Launching an NC11. Checklist?

[relaxsantabarbara]

Greetings. This is my first time posting here. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

I've just purchased a 2016 NC11 and had it trucked from South Carolina to California, where we'll be launching it this Friday.

The boat is currently getting fresh bottom and out-drive paint, and prior to that, it was in the Hinckley, Savannah yard getting some other needed repairs due to the previous owner neglecting to keep up bottom maintenance (zincs, etc.) We'll be dropping it into our local Santa Barbara marina and (hopefully) driving it to our slip for a full going over prior to initial local-water orientation

Given that she's just been trucked across the country, and been out of the water for several weeks, and also given that I have not yet been able to spend any time aboard learning her electrical and mechanical systems (although I certainly shall!!), I'm hoping you can give me some pre-launch tips.

I've recently attended another yacht launch that went poorly, because the new owner didn't know that the boat arrived with the battery banks disconnected, and therefore couldn't start the engines when the lift lowered the boat into the water. I'm trying to avoid a similar calamity.

Any tips with regards to startup would be most helpful. Things on my mind already.... Priming engines that haven't been run for weeks... Switching on DC circuitry... Bridging house and starter battery banks for my first startup... Opening seacocks (how many? where?)

Also, when a boatyard preps a boat like this for trailering across country, what else might they do that i need to "undo". Is there anything i need to do to turn on fuel lines, or reconnect disconnected electrical circuits? Do they switch off breakers?

A pre-start checklist is what i need!

Many thanks again!

John

[rene460]

Hi Relaxsantabarbara, congratulations on your new purchase, you have many wonderful adventures ahead.  And a warm welcome to the forum, so do stay to join in the community when your immediate issue is solved.

Perhaps I am a bit cynical, but I would not rely on the hard having followed a particular procedure.  They will do what they normally do and that can be quite variable.  So long as they tied it down well on the truck so it arrives safely, they have done the most important thing.  It’s much better to double check yourself than to be caught out by something that “surely they would have done”.  So I would recommend making your own list and ticking things off as they are done.  The list is sure to get longer before it gets shorter, but lists are good.

Make sure you have life jackets, an anchor and line, fenders and some mooring lines on board before you start.  It’s ok to buy it “sail away”, but eventually you have to stop somewhere.

To me the key things to cover start with the hull, make sure that there are no drain plugs which have been left out while the boat was out of the water.  And find the transducers for the log and depth.  Again, in my sail boat, the log is removed and replaced by a blank plug.  A good idea to know what you have, and put the right one in before launch, or at least one or the other.  And I would locate and shut all through hulls except the engine cooling water inlet(s).   Check under the floors after launching to make sure there are no leaks anywhere.   Better to open the other seacocks one at a time when in the water and check that there are no leaks when they are opened.  Some people leave them open when they close down the boat and others close them.  I have always followed my dealers advice and closed them all before I leave the boat.  But with this procedure it is vital to remember to open the engine cooling water inlet when you return.  

After ensuring that all potential hull openings are found and closed, engines need oil, fuel, cooling water and you have already thought of starting batteries.  Make sure there is some fuel in the tank, and find the priming pump.  Check the oil level.  If the boat has not been used for a few weeks, I would plug in the shore power the night or two before launch.  But first, check the voltage at the terminals of each battery with a voltmeter.  Over 12.5 is excellent, 12 to 12.5 will probably come up with a night on charge, below that keep your fingers crossed and be prepared to parallel those batteries if necessary, to get started.  After a period of not being used is the best time to check the battery condition by the voltage.  Then check that the isolation switches are in the on position, and that the battery charger is operating.

The last thing to check is the shaft seal.  I don’t know what you will have, but if you have a shaft drive with the dripless seals that many of us have, you need to “burp” the seal by gently squeezing the rubber collar until all the air is expelled and you get a drip of water.  Do this before starting the engine.

If you have outboards, there is a tell tale stream of cooling water when the engines start. Most inboards, the cooling water goes out with the exhaust, and you can visually check it when the engine starts. On my boat, you can also see that cooling water is flowing through the inlet filter as soon as the engine is running, and a good idea to open the hatch for a quick look around with the engine running, just to make sure everything looks and sounds right. I can’t tell you what to look for, but you never know what you might see until you look. Either way, make sure you have cooling water as soon as you have the engine(s) running.

The yard will probably be able to tow your boat to your pen if necessary, so the key thing is to be sure it floats.  Not because I am so pessimistic, but because you will sleep easier when you go home after the launch if you have carefully checked there is no water in the hull.

I am sure that others will add to this list, but that is the advantage of the forum, there is such a wealth of experience to share.  And we hope that you will keep returning and tell us about your experiences.

