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Topics - Alma

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1
Pearson Powerboats / 1973 Pearson Portsmouth Grace in her new home
« on: June 25, 2023, 07:58:29 PM »
We cruised Grace home last week in miserable gale force winds up Chesapeake Bay through Canal down Delaware Bay and up Atlantic Ocean to Barnegat Bay.

She is very happy in her new home next to our Pearson 323 ALMA.

Grace will be out summer Love Shack while we day sail ALMA in Barnegat Bay and Ocean.

It is heaen!

2
General Discussion / Our new Pearson Portsmouth 43
« on: December 12, 2022, 02:54:12 PM »
I stumbled onto this Pearson Portsmouth 43 and we closed on her yesterday.

We'll berth her next to ALMA and she will be our 3 season home (away from home).

She is a 1973 and the Pearson lineage is so obvious. She was built in the Portsmouth Yard and designed by BIll Shaw.
She isn't an Arctic Explorer and we have no need for one. Her 3.5' draft is perfect for the Bay and inland waterway we intend to use her in.

The accommodations are spectacular!

What a perfect boat for us now.

3
General Discussion / Yachtworld
« on: March 30, 2021, 05:05:26 AM »
I like to look at Pearsons on Yachtworld and I've noticed in the last few months there are hardly any 323s for sale.

I think that's because once one owns a 323 its hard to part with.

Now would be a good time to sell a 323.

Now is a better time to SAIL a 323!

4
Ports & Hatches / Re: Ports
« on: September 25, 2020, 05:40:12 PM »
I was told by the owner of this beauty many years ago that it came from Pearson with these fantastic ports.

Since I'm likely to keep ALMA I'm kicking around getting rid of me "Picture Windows" and sealing up the cabin and cutting in Newfound Metals opening ports.

I rolled and tipped the "bandit stripe" 20 years ago so the exterior would be not so difficult. The interior would require some creative refurb of the hull liner where the old holes were.

Just a thought-

Look at this beauty! (Imagine an opening port over the stove and at the nav-station!)

5
Deck Mounted Hardware / Teakwood coachroof grab rails.
« on: September 25, 2020, 05:32:08 PM »
One of the design features I LOVE about Shaw's 323 is the coachroof handholds.

Mounting the teakwood on those molded risers solves a few design issues:

Cascading water on the coachroof must go UP those risers before the water can leak down the mounting holes.

The woods shape and its laying against those risers also handles sheer loads on the grab rails so much better than the all wood ones that are begging to flop over with any load loosening the bedding (or worse).

A single plank is so much easier to maintain than the complex curves of the all wood grab rails that look pretty at the boatshow...

If you've ever contemplated sanding and varnishing or oiling a pair of ordinary handholds you know what a tedious job it is.

Well I broke one.
I don't remember doing it but I try NEVER to blame crew for breaking things aboard ALMA.

If something gets broken it is because it is:

tired and in need of replacement long before failure...

a poor design that challenges one to make a better soultion.

because the captain failed to let the crew know how to use the equipment.

So now opportunity arises to ELIMINATE MORE WOOD ON ALMA!!!!!!

I absolutely LOVE the oval-shaped stainless steel handrails adorning the Island Piglet boats.

It is elegant, strong, maintenance free, and the oval shape conforms to the grip of a loose-footed sailor and adds to her strength to HOLD ON.

I bet the complex countour of the 323's handhold would make a home made oval shaped rail difficult to fab.
The oval is just where it needs to be to fight bending the tube.

Has anyone replaced their handholds with ANYTHING BESIDES WOOD?


6
Engine and Drive Train / ALMA's trusty Atomic 4 out for first overhaul
« on: December 01, 2019, 02:40:18 PM »
We got ALMA's Atomic Four out of the boat without any issues last week.

We used the technique shared by vessel CHANCE #10 and it worked perfectly!

Now the venerable marine engine is in my workshop and getting the royal treatment.


7
P323 / Pearson 323 and Pearson 30 storm hood-
« on: October 06, 2019, 03:06:48 PM »
Does anyone know if a Pearson 30 companionway hatch storm hood is identical to the one used for the Pearson 323?

