More R23 Questions

[Salish Seaker]

So Caryn and I went on our 2nd trip on our new R23, Island Time today, moving her from Twin Bridges Marina at the top of the Swinomish Channel down to the Edmonds Marina where she'll be dry stored outside. I have to admit that this boat with all these systems is quite daunting coming from having the very simple C-Dory the previous 12 years.

Here are some questions that have come up. I feel kind of silly asking but obviously I should have videoed the orientation with Kenny and Tim because it turns out we didn't retain much. 😳

1) I know there are foot switches for the windlass on the bow deck. Shouldn't there be an up/down switch at the helm? (On edit, is the helm switch a hand held remote?) And where is the windlass breaker located? I think I may have tripped it.

2) Do you owners with electronic throttle (fly-by-wire) find the throttle very stiff like we do? On edit, i looked at the manual and saw there is a throttle friction adjuster. Have any of you used this to loosen your electronic throttle?

I forgot to check the trip gauge but I think we went about 50 miles today. The water conditions were mostly good and the boat handled wonderfully. I can't believe how quickly we made it down through Saratoga Passage, which took a lot longer with the CD-22, especially with a little chop. And I'm very impressed by the fuel burn, I love the Yamaha 200hp!

I realize it takes time on the boat to get to know the systems but any suggestions or comments are welcome. We plan on getting lots of practice in this spring.

Also, if any R23 owners keep their boat in the Edmonds Marina, let us know and maybe you can give us some tips. 😀

 

[Champ]

1) Unless they have changed things we have an up/down switch at the helm. No remote. The breaker is accessed thru the panel in the head.

2) We found ours stiff also and adjusted it looser. Don't go to loose.

 

[tpfahy]

There is a windlass toggle at the helm. it is to the right of the wheel. looks just like the light toggles
the breaker is in the electrical panel, in the head. pull down (from the top) that wood panel on the wall against the helm. the circuit is a yellow bar/toggle if i remember correctly (i actually keep mine tripped along with a safety lanyard on my anchor to prevent accidental deployment )

we loosened the friction on the throttle via allen wrench as described in the manual, much smoother for docking and other micro adjustment activities. we still put our hand on the riser versus across the top. resting your hand against the side seems to afford more control and smoother advancement. plus you keep away from trim adjustments.

a tethered Ipad (connect via Garmin Bluewater) is a nice way to mirror the dash/chartplotter to the co-pilot. we added a ram mount and Ipad with cellular to the hand holds on passenger seat. a USB charger was also, and with cellular, it also serves as a weather radar station and for NOAA/CRCC wave data on lake michigan.

the only remotes were the Autopilot (if equipped) and the stereo. We added another for the AC/Heat. easier to adjust when in the v-berth without raising the galley seat.

 

[baz]

On our R-27/OB the engine throttle lever is stiff. I thought about making it less stiff but so far have hesitated doing this. The reason being, that if the lever is too loose it's far to easy to over step the need for speed. The F300 can very quickly spin up and cause the boat to go faster than required. My technique is at this time to nudge the throttle lever forward with the lower palm surface of my hand to acquire the needed speed. Too much nudging or a looser lever would IMO cause the boat to suddenly leap forward; also too loose could also mean in choppy waters any accidental lever nudging could cause a nasty issue.

I'm keeping my lever stiff at this time until I feel more comfortable using it in the varying sea conditions.

I use the 'nudging' technique when leaving the dock and when docking with great success and feel this is a 'safety issue'. A sudden increase in speed around the dock could be disastrous.

The F300 (and I assume same for F200) can spin up very quickly and produce enormous thrust, which may not be what you want.

My advice to any R-23/R-27 outboard models is to try and live with a stiff throttle lever before loosening it from a safety aspect.

 

[Salish Seaker]

Thanks all for the very informative replies. I did see the switch at the helm and I wrongly concluded it was merely a power switch. Good to know about the location of the circuit breaker. I'll take a look at the friction adjuster but I totally hear what you're saying Baz.

Like I said above, I just need time on the boat so we can figure it out. 😀

Peter