Click for JetForums Click for Delta Click for Northern Lights Click for Burger Click for Furuno

Duffy Electric boats....?

Discussion in 'Tenders & Dinghies' started by Norseman, Sep 18, 2013.

  1. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    There is a dealer in Stuart, FL now. Maybe they could help you out

    Called the dealer in Stuart a few times, they tell me to call the factory with technical questions...
    Been there done that.
    Changing the drive belt today, should be interesting, got to remove the Thrust Bearing, not sure how, but will figure it out somehow, I guess.
    2 bolts to remove, not sure if there is nuts behind the bulkhead the bearing is attached to, and if I can access the nuts. These boats need a Service Manual for sure.
    The belt was $9 at Amazon.com, same belt from Duffy $24, big mark-ups, but not sure they make money of they are pricing themselves out of the market.
  2. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    How to clean vinyl trim on a Duffy:
    Sonic Toothbrush and water/toothpaste...
    [​IMG]
    Tried soap and water with a rag and a kitchen brush. No cigar. Tried denatured alcohol on a rag, no cigar, tried rag and acetone..No cigar. The toothbrush and toothpaste works, plus it smells like fresh breath around the forepeak:)
  3. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    So are you going to kiss it now?
  4. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Ha, not my type, otherwise good idea.
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Does your wife know what you're using her toothbrush for??? hehehe
  6. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Mum is the word...

    Changed the drive belt on the Duffy the other day and also did a good alignment of motor/pulley/belt.
    It has never ran this good and this quiet.
    Will post pictures soon and if any questions from other Duffy Owners, let me know...Instant Expert on belt changes now:)
  7. RER

    RER Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2009
    Messages:
    1,532
    Location:
    Newport Beach CA
    Just an FYI ...for what it's worth you're probably the only owner on the planet who works on his own Duffy.
  8. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Yeah, but have no choice. No service center in the Fort Lauderdale, the Yachting Capitol of the world :eek:
    No independent mechanics with Duffy knowledge either. (that I know of anyway)
    When I call or email the factory they are usually helpful and polite.
    When I call the Dealer in Stuart, FL (82 miles from Fort Lauderdale) they are helpful as well, but refers technical questions to the factory in California. Not easy to bring the boat to Stuart either, 1:30 drive with a trailer.
    Soooo, I am it in Fort Lauderdale.:cool:
  9. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Changed the belt on the Da Duffy:
    Had to remove the forward bearing and slide the shaft back.
    Also aligned the motor as it was out of whack.
    Runs better now, no noise or vibration.
    [​IMG]
  10. Captain2000

    Captain2000 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2014
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    S. Florida

    I own a Duffy and work on it myself. I used to own an auto & marine repair shop and also worked on several Duffy's for others. Duffy does not have any kind of rep. and or service down here in south Florida (Ft Lauderdale). I even tried to coordinate with the factory at one time to become a Duffy maintance. facility for Duffy. They seemed to be interested, but only on their terms as they are very proprietary. I just left it at that. I do have to say they are helpful and friendly when you call.

    The guys up in Stuart basically only rent their boats and maintain them themselves.

    The owner usually just refers you to the factory.

    Parts are hard to come by in Florida unless you want to order them from the factory with markups of over 300%. It makes them cost prohibitive. Finding replacement parts is an other fun chore, "NOT".

    Having said that, since I do like the boat, I'll be glade to help anyone that does need help.
    Having worked on them and my own for a few years, I have come to one basic conclusion. Most every problem comes down to some kind of "corrosion issue or another". Even the slightest corrosion, one that you might not even see with the naked, eye is a problem.