I have access to a P 30 hood and want to know if it will fit my 323?

Thanks

8
P323 / 323 washed ashore in Nicaragua years ago
« on: January 20, 2019, 04:15:34 PM »
This poor baby washed ashore.

Although scavengers have stripped her bare. She shows her strong bones!

Screen shots from a youtube video.

https://youtu.be/N-5CtL66-xw

9
Interior Structures / Eliminating plastic bin under nav seat-
« on: November 18, 2018, 11:20:29 AM »
I have finally ridded ALMA of all of the silly poly bins Pearson used to save money on finish work.

Years ago I modified all the lockers with new 5mm five-ply birch Formica covered lids that enable access to the whole spaces the bins used to live in. The locker in the Vee Berth is at least three times the space of a poly bin. Likewise for the areas under the starboard settees.

The issue was making liners that kept small items from making their way to the bilge.

The space under the Nav Seat used to be stuffed with all the spares we need and of course some items we'll never use.
The wonderful rigging cutters a friend gave me are something I hope we never use!

Having all that equipment and spares stuffed into the locker prevented me from knowing what was in there.

I know some savvy cruisers make maps of whats in their lockers but I'm not that organized- yet.

This is a simple solution to utilizing ALL the bone-dry space under the seat-

I trash-picked the piece of Plexi years ago but I broke the tempered glass in our shore-side refrigerator soon after and had to cut a substantial piece for that repair.

Last week I finally got a scrap and welded it to the piece I had to have material big enough to span the entire space.

I now have three levels of storage- The very bottom is essential but rarely used spares and tools. The second level is general spares like impellers, seals and gaskets and spares for the head and other mechanicals.

The top level is everything else-

The only downside is trim- Installing a bladder tank in the port side settee I discovered a very nice mid-ships cavity forward of the tankage that I'll soon adapt for the heavy items- spare starter, ignition coil, fasteners, rigging and those trusty rigging cutters.

It would also be a perfect spot for a windlass battery...

10
Interior Structures / Plastic Bin under Nav Seat-
« on: November 18, 2018, 11:12:36 AM »
I have finally ridded ALMA of all of the silly poly bins Pearson used to save money on finish work.

Years ago I modified all the lockers with new 5mm five-ply birch Formica covered lids that enable access to the whole spaces the bins used to live in. The locker in the Vee Berth is at least three times the space of a poly bin. Likewise for the areas under the starboard settees.

The issue was making liners that kept small items from making their way to the bilge.

The space under the Nav Seat used to be stuffed with all the spares we need and of course some items we'll never use.
The wonderful rigging cutters a friend gave me are something I hope we never use!

Having all that equipment and spares stuffed into the locker prevented me from knowing what was in there.

I know some savvy cruisers make maps of whats in their lockers but I'm not that organized- yet.

This is a simple solution to utilizing ALL the bone-dry space under the seat-

I trash-picked the piece of Plexi years ago but I broke the tempered glass in our shore-side refrigerator soon after and had to cut a substantial piece for that repair.

Last week I finally got a scrap and welded it to the piece I had to have material big enough to span the entire space.

I now have three levels of storage- The very bottom is essential but rarely used spares and tools. The second level is general spares like impellers, seals and gaskets and spares for the head and other mechanicals.

The top level is everything else-

The only downside is trim- Installing a bladder tank in the port side settee I discovered a very nice mid-ships cavity forward of the tankage that I'll soon adapt for the heavy items- spare starter, ignition coil, fasteners, rigging and those trusty rigging cutters.

It would also be a perfect spot for a windlass battery...







11
Sails and Canvas / Old clapped out 323 sails-
« on: October 30, 2018, 10:47:49 AM »
I still have my old Genoa and mainsail from many years ago.

They are old!

What should I do with them???

12
I'm making progress installing my new Raymarine 'Evolution' autopilot.

Having a wonderful Simrad WP 30 for fifteen years that happily communicated with an old Garmin chart-plotter this install has been 'character-building'.

I remember installing the WP 30 in about 40 minutes.

