Ressurection of the "Pepper"

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Jan 15th, '23, 11:21

Rick-

A night like that justifies all the money n work…

Alright, maybe not quite, but waking up to a sunrise on the water with a fresh hot cup of coffee.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Jan 15th, '23, 14:34

I agree Carl. I started the renovation with it just being a day boat but my Gal prevailed upon me to make it a weekender. A lots more thought and cost went into the boat once that decision was made.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Jan 15th, '23, 21:56

Rick

It will be a one of kind for now. Consider yourself the leader in building a quiet weekender. Perhaps more will follow. Touch base with Yannis. He uses solar panels to power his 28.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Jan 16th, '23, 11:12

Tony Meola wrote: ↑Jan 15th, '23, 21:56 Rick

It will be a one of kind for now. Consider yourself the leader in building a quiet weekender. Perhaps more will follow. Touch base with Yannis. He uses solar panels to power his 28.

Thanks Tony, It will be a nice boat once I get it finished and I look forward to showing it off to you guys. It's still is going to be a fishing machine which was the primary mission of the boat. Hopefully I will have the boat in S Florida in a month and I'll get Bruce over for an inspection!

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Jan 16th, '23, 11:16

Let me add that I'm still making decisions on the final build out. One of those items is adding a watermaker. I've made all reasonable attempts to keep the weight down and hauling around 300#s of fresh water seems to be counterproductive to me.

I've also got a few unique features that I haven't posted yet because they aren't pretty enough for pics but I will get those posted soon.

Geebert · Post by **Geebert** » Jan 19th, '23, 21:58

Ironworker wrote: ↑Jan 15th, '23, 08:54 Good questions. This boat is being set up for extended fishing trips in the far Bahamas. I may go for several days in the southern Bahamas without access to amenities while swinging on the hook. In addition to the battery bank, I can carry 345 gallons of fuel. It will have the lithium House battery bank and two AGM starting batteries. I briefly considered sticking with lithium for starting but took the conservative approach.

Regarding loads, The Reaper has a 12 VDC Mabru 12000 btu air conditioner, a Vitrifigo 12 VDC Fridge/Freezer unit, It can accommodate four electric reels, 2 live well pumps, a windlass, a 3KW transducer and the typical slate of electronics, lighting, etc. So she's a power hungry boat.

My lithium house battery bank is a total of 1080 Amp hours at 12 VDC with room to expand to 1680 ahr. NOTE: I thought long and hard about changing over to a 24 VDC system. Unfortunately, I had already bought my engines which are 12 VDC. I weighed the pros/cons of running a dual voltage system on the boat but in the end, I decided to stick with 12 VDC everywhere.

I replaced the new Cummins 130 amp alternators (they are for sale BTW) with Balmar XT250 alternators with external voltage regulators. I'm using the Wakespeed 500 voltage regulators. They will be charging the House Bank. I am using DC/DC chargers to charge the starting batteries from the House bank. I have a future plan for adding two solar panels but that will be a future project. I've been working on this boat for a year and I'm ready to go fishing. The Carolina Reaper will be outfitted with Victron Multiplus 3000 charger/invertor.

I spent a lot of time considering various Lithium batteries. Ultimately, the B31 helped make the decision on what type of battery. We have relatively small boats and room is a big factor. Dragonfly which owns the Battleborn brand also recently purchased Wakespeed. Wakespeed has been extremely helpful with advice and support. The Battleborn G3 met all my criteria. In full disclosure, during this process I agreed to become an authorized Installer for Dragonfly.
Once I get a chance, I'll be posting a full wiring diagram for the boat and a bunch more photos.

Sounds like the navico fathom e system or the Integral Solutions system. https://youtu.be/0uTNjfb3MNQ With the combo of modern batteries and high output alternators, they're coming out with boats that don't need generators.
Mercury's new 400 horse v10 outboard has optional 48volt alternator to be compatible with that type of system.
Being able to support loads that would require a generator, without a generator is very appealing.
Cant wait to see your results.

Snipe · Post by **Snipe** » Jan 20th, '23, 05:44

Like your thinking I couldn’t imagine a generator outboard of the either engine it’s tight out there as it is. She’s looking good can’t wait to see it sitting in the Bahamas.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Jan 20th, '23, 21:10

I've been stingy posting pics because I've been so dang busy. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to give you guys a full photo tour of the boat. I decided not to paint the boat in SC but take it to Florida and have it painted. Hopefully that will save me a couple of months in the long run.

