Questions on PDQ 34

[William]

Hello to all the PDQ forum members. My name is Bill Anderson and I am considering purchasing a used PDQ 34. I have a number of questions related to the vessel that some forum members may have comments or suggestions on. These are listed below in no particular order of priority and I would really appreciate any suggestions or comments members might like to provide me with. Anyone wishing to reply directly may reach me at tthe following Email adress: wanderson@sympatico.ca. Thank you to everyone in advance.

Questions on PDQ 34 for forum


1. It would seem to me that the interior of this boat will be quite warm particularly the two aft sleeping cabins, which seem to lack good air flow. Is this valid? Any comments or suggestions as to how to alleviate this situation if it exists?

2. How adequate is the smaller AC used to cool the aft cabins?

3. The generator is relatively small (4.2 KW). Is this adequate for running both AC units, particularly for the “start-up” current?

4. In a similar vain the aft deck lacks any sunshade and the Flybridge configuration makes it difficult to cover this area. Comments or suggestions?

5. I like to have an enclosed Flybridge, again any comments or suggestions?

6. The boat I am considering does not have up/down windlass controls at either steering station or on the deck. It uses a flexible wire windlass control stored under the starboard forward windshield “eyebrow”. Was this the standard configuration? How difficult is it to add up/down windlass controls at each station?

7. How difficult is it to pull in new wires, cables, etc., to the Flybridge and within the boat? Where is access to the wiring chase(s)?

8. All the PDQ’s seem to have a relatively light anchoring system (35 lb plow type anchors with 30’ to 50’ of chain on average). I anchor a lot and generally use an all chain rode. I realize that the PDQ is a light displacement vessel, however it has significant windage. Any comments on anchoring systems?

9. How difficult is to do oil changes? Is there a plug in the bottom of the engine oil pan to allow oil to be drained from there rather than through the dip stick? Has anyone done this and how difficult is this?

10. How difficult is access to the engine sea-water pump for impellor changes? I am 6’ 2” and about 200 lbs.

I hope that I'm not breaking any of the forum rules with this number of questions. Thank you to everyone again.

[Tanah-Keeta]

I noticed that you have not received any feedback so I will try.... I have hull #108,, one of the later boats and there were a lot of changes made to the boats from the early to late models.


1. It would seem to me that the interior of this boat will be quite warm particularly the two aft sleeping cabins, which seem to lack good air flow. Is this valid? Any comments or suggestions as to how to alleviate this situation if it exists?
If you are at anchor with the center window open, you get reasonable ventilation.
2. How adequate is the smaller AC used to cool the aft cabins?
It seems ok for me
3. The generator is relatively small (4.2 KW). Is this adequate for running both AC units, particularly for the “start-up” current?
My genset is 5KW. I runs everything well.... the tv may click off momentarily when the a/c compressor kicks in.

4. In a similar vain the aft deck lacks any sunshade and the Flybridge configuration makes it difficult to cover this area. Comments or suggestions?
I had a full bimini added for the aft deck. Does great with sun but is not as effective in rain....

5. I like to have an enclosed Flybridge, again any comments or suggestions?
I would have loved one going down to the Bahamas this year... real cold.. however..they have a lot of windage and if you are travelling ar 15 knots into a 20 knot headwind, you have a lot of wind to deal with

6. The boat I am considering does not have up/down windlass controls at either steering station or on the deck. It uses a flexible wire windlass control stored under the starboard forward windshield “eyebrow”. Was this the standard configuration? How difficult is it to add up/down windlass controls at each station?
I only have the wired remote on the front deck and since my wife drives the boat when we anchor, I don't see a need for extra switches. I had them on my 36 sailboat and never used them... would be good if you singlehand.

7. How difficult is it to pull in new wires, cables, etc., to the Flybridge and within the boat? Where is access to the wiring chase(s)?
Chases are located on each side of the boat in the center. Mine are quite full.

