Introduction

[Kerry Lebel]

Hello All,

 

I just stumbled across the Unifliteworld website. My wife and I just purchased our first Uniflite.  A ’77 42 Double Cabin that was for sale up in Anacortes, WA.  Yup I know it is a blister year. J  We love it anyway.  For our family it will fit the bill just fine.  It is our first boat of this size so I am hoping you all can put up with my line of Uniflite newbie questions as I learn the boat.  I would attach some pictures but I don’t think that I can as a new member.  Instead I will provide a link!  The poor boat has been sitting in dry dock for 3 years.  The previous owner moved to Europe and left the boat behind and finally got around to putting it up for sale.  She needs a lot of love.  Mostly elbow grease.  I doubt she has seen a coat of wax in 5 years +.  She runs like a top and all systems work.  The majority of the work is cosmetic at this point and replacing some electronics.  Side note….is there a Uniflite Rendevous like they do each year with the Chris-Crafts?

 

Here ya go.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/kendralebel/42Uniflight1977#

 

Kerry

[David Oates]

Welcome Kerry,   I hope you can make use of this fine resource.  I also have a 42' Double Cabin; however, mine is the second to the last 42 built by Uniflite.  Adventure is a 1984.  The interior is configured differently as is the flybridge.  My master stateroom has portlights where yours has a long window.  Yours also has windows in the galley/dinette, as mine unfortunately does not.  I don't know how your electrical system is setup; I'm fairly sure you don't have 8.2L, 4-cycle, Detroit Diesels.  My 42 also is a different color; in the 80's (I don't know when) Uniflite switched from the White w/blue color to an off-white, almost beige. So, other than the hull, our boats are not to similar, but I hope we can swaps notes and help with questions.  About a Uniflite Rendevous, there have been some in the past (none of which I could attend) but I haven't seen any discussion about one yet this year.   DavidO --- On Mon, 3/30/09, Kerry Lebel <kerry...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Bob S]

I have owned a twin diesel 1973 42' DCMY for 12 years and have enjoyed
it. You will find it is a very well built boat which will operate
reasonably inexpensively if you keep up the maintenance. I have been
on this site since the start and this group of owners has helped me
immensely when I have had issues. There are guys who have expertise in
all aspects of yacht and engine repair so be sure to run your
questions by the group.

By the way, two resources you may need. One is Bob Brooks who owns
Blaine Marine and has a couple of the old original Uniflite factory
guys at his facility. Bob monitors the site. Also, Seacure is an
outfit in Anacortes where they keep the original Uniflite parts if you
need them. Lastly many questions have been discussed over the years.
Often you need a quick answer and can find a prior discussion on your
issue in the archives.

Good luck.

Bob S

[Kerry Lebel]

Thanks Bob.  That is all good to know.  My two biggest things I am trying to figure out are these:

1.  The boat has two fresh water tanks.  Do I need to switch between them like the fuel feeds for the three tanks or are the two fresh water tanks just gravity fed?

2,  In the aft cabin, the boat has a Lectra San MC under the aft head sink, and on the port side of the bed there is a Microphor M-10.  Why would I have both?  I thought they did similar things.Of course there is a series of throw handle valves inline through this whole mess and I have no idea what flipping each of those inline valves does.  Ugh.  Any idea where to start?  Here is a link to the Microphor setup.

http://www.microphor.com/html/sanitation-marine.html

As an FYI...I bought the boat from a guy that had already moved to Europe and the Broker didn't know the boat inside and out.

Kerry

[Kerry Lebel]

Hi David...thanks for the kind reply.  I am VERY excited about my new boat and love the idea of being part of the Uniflite family.  My boat has the J&T Detroits in it.  Wow those suckers are loud.  I need to lay down some sound deadener under the carpet and around the step hatches.  Very neat that you have to the second to last boat made.  Do you know where the last one ended up?  I live in Gig Harbor, WA and there seems to be at least 2 36ft Double Cabins down here in the harbor.  I do have LOTS to figure out about my new boat.  I have a Lectra San MC system on the boat but it also has a Microphor M-10.  What the heck?  I have no idea why it has both.  I also love the diesel heat and the genset.  I never had those before.  I am so totally spoiled. :-)  I did buy all new electronics for it this week.  It didn't have anything in it but an older Furuno radar and a Loran.  I picked up a Garmin 4210 Chartplotter, Icom 504 VHF and all new antennas for a great price.  We do our first trip to the San Juan Islands the last two weeks of July.

