2021 JaxonCraft Build Thread
- Thread starter Bill 310
- Start date
I am not the sort of boy to kiss and tell, but...... coming as no surprise to no one (including me) it cost more than I expected and right about where my wife thought it would be.
We are doing Sea Trials in the morning, there are few little things to tend to and based of the forecast the diesel furnace will be getting a workout.
The final survey came back after the trial survey (we had the boat looked at before it went for engines ) and there were no requirements , recommendations, or suggestions noted in the final survey.
The weather is not the best this weekend to cross the strait so that will get postponed
noluck
Well-Known Member
can't wait to see the sea trials video
Sea, er... Snow, er.... Fog Trials
Bob Dylan wrote a great song (but then all his songs are great) called "Watching the River Flow."
As a Bob Dylan fan ( I have see Bob live close to 4 dozen times ) I couldn't help but think of that song title as I watched the weather forecast for Saturday and to paraphrase that song, I was watching the weather go.
I mentioned to my wife that it looked like it was going to snow Saturday during Seat Trials . We had snow in Vancouver at our house earlier in the week and on Friday when we caught the 5:20 (?) Boat out of Horseshoe Bay it was getting colder.
The crossing was uneventful and we slept in the car snuggled up under our military surplus Italian Navy 100% Wool Submarine Service blanket that we bought surplus in Calgary last summer.
They are fantastic .
How good are they?
Our orange cat claimed one 10 minutes after we brought the first set home . Now for people who don't own cats, and for years I was one of those people, Orange Cats are usually male , and they are hedonists, the feline version of Hugh Heifer. life to an orange cat is 100% about the pursuit of pleasure -their pleasure.
We now have four of the blankets two for the house (including the cat's) and two for the boat. We gave a pair to Robert to use as cover ups around his fire pit as well.
Link to these blankets, remember I bought ours at a surplus store in Calgary not through this link
Sea Trial
Saturday morning is overcast and cold -1.
We meet Clay (from Breakers ) and Doug, our pal (who is going to bring the boat across with me ) at the Clutesi Haven Marina for the launch.
When Clay arrived he had already turned on the diesel furnace
Perspective
I am 6'4" and Clay is 6'2" Boat seems massive in this photo
Motors with Max tilt already set (thanks Clay!) Note Ladder is on far side , ignore it's position to the motors, It is the photo's perspective.
At the dock, with reflection (note the first snowflakes in the air)
Bob Dylan wrote a great song (but then all his songs are great) called "Watching the River Flow."
As a Bob Dylan fan ( I have see Bob live close to 4 dozen times ) I couldn't help but think of that song title as I watched the weather forecast for Saturday and to paraphrase that song, I was watching the weather go.
I mentioned to my wife that it looked like it was going to snow Saturday during Seat Trials . We had snow in Vancouver at our house earlier in the week and on Friday when we caught the 5:20 (?) Boat out of Horseshoe Bay it was getting colder.
The crossing was uneventful and we slept in the car snuggled up under our military surplus Italian Navy 100% Wool Submarine Service blanket that we bought surplus in Calgary last summer.
They are fantastic .
How good are they?
Our orange cat claimed one 10 minutes after we brought the first set home . Now for people who don't own cats, and for years I was one of those people, Orange Cats are usually male , and they are hedonists, the feline version of Hugh Heifer. life to an orange cat is 100% about the pursuit of pleasure -their pleasure.
We now have four of the blankets two for the house (including the cat's) and two for the boat. We gave a pair to Robert to use as cover ups around his fire pit as well.
Link to these blankets, remember I bought ours at a surplus store in Calgary not through this link
US NAVAL ACADEMY 63" X 47" KNIT/WOVEN THROW BLANKET TAPESTRY NAVY & WHITE | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for US NAVAL ACADEMY 63" X 47" KNIT/WOVEN THROW BLANKET TAPESTRY NAVY & WHITE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
tinyurl.com
Sea Trial
Saturday morning is overcast and cold -1.
