PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I recall seeing a cleat that bolted onto perforated toe rail. It was made from something like 1/4" rod shaped like the profile of a deck cleat.

Has anyone had success shoe-horning the really tall group 8L16 6vdc batteries (something like 17" tall) into the early PDQ 36 battery compartments (under the helm station?) They weigh 123# apiece but four of them offer 720 Ah of storage, more than two 8D's. I suspect the fluid levels would be h...

And how much water will it use? You may have to chose between bathing and washing. I understand Tom and Amy on Dream Cather have two dishwashers, self propelled, capable of limited verbal commands, but no good at stacking plates....

Page 83, PDQ 36026 is on blocks less than 200 yards away from "TooYoots" Although I'm more than 15 minutes away, in Edgewater, I suppose I could swing by and check on yours when I check on mine! My email address is sandydaugherty@att.net, and if you're really worried about the weather call...

Luckily, the Garmin radar has most of the electronics in the Dome; the data cable is Ethernet! But for some reason, Garmin molded a huge skin around the data and power cables, and its now an oval nearly 3/4 by 1/2 inch in cross section. But its done. I'll put the junction box in the space under the ...

Brendan I replaced the transducers last season. I dreamed up a tool from 4" PVC pipe, and all-thread rod to pull the old txdcr tube. There's a trick, but its easy. The "long" plastic barrel ST60 speed txdcr was too short, so I ground a half inch out of the top of the interior mounting...

Sigh.... It never ends. Hey! Thats what I got into this for; something to fill my idle, golden hours, right? (hmmmmm.) Is the turn to the step a larger radius than the channel? It might make sense to move the fat DC and AC cables there and leave the channel for data. I've acquired two new chart plot...

No! My start batteries do nothing but start the outboards and the generator. They can be charged by shore power, solar panels, generator, or the outboards. The windlass runs off the house bank, four Deka 6 volt wet cells of indeterminate age, that require frequent fluid checks. In an emergency, I ca...

Page 83's wiring chase is so full it moans when the weather changes. Naturally, this compels me to update all the electronics. My first and nastiest challenge is to identifiy and remove any old unused stuff. I would love to hear ANY suggestions on how to do that. How have you all dealt with this pro...

Jef makes some valid points.

I have outboards and a diesel generator: my starting batteries are not connected to anything else.

'Page 83' has a vertical axis 1000# Lofrans just aft of the starboard bow locker, and "0" gage 12 volt cables from the battery box. It works fine, but I always run the generator when I'm using it. I've chartered other cats and really like the idea of using the anchor windlass to raise the ...

I'm very glad to see this forum back up and running!

I have about that spacing at present, and wish I had double-braced or 'dolphined' pilings on the most open side. I would suggest you reduce the fore and aft dimension to 40' to reduce how far you have to reach out with a boat pole to drop your lines. There's not a lot to hold on to on the bow, if yo...

I've hauled every year, more because I travel in the winter than because I worry about ice in my slip. I've got my winterization chore list down to two easy days by myself, and take a couple of weeks in the spring to hit my fix-it-later list. Its important to spread the load under the keels as far a...

Revise my full power speed down to 6.9 knots averaged. I'm still collecting numbers. There is a trick to compensate for the length of the wire from the little tachs to the engines: increase the wraps on the spark plug leads. Fuel consumption appears steady at .85 gal US per hour at full throttle per...