8. All the PDQ’s seem to have a relatively light anchoring system (35 lb plow type anchors with 30’ to 50’ of chain on average). I anchor a lot and generally use an all chain rode. I realize that the PDQ is a light displacement vessel, however it has significant windage. Any comments on anchoring systems?
I use a 35 CQR with 60 ft of chain and have had no problems. You can read other threads on this forum about anchoring

9. How difficult is to do oil changes? Is there a plug in the bottom of the engine oil pan to allow oil to be drained from there rather than through the dip stick? Has anyone done this and how difficult is this?
Oil changes require a pump out thru the dipstick tube. The yanmars tube is sized so that you can slide a 1/2 inch hose over the tube and pump it out. A reverso pump is handy.

10. How difficult is access to the engine sea-water pump for impellor changes? I am 6’ 2” and about 200 lbs.
Access to the impeller is blind. Requires a mirror. To remove the pump,. you need to unbolt the engine mount and lever up the engine.

Hope my comments are helpful. If you buy one, you will travel alone a lot... Running at 15 knots eliminates most trawlers and most others burn 20 gallons or more at that speed while you burn 5.

[duetto]

actually i sent the following to bill directly since it was so lengthy, but in retrospect should have shared.


Hi Bill,

your questions are below. i will respond to them in stream and will follow with other things i think you will find of interest. before that i'll give you a little background on diane & i and our travels on duetto.

we sailed for 30+ years together, the last 15 in catamarans. our first trip to fl convinced us to switch to power. we chose the pdq for economy, room, and speed. it is a 2003 which we bought in 2005. we have made 4 complete round trips to fl/bahamas from ct. we do summer cruising in new england. we've put over 20,000 miles on the boat.


Questions on PDQ 34 fom forum


1. It would seem to me that the interior of this boat will be quite warm particularly the two aft sleeping cabins, which seem to lack good air flow. Is this valid? Any comments or suggestions as to how to alleviate this situation if it exists?

jc-actually, bunks have never really been a problem. usually by evening everything cools down and hulls stay cooler anyway. i also installed hella fans in each bunk. salon can be a problem once temps outside get into the mid-80s with sun out. when this happens we generally run A/C until after supper. do you have an opening center window? if you do, i don't think you'll have a problem...we don't. also, window shades are a must. we have ours on the outside and are partial see thru.

2. How adequate is the smaller AC used to cool the aft cabins?

jc-we've never run genset overnite but at a dock rear A/C can cool it so you'll need blankets.

3. The generator is relatively small (4.2 KW). Is this adequate for running both AC units, particularly for the “start-up” current?

jc-we've run both A/C on entec genset together many times. it will not start both together however. the reality is we've never found the need to cool salon and bunks simultaneously. we've always cooled salon and once near temperature turned on rears. that presents no problem.

4. In a similar vain the aft deck lacks any sunshade and the Flybridge configuration makes it difficult to cover this area. Comments or suggestions?

jc-we do have a sunshade on the aft deck. it was done by g&c canvas in stuart, fl. can send pic if you want.

5. I like to have an enclosed Flybridge, again any comments or suggestions?

jc-my preference is no for 2 reasons: 1) you have inside driving station 2) windage. with that said we know of many that have enclosed the flybridge.

6. The boat I am considering does not have up/down windlass controls at either steering station or on the deck. It uses a flexible wire windlass control stored under the starboard forward windshield “eyebrow”. Was this the standard configuration? How difficult is it to add up/down windlass controls at each station?

jc-we have the same control. single handing would be awkward but i never do. don't know about wiring.

7. How difficult is it to pull in new wires, cables, etc., to the Flybridge and within the boat? Where is access to the wiring chase(s)?

jc-pulling wire from flybridge to salon can be tough. chases are pretty tightly packed. i've run 3 sets from flybridge and it takes some snaking but is doable. wiring around salon is straight forward.

8. All the PDQ’s seem to have a relatively light anchoring system (35 lb plow type anchors with 30’ to 50’ of chain on average). I anchor a lot and generally use an all chain rode. I realize that the PDQ is a light displacement vessel, however it has significant windage. Any comments on anchoring systems?

jc-we have used a 44# spade with 40' of chain and have never had a problem. we anchor out about 50 nights/yr.