We meet Clay (from Breakers ) and Doug, our pal (who is going to bring the boat across with me ) at the Clutesi Haven Marina for the launch.
When Clay arrived he had already turned on the diesel furnace
Perspective
I am 6'4" and Clay is 6'2" Boat seems massive in this photo
Motors with Max tilt already set (thanks Clay!) Note Ladder is on far side , ignore it's position to the motors, It is the photo's perspective.
At the dock, with reflection (note the first snowflakes in the air)
Attachments
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Vessel Christening (the Green Leaves)
(film at 9) seriously I will post up the Christening video when the editing is complete
See post below
Snow report from the cabin door looking aft.
Skim Ice in the Marina as we cruise the docks
We were out for just under 2 hours. Unfortunatley the fog rolled in almost immediately and visibility was poor at best
Everyone had a chance to pilot the boat. Clay spent a bit of time showing me the sensitively of the Fly by Wire controls (before we left the dock and with the motors off). Not his first rodeo.
Once things were warmed up, (say 30 minutes) Clay ran a base course for about 1/2 mile with both of us on log/debris watch. Then he turned the boat around and then we ran back down the same course while WFO.
He was satisfied by the prop set up ( 3x16x20) and the GPS showed a speed of just a tad over 38 knots (43.7 MPH )or for the younger folks 70.38 KMH. I think he said at WOT the motors were running right around 5800-5900 RPM He told me that he the pitch was right where they wanted it to be.
By the time this was over and it was time for me to take the wheel, it was snowing much harder, and the visibly was getting worse. We zipped about a bit at different throttle setting I ran the boat up to 3400 RPM which seems to be the natural sweet spot, played with the motor trim and the trim tabs.
Not surprisingly she needs to ride with the bow trimmed up a bit. Clay had me tab the bow down so I could feel the boat out of trim so it was nose heavy, and as expected, an out of trim boat in the boat down attitude wants to fight the wheel and weave about .
I didn't run like that for more than a minute because the snow was really coming and my lack of familiarity in these waters was a good sign that the helm needed local knowledge.
Susan next took the wheel and by then it was too foggy for her to get the boat up fully on plane but she had fun turning the boat in its own length using the motors.
Doug took us into the harbour and by that time it had been cold long enough that skim ice was forming (see photos).
Doug is one of those guys, you know a "Boat Whisperer".
Like Clay, he has the gift of what I now think of as gentle nautical persuasion that comes from a lifetime of running boats on the West Coast. It is humbling, but in a good way to watch.
I grew up running boats in fresh water on big lakes but the additional constant variables of the ocean add a serious multiplier.
I had said to my wife I will be spending a lot of time practicing close maneuvers at our marina and docking and moving about in all conditions, our snow storm run was a great reminder of my promise to myself.
Yes we were running radar while we were out and I learned two things the first being that Clay, Doug and I like to have our charts set course up and secondly, as I expected I will need to spend a more than a few hours setting the Furuno screens to meet my needs .
I can't tell you how fantastic that diesel heater is. It was f'ing cold out and the cabin (insulated ) holds the heat in , which means on the one ceremonial hot day of summer the cabin will not be an oven for sleeping .
All the work on having the correct ergonomics built into the boat has already paid off . Shockwave seats on sliders and swivels, tilt wheel and the Shockwave adjustable foot rests allowed everyone to hake themselves comfortable in a matter of minutes.
My OCD was complimented by Clay and Doug with regards to the dash layout and we decided on a better position for the compass while we were out. We had planning on moving the Compass once I run operated the boat.
Going back on the trailer (I just realized we took no photos with the radar mast up).
Trust me it the mast was up and kudos for Doug and Clay for doing that .
(film at 9) seriously I will post up the Christening video when the editing is complete
See post below
Snow report from the cabin door looking aft.
Skim Ice in the Marina as we cruise the docks
We were out for just under 2 hours. Unfortunatley the fog rolled in almost immediately and visibility was poor at best
Everyone had a chance to pilot the boat. Clay spent a bit of time showing me the sensitively of the Fly by Wire controls (before we left the dock and with the motors off). Not his first rodeo.
