MODIFICATION QUESTION on my 05-26M

[ZANDRAMADAS]

ANY constructive critisim would be well appriciated. i want this to go right the 1st time, play devil's advocate. help me place this right. (forgive my horrible typing and spelling hehehehe)

THE DEAL. - My girlfriend and I have 4 kids between us. 13-g, 8-b,7-b and 6-g. the standard swim ladder isn't enough. so i went to (insert Angelic music here, also add light from heaven) WEST MARINE. bought the 5 step ladder. where is the best place to place it?

MY THOUGHT- (forgive the terminology) as u sit on the cockpit seat. directly across from the steering mechanism. over the starboard side. where the lip is, from where the top and bottom hulls meet. there is about a 2 3/4 lip. the ladder places quite level there. and reaches 2 steps BELOW the water line (remember these are small kids, they can't pull themselves up far). can anyone suggest why this is not a good position?

MY WORRIES- is simple ...bracing. i went and bought a piece of oak, 3 feet x 3inches x 3inches(got to breakout YE OLD plainer to make it fit nicely, without warping the hull). to place INSIDE the wall and under this lip. to brace it. it will extend roughly 10 inches beyond the ladder hooks, hopefully to spread the pull across the frame better and reduce stress...i plan to GLUE it to the underside of this lip with quick setting epoxy, then drill the ladder brace holes THRU the hull (goinging down) and thru the wood brace, then add the appropiate screws ( i got 3 inch stainless steel screws for this, with the neccessary locktight, locking nuts and marine sealant and long rachet extensions.....is this enough? will this handle the weight and shall we say...enthusiasm of small kids(its amazing the destruction 3 kids can cause when they are being careful LOL) and my weight? i am 6 foot 210 lbs.

FEAR NOT- the ladder is removeable and would not be in position when sailing (it hooks to the clamps, and removes quickly) and most importantly when preparing to trailer.

MY BIGGEST WORRIES- that i am forggeting something...anyone else done this on the 05M? where did u put it? what would u do differently? any and all suggestions..oh and mine is the fast WHITE hull, but i dont think that matters while at anchor and swimming hehehehe.

OTHER PROJECTS- #1 placing a BBQ grill over the motor, on the mast brace (dont know what its called yet) by adding a crossbar to it, and a drip pan under the grill to keep any unmentionables from hitting the motor.
#2 onshore water connections, got the shore power but not the water.
#3 a better cooler area below decks
#4 a place the new HONDA 2000i small generator can sit above decks and be locked down.
#5 a bell (if the bell is tolling, keep on strolling)
#6 locker for an inflatable dhingy, up front on the bow i think
#7 a swim PLATFORM off the portside, yes yes heavily customizing the boat for the kids enjoyment while at anchor.

ZAN

[aya16]

OK Ill take a shot. The ladder (folding) is used by a few owners like Scott
and they seem to like it alot. The BBQ over the engine will restrict or make it harder to enter or exit the boat in that area. I guess the ladder would take care of that. Buy a blow up Island to lash along side for the kids. With the problems of leaking water I have had in the past with my motorhome leaking from the fittings, I would not want a shore water connection to a boat that is in a birth for months when I wasnt there.

I run my gen. on the bow of the boat when I use it. But take it below when sailing. Even tied down as you run around it will get wet and water and a gen. dont mix well. just bad for the gen. in general.

I took the cushion out of my boat that faces the head and installed a fridge and a cooler there. also put a flex water tank below that.

hope that helps....

[ZANDRAMADAS]

thanks for the suggestions. Yeah we know the BBQ will restrict movement there, but we honestly dont want the kids coming and going near the fuel lines....GOOD suggestion on the Blow up island and cooler idea...as for the water connection, the boat normally stays on the trailer at my house....so not too much fear there.....the water hook up, would be for marina use only (very very limited, but maybe a nicety to have for the girls). Thanks again for replying...

ZAN

[Paul S]

here is how I did the bbq (party size).

I used an antenna mount..with an antenna extention...with the bbq clamp mounted to the extention. I did it this way because it was easily removable. I need to add a pin or something to keep it from spinning , but otherwise it works great. Works with the stern seat up or down

Paul





Paul

[DLT]

As to the ladder, mine looks just like this. This works real well. Starboard side is preferable, since the port side has that darn bolt...

