Off to the med 2015

[jfm]

I meant to get the data from the existing displays and control panels, not a multimeter. And misunderstanding - I wasn't at all referring to the occasion our boats were parked side by side. Im not even sure we sat much on the aft deck then. I was just talking in general! I would say that I have had evenings a bit spoiled by this where it has been loud. Yours is actually only halfway house in the loudness stakes mike- I've heard much louder

The fix would I suppose be a chute or cover over the outlets with its exit below the waterline, as used for black tanks. Doing that neatly and in the right colour would be quite a faff and maybe not pretty. If done to the full it would kill your flow indicator too, so I'm not sure of the solution if you want the water to splurge out visibly but silently!

 

[Forty_Two]

Above water and quiet can be done. Ours is about 75 mm above the waterline with a s/s cowel open at the bottom. Water discharges just above or at the waterline depending on fuel trim. Very quiet unobtrusive sound. Never had a complaint in 13 years. Mind you I have not complained about others, not much point as virtually all are noisy when 300 mm above waterline.

Personally haven't come across much complaining in the Med, one reason I like it, no red trousers. I'm off now...

 

[P4Paul]

The problem is not that the outlet is above the waterline per se but the sploshing noise it makes. It can't be beyond the wit of man or indeed this forum to come up with an above waterline outlet design which minimises that sploshing I'm also against putting yet another hole in the bottom of my boat; there are far too many already in most modern mobos

I don't have aircon so I can only imagine what the system looks like but would it be possible to plumb a visual flow indicator like this into the pipework and then tap the outlet into the engine Halyard style water silencers with a one way check valve to eradicate the above waterline exit?

http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/Flow/SightFlowIndicators/SeriesSFI-100-SFI-300

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

No offence taken, jfm! Actually I am a bit embarrassed by the sploshiness of the outlet on my current boat which is significantly noisier than our previous Ferrettis. The first thing I'm going to do when I get the boat out of the water is to take the cover off the outlet and check if there isn't some minor obstruction causing the flow to be less consistent

 

[Hurricane]

You don't need to know if the water is flowing through the A/C.
If there is a problem, the whole A/C system will just alarm on HP.
If they are individual units like ours, each one will alarm.
If there is going to be a failure sometime, checking the flow won't help.

 

[Portofino]

I,am with Deleted User on this -above and visable
Below needs yet another hole and seacock to close -if ithe pipe work fails -but I can see JFM,s point on a quality install .

Re noise -most Med boats with A/C are a certain size and birds of feather fly together -so will be moored next to each other in marinas ?windows closed and A/C on together .You can see + here it when you dock walk -all splurging together .
Only thing I will add is a stern exit if possible ,but I guess depends on bathing platform design -to see it .

I have been in some visiting marinas where @ 12 M ( my previous boat ) i would say 1/2 where A/C equally mixed in say a row of a dozen or so .
The ones without ( windows open ) never seemed to complain about those with a side discharge ( windows closed ) .
There are Mozzi issues too -another reason to close all orafaces .
I think most folks in the Med just accept the splurging

 

[MapisM]

There are Mozzi issues too -another reason to close all orafaces.
I think most folks in the Med just accept the splurging

Agreed, but re. mozzies, that's actually a good reason for having nets on the portholes, raher than keeping them closed!
In my experience, if the boat has a good air circulation, keeping a/c on all night long is rarely necessary while moored in a marina, and practically never while anchored.

 

[BartW]

as this debate about the airco water outlet keeps on for too long imho I add my 0.02£

all the above waterline outlets on our Canados are done with this angled skin fitting,
ao: bilge pumps, airco outlet, desalinator outlet, ..

The sploshing noise from the airco outlet is absolutely NOT disturbing,
its like a continious sound of a water well,
and its rather restfull, when its quite in the marine.
there is absolutely NO intention to change anything on that.

yes Mike, that noise helped me in 3 occasions (in 4 years) to make a quick diagnose on that part of the system, after a airco alarm,
but if the outlet was below WL, there are a few other methods to do diagnose almost as fast,
fe feel the temp on the different pipes, pre / after heat echanger, etc...

the sploshing sound from a genny is much more anoying, and the smoke even more,
especially in ports like Cavtat where there are no >32Amp electric shore connections,
and when my neighbour superyacht doesn't have a clever Victron system, like us, that enables us to run from a small electric shore connection,
so genny running all night ....Arch....

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

You don't need to know if the water is flowing through the A/C.
If there is a problem, the whole A/C system will just alarm on HP.
If they are individual units like ours, each one will alarm.
If there is going to be a failure sometime, checking the flow won't help.