I got the fuel tank reinstalled after having it modified to accept two gravity fed AUX fuel tanks. I've got to take next week off from boat work but hopefully will have her floating by the end of February. We've started wiring the boat yesterday. Here is a pic of my Unswitched Distribution Panel.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 2nd, '23, 07:47

Well after a couple of week of delay, we are back at work on the Reaper. Today we roughed in the Aux Fuel tanks and the Fresh Water tank.

I've also installed a manifold to change fluids and for fuel tank management.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Mar 2nd, '23, 15:41

good very good!

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 2nd, '23, 18:42

Thanks, Its a tight fit. This should give me roughly 340 gallons of total fuel, which I would figure 320 gallons usable. I'll also have the option to run off the Aux tanks only should I get contaminated fuel in my main tank or gravity feed the aux tanks into the main tank.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Mar 2nd, '23, 22:41

Rick

That is a huge manifold. Must be changing more than oil and tranny fluid. Nice job. I assume it is going in right under the step. How did you fit all the individual lines into the chamber, or is that just one big chanber that is a common flow poin

The shaft alley looks pretty crowded. Just curious why you did not run the exhaust outboard of the shaft alley?

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 3rd, '23, 14:06

Tony Meola wrote: ↑Mar 2nd, '23, 22:41 Rick

That is a huge manifold. Must be changing more than oil and tranny fluid. Nice job. I assume it is going in right under the step. How did you fit all the individual lines into the chamber, or is that just one big chanber that is a common flow poin

The shaft alley looks pretty crowded. Just curious why you did not run the exhaust outboard of the shaft alley?

Yep, they are crowded! My exhaust are run outboard of the shaft alleys. The manifold in addition to engine and tranny fluids also manages fuel between the two aux tanks and main. For example, should my main tank becomes contaminated, I can run off my Aux tanks only. Bad fuel can be a problem in the Bahamas

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Mar 3rd, '23, 21:19

Nice

Well thought out design on that manifold.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 25th, '23, 14:36

Well it's been awhile since I posted any progress on the boat. My progress has been slowed due to a family member's health issue. But we are making some progress albeit slow. My time frame to get the boat in the water is currently 4 weeks then take her to Florida for paint. Virtually all the fairing is complete with just a little sanding remaining on the transom. The fuel tanks (aux - 62 gallons each) and Main fuel (225 gallons) including the fresh water (36 gal) are installed and plumbed. Thru hulls are installed and plumbed. I managed to keep the engines and accessory thru hulls along with the strainers in one bay with all the pumps. Should there be a leak then most likely it will be easy to find under the stairs,

Ninety five percent of the electrical is completed with the exception of the batteries, engine controls and fishing stuff. I've been holding off until I get a two week window to complete work. Bonding is 95% complete. BTW, widening the flybridge made the electrical much easier and a lot more efficient. Access to the pilasters to route wires is very easy along with lighting in the cabin.

I ended up redoing the flybridge a little to gain some more instrument space and storage. I replaced the old Hynautic steering with new Seastar Equipment.

There are a few items in the pics that I've got to change but sometimes its hard to see those mistakes until most everything is installed.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Mar 29th, '23, 11:45

Rick...it took me a couple of days to process that.

I came up with WoW, you have alot going on there, makes mine look like child's play. But understandable as your intended use is much different than mine. Well laid out, and even I can follow it. It won't be long till I hear a splash.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 29th, '23, 16:56

Thanks Carl. It is somewhat complicated and likely will be the most technologically advanced 31 in the country when she's complete. I'm building in quite a bit of redundancy. If I get bad fuel, I'll have the ability to pump it out with the equipment on board or isolate the tank and run off the other tanks. Most of the time the Aux tanks will simply gravity flow to the main tank. No thought needed.

The house battery bank is being designed such that if one of the four 270 amphour batteries fail then it can be shut off and isolated from the system. I'll just have to go a little light on the Air conditioning.

I'm strongly considering adding a watermaker but haven't made that decision yet.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Mar 29th, '23, 21:08

Rick

Be interesting to see how much weight she gained when you are done. What is going to be really interesting is when you report back letting us know how all the new technology is working.

I am really interested in your Battery Power. Would love to know what the real world results are.

DanielM · Post by **DanielM** » Mar 29th, '23, 21:55

Looks great. (And looks like a crazy amount of work) glad it’s going your way. Best of luck with your family members health.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 30th, '23, 10:31

Tony Meola wrote: ↑Mar 29th, '23, 21:08 Rick

Be interesting to see how much weight she gained when you are done. What is going to be really interesting is when you report back letting us know how all the new technology is working.

I am really interested in your Battery Power. Would love to know what the real world results are.

