So I just bought a Mac X....

[NiceAft]

Planing is not anything I pay attention too. When I go fast, I go fast. I don’t pay attention to whether or not I am on plane. What would I look for, and why?

[Be Free]

When a powerboat user is planing he is describing the case where the boat is ahead of the bow wave. About the time the bow wave passes under the stern of the boat the boat will level out and start going faster without having to increase engine RPM. In fact, you can often throttle back noticeably and still maintain the same speed.

My boat (BF40D) and yours (BF50 something) can climb over the bow wave and move it back somewhere between the mast and the companionway. Yours should be farther back than mine. We are technically planing because we are ahead of the bow wave and we are going about twice hull speed but we are not getting the fast, flat, smooth ride that a traditional powerboat or a Mac with a larger engine would experience.

[NiceAft]

When a powerboat user is planing he is describing the case where the boat is ahead of the bow wave. About the time the bow wave passes under the stern of the boat the boat will level out and start going faster without having to increase engine RPM. In fact, you can often throttle back noticeably and still maintain the same speed.

My boat (BF40D) and yours (BF50 something) can climb over the bow wave and move it back somewhere between the mast and the companionway. Yours should be farther back than mine. We are technically planing because we are ahead of the bow wave and we are going about twice hull speed but we are not getting the fast, flat, smooth ride that a traditional powerboat or a Mac with a larger engine would experience.

Thanks! Nice information to know if asked, but it has no bearing on my boating. It simply is not important.

I’m a sailor; when I want to motor fast, I don’t care if I am planing or not, I just want to go fast. If I am taking a long cruise, I travel at hull speed, so planing isn’t even a thought.

A powerboat, designed for speed, would have the captain looking to plane so he/she could power back, maybe save some fuel.

I thank you for the information. You erudite explanation was clear and succinct.

[Drifter]

Milestones have been reached!

First...




Had to hook up my truck, loosen the tie-downs and reverse a bit, then jam on the brakes... but finally moved the center ballast valve back enough to get to it and replace it with a shiny new one!

It's white and red because I painted it with white epoxy, then smeared some heavy duty red grease over it, to hopefully stop it rusting. I've also been all round and painted with anti-foul the bits that were missed under the rollers!

And check these out...









Finally go the navigation and interior lights working!

Also, while the boat was hooked up with the truck I put it right out onto the road so, with a lot of cursing and tangles and some nervous sweating, managed to spin it right around 180 degrees. Why? Because when they shipped it from Japan the mast was on the boat backwards, with the foot sticking over the stern. *facepalm

You realise what this all means?

If I wanted to, I could bolt down the mast so it doesn't all off, and could launch the boat tomorrow, as a test run with the engine!

But no, I'm not going to do that... lots more rubbing down and painting to do, still need to replace the stove, get the toilet working, get the rest of the cushions made etc. etc.

But yeah, feel like I've made some real progress now.

[opie]

Super progress.
Comments:
- Looks like incandescent lighting. If yes, someday when you have nothing to do, consider LED for running lights as well as interior lamps.
- I've never seen an example of the early model X fill valve underneath the boat before. My '99 X has none. Thanks.

[opie]

And you got the word to never have anyone on top of the boat without a full ballast tank?

Enough said.

If you have a question on that, look at thread history or start a new thread.

[Russ]

Awesome!

I'd be tempted to float it.

[Drifter]

I don't think my little trailer could stand a full ballast tank...

(I'm guessing you mean when on the water, right?)

Yes, oldie worldie incandescent. Gotta admit I love the warm glow of the cabin light; positively romantic!

I'll try opening up the bow and stern lights, see what condition they're in and make a note of the bulbs. I know BWY sells at least one type of LED that is a direct replacement bulb, but I'm not sure what light that is for. Mmm, just had a look, seems I can replace all 3 plus the interior with LED bulbs, which saves messing around changing the actual lights

The bad news today - the electric toilet doesn't work

I found a clue, in the form of an old motor for the toilet, so seems PO tried repairing it with a new motor, but it still doesn't work (it's amazing, and amusing, to still be finding things stuffed away in little holes!)

Looks like I need to save up for a whole new toilet. Not really keen on trying to take this one apart to see what's wrong with it, because poop.

Russ, yes it's tempting, really tempting, but...

1. Rainy season, or more to the point, thunder and lightning season
2. Call me an old softy, but I rather like the idea of the maiden launch (to me) being when she's 'ready', ie looking good and everything tippy top, plus...
3. I'm not ready myself yet! A few Youtube vids and such is not enough I understand the concepts of sailing, most of the terms, have a general idea of what to do - but no real clue how to do it with this specific boat, in our specific launching spot (fast-moving river).

I'd rather not launch when there's zero chance of raising the sails at all, but to have any chance of sailing I need to get familiar with the rigging, with what is meant to go where, in what order, and at least try doing so a few times at home on the trailer.

But yeah, it is tempting to get 'er wet and try motoring up and down the river a bit...

Must... resist... resist...

[Tomfoolery]

And check these out...

That light looks amber to me. What light is it, and where is it?