Installing the Raymarine seems like 40 days and 40 nights of freezing rain, at the wheel with a foul current-

The paperwork from the FOUR separate components, wheel-pilot, control box, fluxgate compass, and display seem like they were written on different planets.

And the Sea-Talk NG (Next Generation) wiring "backbone" will not talk to NEMA 0183 without an expensive aftermarket 'adapter'.
The SeaTalk (and incompatible with Sea Talk, Sea Talk NG) is a buffed-up version of NEMA 2000 but with proprietary (expensive) cables that need proprietary (expensive) connectors, and (expensive) terminators like old SCCI computer connections.

I got an app for my phone that senses magnetic fields and the best location for the fluxgate compass (for ALMA) is right under the cabin sole on centerline adjacent to the mid bulkhead. I made a bracket to attach the fluxgate to the hull liner centerline flange. We'll see if this location works-

Instead of drilling FOUR holes into my nice Edson pedestal I re-purposed the Simrad wheelpilot's mounting bracket that is attached to the pedestal with plastic sheathed hose clamps. They have been in service a long time and look new. A simple piece of Aluminum rod turned down to fit the Evo's plastic wheel mechanism locates the pilots mechanism. The motor's wire passes through the spot where the Edson wheel brake lived before it lost its brake lining and quit. I removed the brake entirely. It never held the wheel very well for us.

I made another aluminum bracket to hold the SeaTalk backbone connector 'bridge' and used an existing spot under my galvanic isolator to clamp the bracket. We have no need for an autopilot on shore power so I'm not expecting any interference from the proximity of AC and DC circuits.

Yesterday I was able to finally complete the installation of the components and power up the whole mess. The components are located in the Starboard lazzarette just forward of my shore power inlet. They are set on mahogany stand-offs set in epoxy. I don't drill holes in ALMA often- and this 'kit' hasn't offered a sense of permanence!

I was so apprehensive of the complexity of this install I first put the wheel on the pedestal without the keyway's key- I figured if I had missed something with the hard-over settings the wheel would slip on its axle should the rudder come to its stop before the 'brain' knew.

Actually everything went perfectly.
The motor cable has no polarity- just an "A" and "B" label.
No worries though, the display asks the installer= "Did the wheel turn to Port?" LoL.

No it didn't- but after answering 'no' the brain called "B" "A" and "A" "B"!
I swapped the motor leads so I wouldn’t see THAT message for eternity-
Funny the two wires are “B”lue and “B”rown…

So- I'm ready to complete the setup next trip to the boatyard and I'm looking forward to the Raymarine hyperbole of 2 degree course holding.

Next up? A new chartplotter and a big Raymarine wedding!

A BIG-Bonus is the new lazzarette panels I made from Home-Depot white coated pressed board.
The old pegboard panels were gnarly and these should keep engine sounds, heat and smells where they belong.

13
Deck Mounted Hardware / Swim Platform
« on: March 02, 2018, 05:26:37 PM »
Has anyone had experience adding a swim platform???

Like this?


14
Electrical Systems & Electronics / New autopilot
« on: October 15, 2017, 08:49:23 PM »
Our Simrad/Navico WP 30 quit the weekend before layup and since the fantastic WP 30 is discontinued I wanted to hear what other 323 captains are using.

I see the Raymarine wheelpilot has a $500 rebate making it about $1300 shipped.

The Raymarine and likely other new units do not communicate with my old Garmin chartplotter through NEMA 081 without clumst adapters.

What do you use?

15
Plumbing and Galley Systems / P323 clogged engine water intake
« on: July 06, 2017, 06:28:59 PM »
Over the twenty years I've owned ALMA I've had 4 clogs of the raw water intake on the keel.
One this weekend with six aboard...

Sometimes I move a purposely longer inlet hose to the sea water sink pump through hull. Effective but certainly not elegant.

Today hot tubs need two drains. That prevents the pump from sucking in a hand. The pumps have a "choice".

I've been kicking around the idea of boring a hole opposite the existing raw water inlet and adding another and its seacock and a tee so no bag, jelly or jetsom can get me again.

Ever heard of such a thing?



Crazy?

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