9. How difficult is to do oil changes? Is there a plug in the bottom of the engine oil pan to allow oil to be drained from there rather than through the dip stick? Has anyone done this and how difficult is this?

jc-can be messy. i found partially loosening filter, then puncturing it, then rotate down will drain it. engine empties thru dipstick/pump.

10. How difficult is access to the engine sea-water pump for impellor changes? I am 6’ 2” and about 200 lbs.

jc-one of tougher jobs. i get at star from front and port from rear. i use a modified jabsco puller.


Other topics:

1) combiner - early boats had 100A combiner. pdq upgraded to 250A. when we found out we did too and problem was solved.

2) prosine charger - we had 2 fail before we switched to victron. prosine redesigned circuit board about 2 years ago and new ones are supposed to be good. also if charger is in locker next to bunk, it gets like an oven. when we got victron we moved it to helm console.

3) genset - raw water pump is a weak spot. it tends to go thru impellers. i am in process of switching to a 110V A/C pump. btw, dave at entec is a great guy to work with.

4) macerator - suction is weak and is susceptible to impeller failure. we switched to a diaphragm pump...problem solved.

5) dinghy davits - we had large, say 2.5", original pdq factory davits. ours failed in rough seas off nj. i know of 4 other boats with failures. i switched to st croix davits...problem solved.

that's all i can think of now. if i think of more i will send but will answer any questions you have.

we will be back in ct starting fri and if you want to call feel free....203-605-4155.

john

[Stray Cat]

Looks like most of your issues were well addressed, except the windlass controller in singlehanded situations. On the foredeck prepare for singlehanded anchoring by releasing any chain stoppers you have, paying out enough rode to get the anchor to hang vertically, and then passing the tethered hand control up over the flybridge windscreen. Then you can mosey up there and approach your intended spot with the hand control right in front of you. By the way, my Quick anchor hand control failed after I left it out in the weather. I found an upgrade model from Quick that has a chain counter screen, on which you can apparently display other NMEA 0183 instrument data -- like depthfinder readout. It is on order and will be delivered tomorrow, hopefully. I will post comments when I get it installed. If you want to build your own flybridge control, the original one has a plug up inside the little storage cubby (difficult to get your hand inside to detach) however if you look under the flybridge cowling from above you can plainly see the back of the socket where the three wires attach. One wire is common, the other two activate the switching relay, one for up and the other down. You could easily add any sort of switch you liked for the flybridge, but I adhere to the Keep It Simple Sailor principle, and find that the one tethered switch easily reaches everywhere I need it to.

Wiring chases. I fished a nice long nylon parachute cord through both of the between window chases that feed the flybridge. It is tied off at each end, and long enough that I can attach the wire to the MIDDLE of the cord (clove hitches or half hitches, covered with electrical tape), pull it through from the other side. The port side one is crammed full already, and be careful about fishing anything sharp past all that insulated wiring, particularly the shore power stuff! My yard manager curses the factory for foam filling the chases forward of the helm & piano bar, just where the steps go down to the hulls. Other places as well. Most of the cubbies in the staterooms have trick panels that are held in place by velcro -- giving access to the space under the helm and piano bar, the back of the house battery switch, etc.. All the wood panel assemblies that contain cabinets, drawers, cubbies, etc. are attached with the screws plainly seen around their edges. They can all be removed to gain access to the spaces behind. I found two labeled spare power wires under the flybridge cowl, I don't know of any others.

Regarding the air conditioning, I transformed my saloon from a solar heated furnace which the AC couldn't begin to handle into the coolest most comfortable space you can imagine, with full visibility all around, little glare from above or reflected off the deck, and even the decks shaded. You could easily do this yourself, or have a shop do it for you. Instead of curtains inside the saloon windows or semi-transparent fabric panels outside, I made awnings that attach to the handrails on the flybridge cowl and extend out to the outer handrails. I can detach the outer edges from the handrail and let them hang straight down, which gives all the privacy of the traditional semi-transparent outer covers. I proved the concept with cheap white plastic patio blinds over the last four summers, and am putting the finishing touches on a professional looking system just now. I chose inexpensive greenhouse shade cloth, in a very light gray color. I will post full instructions and the results soon.