New C-30 owner

[pwojnaro]

Hey All,

I posted here before with some questions about Cutwaters, and now posting for the first time as a new owner. We ended up getting a 2015 C-30 CB and loving the boat so far. The engine had just 188 hours when we bought it, and we've already added 30 hours in 3 weekends of cruising, crabbing and fishing the San Juans.

I've been learning a lot about the boat (and boating in general) these last few weeks, and I have a growing list of things to get done on her over the winter. I'm still debating trolling kicker vs. low speed mode for salmon fishing. Any pros/cons from current owners that went either way?

So far the only unpleasant surprise has been moorage availability around here. I had no idea how tight the supply is - most places I talked to have estimated wait times of 1yr and up.

Pretty excited to be part of this community!

 

[NEDBETTY]

Welcome we are new owners of 2014 CB31 and Ranger folks and Tug Nuts are such an asset
Welcome from one Rookie to the Next!

 

[Daveruegger]

I have done a lot of salmon fishing in the NW highly recommend a kicker motor, less hrs on your main, way easier to fine tune your speed as you target different type of salmon, they sip fuel, maintenance is much cheaper and easy to do, and god for bid you need it you have a second motor to get you to safety if you main goes out. :shock:

 

[jlhowland]

Dave- Can you expand on the kicker logistics? What size motor do you have and where do you store the fuel?

 

[Georgevb]

Welcome,

If you are willing to keep your boat up north, Oak Harbor marina may have slips available, or a short wait time. Covered slips start coming available in the late fall and are very reasonably priced.

 

[serpa4]

Subscribed.
Like to hear with people are doing kicker:
How to mount
Where to mount
Size/HP
How fast will a kicker move you as spare motor due to break down?

Thanks (pictures would be great!)

 

[Automaticman865]

Wow if some of the places had 1 year waiting periods for a mooring.
The town of Marblehead Massachusetts has a waiting period for a mooring of 21 years.

Stuart

 

[Daveruegger]

Dave- Can you expand on the kicker logistics? What size motor do you have and where do you store the fuel?

I had my kick installed by RT at the factory. I have the RT 27 LE OB, kicker is a Yamaha 9.9 ( Electric start and has a small alternator) it’s located on a attachment bracket next to the main and attached to the main with a steering rod, turn the main turns the kicker. The throttle control, and electric tilt is located in the cockpit on the aft bulkhead. The fuel line is tied into the main tank, since I’m running the 300 Yamaha OB this was a no brainer ( the gas line ties in at the filter under the center hatch) you can always run on off a separate tank stored in the cockpit as long as you add ventilation if you did not want to tie into the main or if you had a Diesel inboard.

I can send you some photos of my set up or I can upload them here if you want. The kicker motor is offered as a factory option I’m not sure which models, but as a avid fisherman both in the Puget Sound and the Gulf of Mexico having a kicker on a boat is a must for larger boats, the 9.9 burns 1 gallon per hour WOT, so I can troll a lot of hrs and not need to stop at the gas pump. also on one occasion, different boat while crabbing in the south sound banged the prop on a big rock the main motor damaging it bad would cause the motor to shake violently, so I use my kick to get me home a saved my Lower unit on my main from needing to be rebuilt.

 

[pwojnaro]

Thanks. I got a quote from a shop at Anacortes for a 25HP kicker, and it looks like they would be modifying a swim platform for this - still waiting for more details. Since I’m moving the boat to Seattle’s Elliot Bay in October, I’ll likely try to find a different shop here in town. Will start a new thread once I get this project going.

Another question: has anyone replaced their sonar transducer to get CHIRP? It look like mine is just a 50/200.

 

[Shano]

I have a 25 HT which was installed by the dealer. The fuel tank is installed in the engine compartment and we have the required blower also. The kicker will push the boat at 5.5 to 6 knots wot. It might be a touch faster but because of the install location for the controls the throttle lever hits the drink holder railing so it might get another 1/2 knot but not sure about that. We also have the trolling option on which I rarely use. It is actually a software system that allows the gearbox to slip. I think for occasional trolling the trolling option is fine but I know some guys use it a lot and it works well for them. We have 440 hours on our main and I’m guessing 3x that on the kicker. So that is something to think about if you plan on trolling a lot. Our kicker is tied into the rudder/autopilot so I almost always troll with the remote AP control and it works very well until maybe 13 knots+ and then into the wind it doesn’t work very well. One thing to remember is to put the kicker into gear when it is lifted up and you are traveling with the main. Unless you do this the kicker prop will spin and because the lower end doesn’t get lubricated unless the kicker is running - I learned the hard way and fused the reverse gear onto the spline. I have the Garmin Gt51m thru hull pair transducers installed and they are excellent for chirp, sideview and downview. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.