I'll definitely report back. Lots of cruisers are utilizing similar systems but augmenting with solar but they rarely run their engines.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Mar 30th, '23, 10:34

DanielM wrote: ↑Mar 29th, '23, 21:55 Looks great. (And looks like a crazy amount of work) glad it’s going your way. Best of luck with your family members health.

Thanks Daniel, a 29 year old male family member found out he had testicular cancer. Apparently its a young man's disease typically 20 to 40 years old. Tell your young son's to check themselves each month. He found his early (Stage 2) but has a 95% recovery rate. Its a pretty brutal regiment though.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Mar 30th, '23, 15:54

The treatment at times seems worse than the ailment, thoughts and prayers are with him.

DanielM · Post by **DanielM** » Mar 30th, '23, 18:09

Glad he caught it early. I know it’s brutal, but is seems there is so much more they can do with cancer these days if it’s caught early. Prayers his way.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Mar 30th, '23, 21:53

Rick

That's a tough one for young and old. Watching people you are close to go through the treatment process for cancer is a tough one. After experiencing it with family, you understand when people say no more treatment.

They will be in our prayers.

Geebert · Post by **Geebert** » Apr 12th, '23, 07:32

Ironworker wrote: ↑Mar 29th, '23, 16:56 Thanks Carl. It is somewhat complicated and likely will be the most technologically advanced 31 in the country when she's complete.

That's a tall order, how many ball valves will that take ?

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Apr 12th, '23, 09:11

Or, how many MORE ball valves ?

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Apr 17th, '23, 15:06

Very exciting to watch!

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Apr 17th, '23, 19:41

I posted a response about how many ball valves but apparently it got lost. I'll do a head count tomorrow. My comment in regard to technologically advanced is primarily due to the electrical/power systems.

I've been missing some pieces and parts so I took a week off and went fishing while Amazon and some of my suppliers got caught up.

Current progress is alternators and the Wakespeed 500's are 90% complete and will be finished tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll also have the engine harnesses and Glenndinning controls also completed tomorrow.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Apr 25th, '23, 16:04

I need some advice. I decided to ditch the tool box idea due to the weight. Instead, I'm going to build a coosa box with two pull out trays. One will hold a DC cooler (70#s empty) and the other will hold miscellaneous stuff. The pull out trays will be roughly 48" x 25". I'm looking for a source of some heavy duty stainless steel drawer slides. The rough dimensions of the overall box is 48"W x 32"H x 26"D

Anyone have some they recommend? I'm considering bottom mount for the cooler tray and side mount for the second shelf.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Apr 26th, '23, 02:59

I understand the DC cooler will be purchased, not custom made. I recently was looking at the Dometic line...they make great coolers (or so they look on my screen) but I've also seen their prices...
Think if you need a cooler with two compartments, fridge and freezer. Make sure it is a top loading one.
A freezer makes ice.
Ice is very useful in drinks...

Edit: I'm thinking...a top loading fridge is waaaay more practical when it is at chest level. So, instead of having to bend, pull the drawer, open the lid, close the lid, push the drawer back AND secure it, its better to have the fridge on top - no drawer - just open the lid and serve yourself. The lower part of the cabinet may have a drawer into which you may store whatever you need. Hope this helps.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Apr 26th, '23, 08:21

I appreciate the advice on the cooler. I'm leaning towards the Iceco brand but there are lots of others out there cheaper. I already have a 5.1 cf fridge/freezer (Vitrifigo) with pull out drawers in the boat. The DC cooler will be primarily used for storing and freezing food for long trips.

What I really need advice on is where I can buy the heavy duty pull out stainless steel drawer slides.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Apr 26th, '23, 08:55

I use McMaster as my go-to...their buyers seem to pick all quality items. Not cheap, but what is...

I haven't used these slides....just offering as a starting place.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/drawe ... ess-steel/

I think real HD draw slides was a topic here some years ago, I couln't find thread.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Apr 26th, '23, 09:01

found it.

https://bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.p ... aw#p145641

Snipe · Post by **Snipe** » Apr 27th, '23, 06:52

I put stainless steel on my cooler pull out they re pretty nice I will look and see if I can find where I got them. I second carls choice on mcmastercarr they are not cheap but have nice stuff!

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » Apr 27th, '23, 08:04

Carl,

That link was most helpful. Thanks.