Thanks,

Kerry

</table

 

[den]

Welcome to the group Kerry.
My water tanks are totally in parallel no switching required. Yours
are probably under your aft bunk. The output fittings are close to the
bottom, and Teed together on my setup. I was thinking about valving
them in, but I have bigger things to do. As for your sanitation
system, I am clueless. It looks as if you have Vacuflush toilets, so
there would be a vacuum chamber, and holding tank for each. Mine is
setup with 2 separate totally isolated systems. I did a group search
here, and got 11 hits using " sanitation system " enjoy.
Den 48YF EAGLE
http://www.densnet.com

[rocoloco]

A piece of advice I got from a long time boater is worth passing
along. When working on the boat, if you find something that looks odd
and you can't figure out what it's for or what it does, leave in place
until you can. Somebody put it there for some reason and someday
you'll know why!

[Bob S]

Because of the age of the boats many of the original systems have been
upgraded - therefore no 2 boats are alike. My water tanks are under
the aft cabin bunk however the previous owner had the entire aft cabin
re designed.

Also I changed out the toilets last year to the new Techma type, which
are quiet and pretty much fool proof.

Sorry, can't help you here.

If there is any way to e-mail the previous owner you could learn a lot
in a very short time.

[Kerry Lebel]

I have a low profile Tecma sitting in a box for the forward head but I am
afraid to install it until I figure out the whole plumbing situation. :) I
picked it up on Craigslist for a steal.

Kerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Unifli...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Unifli...@googlegroups.com]

[BoatRDavid]

Hi Kerry, since you say, “Wow those suckers are loud”, I suspect your
J&T Detroits are the 6-71s. That seems to be the most common diesels
in the Uniflites. Being common is a good thing. Parts and info for
my 8.2L Detroits is somewhat difficult to come by.

I haven’t found any way to confirm that mine is the second-to-the-last
one built. I was told that from buy her original owner. I was most
fortunate to meet him in Sausalito, CA. (He was passing by and
recognized my boat and later introduced himself.) So, anyway, I don’t
know anything about the Last 42’ DCMY Uniflite. I do have a friend
with a 1985, 48 (Chris Craft). It was identical to my 42’ Double
Cabin except for the 6 foot hull extension for the cockpit. There is
also a 1978, 48’, Cockpit motoryacht in our marina. I think it is
very much like your 42’ except the master stateroom layout and the
cockpit. She runs (loud) 6-71s.

I have two water tanks under the master berth. They are, combined,
reported to equal 160 gallons. I have not taken the time to measure
them to confirm that. I know that they are plumbed to act as one tank
and no valving is required. The reason for two seems to be that the
separation allows for structural support for the bed.

What brand/type of “diesel heat” do you have? That is something I
would like to add. Right now I am replacing my water heater. The old
one quit and upon removal it was found to be a pile of rust. It was
in there for at least 24 years. I am replacing it with the modern
equivalent, Raritan 1700. Access is very difficult and I had to
disassemble part of my genset to get at it. Others on this forum have
told me how simple their water heaters are to reach.

DavidO

> in a very short time.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[jkf...@att.net]

If I may chime in, we have a 42' aft cabin boat with a 6ft extension. We also have two water tanks under our mattress slats. Each of those tanks hold 85 gallons and I believe the reason for two tanks would be their easier removal for access to the 96 gallon fuel tank under the water tanks.

We also have two heads of which are both vacu-flush. Their parts are both common to each as is the vacuum generators.

Our hot water tank is under the steps to the galley.

As far as a furnace is concerned we have a forced air Espar D-8 which works ok but not for the NW winters. Would be best to go to a hydronic system with the individual registers located in several places.

Another thing to ponder is these boats were not biult with any insulation between the outside and the inner areas of the boat. We have installed some foam backed foam in areas that easiest accessible.

When fuel costs got to the highest point at over $4.25 agallon we decided as being a live aboard that the electric base heaters(3) was cheaper than the diesel.

We live in Scappoose Oregon and have been live aboards for eight years now.

As far as the loud engines you will become very fond of the 6-71 "Screamin' Jimmys). At idle they sound like they are going to fly apart but the really just purrrrrr.

Have fun and be safe

Jim 48'YF "Vacation"

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[Kerry Lebel]

My diesel heat is a Webasto Hydronic setup. Three separate heat zones. It
is sweet. My wife gets cold easily and she even has to turn of the heat
after about 20 minutes. All the coolant hoses run through each closet and
through the floors. It is fantastic. My hot water heater is under the
floor between the dinette and the galley. It is very easy to get too.