 

[pwojnaro]

I have a 25 HT which was installed by the dealer. The fuel tank is installed in the engine compartment and we have the required blower also. The kicker will push the boat at 5.5 to 6 knots wot. It might be a touch faster but because of the install location for the controls the throttle lever hits the drink holder railing so it might get another 1/2 knot but not sure about that. We also have the trolling option on which I rarely use. It is actually a software system that allows the gearbox to slip. I think for occasional trolling the trolling option is fine but I know some guys use it a lot and it works well for them. We have 440 hours on our main and I’m guessing 3x that on the kicker. So that is something to think about if you plan on trolling a lot. Our kicker is tied into the rudder/autopilot so I almost always troll with the remote AP control and it works very well until maybe 13 knots+ and then into the wind it doesn’t work very well. One thing to remember is to put the kicker into gear when it is lifted up and you are traveling with the main. Unless you do this the kicker prop will spin and because the lower end doesn’t get lubricated unless the kicker is running - I learned the hard way and fused the reverse gear onto the spline. I have the Garmin Gt51m thru hull pair transducers installed and they are excellent for chirp, sideview and downview. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.

Cool, thanks. Do you have any pics of the kicker install? I'm curious if they had to cut or reinforce the swim platform in any way to accommodate the bracket. Gt51m keeps coming up when I research the transducers so I'm leaning towards that too.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

pretty sure the chirp install requires a through hull transducer. which means cutting a hole and if you are trailering one should watch where the bunks are to avoid damage.

 

[Shano]

I have a 25 HT which was installed by the dealer. The fuel tank is installed in the engine compartment and we have the required blower also. The kicker will push the boat at 5.5 to 6 knots wot. It might be a touch faster but because of the install location for the controls the throttle lever hits the drink holder railing so it might get another 1/2 knot but not sure about that. We also have the trolling option on which I rarely use. It is actually a software system that allows the gearbox to slip. I think for occasional trolling the trolling option is fine but I know some guys use it a lot and it works well for them. We have 440 hours on our main and I’m guessing 3x that on the kicker. So that is something to think about if you plan on trolling a lot. Our kicker is tied into the rudder/autopilot so I almost always troll with the remote AP control and it works very well until maybe 13 knots+ and then into the wind it doesn’t work very well. One thing to remember is to put the kicker into gear when it is lifted up and you are traveling with the main. Unless you do this the kicker prop will spin and because the lower end doesn’t get lubricated unless the kicker is running - I learned the hard way and fused the reverse gear onto the spline. I have the Garmin Gt51m thru hull pair transducers installed and they are excellent for chirp, sideview and downview. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.

Cool, thanks. Do you have any pics of the kicker install? I'm curious if they had to cut or reinforce the swim platform in any way to accommodate the bracket. Gt51m keeps coming up when I research the transducers so I'm leaning towards that too.

They did have to cut the swim grid and I am pretty sure they reinforced it also. I’ll take a few photos today and email them to you.

 

[sjreib]

Welcome to the club. Love my 2017 C30CB.Great support from Fluid Motion. Do all our steering from up top, weather permitting. Had a bimini and other canvas done by King Canvas and they did a fantastic job. Moored at Edmonds and there may be slips available. Fit in 32 ft without dinghy, 36 ft with dingy. Also had dripless stuffing box installed.
Why not fish with low speed setting? Only advantage of kicker seems to be alternative propulsion in unlikely event of diesel breakdown. Great boat-Enjoy.

 

[pwojnaro]

Welcome to the club. Love my 2017 C30CB.Great support from Fluid Motion. Do all our steering from up top, weather permitting. Had a bimini and other canvas done by King Canvas and they did a fantastic job. Moored at Edmonds and there may be slips available. Fit in 32 ft without dinghy, 36 ft with dingy. Also had dripless stuffing box installed.
Why not fish with low speed setting? Only advantage of kicker seems to be alternative propulsion in unlikely event of diesel breakdown. Great boat-Enjoy.

Thanks! CB is great for sure, especially around the slip in the marina for someone who is still learning. Called Edmonds last week and they said 30 something ppl on their waitlist for 36' (estimate 1-2 years wait).
Where did you have the dripless box done?
Mine didn't come with the low speed valve so that's why I'm looking at different options. Volvo tech who did the mechanical survey recommended the kicker to save the main engine hours.

 

[pwojnaro]

pretty sure the chirp install requires a through hull transducer. which means cutting a hole and if you are trailering one should watch where the bunks are to avoid damage.

Yeah, came across some older threads about it. Not planning on trailering but definitely need to find a component shop to do it. Any recommendation for a shop familiar with our boats in the Seattle area?

 

[sjreib]

Mine didn't come with lo speed, but was just a software upgrade that was done for me at no cost. Engine hours not usually a factor on these diesels unless excessive use and poor maintenance. Dripless is great, but expensive(1.5-2K) so wouldn't go that route unless problems with existing system.(which I had) Mine was done by Puget Sound Yacht service in Edmonds. Requires haul out. Usually Edmonds wait time is less than quoted.

Steve

 

[Cutwater28GG]

call the guys at La conner maritime. one of them there used to work at Ranger. Ive had better luck with them then a few of the seattle mechanics Ive dealt with. ive heard good things about CSR for fibreglass work but not used them for my boat.