money. Guess I will live with it being ~6 inches higher. I also did the touch up paint work on the bottom.

Probably won't get much done over the next week because the holidays, but I plan on trying to hit it hard starting the first week of 2024.

[Brian.Dixon]

Those wheels will work fine ... I like the finishing touch where you routered the 2x12!  Those look like solid wheels ... good.  I've had the hollow ones blow out before and break.

[Todd j]

Its my opinion that you could notch the jig to bring your 2x12 up into the jig without compromising its strength.  Maybe add a triangle gusset or something.    Brian?

[Brian.Dixon]

Its my opinion that you could notch the jig to bring your 2x12 up into the jig without compromising its strength.  Maybe add a triangle gusset or something.    Brian?

You mean ... if he wanted the jig 6" closer to the floor?  I wouldn't.  I'd figure out how to make what he has work ... it's a good mounting of the wheels - from a strength perspective.

[Todd j]

thanks for clearing that up.  it would be a real bad day to have the jig fail at this point in any build!

[jov]

I finally got back to work. Been down with the flu for about 3 weeks. I think I am finally back to 100%. So much for getting started and hitting it hard in January.

I finally removed the cross braces. It makes walk around so much easier. I used a tape, straight edge, plumb bob, and laser level and marked the inside of the hull. Marked in the collision chamber, the rear cuddy bulkhead, the rear pilot house bulk head, the drywell, and the floor level. So far everything looks good. I think I should be able to fish 6 people if they don't mind being a little tight, but it should fit 4 people really nicely.

I also got my first load of wood moved to my shop and the got the shelves cleaned up. I should be ready to start on the sheer decks. I had planned to start Saturday but ended up looking into anchor winches. My plan was to get a Rebel EZ-4 and the standard anchor well set up outlined in the construction manual, but the price seems to have increased quite a bit recently (~$3200 now). I will need to think about whether I should just deal with the price or consider switching to a windlass setup. Trying to figure out if I can continue with the shear decks as outlined and worry about the anchor issue later.

[Lindy]

Love my EZ pull 4 and anchor well with BIG scuppers, can anchor from my captains seat! Truly ideal for us slipper skippers.

[Todd j]

If you have a need to anchor the boat the EZ-4 is the only way to go. I decided to mount mine on a flat fore deck with no well. There is tons of storage up there without the the anchor well, plus I like having the extra space for hanging out up there.   It?s worth the money in my opinion.  Also no extra holes to drill for drainage, never a tangle in chain and rode, and best of all 1 less place for crud and dirt to hang out

[Dan Boccia]

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.

[Brian.Dixon]

I believe, on average, that an anchor winch weighs more than a windlass ... since it's the "farthest heavy thing from the boat CG", you'll want to consider it's affect on trim ... especially if housing a bunch of batteries in the forward part of the boat as well.  The same applies to bow-thrusters.  It's difficult to put 'live-aboard' accommodations into a planing hull without having more than optimal weight ahead of the CG.  IF you are using heavy items forward, then consider how you might counteract them by moving other heavy items further aft (and just springing for the expensive large-gauge battery wiring going forward if that's the case).  You can even slide the house a foot further aft to help out ... move both the aft cuddy and aft house bulkheads aft.  You get a longer cuddy, the same pilot house, and a slightly shorter cockpit are ... but the boat will thank you for it and trim nicely.  In any case, I agree with preferring the winch over the windlass and the reasons why ... just keep in mind things like weight and balance and your overall placement of heavier items (winches, batteries, tankage of any kind, length of motor brackets, etc).  Dan utilized lots of weight-saving techniques in his build too.  The GA is a very flexible design

[Todd j]

Re: lifepo4 battery.  I have a single 206AH house battery, it?s been great.  I have angered the BMS if I use the winch to pull the boat to the anchor while trying to retrieve the anchor.  It has shut off, it promptly resets and allows me to finish.   It?s not been a big problem for me so far, but I didn?t expect it.  It shuts down everything except the engines which are powered by another battery.    I have also experienced BMS weirdness when fishing deep with 3 identical electric reels (Tanacom 750s)winding up simultaneously.  Having said all that, there is no way I wouldn?t use the battery I chose

[jov]

Thanks for all the information everyone. I have decided to go with the winch. Dan and Todd thanks for the information about lithium batteries. I was planning on going AGM starter and lithium house. I will keep what you have said in mind going forward.

[Todd j]

I'm not as knowledgeable as Dan on the battery stuff.  But thought I would throw this in as food for thought.  When shopping for batteries I asked the shop that sold the Suzukis to me, He recommended a top notch plain old lead acid battery for the start  battery. 

[Dan Boccia]

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.

[Dan Boccia]

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.