Ferretti winter updates

[baylabayla3288]

Here some small updates I'm doing on my boat and some questions:

Although I like the high steering position on the fly on my Ferretti the drawback is that the standard wind screen does leave the face un protected from the wind so I'm planning to add a small foldable deflector:





It will be folding so that the low profile is maintained when needed. Also the material is fully transparent to make it invisible. Opinions and comments are welcomed

In addition there seems to be no main switch for the generator starter battery although the Kohler genset is a factory installed option on my boat. Also, I cannot find any circuit breaker on the 12V circuit. This is an easy fix however given the high standard on the rest of the engineering on the genset installation this is strange. Q to other Ferretti owners: are you also missing the gen switch/sb or maybe I just cannot find them, where do you have them?

All my other boats have had a polarity indicator on the shore power however on the Ferretti there is non. Anything missing here?

 

[baylabayla3288]

...one more thing, I found this bar in the engine room. It has some text on it in Italian that google-translated says: propeller socket. I believe it is to be used to block the prop shaft from spinning when running on one engine however I have not found out how to apply it.



My boat has Twindisc remote v-drive transmissions. Any clue how it should be used much appreciated.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Although I like the high steering position on the fly on my Ferretti the drawback is that the standard wind screen does leave the face un protected from the wind so I'm planning to add a small foldable deflector:

Excellent idea. You are right in that Ferretti flybridges are quite exposed. I'm interested to know how this works in practice so please keep us updated when you have some experience

In addition there seems to be no main switch for the generator starter battery although the Kohler genset is a factory installed option on my boat. Also, I cannot find any circuit breaker on the 12V circuit.

I never had either a generator battery switch or a 12V isolator on any of my 3 Ferrettis. I suspect that the Services battery switch isolates the generator battery. Not something I'd worry about if I was you

All my other boats have had a polarity indicator on the shore power however on the Ferretti there is non. Anything missing here?

Again not fitted to any of my Ferrettis

 

[Whitelighter]

No genny battery isolator or polarity indicator on my Ferretti either.

I do have 12v isolators marked engine/service/domestic but when the battery charger is on these don't seem to isolate anything so are a little pointless

 

[jfm]

The fly windscreen is an excellent idea. Ferrettis are fine machines but one of their negatives is their "low profile" fly bridges leaving you exposed to wind.

Thr polarity indicator is afaik mostly on uk boats (and other counties, if any) where the neutral is grounded in the country's standard 230v electricity supply. In Italy and France (and maybe others) the neutral is the waveform opposite of the live so you can interchange live and neutral without it mattering. Therefore I wouldn't expect an Italian boat to have a reverse polarity light because there sort of is no such thing there- you can interchange neutral and live and not care. At least that's what I think is the explanation- happy to be corrected. It is probably explained much better in wiki or somewhere

 

[MapisM]

I found this bar in the engine room. It has some text on it in Italian that google-translated says: propeller socket.

Well, if there's one thing I can safely pretend to do better than google is understanding Italian!
But I can't for the life of me read the text.
The first word looks like "perno", which btw has nothing to see with either props or sockets, but I can't read the rest.
If you can post it, I can try to make a guess, or at least give you a better translation.

Btw, she seems a very nice machine, and a rather recent one, judging by the electronic MAN throttles. But which model?

 

[baylabayla3288]

Hi and thank you all for your reply's!

Well, if there's one thing I can safely pretend to do better than google is understanding Italian!
But I can't for the life of me read the text.
The first word looks like "perno", which btw has nothing to see with either props or sockets, but I can't read the rest.
If you can post it, I can try to make a guess, or at least give you a better translation.

Btw, she seems a very nice machine, and a rather recent one, judging by the electronic MAN throttles. But which model?

The text in Italian reads "perno x 2 eliche". The exact translation would be nice to get. Somehow i suspect it is a special tool for blocking the transmission, but where to stick it is a mystery. My boat has Deep Sea dripless shaft seals which should be blocked to avoid free wheeling without engine running.

 

[baylabayla3288]

[QUOTE. Btw, she seems a very nice machine, and a rather recent one, judging by the electronic MAN throttles. But which model?[/QUOTE]

It is a Ferretti 480 with 2 x 610 MAN from 2001. The engines are mechanical (non EDC) but the trottles are electronic like you spotted. They also have auto synchronisation. These engines fits very well with the boat i think and the MAN trottles are very good. There is also a remote control on the aft deck hooked to a long wire. An upgrade to a wireless remote is on the list at some point.

 

[MapisM]

The text in Italian reads "perno x 2 eliche".

Aha, understood.
The most appropriate translation I can think of is "bar for the 2 propellers". In fact:
- perno is clearly referred to the bar itself (I suppose that's what google translated as shaft, but it has absolutely nothing at all to see with boat shafts, which in IT are called "assi eliche");
- "X" is often used in IT as an abbreviation of "per", which means "for";
- "2" is... erm... two!
- and "eliche" means propellers.

All that said, I'm afraid I can't think of what you are supposed to do to the props with that bar.
Maybe it can be used to lock the props when the boat is on he hard, in order to remove them?
Just a thought....

