Refit Proposal V Jeaneau 42 V " Montrachet "

Scope and Objective

The Jeaneau 42 is an offshore fast cruiser less than 10 years old. This is the boat's first refit. The owner is refitting the boat for an intended passage from Hong Kong to Australia lasting about 5 months. Currently the boat is minimally equipped for offshore passage making but is well built and in good condition. The desire of the owner is to upgrade essential systems to modern standards with equipment needed for the trip. Emphasis is to be placed on safety, quality of equipment and workmanship. Suggested installations shall be prioritized according to importance, necessity and budgetary considerations.

Engineering, cost estimates and ordering of parts and equipment will begin in March. Fabrication of custom mounts will commence in April. Installation of equipment to begin in May with completion of all projects by July 1^st, 1999. After work is completed training of the owner and crew will commence with as many offshore shakedown cruises as is possible to properly fine tune and debug all systems.

Recommendations

After a brief survey of the vessel I have concluded the following systems require upgrades and new equipment to obtain the objectives set forth above.

• 12 VDC system

There are three basic 12 VDC systems on the vessel. The starting battery for the main engine, starting battery for the generator, and the house batteries for all the lights, pumps and electronics, each requiring different battery specifications.

The main engine starting battery should be isolated from all the other battery systems and charged by the main engine alternator and high voltage battery charger from the generator. Size of the starting battery should be a series 27 or 4-D marine starting battery, depending on available storage space.

The generator battery should be a series 24 or 27 marine starting battery isolated from the other batteries and charged by the generator's own alternator.

The house batteries should provide enough storage capacity to run everything onboard required for normal operation at sea for 36-48 hours before recharging is required. A cruising boat of the size and type of the "Montrachet" will have a daily energy budget while offshore of at least 250 amp/hours per 24 hour period. This includes refrigeration, electronics and lighting at night. Therefore the minimum useable capacity of the house battery bank must be at least 375 - 500 amp hours reserve capacity (not to be confused with cranking amps). The useable capacity of a deep cycle storage battery is about a maximum 50% of the gross rating of the battery. Therefore around 750 - 900 Amp hours of storage capacity should be adequate to power the systems. Remember that as the battery approaches 60% of charge remaining some electronics such as SSB and autopilot may perform poorly with the lower voltage. Batteries sufficient to supply the recommended capacity should be installed.

The increased storage capacity of the house batteries will require an upgrade of the engine's alternator from the existing 50 amp maximum output to a 100-130 amp hour output alternator with 3 stage solid state external regulator. The external regulator will permit easy servicing and replacement by the crew. The 3-stage feature will greatly shorten recharging time and increase battery life.

These recommendations are essential, and in my estimation required, for adequate safety and performance of all onboard 12 VDC systems. The following sample diagram illustrates the battery configuration.

If the cruising budget permits, I recommend adding passive charging capability with solar panels and a wind generator. The two systems complement each other providing power when there is plenty of sun but not much wind, as might be the case at anchor. And providing power when there is plenty of wind but not much sun, as might be at night, under sail when the boat is heeled and panel attitude to the sun is inefficient, and during overcast storm conditions. Two solar panels at least 45 watts each, and one of the new Air Winds high out put wind generators, should provide up to 50 % of the daily requirement by the vessel's systems. This will reduce wear and tear on the engine or generator, and reduce fuel consumption. An added advantage is always having a full set of batteries even when the boat is left unattended for a lengthy period of time on the mooring. The pole required to mount the Radar scanner can easily accommodate the wind generator. The Solar panels can be rigidly mounted over the bimini to reduce shading by the sails.

• Electronics

Generally, I believe essential navigation and communication equipment should be installed in the cockpit. There it is useable by the person at the helm without needing to leave the helm. During bad weather, at night, or periods of poor visibility, it is essential that the helmsman have access to as much information as possible. Information such as water depth, vessel's position, autopilot controls, position of surface hazards and squall lines, and communication with other vessels is critical. Requirements of instruments mounted in the cockpit are compact size, LCD displays and waterproof designs. All the electronics should be interfaced where appropriate.

I also recommend a fixed mounted VHF radio in the cockpit with it's own antenna and connected to the ship's power supply. This can be a full size VHF or a handheld with a fix mount and plugged into a power outlet in the cockpit. Another full size VHF radio with masthead antenna should be installed below.

The electronics package I recommend is:

• SSB Transceiver w/automatic tuner and insulated backstay antenna. The Transceiver should mounted in the cabin below, and the tuner in the aft lazerette within 3 feet of the backstay.
• Small breaker panel with a dedicated breaker for each electronic component, sized appropriately for the equipment it protects.
• Cockpit mounted VHF radio.
• VHF radio installed in the cabin below.
• LCD Fishfinder installed in the cockpit flush mounted in an equipment pod on the binnacle. The fishfinder is a better system to use than just a digital display. It will provide the helmsman with vital graphical representations of bottom features, reefs, channels, anchorage's, etc.
• LCD Radar flush mounted in an equipment pod on the binnacle. The Radome scanner should be mounted on a pole with a self-leveling hydraulically dampened mount. The pole should be mounted on the rear of the vessel.
• LCD GPS position finder with externally mounted antenna, interfaced with the autopilot, laptop navigation system (optional) and radar.
• Autopilot with LCD display. The autopilot should be a heavy duty type with a hydraulic ram drive system mounted directly onto the steering quadrant.
• Bilge pump indicator lights.