Once things were warmed up, (say 30 minutes) Clay ran a base course for about 1/2 mile with both of us on log/debris watch. Then he turned the boat around and then we ran back down the same course while WFO.
He was satisfied by the prop set up ( 3x16x20) and the GPS showed a speed of just a tad over 38 knots (43.7 MPH )or for the younger folks 70.38 KMH. I think he said at WOT the motors were running right around 5800-5900 RPM He told me that he the pitch was right where they wanted it to be.
By the time this was over and it was time for me to take the wheel, it was snowing much harder, and the visibly was getting worse. We zipped about a bit at different throttle setting I ran the boat up to 3400 RPM which seems to be the natural sweet spot, played with the motor trim and the trim tabs.
Not surprisingly she needs to ride with the bow trimmed up a bit. Clay had me tab the bow down so I could feel the boat out of trim so it was nose heavy, and as expected, an out of trim boat in the boat down attitude wants to fight the wheel and weave about .
I didn't run like that for more than a minute because the snow was really coming and my lack of familiarity in these waters was a good sign that the helm needed local knowledge.
Susan next took the wheel and by then it was too foggy for her to get the boat up fully on plane but she had fun turning the boat in its own length using the motors.
Doug took us into the harbour and by that time it had been cold long enough that skim ice was forming (see photos).
Doug is one of those guys, you know a "Boat Whisperer".
Like Clay, he has the gift of what I now think of as gentle nautical persuasion that comes from a lifetime of running boats on the West Coast. It is humbling, but in a good way to watch.
I grew up running boats in fresh water on big lakes but the additional constant variables of the ocean add a serious multiplier.
I had said to my wife I will be spending a lot of time practicing close maneuvers at our marina and docking and moving about in all conditions, our snow storm run was a great reminder of my promise to myself.
Yes we were running radar while we were out and I learned two things the first being that Clay, Doug and I like to have our charts set course up and secondly, as I expected I will need to spend a more than a few hours setting the Furuno screens to meet my needs .
I can't tell you how fantastic that diesel heater is. It was f'ing cold out and the cabin (insulated ) holds the heat in , which means on the one ceremonial hot day of summer the cabin will not be an oven for sleeping .
All the work on having the correct ergonomics built into the boat has already paid off . Shockwave seats on sliders and swivels, tilt wheel and the Shockwave adjustable foot rests allowed everyone to hake themselves comfortable in a matter of minutes.
My OCD was complimented by Clay and Doug with regards to the dash layout and we decided on a better position for the compass while we were out. We had planning on moving the Compass once I run operated the boat.
Going back on the trailer (I just realized we took no photos with the radar mast up).
Trust me it the mast was up and kudos for Doug and Clay for doing that .
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Well I didn't do that much. We had a great builder, Robert Jackson at
who referred us to Breakers Marine for the motors, and install ,
About Us
"Breakers Marine" began in 1987 in Bamfield, BC. The early years were a one man operation. An 'Atco' Trailer with a lean-two for a roof was utilized until a new building was constructed in 1989. The new building was a 2400 sq ft shop and retail store combined. Fishing tackle, camping gear, parts...
