Ray's Tour of Our New Boat "Vestri" Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, etc - 1976 CHB 34" Trawler 

Glad you like them!

Thanks! :)

Just finished installing a Smart Plug outlet, ActiveStart soft starter and 2000W inverter charger so got most of the AC wiring cleaned up, now to the DC circuits and wires. :)

Good movie! It a spotting scope we have for looking at wildlife, etc. :) Comes in very handy on the boat for looking at distant shores, ships, signs and buoys. Cheers! Ray

That's Anne's job. She can't do to much as far as mechanical, electrical, etc so will give her something to putter away at :)

haha, yeah. Beauty and the Grease Monkey. :)

47 years old. boat probably more than 5.even :)

Yes, there are numerous sacrificial zincs on the outside of the boat and in the engine that get routinely changed. I've also discovered the boat has a Newmar 30 amp galvanic isolator installed on the incoming AC earth ground line. It was hiding high up in the main electrical cabinet. I tested it today with my multimeter and its still in working condition. Next season though I may replace it with an updated one as its pretty old. The older Electro-Guard must be a relic from the 1960s or 70s judging from the ancient transistor I discovered on its circuit board today. Cheers, Ray

Was installing a surge protector yesterday so rerunning the AC input wires and found that there is a GI-30 NewMar galvanic isolator that is installed in the boat www.newmarpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Manual-GI-3050.pdf so I guess the Electro- Guard is a left over disconnected artifact. :)

@@LoveYourRV Could be, the New Mar device looks to address "Stray current," (from the dock's power.) You're probably right, the Electro guard gauge is a relic. You may have a 1 1/2 " shaft zinc, to protect your brass prop. Maybe grab a mask and take a look. Bet that water is cold,,jk.

Thanks for the heads up,, good idea. Do you have any recommendations of galvanic isolator brands? We actually don't plan to be on shore power much at all though mostly will anchoring when using it, with the odd overnight stop at a marina to resupply. Then the boat will be on land storage about 7 month of the year. Also, maybe another way to go would be to always run the boats AC loads off the Inverter output and the batteries and just have a battery charger for shore hook up. That way the boats AC loads aren't connected to the shore panel ground. Cheers, Ray

When I was looking for a boat, I noticed many of the types I looked at had propane stoves/ovens, and barbeques. Most were west coast boats, and most were ones that people used for extended cruising. But as battery banks have grown and more people install lithium batteries, induction cooktops are gaining popularity. Propane stoves are still used though defender.com/en_us/fixed-stoves-ovens Here is a brand new Ranger Tug Northwest model that comes with a propane stove and oven. rangertugs.blob.core.windows.net/media/4200/2023-06-30_2023-r27-spec-sheet-web.pdf If you look at the major cases of boat fires, the electrical systems are by far the biggest cause, both DC and AC, then many are engine fires. I was way more worried about having a gasoline boat versus diesel than having propane. Having worked on and used propane living full time in the RV I'm used to it and how to maintain and test the system. Cheers, Ray

Wow thanks for the thorough response. Like I said you are always well informed in just about everything. Happy boating!

You're welcome. :) The boats water heater has an exchanger system built into it. So when you are running the diesel engine it pipes coolant through the water heater which heats the water really well. I make sure to do dishes while under way and then when we arrive after using the engine we both have showers. :) Also being we are summer cruisers we can sometimes swim in certain bays and coves and I have one of those camping shower bags that hold 20 liters. It warms up in the sun and we can hang it on the end of our trawlers mast boom and shower on the swim platform. Actually works pretty well.

@@LoveYourRV sounds like you have it all figured out! I live in Alaska so those camp shower bags don't really work up here! What I'm proposing is using an on-demand propane water heater that can run right off your existing 12 volt system and propane system. That way, you don't have to depend on the big engine running or on the camp show bag (if the sun isn't out) and can have hot water whenever you want. I do believe they have these systems in RV's these days. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dtQHir8r2rg.html

Yes, getting popular in newer RVs. I actually decided to not go to one in the RV when my original gas/electric water heater bit the dust a few years ago. I replaced it with the same OEM type. I wanted to keep the electric functionality for when on shore power since shore power was included free at the campsites I frequented about 4 months of the year. LP gas is getting pretty expensive and the water heater can be a big user of gas. LP gas water heaters are pretty scarce on boats, even any LP gas appliances for the matter due to safety concerns. LP gas leaks in an RV can flow out onto the ground and dissipate. They can build up in the hull of a boat and cause an explosion. So installation would likely take extra precautions and get expensive to move the water heater location. For example, you wouldn't want to place an LP gas type where the existing water heater is in the engine bay as any leak would trap gas right in the hull. So it would involve finding another place on the boat. Then it also requires outside exhaust venting and then run the plumbing/electrical to it. So you see, it's not a simple install like in an RV to change to an on-demand. I think if I went to an on-demand, I may look at a diesel on-demand, but so far, it hasn't been a big issue. To conserve fresh water off the grid, we do a lot of sponge baths with boiled water in a sink anyway. Finally, every few years the boat needs to pass a survey so we can get insurance. I'm not sure if an on-demand would be allowed or not or take a bunch of extra money input to pass marine safety codes, etc. So would have to make sure of that too. Cheers, Ray

@@LoveYourRV good insight and information. I've never owned an RV but have had several boats, so I can see how what applies to one doesn't apply to another. I appreciate your input and insight!

Yes, it seems to be wired so that the house or both banks combined can easily be used to start the boat but I personally think its too great of a risk given the long wiring runs, so I will be rewiring them so only the start battery bank is connected direct to the starter and then fuse the house battery properly. I'll ditch that battery switch and replace it with one that will disconnect the main DC load panel feed. I'm also planning to replace the house bank with lithium. I carry a little NOCO GB150 jump starter box rated for a 10L diesel, so if ever needed, I'd use that in a pinch to start the boat.

The boat could likely handle but I don't think we would. The boat gets pretty rocky on side ways waves so would need to add stabilizers, etc. It can get very nasty in the open ocean plus you'd have to keep going at night. Nowhere to stop when you are 50 miles off shore and we only have a single engine. We'll stick to the sheltered inland of the BC coast waters and enjoy ourselves. :)

Was installing a surge protector yesterday so rerunning the AC input wires and found that there is a GI-30 NewMar galvanic isolator that is installed in the boat www.newmarpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Manual-GI-3050.pdf

We have been watching the market for the last couple of years and watching RU-vid videos about boats but got serious this spring at the beginning of May. Looked at several boats and even put in a offer on a 35' Cooper Prowler that was in awesome shape but lost out to another buyer, then we found Vestri advertised online and went to Sidney for a look and then a sea trial. Turned out to be a great boat for us.

@@LoveYourRV Thanks for replying. It's interesting to have a little backstory. I'm just thrilled for you both. Maybe it was good you lost out on the other boat. I know how much that hurts, though. Been there with shopping for a motorhome. It stings.

I'm currently adding a smoke detector in the bedroom as there wasn't one anywhere. CO is pretty close as it is maybe 8 feet from the bedroom so not as worried about since it is lighter than air and tends to rise