wrapping up our 1st trip on C30. lots of ?? if you have time

[serpa4]

So, bottom line, 6 days on the 2018 C30 with my wife in Key West. Yes, we had a great time and have no regrets on our purchase. Love the boat. Waves slapping the hull is very loud but that is the worst of it.
Questions:
1) best way remove rust off bolts and hinges and bars? CLR didn't work. What is best, scrubbiest, wire brushes(brass or stainless bristles), polishes?
2) best way to remove rust stains off fiberglass? CLR (Household calcium, lime, rust) didn't work.
3) the shower door will not fully close. I think the door is too tall when closing it to shower. Seems...to bind between roof and floor tracks. I'll investigate. However, how the heck do you remove it!? I pulled screw for floor track and roof track and neither will come out. The are loose, but no room to remove them to get clear door off.
4) there is too many things that are on when at anchor. How do you turn off everything that is secretly sapping 12 volts? I.e. stereo, 2 TV, all the electronics are likely??? pulling some juice, unused fridge (turn coldness down?), lighted USB outlets, etc. In my RV, everything can be fully turned off. The boat consumes a lot of juice at night.
5) any good glass cleaners that deals with salt? Seems to have like hard water stains on the glass that I think is salt
6) the boat seems to always be turning to the left. I have to offer keep turning the wheel right to starboard. Autopilot holds fine though. Any ideas?
My unique boat C30 435 diesel came with the C302 BBQ, sink, live well. Anyone want to trade for seat?
Any tutorials on changing toilet to fresh vs sea flushing?

 

[jlhowland]

I can answer your steering problem. When operating the helm manually, if you are continuously having to add right rudder to go straight and it is more pronounced at higher speed, you probably have hydraulic pressure blowback. I had the same problem in my C28. Adding an additional check valve to the steering system fixed mine. I discovered it before the one year warranty expired from the dealer. Not sure if you are still covered on a 2018, but you can call Garmin and ask.

 

[scross]

Diamond Magic - Water Spot & Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Takes rust off of most smooth surfaces from rails to stainless fittings to fiberglass to magma grills. Use with toothbrush to clean out the edges. Would not use on glass though, it might scratch.

 

[serpa4]

I can answer your steering problem. When operating the helm manually, if you are continuously having to add right rudder to go straight and it is more pronounced at higher speed, you probably have hydraulic pressure blowback. I had the same problem in my C28. Adding an additional check valve to the steering system fixed mine. I discovered it before the one year warranty expired from the dealer. Not sure if you are still covered on a 2018, but you can call Garmin and ask.

Can you tell me more? Where is this valve and how do I determine if it's bad? Or just call Cutwater or call garmin? Thanks.
Any idea its price?

 

[BB marine]

(1) Never Dull
( 2) Wizards Turbo Cut compound , small areas by hand, larger areas with a buffer, orange or white pad if using foam, or use wool pad.
(3) I have seen those doors used by other manufactures. Trojan International used them. PIA to work on.
(4) learn the electrical system. Once you know the system you will be able to disable and enable circuits.
(5) strong mixture of vinegar and water always seems to work. If the build up is real heavy Lime-A-Way. Be ready to rinse with water after using it. Lime-a-way works good to get rid of heavy water deposits on the Gel coat too.
(6) Common problem with Garmin auto pilots installed in Cutwaters. The internal check Valve gets stuck. The auto pilot works fine. When steering with the helm the fluid leaks past the valve causing the boat to pull port. Steering correction is needed. To confirm this is the cause close off the valves in the valve block (isolation valves). Seatrial the boat and see if the steering is corrected. If so you need a new pump or need to have the pump rebuilt. When installing the new pump install it as per Garmin's instructions.

Page three will illustrate where the isolation valves are.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... TMuZTugq3s

 

[jlhowland]

Not sure the name of the valve, but the dealer installed it just fwd of the auto pilot pump. I would go take pics and give you more details, but the boat is wrapped up for the winter. You could call Tony at Pocket Yachts, Grasonville, MD. He was the one who supervised the work. Mine was done under warranty, so no idea what the cost would be. Tony would also be able to ball park it.

 

[serpa4]

Not sure the name of the valve, but the dealer installed it just fwd of the auto pilot pump. I would go take pics and give you more details, but the boat is wrapped up for the winter. You could call Tony at Pocket Yachts, Grasonville, MD. He was the one who supervised the work. Mine was done under warranty, so no idea what the cost would be. Tony would also be able to ball park it.

I will! Thank you very much. Very annoying on the steering.

 

[Sharron]

#3 Use WD 40 Silicone Spray in the shower door tracks. Also use same spray in the sliding windows and screens.
https://www.wd40.com/products/silicone- ... HZEALw_wcB

#4 Some require pulling fuses as only shutoff. Diagrams in the manual. TOO many fuses on these boats IMO.

#5 Add a carbon water filter to the dockside hose for the fresh water wash downs after cruising. Reduces water spotting. Caution if wiping salt water off as it can scratch glass over time.

#6 Weight imbalance contributes. Consider location of fresh water and fuel tanks and current volumes. Also check port vs starboard cockpit storage lockers. Move things around.

 

[Kevinandcarol]

The best product I found for hard water stains and water spots is Glass Weld pro clean, you can get it on Amazon, after you use it go over the Windows with regular glass cleaner.
use it sparingly. I have done a couple dozen boats with 1 bottle and still have some left.if you want to use a hydrophobic treatment for your glass and stainless that is simple to use PM me and ill send you a linc to that as well.
Congrats on your new boat. Kevin

 

[tendercaruso]

The best product I found for hard water stains and water spots is Glass Weld pro clean, you can get it on Amazon, after you use it go over the Windows with regular glass cleaner.
use it sparingly. I have done a couple dozen boats with 1 bottle and still have some left.if you want to use a hydrophobic treatment for your glass and stainless that is simple to use PM me and ill send you a linc to that as well.
Congrats on your new boat. Kevin

Hi Kevin, could you send me the information about the hydrophobic.

 

[SKing]

Shower door permanent fix.

Our boat had the same problem the issue is the length of the door as you summized. The solution is remove the screws from the upper track. Then with the shower doors in the stored position open the wooden door behind the mirror and flex/slide the track through the cabinet. It turned out to be an easy task.

Wrap the doors and take to TAP plastics or cut yourself. I marked the cut with blue tape and monitored the cutting process but let them cut with their equipment and got a nice smoth edge. On our boat I removed 3/16-1/4 in and the doors have opened and closed easily for the last 3 years.

 

[SKing]

For the sliding windows, I found that if I spray the hose at the bottom track and thoroughly rinse the salt etc out every few trips then they slide easily. Its an easy place for salt buildup

 

[Jesperjo]

I’ve used Aquapel to great effect on the windshield. Just be careful that many of the Aquapels sold on Amazon are fakes. This one is the real thing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XMYD7SN. This one is fake: https://a.co/d/9GtAChd. This video shows both in action:

Scroll to 6:23 and you will see the fake and the real side by side. Then again, real Aquapel is $13-15 each, so if you get 5 for that price, it’s a fake.

I’d be really curious for @Kevinandcarol’s thoughts on that though. Anything chemical that you’d put on the boat I tend to rely on Kevin for an expert opinion.