A sample installation might look something like this:

This configuration on a Beneteau 50 includes Radar, VHF Radio, GPS, Autopilot, Bilge Pump Indicator Lights and a courtesy light for the cockpit table. All instruments except the GPS are permanently installed and all are hardwired and interfaced where appropriate. The addition of a fishfinder would make this complete for "Montrachet". This boat has a digital network depth mounted next to the companionway. A canvas cover protects the instrument pedestal when not in use. The install is clean, functional and looks good.

This is an installation on a Beneteau 40 I did in Key West. It incorporates the radar scanner unit, wind generator, a rear transom spotlight for boarding and security, and the VHF antenna for the cockpit VHF radio. All the wiring runs concealed down inside the mast unit into the transom and on through to the engine room. From there the wiring can run concealed throughout the boat. The unit is strong and attractive and can be configured to mount a variety of different equipment. Solar panels can also be mounted on the rear of the mast unit to save the cost of building mounts over the bimini or on the lifelines.

This Radar installation mounted on the backstay utilizes the self leveling hydraulically stabilized mounting system. It is a more economic method of mounting the Radome but cannot be used for other applications such as solar panels, antennas etc. There may also be a problem with clearance to the rear of the boom. For applications with many pieces of equipment to be mounted it is better to use the all-in-one approach to mounting supports as in the antenna mast in the previous example.

Cost of the Project

The following equipment is an estimate for planning purposes. Final changes made in equipment options and manufacturers' price changes will affect the totals.

• 130 Amp small frame alternator
• 160 Amp battery charging isolator/splitter
• 3 stage external regulator
• 2 @ 8-D batteries
• 50 feet 2/0 Battery cable
• Assorted 2/0 battery cable ends, shrink tubing, wire ties, terminal junctions, ring connectors
• 100 ft. 12/2 boat cable
• ICOM IC-M700 Pro SSB with AT-130 Tuner, insulated backstay, copper grounding foil for counterpoise, high voltage lead-in wire, misc.
• Garmin GPS 125 combination GPS Plotter/Fishfinder Sounder with external antenna mounting bracket. Bronze thru-hull transducer.
• Furuno 841 MKII 36 mile 4 KW Radar with self-leveling mount, Mast pole, NMEA interface cables.
• Radar Display Nav. Pod for binnacle mounting
• Nav. Pods for GPS and Autopilot
• Air Marine Wind Turbine Generator
• Autohelm ST 6000 Autopilot System with below decks hydraulic Ram.
• 2 @ 50 watt Siemens Rigid Mount Solar Panels. Custom Mount brackets, 12 Amp Charge Controller.
• Link 20 - 2 Battery Bank monitor system.
• DC Breaker Panel w/ 8 breakers assorted values
• Misc. Mounting hardware, nuts, bolts, etc., indicator and courtesy lights.

Estimated Cost of Parts

Using West Marine's discount catalog of prices for equipment and parts your cost for the above package EXCLUDING SHIPPING AND LABOR TO INSTALL should be around:

Some of the items, especially hardware, wire, etc. can be purchased here and save shipping costs. Prices are approximate and my wholesale costs are always less than West marine's published prices. So while all of these prices will be less buying them through my wholesale sources, there may be some additional items we need to get once into the project.

To assure you that you get the best price I will arrange for you to pay my wholesaler directly or furnish you the receipts. My % fee is figured into the above parts estimate and how it is structured will be explained below in the " Terms" section.

LABOR COST

I will give you one flat rate for me to do the above project as specified. It includes all the engineering, parts ordering, installation, programming and debugging, training of the crew, electrical drawings of the work completed, and warranty service.

TERMS

Parts: Pre-paid at the time they are ordered, or if paid directly to wholesaler when required by the supplier. A % fee will be added to all parts INSTALLED on the boat by US. This means whether we purchase the parts or you purchase the parts. This % fee is intended to cover warranty service and troubleshooting after the project is completed. Our experience has been that owner supplied parts generally require more warranty service than those bought directly from authorized dealers.

This does not cover the costs of repairing or replacing parts and equipment bought from third parties that do not have warranties. Therefore, before purchasing electronics from private individuals be aware of the risks of not having a warranty to back it up.

A deposit of % of the labor cost is required up front to get started. Half of the remaining labor cost will be payable when % of the job is completed with the balance upon completion. The % parts fee will be payable at the time the parts are delivered to the boat or owner.

Respectfully yours,

Victor Bates

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