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Your top 5 onboard system checks

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Pelagic Dreams, Jun 14, 2012.

  1. Pelagic Dreams, Jun 14, 2012
    #1
    Pelagic Dreams

    Pelagic Dreams Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Land locked for now
    I was trying to come up with a "critical" list of which 5 systems on board would you check daily not withstanding the obivous....fuel, water, battery levels etc.
    From past posts I was told most fires on a yacht are electrical related....would that system be number one? Of course "weather" is not a system, but your radio and electronics are used to confirm weather status...so could that be number 2?

    Let's take a medium that the vessel is 60+' within 5 years old, with all modern gear...watermaker, AC, dual diesels, twin gen sets...and off in blue water within a day of land.
  2. CaptTom, Jun 14, 2012
    #2
    CaptTom

    CaptTom Senior Member

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    Good question.
    I figure that if the hull is still sound and floats I could survive for some time. Problem is when you are thrust off your platform due to sinking or fire and have to rely on rafts and life jackets. So those would be the items I check daily, make sure everyone knows where they are and how to use, and make sure rafts are up to date and no product recalls. Bad time to find out about a defect is when you pull the cord while fire is licking your toes.
  3. Pascal, Jun 14, 2012
    #3
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    It really depends in where you are and how you are using the boat

    At the dock I check the power cords daily, feeling the plugs and also random spots for heat on the cables, easy when I get on or off the boat

    AC and DC voltages are next, at the dock or the hook / underway. I like having volt and amp meters in a location where they can be seen.. On too many boats they are hidden behind solid cabinetry... Stupid design! Same with bilge pump lights... I ve seen boats where lights are hidden in a panel behind cabinet door. Even if you have lights at the helm depending on the boat you may not be able to monitor them often enough when not underway. I ve replaced a solid cabinet door with dark lexan on the DC panel on the boat I run and having the pump light visible alerted me instantly of a watermarker leak and in another case of a fresh water pump hose failure.

    On the hook, gensets get checked regularly, at the very least once a day, including taking a look inside the shield. That means also looking at the exhaust flow (more than once a day!) as reduced flow is always the first sign of upcoming cooling issues

    Electronics either work or not, we always have back ups incl VHF and nav software on computer

    Battery levels? Not daily...

    Obviously fluid levels in mains and gensets are checked daily before leaving the dock or raising anchor.

    Usually or always before a long trip, I check all the bilge pump float switches and high water alarm as well as opening the battery boxes to make the AGMs don't show warning signs of distress like heat or bulging

    I m sure I missed some things, but again it really depends on the boat and where you are
  4. Capt J, Jun 14, 2012
    #4
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    1. The refrigerator to see what's in there
    2. The freezer to make sure there's enough ice cream left
    3. The liquor cabinet to make sure there's enough there too
    4. The pantry for cookies
    5. The emergency stash of candy

    On a more serious note

    1.The bilges and pumps
    2. Walkthrough of engine room
    3. Steering gear/shafts/ thru-hulls/exhaust hoses in lazarette
    4. The deck and most notably anchor/windless/ safety chain
    5. The portholes if leaving for a trip

    BUT, each boat is different and has a different set of requirements.....