Maybe you don't need to know that s/w is flowing through the system but it certainly can help you to identify a source of a problem more quickly and I'll give you 2 examples, both relating to my previous boat.
On the first occasion, we had been running the a/c for several hours at the dock when the compressor suddenly shut down for no apparent reason. There was no fault indication from the control panel. I checked the s/w outlet flow (it was night) and it appeared fine so I tried restarting the system several times but each time the compressor shut down after a couple of minutes. I was flummoxed for a while but then I noticed that the flow of s/w from the outlet sounded different to normal so I looked more carefully over the side with a torch and this time I noticed that whilst there was flow, it was significantly reduced. Obviously straightaway this alerted me to the fact that there was an issue with the s/w system and within a few minutes, I'd loosened the hoses to/from the s/w pump and found that there was barely a trickle of water coming through the inlet seacock. In the morning I dived under the boat and pulled a load of seaweed out of the inlet grille. Would I have found the problem if the s/w outlet had been below the waterline? Yes, maybe eventually but having the outlet above the waterline led me straight to the problem
On the second occasion, we were visiting the boat for the first time after a winter lay up and switched on the a/c system on reverse cycle to warm up the boat. Again the compressor fired up and then stopped. No fault indication from the control panel and I could hear the s/w pump running or at least I thought I could hear it. I looked over the side to check the flow and there wasn't any. Again obviously a problem on the s/w circuit. I loosened the inlet hose and this time there was plenty of flow to the pump but only a trickle from the outlet side. Luckily I had a spare pump on board so I fitted it and everything worked fine after that. I guess what had happened was that the shaft or coupling between the electric motor and the pump impellor had sheared on start up after a few months of inaction. Again would I have noticed that the pump was the problem so quickly if the outlet had been below the waterline? Probably not

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

all the above waterline outlets on our Canados are done with this angled skin fitting,
ao: bilge pumps, airco outlet, desalinator outlet, ..
(

Yup, Ferretti use those as well and normally they do a good job of fanning out the flow which keeps it quieter only on my current boat, the a/c seawater flow seems to be much less smooth which makes me think there could be an obstruction in the fitting itself

 

[BartW]

Maybe you don't need to know that s/w is flowing through the system but it certainly can help you to identify a source of a problem more quickly

totally agree with you on that,
when an issue with the AC, the first thing I check is the circulating of the two water cirquits

Airco Error, first time, no water circulating in fresh water cirquit, not enough water in the system, leak on broken overpressure valve, easy fix,
Airco error, 2nd time, no water coming out of the S/W outlet,= pump broken, put new pump.
Airco error, 3th time, (a week ago) no water circulating in fresh water cirquit, circulating pump was humming and hot, but not turning; stalled after 4 months no operation, a turn on the fan wheel of the AC motor, and she's running again

 

[howard easton]

Mrs M and I just decided next year is the year...whoo hooo!! we are off to the med....

So my challenge is to get the Princess 50 from its berth in St Katharine's Dock to Marbella Marina (this is initial destination just because we have a house and had several boats there and I know/trust the Marina Manager) in the Spring.
Am starting my list of things to do/plan today and of course my first starting point is to ask the oracle..(That's you guys)

Boat has :
No A/C
No Passerelle/crane
No Bimini

Doubt I will be able to do all three this year...which ones do I prioritise, what is the order of importance?

Also, which is the best way to get her there. I have Low engine hours (90hrs on a 2009 vessel) Should I

Hire Skipper and move under own steam ( I could join part of the way)
Send on a container ship ?

Don't fancy road method much as is a fly bridge and have seen the state they come back from the med in.. but could be persuaded but only if it was cheap enough to fund the re-build at the other end !

all advice greatly received..

Bimini without doubt

 

[Mr Proach]

A related question, is it normal for the client to have to provide a safety car for the haulier when moving a boat by road?

 

[rafiki_]

A related question, is it normal for the client to have to provide a safety car for the haulier when moving a boat by road?

Not to my knowledge. When my Azi was transported from Southampton to Portishead, the haulier sent an escort with the truck. It needs to be fitted with strobe warning lights, and convoi exceptionale signage too.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

A related question, is it normal for the client to have to provide a safety car for the haulier when moving a boat by road?

Not in my direct experience. The escort vehicle does quite a lot more than just drive in front of the truck; they do obstacle and bridge clearance, for example. I don't think it's something the trucking company would want to delegate to an owner.

 

[Lloydroberts]

The escort is employed by the haulier and the cost factored into the clients quote.
The 'escort' has a duty of care to road users and for the safe movement of the load so the answer is no, the client does not supply the escort.

 

[Mr Proach]

The escort is employed by the haulier and the cost factored into the clients quote.
The 'escort' has a duty of care to road users and for the safe movement of the load so the answer is no, the client does not supply the escort.

That's what I thought, I must have read the quote incorrectly. Thanks for all the replies.