I wouldn't want anything extending from the side of the boat permanently. Just seems too risky that it will get snagged by something and rip a chunk of fiberglass out...

I would second aya16, on the grill. I fab'd one up that mounts to a fishing pole holder. See here.

I don't know that I'd want full blown water hookups. You can fab up something to make it easy to top off whatever onboard tank you decide to go with, but I probably would keep that simplar as possible... I don't see much to gain from full hookups and I see a big down side...

I did pretty much what aya16 did for the fridge. I just removed the port side forward cushion and installed a 12VDC fridge.

I have not yet 'mounted' my Honda EU1000i, and probably won't permanently mount it for a while until I figure out what works best...

I don't have a bell...

I'd shy away from a 'locker' for the dinghy. The bow isn't a really good place to mount anything. It will block your view when powering, unless you can get the boat fully planed out, which requires more than 50hp, especially as loaded as your's will be... Why not just tow the dinghy? You can pull it up along side ans use it for your swim platform, as needed...

[ZANDRAMADAS]

My girlfriend and i are reading your respones, she laughed at your comment of the bell LOL. i think we agree on towing the dinghy. As for generators, any suggestions? size, type? i see honda has a new one out...we are looking into...see here
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/gensup.asp
the EU1000i
wonder if this will work, haven't really sat down to look at the power ratio as yet, but intend too, before making any hard decisions. we just dont want anything too loud.

[Richard O'Brien]

Don't forget to watch your weight distribution. I think AYA and DLT have thought of this . The more weight you keep low and to center , the better. I keep my generator in the head, and the cooler right next to it. Yes I know "!@#/+!>? blocking the door!!!", but it keeps folks out of there, and that's good as far as i'm concerned. I have another small cooler under the cockpit seat, along with some storage. I don't need the second fuel tank yet. The alternative is to decide which berth your going to sacrifice methinks?

[ZANDRAMADAS]

Yes, we are on the phone discussing just that.....we think we will have to go with the EU2000i generator, at roughly 48lbs, for our needs to keep kids happy and comfy. when we anchor it will be in the bow, on top. when we anchor (with the A/C mod) , lights and battery charging, we will need the extra power. weight considerations while storing is another discussion she and i are having....trial and error will be our constant companion then me thinks..
ZAN

[DLT]

I think if you NEED more than something like the eu1000i, then you probably got the wrong boat to begin with...

This is a big spacious boat for its size, but like ALL boats, space is still at a premium. By the time you install all those goodies that require the bigger generator, you won't have any space left for you two and the kids...

You can't sacrifice a berth. I'm in the same boat (pun intended). You just have too many people on the boat to give up that much space.

As Richard notes, where you put something is also critical from a weight and balance persepective. I mounted the fridge opposite the daggerboard, on the port side. It aint light, but it aint that heavy either... To help balance it, as well as power it, I mounted two group 24 AGM batteries in the space under the seat just starboard of the DB. They fit perfectly, end to end, and are snugged up right against the DB. Together, the batteries are much heavier than the fridge, but they are also much closer to the centerline of the boat...

Keep your heavy stuff as low and as centered as practical.

Oh, and I thought of another issue with a side mounted ladder. At some point, you WILL want a bimini. The ladder and the bimini are going to be mutually exclusive, in that they will likely interfere with each other as far as mounting and/or the bimini will have to be removed/stowed to be able to climb aboard...

[DLT]

I don't know what you plan to do for Air Conditioning, but here is what I started with. It is a pain to crawl over, so I now have the AC unit sitting in a swinging door, that swings out of the way... I'll post a new mod, when it is finished...

The small ~5000BTU AC units draw less then 5 amps while running. When the compressor kicks on, they will max out the eu1000i, but it should handle it... I haven't tried mine yet as my generator is brand new...

