Re: 81 Sea Ray 26 Sedan Bridge I/O to OB Conversion/Restore (Pics)
[h=1]2011 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show[/h]Q and I went to the show yesterday (Friday). I have gone to the show every year for a long time, as well as the Miami show in February and the West Palm Beach show in March. But since we have started this project, I was looking at things from a totally different perspective.
Here are my personal highlights:
Outboards ? We visited the major manufacturers and the main thing we came away with is that probably the best size for our boat will be two 175s. Everyone thought more than that would be overkill (we are not into high speed) and with the 175s, we could save quite a bit of money, both on the cost of the engines and on fuel usage. Also, 175s will be less stress on the transom. We?ll see.
Multifunction GPS/Helm Display ? We plan on making the helm mostly electronic, getting rid of all the individual gauges. So we looked at what all the major manufacturers are offering. Although we won't need it for some time, the Garmin 4208 is definitely the front runner. I?m already familiar with the Garmin GPS operation. In addition, we will use it for engine data display, fuel level/usage monitoring, depth data, and video.
Video Cameras ? With the helm control at the port side of the bridge and the way we want to do canvas, I believe there will be a blind spot (starboard aft) when docking/maneuvering. So, I will put a camera on that spot and display it on the GPS/Multifunction Display (above). However, since it would be nice to use the camera to display the view to the rear of the boat while underway, we will mount the camera on a pan/tilt spotlight. So we looked at a lot of cameras and spotlights. One thing about the boat show, most of the vendors that spend the money to be in the show are the ones whose products are very expensive. So, we will find these units elsewhere.
Sound Insulating Foam ? We found a foam that that deadens the sound vibration of the boat. . It?s also fire retardant. It comes as a liquid that that we will spray to about 40 mils thick. It works by deadening the vibration of stringers, bulkheads, decks, etc. We will use it in the engine compartment to deaden generator noise, and figure it will cost us about $150.
Air Inflator ? On of the features I planned for the boat is to build in an air pump to blow up all the various toys we will have on the boat. I don?t want one of those weak little units from Walmart. I want something that can blow things up quickly. The unit we found has good power and pressure regulation, and its made to be built in.
Generator ? Only Kohler and Westerbeke make small gas generators. The Kohler was a 5KW unit and is fairly small. Westerbeke has a 3KW unit (and is just coming out with a 3.5KW unit) that is even smaller in physical size. We figure 3KW is enough for us since that is approximately 30 amps, matching the single 30 amp shore power connection. Our loads will be set to as to not exceed 30 amps. Westerbeke was slightly higher priced but for space reasons, we will probably go with them.
Windlass ? We want a rope/chain windlass and we looked at a lot of these. We don?t need a very big one based upon the size of the boat and on how I use it (I motor up to the anchor, using the windlass only to pull up the anchor). My only concern is that the units in this size range use ?? anchor line. The manufacturers all say that?s fine for a 26? boat, but I have always had 5/8?. Adding to our weight, once we get on the water, we?ll be rafting up with friends so we will often be holding the weight of their boats as well. The 5/8? line was always enough, so maybe I should step up to a windlass that can handle 5/8? line.
A/C ? We will be putting in a new A/C unit, so we looked at every booth that had them. One strange thing we found is that 75% of the A/C manufacturers (Cruisair, Marine Air, etc.) are owned by Dometic. We figured we need 9,000-10,000 BTU, and found a Webasto 12,000 BTU unit for under $1400, much less than all of the other brands. Anyone have any experience with Webasto A/Cs?
Fiberglass ? Mark, that manages the yard where our boat is (and he operates a jet ski rental) has been telling me to check out Fiberglass Coatings, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale where he gets his FG supplies. He said they are extremely helpful. It just so happened they had a booth at the show. We spent over an hour getting and education on gel coats, color matching, polishing/sanding techniques, and tools. He said come in to their showroom and he will show us how to do everything he was talking about. So, probably next Wednesday, we?ll be there.
So, that was our day at the boat show. It was very interesting for us. Hope the above is interesting to you too.