Exploring the rest of the boat and it’s many systems is the next stage of the adventure.

Rene460

[relaxsantabarbara]

Many thanks Rene460! All of your points make sense.

If anyone has specific NC11-related items that we may have missed, I'm most appreciative of your time and expertise.

This particular NC11 has twin Volvo Penta D3-220s with less than 60 hours on the counters, and outdrives (no shafts). Bow thruster, no joystick docking.

Cheers, John

[rene460]

Hi John, while it’s all very general, it should give you a start to compiling an appropriate list for your boat.  Some of the power boat guys should be along soon to give you some more specific items.

With a bow thruster, most sail boats seem to have an extra battery on the bow, so another item to explore and check.  I don’t know whether you will also have one or not.  It may have its own isolator or a circuit breaker that has to be flipped before it will go, like the typical anchor winch arrangement.  I would also pause on water once you are clear of the slipway, and try it, so you know what you have before you want to rely on it at your pen,

Hoping your launch will be a Holiday Inn experience, you know the idea, no surprises.

rene460

[relaxsantabarbara]

Thanks Rene460.

Today i spent a couple of hours on the boat (still in the yard), familiarizing myself with as many systems as possible. We got the boat hooked up to shore power, got the battery chargers running, and the battery voltages up to 13.5V. Trim tabs operational, engine trims are operational, checked fuel levels, coolant, etc. So far so good.

I was however dismayed to discover (with my nose), that between the previous owner, the broker, and the boat yard...  nobody thought to pump out the waste tank before trucking the boat cross country. So my first stop after I'm clear of the slings will be to the pump out!

I've heard various tips on de-odorizing waste tanks...

After pumpout, I'm considering filling the tank with a water/bleach solution plus some water softener, and then pumping out again. Anyone have a better idea?

Thanks again,

John

[rene460]

Hi John, it never ceases to amaze me how many boating conversations eventually get to toilet humour.

I would avoid the bleach, it will interfere with future biological action and also tends to deteriorate rubber seals and so on.

See if you can get to a local pumpout on foot, and look at what you need.  Here they supply a screw in fitting for their hose that screws into the deck fitting.  Note that the deck fitting cap has no little chain like the water and fuel ones, otherwise you could not screw in the hose fitting, so don’t drop it overboard.  I have my own fitting that I keep in a sealed container with some disinfectant, so I know it will not damage the threads on my deck fitting, but that is probably over the top.

If you have a plastic tank like mine it is translucent so you can see the level without too much detail.  If there is room, I would pump some fresh water through the toilet (I use the shower hose to fill the bowl directly) to flush out the pump and hoses, two or three bowls full at least, then pump out at the pump out station.  You don’t need the seacock open, just leave the little switch/lever to the pump out side, assuming you have the usual standard manual Jabsco, though for first bowl full, I would use sea water, as the water in the hose between the seacock and the pump will be quite putrid from the little organisms that live in sea water, then die in the hose without oxygen, thus causing most of that smell.  They may be the main cause of all that you are detecting.

As part of the pump out procedure, fill the tank with fresh water and pump out again, preferably twice.  For my normal routine I do this by getting my morning exercise on the pump, though I stop at 50 pumps, but to fill it I would disconnect the pumpout hose, fill the tank with the jetty hose on the pumpout station.  I would still do it twice in the circumstances, and three times would not be unreasonable.  There is always a little remaining below the suction tube that you are diluting each time, hence two or three times.  A bit of turbulence from the hose jet pointing down the dip tube will help.

Browse the chemicals available in your chandler, and choose a good quality one with biological action that breaks down the waste.  They are usually light brown liquid, expensive in the bottle but use very small doses, so not much different in cost to use.  Different brands are available.  Avoid the blue ones, they deodorise but not much more in my observation.  I am suspicious that the dark green ones are similar but different colour.  But the green ones here also claim to break down solids.  Then use as normal.  Even if you pump out a bit more often than you need to for the first few times.

A box box of disposable gloves and a large spanner that fits the screw in couplings if your wrists are like mine all make the experience a bit easier.  I can’t see any acceptable way of avoiding the whole issue, we all just have to deal with it.

It sounds like the batteries are charging well.  When they have been on for 24 hours or so, switch off the charger and leave them isolated with all loads switched off for half an hour or so, then read the terminal voltage with your voltmeter to check the battery condition.  While they are on charge, the voltage has to be higher due to the charging process so is not so informative.  Our caravan battery sits on about 13.7 with the solar charger when it is fully charged. I would expect yours to come up to something similar as they near fully charged.  But so long as they start the engines, don’t get too worried about the actual figures until you have had time to observe over a few normal use cycles.