breakersmarine.com
to Gavin at SeaCom Marine for the electronics,
Seacom Marine Electronics » Ocean Pacific Marine Store & Boatyard
Has moved to… Same great team Same great brands Contact our electronics team today: Email us 250-286-1011
www.seacommarine.com
and to John Arvy at Hammer Marine Supply Co. for the Lone Star Anchor system
Lone Star Marine USA: Boat Anchor Winches and Anchoring Systems
Lone Star Marine USA is the North American Branch of Lone Star Marine boat anchoring systems and other small boat accessories. High quality, waterproof electric drum anchor winches sold across the USA and worldwide
www.hammermarine.com
Maxpri
Well-Known Member
Sounds like Roberts got it figured out, I'm sure you've inspired some others with your build and might bring him some new customers. Have fun with the boat!Well I didn't do that much. We had a great builder, Robert Jackson at
who referred us to Breakers Marine for the motors, and install ,
About Us
"Breakers Marine" began in 1987 in Bamfield, BC. The early years were a one man operation. An 'Atco' Trailer with a lean-two for a roof was utilized until a new building was constructed in 1989. The new building was a 2400 sq ft shop and retail store combined. Fishing tackle, camping gear, parts...breakersmarine.com
to Gavin at SeaCom Marine for the electronics,
Seacom Marine Electronics » Ocean Pacific Marine Store & Boatyard
Has moved to… Same great team Same great brands Contact our electronics team today: Email us 250-286-1011
and to John Arvy at Hammer Marine Supply Co. for the Lone Star Anchor system
Lone Star Marine USA: Boat Anchor Winches and Anchoring Systems
Lone Star Marine USA is the North American Branch of Lone Star Marine boat anchoring systems and other small boat accessories. High quality, waterproof electric drum anchor winches sold across the USA and worldwide
kaelc
Well-Known Member
Sound like a good and bad time to have a sea trial, really start to use the chart plotter and radar in those condition. Amazing amount of speed for something you can sleep comfortably in! Nice details continue with the bumpers fitting underneath the gunnels.
I was watching the weather as keenly as you Saturday but with not a great launch to come home to, Sidney, and as much speed to get things done I did 1/2 of what I wanted to do and we pulled the boat and had it back on the trailer by 12:30. I was only worried about the electrical upgrades and old wallas heater and both worked perfectly but likely not as hot as yours.
Such care and attention on the commissioning, pretty nice. I felt rushed buying my boat and wasn’t with knowledgeable boat whispers or was with a broker who knew but was trying to cover things up. Those detail like radar usage, prop selection, wot, heading up and compass location are things I’m still working on, and you have them mostly figured for before you go on your first solo trip.
Boat of a lifetime enjoy it. I hope to catch a glimpse of you doing 2X my speed some day.
I was watching the weather as keenly as you Saturday but with not a great launch to come home to, Sidney, and as much speed to get things done I did 1/2 of what I wanted to do and we pulled the boat and had it back on the trailer by 12:30. I was only worried about the electrical upgrades and old wallas heater and both worked perfectly but likely not as hot as yours.
Such care and attention on the commissioning, pretty nice. I felt rushed buying my boat and wasn’t with knowledgeable boat whispers or was with a broker who knew but was trying to cover things up. Those detail like radar usage, prop selection, wot, heading up and compass location are things I’m still working on, and you have them mostly figured for before you go on your first solo trip.
Boat of a lifetime enjoy it. I hope to catch a glimpse of you doing 2X my speed some day.
It was actually pretty hilarious boating in the snow. The last time I would have done that was duck hunting and getting to our blind in the swamp just before freeze up.
I can't imagine using the speed available unless I need to run from something. Weather, approaching twilight, or it's an emergency. Clay told me something I hadn't remembered , if you are going to hit a log or object, throttles to neutral. I know I would have backed off the throttles but wouldn't have thought to move to neutral in the one move . With drive by wire , it is so much faster than cables.
The bumper storage is not the good planning you might think. It is actually a fluke that they nestle in there. I tied them in so they didn't started bouncing around like crazed seal pups if it got rough (and also for practice)
I bought size 5 fenders, (size 4 would have fit better under the gunnels), but the sides of the hull will learn to love their Size 5's. I hung size 6's along our slip parallel to the water. (we are moored with floating not fixed docks )
Not me, good marina staff, good builder, and lots of GPS experience riding in 27 countries and rallying. I screwed up the compass location in the build, and knew it was wrong and Clay and I figured out how to move it without having Robert build a new mount.
Listening to Doug and Clay was sobering because they had so many things in their heads from instinct. I need to make up some laminated check lists for our boat.
....and I hope we enjoy ours as much as you do yours .