Jason, your cooler idea is what led me to this solution. I'll be interested to see your source if you can find it. I'm off to meet with a Painter in about 30 minutes, unless you want to come down and paint my boat.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » May 3rd, '23, 08:31

Rick,

The Dometic CFX3 75DZ model, which is one of few with two distinct compartments (fridge-freezer),is selling the steel drawer that goes along with this model. Take a look, it might interest you.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » May 3rd, '23, 09:37

Yannis,

I looked at that tray. I wish they had one that pulled out depthwise rather than lengthwise.

Dometic makes nice coolers.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » May 3rd, '23, 11:15

You fear that it would block the way if if you pulled it open all the way ?
Usually the use of a fridge is momentary, it shouldn't be in the way of traffic, unless there's really no room to fully come out as it may bump on the opposite side.
That's also why I proposed the placement of the fridge to be up on top, sideways.
Full access and no pulling of any drawer!

You said its your second fridge, so I wouldn't know how much use you'd have and how often you'd open it.
Good luck.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » May 14th, '23, 15:47

Progress update. My current plan is to crank the engines in the boat next weekend and launch the following weekend. I have a reservation in a boat yard in N. Palm Beach on June 12th to get her painted. The electrical distribution is roughly 95% complete, the Glenndinning system is installed, the Smartcraft a
nd Cummins harnesses are installed. We will test the fuel system this week.

I'll take her to Florida on her on bottom. I'm holding off on bottom paint until I get the boat painted. I have 4 coats of Sherwin Williams Seaguard 5000 epoxy barrier coat on her completely sandblasted and refaired bottom (That was a lot of friggin work)! Also as you can see we have installed the trim tabs and polished them to minimize any cutoffs due to sharp edges on the tabs. Windlass is installed on the homemade pulpit.

The starting batteries (Interstate 31AGMX) and the Lithium batteries (Battleborn Gamechangers 3 x 4) are also installed. The Victron Multiplus will charge the House Bank when at the dock and the Balmar XT250 alternators coupled with Wakespeed 500 regulators will charge the lithium while underway. I have a couple of Victron DC/DC chargers that will recharge the starting batteries from the house bank and Victron IP67 chargers for the starting batteries while at the dock.

I am going to make a couple of more mods to the flybridge prior painting (I'll be adding a compass post). I hope to get those completed early next week. I still have a lot of tidying up wire bundles and securing harnesses but its coming along.

Here are a few photos...

JeremyD · Post by **JeremyD** » May 15th, '23, 06:06

Love the details on this boat - well thought out!

Snipe · Post by **Snipe** » May 15th, '23, 06:46

Looking real good can’t wait to hear your results once you splash!

Geebert · Post by **Geebert** » May 15th, '23, 13:44

Am i the only one that can't see the pics?

Snipe · Post by **Snipe** » May 15th, '23, 15:18

They took a min to load for me.

Sriver43 · Post by **Sriver43** » May 16th, '23, 09:04

Looks great Rick. Thanks for taking the time to post and share your work is inspirational.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » May 16th, '23, 21:57

Rick

Almost there. I can't wait to hear how all that battery power works out for you.

You sound like the pulpit is a disappointment. Hard to tell how it looks looking down. From the side is were you can tell how well it blends into the lines of the boat.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » May 17th, '23, 08:05

Tony Meola wrote: ↑May 16th, '23, 21:57 Rick

Almost there. I can't wait to hear how all that battery power works out for you.

You sound like the pulpit is a disappointment. Hard to tell how it looks looking down. From the side is were you can tell how well it blends into the lines of the boat.

Tony,

I was not an initial fan of adding the pulpit but it has grown on me. I'll get some side shots and post them and let you guys tell me if it is an improvement or not.

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » May 17th, '23, 20:45

Rick

I understand what you mean. I contemplated one last year. I borrowed one that just came off a 31 and set it on my boat and the wife said no way. She was right. It looked out of place. I think they have to be very narrow to look right on our boats.

But after reading your post, I have Coosa laying around I am not using. I am thinking of trying what you did and make one using the Coosa. My only issue is that if it is too narrow it may just break off.

Amberjack · Post by **Amberjack** » May 18th, '23, 12:30

Rick, your pulpit looks fine. Furthermore it looks much better than your back X-ray would look after pulling a 90 lb mess of anchor chain, anchor, mud and kelp like I did a few years ago. I installed my pulpit after my incident. You are smart enough to install yours before.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » May 18th, '23, 21:30

I had to call an audible yesterday. Today was a new demo day. Hopefully tomorrow is a build back day with less than two days lost on my schedule. Stay tuned.

Ironworker · Post by **Ironworker** » May 21st, '23, 11:15

First some good news. Here is a side view of my pulpit. What do you think? Welcome addition or not?