 So, launching day is getting close.  Best wishes for the big occasion.

rene460

[relaxsantabarbara]

Thank you Rene460,

Launch went smoothly once i found a wrench that would work for those odd deckplates. Pumpout, check! Fuel-up, check! Maiden voyage, check! Cruised at 26-29knots @ 3400rpm.  Very smooth and enjoyable.

More questions that i have about the boat...

• One bilge pump switch (at the helm) operates as expected. The other one makes a buzzing noise when i flip it on. I need to  troubleshoot that. Any hints on where to start?

• I can't find any gauge or readout on the plotter or Volvo screens that tells me my fuel burn rate, so i'm relying on engine RPMs to assess proper engine trim while underway. Any ideas where VolvoPenta/Raymarine e-Series would hide such information?

• Finally, there appears to be a mildew problem on all of the exterior caulking. The boat was perfectly clean 2 weeks ago, and now all the soft silicone caulk is turning splotchy-black. What's the best way to treat that and keep it from recurring?

• And finally another question about batteries/electrical... The fridge runs on 12V. It's the only appliance i leave turned on while in my slip (hooked up to 30A shorepower). I assume i'm not doing harm to the batteries with this practice. The volt meters—always between 13 and 14 volts. Any best practices here?

Many thanks to all who comment.

Kind regards,

John

[Don Reaves]

Sept 22, 2019 19:16:34 GMT relaxsantabarbara said:

• And finally another question about batteries/electrical... The fridge runs on 12V. It's the only appliance i leave turned on while in my slip (hooked up to 30A shorepower). I assume i'm not doing harm to the batteries with this practice. The volt meters—always between 13 and 14 volts. Any best practices here?

Hi John,

Personally, I don’t leave the fridge on when I leave the boat, even though I also keep the charger on. I have a couple friends who had to replace their house batteries when the shore power failed (or was disconnected by an unthinking boater) and the fridge totally drained the batteries. I always take the few items home in a cooler that require refrigeration and wipe down the fridge.

On the other hand, if you have solar power, this wouldn’t be an issue.

Don

[relaxsantabarbara]

Thanks Don.

[ian222]

Hi there, we have a 2015 NC11, we leave the fridge on all of the time. we did replace and upgrade all if the batteries with the Firefly Carbon foam AGM Batteries, we also added one more to the house bank and added the Bluetooth enabled battery monitor,  which works great. Our cruising area in the British Columbia Coastal waters require us to go without plugging in for many days so the extra battery capacity was very important. Happy to answer any other questions I can about the NC11. We have enjoyed our a lot.

Cheers Ian

[drbob]

We just finished our first season with our 2017 NC11 (tho are looking at doing some more short trips thru fall/winter/spring). We bought it in April with 45 hrs on the engines and now have 149 hrs with trips to the San Juans, Gulf Islands, Chatterbox Falls and the Broughtons.

We haven't seen another 11 in our travels.

Ian222 - Where do you keep your boat?
    We are on the Sunshine Coast.

The only problems we have had with the boat were:
    - an overheating issue on the port engine in the Broughtons which resolved after cleaning out the kelp and seaweed in the  filter in the engine compartment. We then were unable to get the port engine to go over 1500 rpm until we turned everything off including the batteries and then re booted it.

    - a significant leak thru the sliding door beside the helm station on the port side cockpit down into the pantry during heavy rains which was fixed by caulking around the window and sliding door. HAS ANYBODY HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM?

We love the versatility, the range and efficiency of the engines and all the light that comes in thru the unobstructed  windows.
There is amazing storage space tho it is a little awkward accessing it thru the floor. 

There isn't much space on the swim platform but we were able to put a Weaver Davit on for our dinghy which works well.
We fit a small kayak between the Davit and transom and carry a paddle board across the bow.
I was thinking of putting a roof rack on for this but we like the sunroof to be open and unencumbered.

Any suggestions or comments from other NC11 owners.

[sjgoodwin]

Hi.  I’ve just finished first season with my Nc11.  There are fuel line valves in the hold that need to be on.   There are many seacocks need opening.  In the aft storage area open the access doors on side and that’s where the intakes are for the AC etc.   also in hold for generator.  Never run it with that closed.  The batteries are disconnect d when you switch off the main switches under helm seat. 

For the holding tank you’ll have to pump out then flush several times with hose.  For now put a bunch of those deodorizing pucks or liquid in there.  Depending where you are some places have mobile trucks that pump out.  If you’re in sub zero climate you must pump out so it doesn’t freeze.