Help on a 40 NSC

[jerseyalbin]

I am under contract with the 40 that is in Portsmouth. It is a 2006 that has not been previously sold. Like most of the 40's out there it will need some work but seems very solid from the initial out of the water survey. There are a few issues that I need some help knowing if others have dealt with them:
1. Shore Power, the listing calls for 100 amp service and the dealer is saying that it should be 50 amps, which is currently hooked up. You cannot run 3 AC units alone on 50 amps. What type service do you folks have on your 40? Was that on the vessel when you took ownership? I believe our surveyor wants 50/125/250.

2. Have you had any issues with the fuel or water hoses on the boat? This one has Chinese hoses that are not clearly identified and do not have the coast guard approved labeling on them. Alot of the water hoses , raw and bilge are clear hoses with springs in them.

WE are down to the short strokes here and alot of the boat is very solid, we even get 2 year new engine warranties on the Yanmar 370's.
We plan on a seatrial next Friday and our surveyor is going to make an intermediate visit this week to monitor the progress we were promised.

I appreciate any advise on any subject but particularly the 2 issues above are the ones we are struggling over. We are thrilled with the boat and just want to be sure we get it right now! and they took our 2005 28TE in trade!

PS: any one in NE I strongly recommend this surveyor if you ever need one!

Thanks, Craig
Jerseyalbin

[Mariner]

I'm surprised to hear you say you can't run three A/C units on a 50 amp service. I routinely run our two units on just a 30 amp service. They only pull about 10 amps each. It's only when I also kick on the water heater (which draws about 10-15 amps when you first kick it on), that I occasionally trip the 30amp breaker. You must have much larger A/C units than me.

I would also think that finding 100 amp service in marinas would be extremely difficult. Around here, it's hard to find 50 amp and 100 is virtually unheard of and tends to only be available in the slips over 50' long.

[DougSea]

To Mariner's point you should be able to run 3 A/C units on 50 amps. The only time I'd think you'd have a problem would be if they all kicked on at the same time.

When I was installing my Webasto unit I read up on the controllers. It's possible, at least with some units, to program a delay in the start up time. So, assuming that you plugged in and turned on the AC (as opposed to A/C!) main pannel one unit would fire up right away, one would go a minute or so later and the last one a minute after that, thereby spacing out the initial compressor load.

Around here the slips for your 30-40 footers tend to have a single 50 amp service and/or twin 30's.

Editing here after re-reading your original post - 50/125/250 service means two 125v legs at 50 amps each (hot to neutral) AND it means 50 amps at 250v (hot to hot), just like typical service in a house. A small house to be sure, but still typical service. If you can't run 3 A/C units off of that they'd have to be huge! And I believe most 50 amp service inlets ARE 50/125/250 - 4 wires/ 3 pins. 2 Hot, 1 Neutral, 1 Ground, with the ground connection being the outside layer of the plug.

[tomcat]

Craig,
You should not have a problem at all with your 50 amp service. As Doug stated, you have 50/125/250 (something to watch for when buying a shorepower line). We have never had a problem running the AC's along with the toaster oven, lights,fridge,electric heads,water heater, stove,oven, air horn and blender...all at once, with the exception of the stove and oven, which you can only run one at a time.

As far as the hoses and clamps...yep, all made in China...and they show it. We have not had a problem yet with any of the hoses. I'm slowly replacing all the so called SS clamps. Our surveyor was not impressed with the clamps and hoses...blaming some on China and some on sitting idol for 2 years in salt water.

We've been very happy with our NSC. Lot's of room. We've also done a lot of work on her...but it's a 40' boat...there's always work to do.

Did you get my PM this week? Give me a jingle.

[jerseyalbin]

Thanks guys for the responses, yes that is exactly what we are getting in terms of shore power 50 amp, 125/250! There had been some reconfiguring of the shore power and the surveyor was not sure what we had. This has been like the birth of an elephant in terms of pulling it all together and it all happened today. First they gave me a great trade in for the 28TE, but I needed to deliver it to Rhode Island form NJ. Have done it several times but I was busy , so today the local broker sold it so I am free and clear of the delivery. Also today we got the answer to the list I had tendered, my list of what we felt needed to be repaired and I got it back with EVERYTHING plus a few things i did not expect. They replaced over 100 rusted hose clamps. I am very happy with the response and our surveyor is going to eyeball it tomorrow in preparation for the final seatrial next Friday!
I have the cap rail to do and some internal damage from leaky ports and I will start to replace some hoses a little at a time.
Yes I am sure I will have plenty to do now, but they are predicting a warmer winter. We need about 3 weeks to complete the rest of the things we are doing like the electronics , we are putting in a bow thruster, bimini etc. We will spend a few long weekends in Sept getting to know it in Rhode Island and then return to NJ in late Sept .

