First things you bought

D

DesignDay

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2022
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11
Fluid Motion Model
R-21 EC
I'm about a week away from officially joining the Cutwater owners community. So, other than the easy stuff like dock lines and safety gear, what were some of the first things you purchased for your boat? Or, what are some things you wish you had bought way sooner?



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A few things came to mind quickly.

Assuming two people on board: EARTEC UL2S Ultralite 2-Person System, with Single-Ear Master Headset and Single-Ear Remote Headset - communicating in a normal voice takes much of the tension out of close quarter maneuvering, combined with learning to use unambiguous language (i.e., 'five feet' instead of "too close", "11:00" instead of "that way", etc.) Keep the pleasure in pleasure boating.

There are many brands, but a small counter top trash can (we used doggy bags) like the simplehuman, Brushed Stainless Steel 1.5 Liter / 0.4 Gallon Mini Countertop Trash Can is great for collecting wet trash in the galley.

Cheers,

Bruce



Cheers,

Bruce
 
We carried over out auto inflate PFD's and an A2 ball fender from our previous boat. The RT's and CW's come with a good complement of lines and fenders so we did not really buy anything for the boat the first season. The second season we added a Garmin GPS 24XD and a GC100 wireless camera to see behind the boat. The 24XD reduced GPS error from between 6-10 feet to consistently 3 feet (US Gov won't allow less). Well worth it especially when using autopilot in narrow channels.
Most of the rest of the things were convenience items. Here is a partial list of the most useful: Tool Bags (easier to store than box), Bins for easier under cab storage, Zero-G hose (more $ but better than others) Milwaukee 2505-22 Drill Driver (gets into places most won't with right angle and offset attachments and will still drive 4" deck screws), teak paper towel holder, two comfortable West Marine mesh chairs for sitting in cockpit/dock/shore when traveling.

Enjoy your new boat. The C28 would have been our choice except we want to do a lot of spontaneous road trips and don't want to have to mess with permits so we went to R-27 and 8' 6" beam.
 
1. Full canvas for the cockpit.
2. Dyson V7 mounted just inside the dungeon w/12VDC charger.

/tmm
 
An American Flag for the flag pole. Second anchor and rode (we went with a Fortress because it works well in Great Lakes sand and 8 plait nylon because it stores in minimal space). Light weight plates and bowls that are microwavable (Nordic Ware - its not made in China). Mattress topper, sheets and pillows.
 
Put together this little kit…

Dewalt Brushless Driver, Fan, Vac+Attachments, Mini Blower. Same 20v battery across all. 1 - 9AH, 2 - 5AH, 1 - 2AH Batteries. 120 VAC and a DC USB Charger that also acts as a power pack for charging phones/devices from batteries.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ap07aOlR89EjiLELXVcysgoD2rulmA
 
Four 12V hardwired fans.
 
I'm not far ahead of you, I joined the Cutwater community just over two weeks ago and loving it so far!

I'm getting some other good ideas from the responses to this post, but here's my initial outfitting list (so far and in no particular order):

Marine Binoculars
Dehumidifier
Cabin Space Heater
Engine Room Space Heater
Logbooks (Weems & Plath)
Cleaning Supplies (love the zero-G hose but my first one leaked and I had to return it to West Marine)
Fire Extinguisher Mount
Raptor Soft Traction decking for cockpit & swim step
Handheld VHF Radio (for use on the RIB)
MMSI (FCC charges application fees)
Salt Away + Mixer (to put the Volvo Penta raw water heat exchanger into freshwater layup)
US Flag
Spare Fuse Kit
Windy.app
Rudder Feedback Sensor
Boat Decals & Champagne to Re-name
32GB microSD Card for the Chart Plotter
RIB Pump
 
Think and read everything you can about safety. Search tugnuts “safety gear lets discuss”. It is a post from April 2022.
Have plenty of tools, equipment, and innovative mind where you can “first aid” fix the boat to get from point A to point B and have a great day on the water. Don’t worry about all the luxuries at first unless you know you want them. A battery vacuum might be great for one person and useless for another. Don’t buy canvas cockpit cover until you realize it fits your life style. A cover might be good for someone who wants additional covered living space, shade, and no rain. Someone else might want the sun and also find the cover is a pain to allow getting in and out of boat. For square drive screws, I love Klein square driver set of four, # 85664 amazon. If you wear an inflatable life jacket a lot, consider floating waterproof cover for phone. I just bought a Pelican cover on amazon that I am going to try. You probably don’t want the XL, it is too big.
 
I started with safety items: Standard Horizon HX890 handheld VHF for the dinghy, WM offshore automatic life jackets, Fujinon binocs, Samsung S7 for navigational apps / backup, Eartec UL25 headset. Could not be happier with my selection.
 
Dinghy was life changing.

On a used boat new house batteries
 
Let see if I can remember, a lot of this was carry over from our last boat:
Portable VHF
Quality flashlight
Phone/tablet mounts and charging cords
Dinghy
Full service kit for engine (used boat)
New house batteries (used boat)
Spare fuses, impeller, fluids
Rainx for windows
BBQ and mount
Collapsible 5gallon water jugs
Downriggers
Trap puller
Boat hook and brush
Tie down straps/lines for paddle boards and kayaks
Tool bag (this gets added to as new things need fixing)
Beach cushions/seats
Rain gear (great for getting in a wet dinghy to take the dog to shore, it’s always wet from dew in the morning)


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I also have a C28 and reside down at the other end of the Chesapeake on the James River. I have made numerous modifications to my boat that you might find worthwhile. I am considering an extended trip in two weeks to your end of the Bay. Perhaps we might meet up.
What year is your boat? Do you plan on keeping it in the water year round? Are you getting a trailer? If you like, send me an email and we can better communicate, ( bicastlaser@gmail.com). I know the C28 well.
 
Welcome to the world of the C28. We've had a lot of great boating with our 2015 model with minimal repairs and replacements. We purchased many of the items already mentioned like the soft side tool kit, rail mount BBQ, hand vac, etc. We also added a Groco freshwater flush adapter, a galvonic isolator (necessary if you are on marina shore power on a continuous basis) and a teak magazine rack mounted to the left of the Garmin plotter.

We did need to replace the Fusion radio, one of the windshield wiper motors, and the water pump. We probably added some other things that I don't recall. I seems like I'm always headed to West Marine for things like flags, cleaning products, or maps. It's all good.
 
Gypsy":3uav4nlw said:
I also have a C28 and reside down at the other end of the Chesapeake on the James River. I have made numerous modifications to my boat that you might find worthwhile. I am considering an extended trip in two weeks to your end of the Bay. Perhaps we might meet up.
What year is your boat? Do you plan on keeping it in the water year round? Are you getting a trailer? If you like, send me an email and we can better communicate, ( bicastlaser@gmail.com). I know the C28 well.
Click to expand...


It is a 2016. I plan to keep it in the water April-November and i will not have a trailer.

PS, I need that doggy ramp from your photo gallery
 
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