2018 Cutwater 30 S infant problems

[JMC]

Hi All,

My first post on this forum. I just launched my new 2018 Cutwater 30 S two weeks ago and I have a number of infant issues that I am trying to work through without much support. Perhaps others can provide me some much needed guidance.

1. The boat does have a approximatley 4" list to port at rest. I can counter balance by putting approximately 350 Ibs of humans on the starboard side. My boat did not come with a Cutwater manual so I do not know the entire anatomy of the boat. I did top of all the fluids, water and diesel, to see if that had any effect to no avail. Ideas?

2. I have a couple of leaks which causes the bilge pump to discharge water every few minutes. I did notice the dripless bearing where the shaft goes through the hull does indeed drip. The other leak I cannot ID but I know it's on the port side of the engine compartment. Ideas?

3. The boat does not know its position which skews the navigation. I used a simple hand compass to see if there was any EMF near what I believe to be the Garmin nav sensor which is in the mid birth fuse panel. The compass was pulled approximately 40 degrees which I believe to be the effect of EMF from speakers. I suspect this is the issue. Thoughts?

4. The aft grill GFI outlet does not work. I replaced the outlet to no avail. I used an extension cord to connect to a salon outlet to eliminate the grill itself. It worked however it subsequently tripped the generator breaker on the generator itself. I ran the extension to another outlet off the boat and all was fine. Thoughts?

These are a few of my main problems which I'm struggling with and I have a plethora of minor issues that I working through. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

John

 

[TBates]

Good morning John,

I've responded to a few of your questions below, please feel free to reach out directly with any questions at all.

1) If your boat is equipped with a generator and air conditioning this is typically the cause of the list. You can balance things out by loading up the STBD side of the boat with as much gear as possible. The mid-berth is a great storage area which should even out the list. You can also load up the STBD cockpit locker which will help as well. Concerning the tanks, they are all down the centerline of the boat which will have little to no impact on the list regardless of fluid level.

2) The packing gland is designed to have a small drip, and will require routine adjustment to ensure that it's drip rate is correct. You should see a drip once every 10-15 seconds while underway. I would get in contact with your dealer concerning the other leak to see if they can provide some assistance in tracking it down.

3) We haven't experienced this issue on other C30's, so I do not feel it's an issue with the speaker being too close. I would start by turning off the main house battery switch for a few minutes to perform a hard reset on the system. If this doesn't fix it, I would perform a software update on the Garmin system, followed by the compass calibration. I can help walk you through this process if you'd like to give me a call.

4) Make sure that the lid above the grill is open as this will automatically cut power to the outlet if closed. If this is not the problem, then most likely it's a wiring issue on either the outlet, or the back of the AC panel.

Thank you,

-Tim

 

[JMC]

Thank you Tim for your willingness to talk through some of the issues on the phone as outlined above. Unfortunately, the support from Hamlin's Marina has been very disappointing to date.

Re 1: It seems a solution presented by Hamlin's Marina to Cutwater to relocate 2 batteries from starboard to port was denied. That would have solved the balance issue. In lieu of that I am using 300 Ibs of lead weight bags that I sourced from Leadwake (50 Ibs x 6 bags x $65). A $390 less than ideal solution since it takes up space and adding what should be an unnecessary 300 Ibs of weight to the boat. No doubt this is a design flaw.

Re 2: Both sides of stuffing box nuts were finger loose. I tightened in a balanced manner until the leaking stopped then tightened the locking nuts. It still drips but not as much however I now have a greenish residue splashing around that area. Pictures sent to Hamlin's but no guidance to date.

There is a 2nd leak which I identified to be seepage through the engine seacock. Reported to Hamlin's and no guidance provided yet. Pictures sent for warranty purposes.

Re 3: I called Garmin about the "crabbing" effect of the navigation and they told me to calibrate north while in open ocean. I did and the now the boat points correctly however the Auto Pilot does not work and takes the boat in a circle. Not sure what's wrong but I asked Hamlin's where the AP heading sensor is located to check EMF interferance but no response to date. The quality numbers look good so I suspect it's something else.

Re 4: Fixed. Your suggestion to check the lid sensor gave me the guidance I needed. I pushed the sensor up and down a few times and the power and GFI work fine. Thank you!

Other issues reported to Hamlin's but no response yet:

The starboard side batteries broke loose in 2ft seas and the platform they sit on slid aft dislocating the batteries. I suspect the platform was not secured to the hull. Reported to Hamlin's today.

I am beginning to regret purchasing this boat given the distance from Cape Cod MA to the nearest dealer in ME contributing to the lack of support thus far.

Best regards,

John

 

[Disaster Relief]

I would move the batteries anyway. Producing a boat with a permanent list is beyond my imagination and certainly below the standards I know about the Ranger/Cutwater group. They need to step up on this one. The other issues are a fact of life with the marriage of parts from many manufacturers. I had problems but the dealer worked tirelessly with me to resolve them. Seems that’s what’s missing here. Those of us not in the PNW don’t have the same access to the factory so the dealer becomes more integral. There are many here that will help. Keep posting. Keep sending emails to the factory.

When I had an issue with my autopilot the dealer called a local Garmin tech and he came out and fixed it. Same with an issue with a Volvo helm station. I’m sure there are techs locally that can address some of this. If the dealer doesn’t take care of this you need to call the factory.

I hope this helps.

 

[ixlr8]

Re 3: I called Garmin about the "crabbing" effect of the navigation and they told me to calibrate north while in open ocean. I did and the now the boat points correctly however the Auto Pilot does not work and takes the boat in a circle. Not sure what's wrong but I asked Hamlin's where the AP heading sensor is located to check EMF interferance but no response to date. The quality numbers look good so I suspect it's something else.

I had a sea trial on a RT-23 that did the same thing, turns out the AP needed it's initial calibration done. There is also a mode you can put the AP in that will take the boat in a circle.

The starboard side batteries broke loose in 2ft seas and the platform they sit on slid aft dislocating the batteries. I suspect the platform was not secured to the hull. Reported to Hamlin's today.

Ouch, I hope nothing got damaged. I thought it was bad enough that my sonar sensor and my bilge pump came loose in 2 ft seas. I will double check my batteries when I get my boat back from the dealer.

 

[JMC]

Follow-up: I corrected the port side list by placing 300 Ibs of lead weight bags, that I sourced from Leadwake (50 Ibs x 6 bags x $65 total $390), on the starboard side. No doubt this is a design flaw as balance is fundamental. I'm still dealing with infant issues 2 months after purchase.

 

[JMC]

I permanently fixed the list to port by having a licensed marine ABYC certified electrician relocate the house batteries (4) from port to starboard and the engine battery + generator battery (2) from starboard to port. The C30 is now perfectly level. While he was at it, I had him replace all the plastic supports which secured the battery cables with metal supports and he changed the different metals (i.e. washer) on battery terminals with like metals since the factory metals acted like a resister and caused them to heat up at the post significantly. This was discovered because all four house batteries needed to be replaced since all posts were bent or broken caused by the sleds they were placed on were not mounted to the hull and the force of the cables broke/bent the battery posts. I am confident the boat is now ABYC compliant. Cutwater reimbursed $1,400 for the 4 house battery replacements but did not stand behind the list to port. This was a several thousand dollar fix which I paid out of pocket.

 

[Matty]

Okay...this sounds strange and i hope there is more to the story. If it is factory air and generator how can the boat be sold with the list?

 

[JMC]

I know right. There's nothing more to the story; everything is from the factory.