Edit: Oh, wait - I recognize the little boos it’s mounted to. It’s the stern light. Is that color just the camera and/or my iPad? Should be white, of course.

[Drifter]

Why I'll let you know that 25 years or so ago it was as white as the midday sun!

Like snow, or snow drops. Fresh hotel pillow cases, you know, white.

Of course amber is much closer to white than the vast majority of the local boats, which have no lights at all other than the spotlights they're using, or green lights under the water.

Quite often when night fishing the only sign of other boats is that green glow beneath them, as they use green lights for squid...

I shall look very proper, even a bit dapper, cruising down the local river with my gleaming amber light glowing like a big fat glow-worm! Will be the talk of the village for sure, that posh guy with his glowing lights and stuff.

Reminds me of my first night fishing; someone kept shining a bright light at us. In the morning could see a little fishing boat, so as we headed back I passed by, waved hello and asked why did they keep shining their light? "We were wondering if you needed help?" "Help?" "You were shining a light at us?"

Basically they took my bright white anchor light as a call for help! They thought we were shining a light at them so they shone one back. So I'm quite happy to keep this stern lamp glowing a cosy amber

I could explain the attitude towards colors and beam angles here but I can sum it up by how, when I mentioned 'anchor light', both fishermen in the little boat looked curiously at my anchor...

[svscott]

That's all really good progress! I wasn't willing to wait for everything to be buttoned up and polished before using my boat when I brought the X home a couple months ago. Before launching the for the first run, I only did the bare minimum stuff to be legal and went out motoring for an hour. Heck, I still haven't done any cleaning to the topside other than a quick pressure wash. If I waited for the projects to be complete before using my boats, I'd never go out on the water.

You should definitely become familiar with and set up your mast and get your standing rigging (front stay, upper and lower shrouds, and lastly, back stay) tension properly set while at home. It's not something you should be afraid of though... just have someone relatively strong in the boat to help you lift out and hold it vertical while you get the shrouds and stays loosely attached. Once you've got the shrouds and front stay pinned a little bit loosely, it's ready enough to tighten them to spec.
Make sure you have maybe 15 feet of clearance behind the boat before you walk the mast back and insert the pivot bolt at the base. When you're working on the boat while it's on the trailer, consider blocking under the back of the trailer or under the stern of the boat so people's weight in the back of the cockpit doesn't make the trailer pivot up off the ground in the front...or just hook the trailer up to your truck while working on it.

[Drifter]

Yeah it'll be still attached to the truck, as I need to pull it forward from under the shelter.

While in place inside the shelter I have a couple of axle stands under the rear of the trailer and then crank up the front wheel-jack so it's firm and not wobbling.

When I'm ready to try the mast I'll double-check with you guys that things are attached in the right places. As just mentioned, the mast was actually on the boat backwards, so it's not actually attached to the boat anywhere. Well it is now, because I used the pins from my BWY 'fast rigging kit' to put the mast foot on and then used that to hold it on the bow railing, so at least it won't roll off for now

It was all wrapped up tight with super-sticky green tape. Where I've undone it it's gone kind of ka-ploey, with wire rope thingies everywhere! I can see why they taped it...

For sure if the weather was better I'd be more tempted to try a motoring session. To illustrate how things are right now, for 3 days in a row I've wanted to do more painting on the upper deck but cannot, because raining. The epoxy paint won't set properly with such humidity, so somewhat frustrating.

Talking of frustrating, tried removing the electric toilet, as it doesn't work anyway and figured it would be easier to remove and test the motor when out of the boat. Only 4 bolts holding it down... but all 4 just spin around quite loose. They seem to be bolted through under the floor and I have no idea how one would ever get to that, without dismantling the boat? Anyway I lost patience with it and attacked the spinny bolts with an angle grinder, which removed 3. The last one is a bit awkward and I didn't like seeing it glowing red hot, so got some proper cutting disks from the store. Will cut that off tomorrow.

The Admiral has agreed that if by some happy chance it's not raining tomorrow that she'll help with some painting!

Like my last boat I'm doing virtually everything by myself here, so appreciate you guys probably more than you can imagine

[Tomfoolery]

Since you're unsure about the rigging, I would suggest only trying to connect the inner side stays, or lower shrouds, and the forestay only. Connect the side stays with the mast pinned to the tabernacle or hinge plate, then with help, walk the mast up and pin the forestay. You can then stare at it and think about what you need to do for as long as you like, then put it back down if you need to do something with the upper shrouds and back stay.

You only need those three to hold it vertical, and you don't need the spreaders to even be in their sockets, let alone have the outer shrouds attached, just to stand it up. And it'll give you a feel for raising and lowering the mast, which is harder to do with all of the stays attached. Maybe get some practice with the mast raising system (MRS) if you have one.

This would be on dry land, by the way. It's far easier when the boat isn't moving around, especially if you've never done it before, and you're not even sure if the rigging is right.

[Starscream]

To get to the toilet bolts just remove the aft dinette seat cushion, seat cover, and the cooler bin to access the bilge. Then you can reach under the floor to reach the nuts. Sounds like the advice is a little late but maybe it will help you with that last one.

[Drifter]

Hehehe... Too late...

But handy to know for replacing it thanks