"Garrett Lambert" writes: >I did this in the other direction 11 months ago. One important note is that you need to determine where the boat was manufactured. If it is built in Canada or the USA, it is covered under the North American Free Trade Act and will be duty-free. If it is not (e.g. built in Taiwan or Europe) you will owe duty. Scott Welch Product Manager, FirstClass Group "If we continue to take an eye for an eye, then surely the whole world will go blind." - Gandhi

Can anyone recommend a good surveyor in the Chesapeake (Rock Hall, MD) Thanks, David David E. Redburn Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Sociology Furman University Greenville, SC 29613 (864) 294-3279 e-mail david.redburn@furman.edu

Folks, we are in the process of buying a Monk 36 and the broker has said to me that the "standard practice" is that unless the value of what the serveyor finds wrong with the boat is greater than 3% of the sales price then the owner will not have to adjust the price or fix the problems. Has anybody ever heard of this? I just assumed that we would negotiate the cost of anything that was discovered! Any knowledge on this subject is greatly appreciated. David Hopefully soon to be an owner of a Monk 36

"Mark Andrew" writes: >I'm rebuilding an engine room from scratch on a 56' steel trawler (circa >1955). I've spec'd out Racor filters and the ESI polishing system and will >have several manifolds sending fuel from one of assorted fuel tanks to the >various fuel 'users' (main engine, gen set, furnace), and again with their >'return' lines. I've just finished rebuilding a 60 foot trawler, including a complete rewiring and replumbing of the engine room (you can see some pictures at www.islandeagle.net, sadly the website is wayyy out of date). She has a single engine, a single genset, a single heater, and two fuel tanks. You're going to get a bunch of answers to your query, mine might be a bit different. First, I started out with plans much like yours. A supply manifold, a return manifold, the whole nine yards. I then got some advice from a couple of folks I trust a lot, including a commercial ship engineer and a Transport Canada inspector who's also a captain with 35 years of experience. Here are the high points of my system: 1) No supply manifold. I have a single two way valve that lets me select between port and starboard tanks. All consumers are fed from that selection. Dead simple, and it's pretty hard to come up with a real-world example of why you need a more complex system. 2) No return manifold. Again, a simple two-way valve which let you return to either port and starboard tanks. 3) A real transfer and polishing pump. I used a Jabsco centrifugal pump rated at about 250 GPH. Way better than a fuel pump. It's on a timer and runs through a set of Racor 1000s. 4) Separate supply and transfer ports in the tanks. The supply lines exit 6" above the bottom of the tank, the transfer ports are located at the very bottom. Polishing will catch the gunk long before it gets to the supply ports. 5) Coast Guard approved fuel hose with JIC fittings. I used Parker hose with Parker field-attachable fittings (steel, not brass). This is not cheap, usually. I got mine on eBay at about a 80% discount. It's been perfect so far. Hydraulic hose will work perfectly well, for less money, but you will never be able to use your boat for passengers. Something to consider. 6) I used Racor 1000s for the main and Racor 500s for the genset and furnace. Overkill, but I picked the whole bunch up on eBay for a good price. One word of advise, don't forget that the Racors need very special o-ring boss connectors. 6) One last little tip: based on advise from a friend, I put in a bypass running from the outlet of the transfer pump to the inlet of the main engine filters. By turning on the transfer pump and closing the tank valves, I can prime the main engine just by cracking the bleed screw of the secondary filter. Works like a charm. I've also added another valve and hose to the transfer pump so I can fill jerry cans (I have a diesel in one of my dinghys). Hope this helps. More details are here: http://www.islandeagle.net/systems/fuel Scott Welch Product Manager, FirstClass Group "If we continue to take an eye for an eye, then surely the whole world will go blind." - Gandhi

"Mark Andrew" writes: >I recently sent the message below...got some great advise. One person had >followed up with a link to their site where they had a complete schematic of >their fuel system, including their polishing system. Somehow I misplaced >the message and link. Could you resend. I thought I had set it aside to >take a very close look at it, but evidently set it aside too well. That would be me, see http://www.islandeagle.net/systems/fuel Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistake rarely make anything.

Mike Maurice writes: >Now here is something I have been wanting for a long time, new in 2007. Mike, this is indeed a good thing. Any idea what the price is like? Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistake rarely make anything.

"Arild Jensen" <2elnav@netbistro.com> writes: >I haven't had enough playtime with USB devices to really know the intimate >details. Can anyone help? I run an 8-port USB/serial converter on Island Eagle, and all of the ports show up as virtual serial ports. Your software should run with no changes. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistake rarely make anything.

"Mark Andrew" writes: > Just wondering where I would get such a thing. Would some sort of >'approval' from the local fire suppression contractor be sufficient? Are >there any Insurance people on the listserv who might know what the companies >generally look for exactly? Just my two cents. Island Eagle came with a very old CO2 system. My insurance company required me to either remove it or or have it inspected. I ended up putting in a Fireboy halon-type system, but decided to keep the CO2 as well (can you say belt & suspenders?). I just looked in the yellow pages, found a local fire extinguisher shop which did restaurants, and had them inspect and repair the system. They installed all new nozzles, pressure tested the system, and rebuilt the pull box. Total cost was $638.28. Seemed like a good deal to me, especially since they also weighed and signed off half a dozen other extinguishers I had on board. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

"Mark Andrew" writes: >the >Cat Dealer installed a 24V starter, and I imagine it's a done deal. My >house bank is a large group of Trojan batteries wired for 12 V, my >Inverter/charger charges & uses 12 V. My gen set starter is 12V. The >alternator will be a Leece-Neville 12V. Ugh!! > >Any ideas? Yep. Two ideas. First, are you sure you want 12 volts for your inverter? If you have not yet bought the inverter you might want to investigate. Second, Analytic Systems makes "any input - any output" chargers. You can get a 120 VAC charger for 32 volt batteries, 24 volt charger for 48 volt batteries, etc. You need a 12 volt charger for 24 volt batteries. Here's a link: http://www.analyticsystems.com/products/bcd305.htm This should do just what you need. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

David H Sorenson writes: >If I recall, one major purpose of the vent is that when the holding tank >is pumped out the vacuum pressure of the pumpout does not collapse the >tank. Maybe you are talking about something else, but the pumpout >stations around here make my holding tank moan and groan from the vacuum >pressure being applied. This is an excellent point. In fact, it's best to have not one but two vents, at least 1" diameter, with the outlets on opposite sides of the vessel. This will promote airflow through the tank and help with aerobic decomposition. By the way don't make the mistake I did and install the vent hose with low points. This will cause a buildup of water (from rain and or condensation) and will have the same effect as a P-trap under a sink. The vent lines need to be run in a continuous upward slope. However, the "vented loop" will not help with this. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.