[ZANDRAMADAS]

AS A MATTER OF FACT. we are planning on doing your A/C upgrade ourselves (thanks for the MOD page, it helps out alot. i thought of the swinging door concept too....will wait on your mod page before i begin. but being in Alabama and sailing on lakes and the gulf here....A/C is a must when the kids are near....so is bug screens lol!. i am afraid that with the A/C, a few lights and recharging the batteries, the EU1000i just won't handle it, i don't belive (take into account that i am VERY new to this) that the EU2000i will present too much of a sacrifice, stowing wise...but as i said earlier, trial and error...trial and error...that is why i post here, to get various pro and con opinions, to better our decision making process. as for the ladder...the brackets (almost flush with the hull) are the only fixed part of it.....the BBQ can be removed easily enough for storage, or left there while sailing....as far i can tell, without it actually BEING there yet. keep in mind these are long term projects. we normally use the boat (so far) for weekends...but plan to do more this summer, that is why we need the ladder-A/C-BBQ-generator additions...will the weight cut down on our speed ...i think it will, can we sacrifce that for their comfort...yeah..i can...
yes i'd love to have a bigger boat, but affording a slip is out of the question here, and we do travel with it, often...lot's of lakes and the gulf here....so the MAC was the choice for us...just needs a few additions to make it more "homey" feeling.
And DLT, the girlfriend is heading to homedepot to buy the A/C this afternoon lol...so after the ladder (i'll post pic's) i'll start THAT project...the generator will take alittle while to save up for it...which will give me time to decide which one to go with...thank you for all the input, wish me luck on the ladder install....!

ZAN

[ZANDRAMADAS]

And as far as the bimini goes, well it wil simply have to be dealt with, as the side is the best place i can figure....going and coming out the back (while swimming) is a hospital visit waiting to happen, in my book, the kids LOVE to jump into the water, and they come SO close to the prop....i have the factory installed ladder there, but , lets just say with kids...its found lacking.
The bimini will just have to be adapted too...i see no other way around it....except for mounting the ladder up front....but then u get into an angle..not a good idea....they are skinny kids, i'll just have to adapt to squeezing unde the bimini LOL...

[aya16]

The boat sits to high up front I think for a ladder. I least for me diving off the front of the mac is like diving out of a tree like Tarzan.

I use the back of my boat to come and go while moored and find it ample to do so with the stock ladder. I dont have any kids but as long as the prop isnt turning I never give it a second thought. In fact my power boat I used to have didnt have a ladder and to get in after skiing I used to use the motor to step on never cut myself on the prop just steped on the cavatation plate to get in.

All the stuff you mentioned A/C and other things, I agree with the others you will be taking up alot of space. I have started to have diff. boxes of stuff outside the boat for diff. things. If I go some where a dingy is needed then that will be taken out of the box and stored or towed. If you try to keep your boat uncluttered you will find the huge space below will be great.

you will find that telling yourself that you will just stow it for later will eat up alot of room. Like the back berth or v berth. Then you will be moving stuff all the time. I stow stuff in the v berth right side because we dont use the berth. But you have kids and kids like that area for some reason.


Get a couple bins from home depot and store stuff in there for diff. adventures. Day sailing, weekend, week long.

Im going to use my boat in may for a ten day trip and will be staying on the boat everynight. all the crap I bring will be stored on shore in a tent to be used as needed. This leaves the boat uncluttered and comfortable.
My 1000 watt yamaha generator runs 10-12 hours a day to run the fridge
and some other stuff it burns hardly any gas and you cant hear it on shore. When we use the boat during the day the gen. gets dropped down the forward hatch onto the v berth. The freezer compartment of the fridge will keep everthing in the fridge cold for many hours with out power.

Still not sure why you want shore water, with a 25 gallon water tank and a good 12v pump you can have many days of hand washing and dog drinking water.

for a shower in a lake run a small bilge pump down into the lake and run some copper lines through you BBQ for a nice warm delight.

The lake I will go to above has public showers so I dont fuss much with making my own.

[NautiMoments]

BWY has a ladder that hooks onto the Genoa track and rests against the rub rail. Quit slick for at the dock but not long enough for out in the water. Maybe you could modify something to use the Genoa track.

[James V]

Please explaine - Why do you need the generator and A/C?

Frige - in the same space you could have another icechest with plenty of ice to last 5 days.

A/C - is it really that hot in there or am I just used to camping outdoors?
Wouldn't a windscoop, fan and canopy do just as good?

I do like the Idea about the grill.