    If anyone would like to get a hold of me just drop me a line at email removed
    I can't promise you any thing, but I'll try if I have the time.
  11. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2014
    Messages:
    656
    Location:
    Miami
    Sorry for the delay...wasn't much interested in this Thread...until I started reading this...part of the delay was cleaning myself up....I laughed so hard I peed myself a little...good one J! I'm still laughing....oh my stomach hurts....thanks J, I needed a good laugh!
  12. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Aye Neo, you are easy to please.
    If you think the above is funny, don't go to the Joke Thread, you may do more damage than peeing on yourself :cool:
  13. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2014
    Messages:
    656
    Location:
    Miami
    Oh, C'mon Norseman, you're just to close to the subject to enjoy Capt. J's humor. I was going to advise some type of mast you could step and hoist a sail...just in case all that battery power failed you, so at least you could get back home without having to lasso a manatee.:D
  14. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Or a 10KW generator and huge battery charger......Diesel electric!!!!!!
  15. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2014
    Messages:
    656
    Location:
    Miami
    Yeah...Yeah...That's the ticket! Then maybe have all that power fed into a Z-drive, so that the boat could be crash stopped in the length of the boat! Now yer thinkin' J....LOL
  16. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Aye, you guys are too full of ideas. (Or something)

    Da Duffy has been running good for a long time, except recently.:rolleyes:
    Noticed an unusual voltage drop after running a few hours.
    Also my butt-feeling told me less power than usual.
    Hmm, looked for loose connections, nothing, corrosion, nothing.
    Disconnected each battery and measured voltage. Found the culprit on the Port side. (Total of 8 Golf Cart Batteries, 4 on each side, all wired up to 48 volts)
    The low battery showed 4 Volts. Measured specific gravity on all cells, found a bad cell on the bad battery showing 11.0. Basically a dead cell.
    Should be easy to replace a battery, but not so fast.
    Can't put a new battery in an old bank, the charge or absortion rate is different or some such thing. Need to find a 4 year old Golf Cart Battery to match the 7 old ones, or buy a new bank of 8. (For 1 dead cell :confused:)
    Buzzed around town and stopped at 4 battery places. The first 3 said all their Golf Cart Batteries were junk when they came in. (Core trade-in)
    The last place had some used AGM Golf Cart Batteries that tested good. They said I could intermix with regular flooded cells. $30 after the $10 core trade-in.
    Hmm, okay, worth a try, only buying time here before I have I have to replace 'em all.
    Took the AGM home and installed. Then down the New River to test out the replacement. Worked great, lots of oomph...
    After I while I started smelling a whiff of burned or "hot".
    Not unusual as Rhe motor gest hot and being between my legs I get the smell now and then.
    After an hour and several stops to pick up friends I noticed the rig started to slow down noticeably. Hmm, I did not charge the batteries properly before I set out?
    Plugged in to a friend's boat at Cooly's Landing while I helped him reduce an
    overstocked bar to a more manageable level, then unplugged and headed home at full power but slow speed, and even slower and slower.
    Voltage way down, stronger smell of something hot, not good.
    (To be continued, now headed to Costco to look for 8 new batteries :rolleyes:)
  17. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    I would say that at 4 years old, the batteries are past their usual life and should all be changed. I usually only see 3 years out of flooded batteries down here on yachts and considering how much the batteries get discharged on the Duffy, it's best to just change them all.
  18. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Yes and no.
    I never go below 70% so that should help on longdetivity.
    Don't know the previous history of the batteries before I bought the boat so they could have been abused and yes, past their useful life.
    Problem is (was) some were good and some less than good.
    Now back with new batteries and will continue the above saga after I exchange the whole bank.
    The story gets better :rolleyes:
    (First a trip to the beer store before I start wrestling sixteen 70 lbs batteries in the 90 degree heat:()

    Capt J, you in the neighborhood by any chance? :D
  19. Fishtigua

    Fishtigua Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    2,937
    Location:
    Guernsey/Antigua
    Don't AGM and wets charge at different rates? You may be making problems for yourself.
  20. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,904
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Yup, and yup.
    Will finish the story after the bank is on and hooked up.
    Now started the process, got 2 new ones on the boat, 6 to go, then lift the 8 old ones up to the dock.
    Already soaked in sweat...o_O
    Olderboater: You have been goofing off on yer big boat lately, feel like doing some lifting today? Free beer included:D