[Kerry Lebel]

Thanks for all the feedback Jim.  I hear ya on the heat.  We have a Webasto Hydronic setup on our boat and love it.  It is fantasic.  As for the 6-71’s.  They seem like very nice engines.  We know some fisherman on the Oregon coast that have them in their boats.  They have well over 20,000 hours on them without any rebuilds.  They just do regular maintenance.  I think I am just going to put some sound deadener under the carpet and seal the stairs that lift up to the engine compartment better.  That is where a lot of my noise is coming from.

 

Kerry

 

From: Unifli...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Unifli...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of jkf...@att.net
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 7:00 PM
To: Unifli...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [UnifliteWorld] Re: Introduction

 

If I may chime in, we have a 42' aft cabin boat with a 6ft extension. We also have two water tanks under our mattress slats. Each of those tanks hold 85 gallons and I believe the reason for two tanks would be their easier removal for access to the 96 gallon fuel tank under the water tanks.

[jkf...@att.net]

A little on the engines: when it comes time to change oil be sure to use Chevron Delo 100 or equiv. The Delo 100 is for the 2cycle engines.

Have fun.

Jim

-------------- Original message from "Kerry Lebel" <kerry...@gmail.com>: --------------

[David Oates]

Jim (48’FY Vacation) thanks for “chime’n in”.  I love these discussions.  Your 48 and Kerry’s 42 probably have a lot in common.  I know your water heater is much easier to access than mine.  Mine is on the port side, forward in the engine room.  It is outboard of the genset; in fact, it is almost under the walk-around deck.  As I described in an earlier post, I had to remove the electrical box from the genset to make enough room for R & R.  I was disconnecting wires in the electrical box in order to remove it when my helper found that he could unbolt the whole box and lay it down behind the genset.  So I have only to reconnect the 28 wires I had already removed.  Anyway that project is nearly complete – with the muscle and energy of my friend.  I am recovering from surgery and now I only point and hand tools.   Adventure has three electrical heaters now (and one AC/heat pump); V-berth, saloon and master stateroom.  Our intension was to relocate in the NW (we are in the San Francisco Bay Area) and I thought diesel heat would be the way to go, but maybe not.  I have so many other things to do…  I have heard that the Uniflite hulls were built with a balsa wood core.  The original owner told me that mine was layed-up without a core – just fiberglass.  I don’t know the ramifications of that if it is true.   Kerry, I agree with Jim about the 6-71s.  I would just keep them happy and be glad that I have them.  That Tecma should be great.  I was going to purchase one for the aft head (replacement) but for better or worse, I went with a Raritan Atlantes Freedom.  So far so good!   DavidO 42’ DCMY Adventure   --- On Thu, 4/9/09, jkf...@att.net <jkf...@att.net> wrote:

[waterguy]

David - just to comment on a couple of your points: Uniflites were
*never* built with balsa cores. They were solid fiberglass, and a lot
of it. In their last year in production, Uniflite cored some boats,
but I don't think they ever did the 42. I know the 36 Double Cabins
were.

When done right, balsa coring in the hull sides above the waterline
has a lot to recommend it. Fiberglass resin and woven roving by
itself can be flexible unless you use many, many layers of it. This
has three drawbacks, two of which directly affect boatbuilders and one
which indirectly affects the builder. The consequences of using solid
fiberglass that affect builders directly are high labor costs, and
high material costs. What affects builders indirectly is weight.
Mucho weight. This means that customers that want to go above trawler
speeds are going to require bigger engines, which add weight, and
which use more fuel to push all that weight.

Builders have attempted to reduce the labor costs by using chopper
guns, which spray a mixture of chopped glass strands and resin into
the mold. However, it was soon learned that however thick you made
it, chopped-strand construction just wasn't strong enough. They tried
to reduce cost by using cheaper resins, which lead to grief from
blistering and resin breakdown (not the cause of Uniflite blistering,
but that's another story).

Coring results in a much lighter panel that is still as strong - at
least at first. A balsa-cored hull will have end-grain balsa blocks
set in the mold after the first layers of roving are set in. Imagine
if you took a 2-by-4, and using a chop saw, whacked a bunch of 3/4-
inch to 1-inch long pieces off of it. Now stick those pieces in the
semi-solidified fiberglass resin, with the grain end facing outwards
and inwards, trimming them as you go to fit them as tight as
possible. Now pour resin over the whole thing until all the cracks
between the blocks are full, and seal up with a few layers of glass
mat and resin. You have a sandwich with the wood in the middle. The
wood adds its own strength to that of the fiberglass roving and mat.

The reason to use blocks set end-on is so that if water does get into
the wood, it won't travel very far. In the late 1960's, several
boatbuilders tried using glass over plywood (here in the Northwest,
Tollycraft and Fairliner were the two big offenders). Biiiiiig
mistake. Any water that got into the wood travelled all along the
wood plies, rotting out the entire core of the boat.