I am sure I will be getting to know you better as I learn about all the valves and the fuel transfer pump etc. This will not be my last post for sure!!

Tom I did try you a few times , I will call again, thanks!!

Jersey albin / Craig

[yhc]

Good evening Craig and congratulations...almost!

We have 50 amp shore power on our '06 NSC that we recently purchased. We are very happy with how she handles the sea. Hoses and clamps are as you describe. We have already replaced some and will be replacing the rest of it during the winter months.

See whether you will need a bow thruster when you are doing the sea trial. With the twin 370 hp Yanmars you will find it relatively easy to maneuver through tight spots. Good luck with your sea trial.

Regards,

yhc

[tomcat]

Craig, think seriously about the bow thruster. This thing is easier to maneuver than our 24' cruiser with a single screw that we had before. Very responsive. I never thought that I would be able to back into our slip with such ease.A little practice and budda bing, nothing to it. A single screw...bow thruster for sure. Be sure to check out you steering fluid before heading out. We had a leak in our lower helm reservoir which needed attention (still does!) Hope to look into it a little closer this weekend. Enjoy!

[jerseyalbin]

I think we have resolved most of the issues. On shore power we are going with a 50amp/125/250 cord but and adapter that will bring it down to the 50/125. Just one leg coming in for now. This is how this one was set up, we will tackle that next season after we see how many times we really need to reduce the load?
Still leaning toward the bow thruster, we have a bulkhead behind the house, the lagoon we are on is 65 feet wide, not much in the way of boats right across from me but I think it will be a good thing as it is a little tight.
Seatrial and close is set for Friday, which us luck and I am sure we will be fine!!

Keep you posted!
Craig

[Mariner]

I'm going to second the opinion that you probably don't need a thruster. I would cruise the boat for a season before going to the expense of adding one. If, after that time, you wish you had it, then, by all means, install one. But, with twins, you really shouldn't need it most of the time. Heck, even with a single engine, I rarely ever use the bowthruster on Nordvika.

[RicM]

Good luck today!

[jcollins]

Good Luck!

[tomcat]

Hope all went well with the sea trial!

[jerseyalbin]

Thanks guys it did go very well I could not believe how well it handled! I asked the trial captain they supplied of I could bring it in and he agreed to "stand by". I docked it right next to Ted Hoods 55 foot custom sailboat with no problems at all!!

We ran out to Castle Hill light, found a few big wakes and a few rollers, they were childs play. There were 7 of us on the flybridge in total comfort. We closed on it Friday afternoon and it will now be another 2-3 weeks to finish electronics, fix a few items, throw in the bow thruster and have a bimini made. I have some work to do but it is well worth it.

Thanks for your interest anxious to show it too you!

By the way John thanks for all you do, I could not believe those statistics on the site. I also gave the new owners of my 28 TE the site information and an invitation to next years rendezvous.

We are very happy and anxious to get on it in early September and take a run to Block Island, Cuttyhunk , Marthas Vineyard etc!

The one perplexing issue is that there are 3 fuel tanks and 4 filling places, deck plates. I have not been able to see where the tubes go but I suspect that there are 2 fills for the aft midline tank?

[yhc]

Congratulations Craig!

Is you boat fuel capacity 500 gal w/ 200 gal each on s/b and port as well as a 100 aux in the aft? If so yours is probably configured the same as mine. My boat has one fuel cap each for s/b and port and 2 fuel caps for the aft tank just as you have guessed. There should be a transfer pump in the engine room w/ 2 valves going from the aft tank to s/b and port tanks.

Regards,

yhc

[jerseyalbin]

Yes that is exactly what we have for tanks, I was struggling trying to find that other fuel intake in the rear bilge and could never get my eyes on it, my manuals all diagram it well but they do not have capacities. I do have some nice manuals but they do not have capacities of each tank. It actually came with some pretty detailed wiring diagrams, as well as tanks fuel and water. I am planning to scan them and make a pdf.
Thanks,
Craig