 

[baylabayla3288]

Aha, understood.
The most appropriate translation I can think of is "bar for the 2 propellers". In fact:
- perno is clearly referred to the bar itself (I suppose that's what google translated as shaft, but it has absolutely nothing at all to see with boat shafts, which in IT are called "assi eliche");
- "X" is often used in IT as an abbreviation of "per", which means "for";
- "2" is... erm... two!
- and "eliche" means propellers.

All that said, I'm afraid I can't think of what you are supposed to do to the props with that bar.
Maybe it can be used to lock the props when the boat is on he hard, in order to remove them?
Just a thought....

Thank you very much for the translation! It could be that the bar is somehow used when transporting the boat on the ground with dismantled props to avoid that the props are moving around. There is a rubber tube on the bar and a bolt at one end

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thank you very much for the translation! It could be that the bar is somehow used when transporting the boat on the ground with dismantled props to avoid that the props are moving around. There is a rubber tube on the bar and a bolt at one end

I forgot to say. Are you sure it isn't just a spare prop shaft? My F46 was equipped a spare prop shaft and a housing to put it in. Its a Ferretti thing. On their older boats, a spare prop shaft onboard was an option

 

[MapisM]

Are you sure it isn't just a spare prop shaft?

Nah, I really don't think so, M.
I'm aware of the Ferretti spare shaft housing, which I've seen accessible from stbd side of the stern, after removing a round aluminum cover of about 5" diameter.
But aside from the fact that due to its length it would be a nightmare to store a prop shaft in the e/r, nobody in IT with even the most basic nautical knowledge would ever think to call a prop shaft "perno", because "asse" is the one and only term for it.

Otoh, baylabayla idea might well be correct: the bar could be meant to be inserted into a hole somewhere in the boat, then sliding both props on it and securing them with the bolt.
That would make sense not only for transporting the boat with props removed, but also for carrying around a pair of spare props.
Just guessing, anyway.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

But aside from the fact that due to its length it would be a nightmare to store a prop shaft in the e/r, nobody in IT with even the most basic nautical knowledge would ever think to call a prop shaft "perno", because "asse" is the one and only term for it.

Mapism, I'm sure you know your Italian 'asses' from your 'pernos' a lot better than me so I bow to your superior knowledge on this

 

[baylabayla3288]

Mapism, I'm sure you know your Italian 'asses' from your 'pernos' a lot better than me so I bow to your superior knowledge on this

Thanks again for helping with the guess work and Mapism for the insight in the italian language. It must be some kind of prop stoage / transportation device.

 

[baylabayla3288]

Thr polarity indicator is afaik mostly on uk boats (and other counties, if any) where the neutral is grounded in the country's standard 230v electricity supply. In Italy and France (and maybe others) the neutral is the waveform opposite of the live so you can interchange live and neutral without it mattering. Therefore I wouldn't expect an Italian boat to have a reverse polarity light because there sort of is no such thing there- you can interchange neutral and live and not care. At least that's what I think is the explanation- happy to be corrected. It is probably explained much better in wiki or somewhere

I spoke to a marine electrician and apparently the shore power polarity is important only if the boat's 220 V switches and circuit breakers does not cut both neutral and live wires. If the polarity is reversed the live carrying wire is left without overload protection and can carry voltage even if the switch is off. This was the case on my old Fairline and hence the polarity indicator. On the Ferretti all 220 V switches and breakers cut both wires and therefore the polarity does not matter, this is a better solution however somewhat more costly, and it is also foolproof

 

[Sol68]

Maybe storage for spare props ?

 

[MapisM]

Mapism, I'm sure you know your Italian 'asses' from your 'pernos' a lot better than me so I bow to your superior knowledge on this

Haha, I can see why "asse" can sound weird in EN.
It might remind you more of "axle" rather than shaft, I suppose.
Though funnily enough, a car axle is called "albero" in IT...

 

[MapisM]

On the Ferretti all 220 V switches and breakers cut both wires

I'm surprised that you find it surprising (sort of), because here in IT I think that single contact breakers are even illegal!
Do you mean that in the UK, boats aside, it's normal to have AC lines where breakers cut just one wire?

 

[vas]

I'm surprised that you find it surprising (sort of), because here in IT I think that single contact breakers are even illegal!
Do you mean that in the UK, boats aside, it's normal to have AC lines where breakers cut just one wire?

since the plugs are setup the way they are and are fused, no reason to cut both...
el.panels up there are simpler than down south

V.

 

[jfm]

I'm surprised that you find it surprising (sort of), because here in IT I think that single contact breakers are even illegal!
Do you mean that in the UK, boats aside, it's normal to have AC lines where breakers cut just one wire?

Yep. In continental Europe the neutral isn't grounded and so it can (I think!) have a voltage difference relative to earth (if the voltage drop across the three phases that must exist - somewhere across town or up the street - isn't perfectly matched. So both L and N need to be isolated. In UK (and fwiw USA I think), the neutral is positively grounded so it cannot have a different potential to the earth. So normally in UK we isolate only the live, and when plugging a UK boat into a Uk marina shorepower you therefore need to know if the polarity is wrong

If you bring a Uk boat to France/IT as I have done, it is perfectly fine to have a breaker just on the live side because the neutral is grounded on board the boat. There is no "incompatibility" problem in plugging a UK boat with a grounded neutral into a French/IT electrical system with an ungrounded neutral