Who knows some summer there might be a SFPC rendezvous, where we could get to meet each other.
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Thunder21
Well-Known Member
Boat sure turned out nice Bill. One quirk with the Suzukis is that the legs need to be dropped yearly and the splines of the drive shaft greased. If left too long it could cause an issue where it’ll be impossible to remove. I’m sure breakers mentioned but thought I would just incase . Enjoy
And for everyone else who will forget about this alarm until it goes off here is the procedure.
Home Port
Being trailer less and without a suitable tow vehicle we arranged for Breakers Marine to deliver Aluminiferous to Nanaimo where we had arranged docking at the Municipal Dock. Now the dock we chose was double gated for security.
She was moored on Wednesday and I went over Sunday to prepare her for the trip to Reed Point Marina
My friend Doug agreed to come along and met me at the boat shortly after 6 am Sunday.
Here she is tied to the dock
Being trailer less and without a suitable tow vehicle we arranged for Breakers Marine to deliver Aluminiferous to Nanaimo where we had arranged docking at the Municipal Dock. Now the dock we chose was double gated for security.
She was moored on Wednesday and I went over Sunday to prepare her for the trip to Reed Point Marina
My friend Doug agreed to come along and met me at the boat shortly after 6 am Sunday.
Here she is tied to the dock
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First order of business was to get our route laid out, check weather, and do a final vessel inspection before heading to the fuel dock.
My first time at the wheel (when it wasn't snowing) was to move us the fuel dock to take on 430 liter's of of marine gas.($905.30)
I took this photo the night before after I had tidied things up on board.
This fine fellow appears to be in a semi live aboard situation. He told me his name was River Otter and he prefers sail to power.
From the looks of things he keeps his boat **** Shape and he is planning a crossing to Guano.
My first time at the wheel (when it wasn't snowing) was to move us the fuel dock to take on 430 liter's of of marine gas.($905.30)
I took this photo the night before after I had tidied things up on board.
This fine fellow appears to be in a semi live aboard situation. He told me his name was River Otter and he prefers sail to power.
From the looks of things he keeps his boat **** Shape and he is planning a crossing to Guano.
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ReelSlim
Crew Member
Might be the cheapest fill up for this season….enjoy it!
We then headed out and had a perfect day for a crossing. We tootled up by the the line of marinas and the 8:25 Ferry to Horseshoe Bay passed in front of us, just before we left the channel to head east.
We set a comfortable pace and head to Vancouver, seas were about half a metre and we set a comfortable pace which coincidentally seemed close to that of the BC Ferry. Now we were heading to the Lion's Gate and our courses diverged during the crossing and we were likely 2- 3 miles astern and the same distance south east of the ferry when it moved around Bowen Island.
We ran with the rear cabin door open, adjusting engine speed on the crossing and conversation was easy (not strained).
The Highbacked Shockwave seats are really something.
Log /debris watch was not too busy and we couldn't have had a nicer day for a crossing.
I didn't get an exact time for the gas bar to our Reed Point slip but it was just under 3 hours.
Crossing under the Lion's Gate and by a freighter in the harbor (photos by D. Moore)
Anchored just west of Second Narrows (we gave it a wash)
We set a comfortable pace and head to Vancouver, seas were about half a metre and we set a comfortable pace which coincidentally seemed close to that of the BC Ferry. Now we were heading to the Lion's Gate and our courses diverged during the crossing and we were likely 2- 3 miles astern and the same distance south east of the ferry when it moved around Bowen Island.
We ran with the rear cabin door open, adjusting engine speed on the crossing and conversation was easy (not strained).
The Highbacked Shockwave seats are really something.
Log /debris watch was not too busy and we couldn't have had a nicer day for a crossing.
I didn't get an exact time for the gas bar to our Reed Point slip but it was just under 3 hours.
Crossing under the Lion's Gate and by a freighter in the harbor (photos by D. Moore)
Anchored just west of Second Narrows (we gave it a wash)
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