Ultimately, however, you run into problems. Sooner or later, your
customer will drill holes in your hull or decks for drains or to mount
stuff and they won't bed it properly. Or a fitting will work lose.
Rail stanchions are notorious for this due to the flexing they get as
people use them to climb on or off the boat, or pull the boat into the
dock or push it away, or lean on them. The bedding compound will
crack or pull away, and now you've got a water leak every time it
rains. The water gets into the wood coring and we're off to Dry Rot
City.

Soon there's a big soft spot where the core wood has rotted out, and
you've got to grind off the outer layers of fiberglass well beyond the
rotted area, chunk out the rotten wood and some of the surrounding
good wood unit you're sure you've got all the wood that might be
infected with the fungus out, replace the core wood, build the outer
fiberglass layers back up, and fair them into the existing hull.
Spendy, if you're having a boatyard do it.

This is why, if you ever consider a cored boat, don't even think of a
"fully-cored" boat. This means it's got coring below the waterline,
and what that means is that any leakage around through-hulls is going
to create a rotten spot. And as more has been learned about
fiberglass, it is realized that a fiberglass hull that's constantly
immersed in water will soak up some water. It's fine; the fiberglass
will ultimately stablilze at some saturation point, but if you've got
wood in there that's just looking to wick up water - very bad.

Even when used above the waterline, coring can have problems.
Generally speaking: cored hull sides and cabin sides - good. Cored
hull below waterline, cored side decks, bridge decks and cabin tops -
bad. Problems are as above: standing water and stanchion or fitting
holes are going to introduce water into the core and rot it.

In the last decade or so, builders have introduced new wonder
materials, like foams, for coring. The jury is still way, way out on
that. I want to see how they hold up after 40 years, but early
reports of catastrophic failures (where entire sheets of outer
fiberglass pull away from the foam core because they lose adhesion)
don't augur well.

So, rejoice! You have very little coring on your boat (the salon
cabin top/bridge deck, I believe, is partially cored). The
ramifications are that you have a boat that you don't have to worry
about soft spots in your hull that lead to expensive repairs.

The downside is, as I've stated, your boat weighs a lot more than a
balsa cored boat, with the attendant fuel costs. As an example,
according to the 2008 Power Boat Guide, the 42 Uniflite Double Cabin
weighs 35,000 pounds. The Carver 42 Motor Yacht with a fully-cored
hull weighs in at 23,600 pounds. The Sea Ray 410/415/440 Aft Cabin
series (43 feet at the waterline) weigh 23,000.

Think about it! Your Uniflite has six TONS more water-pounding weight
than those poser boats. That's not so bad. At anchor with a small
chop, you'll be sleeping soundly, while they're breaking out the
Dramamine. And if you get caught out in a blow, quartering through
five-foot seas, your Uniflite will crush the waves, while they'll be
saying Hail Marys. And your wake will roll 'em on their scuppers,
too!

My other comments (and I'll keep it brief) concerns the heat. If
you're moving to the Northwest, by all means invest in the hydronic
heat. You won't regret it. The electric heaters are fine if you're
going to be nailed to a dock somewhere, but if you're planning any
cruising that will involve nights at anchor, you'll be glad of the
heat on cold mornings (basically all year except about six weeks in
July and August).

Even if you're always going to be tied up at docks with shore power
(and as you go north there are fewer and fewer of these), you may find
yourself at a dock with 15-amp service. One 1,500-watt heater draws
around 13 amps. I'm guessing you've got an electric range and
microwave in the galley, but with 15-amp service you get to use the
range (only), one electric heater (only), or the microwave and maybe a
small appliance. And if your hot water heater element kicks on while
any of these are running, too bad, so sad.

The hydronic heater can also be plumbed (at very minimal expense) into
your hot water heater and into your engine cooling circuits. When at
anchor for several days, you'll can have hot water without running the
generator or an engine for an hour. You'll also increase engine life
and ease of starting by keeping the engines constantly warm, so that
water doesn't have a chance to condense out of the air in your
cylinders and crankcase.

Lastly, if you're moving up here and you plan extended cruising,
you've got the best engines for it. Yes, they're loud. Yes, they
vibrate. Yes, they can be smokey if not tuned right. But pull into
any hole-in-the-wall fishing village between Olympia and Point Barrow,
Alaska, and there will be somebody who can work on them, even if
they're half-drunk and stink of fish guts. And he probably has all
the parts in his garage. I hear all these guys bragging about their M-
A-N and Mercedes-Benz and Steyr and Yanmar and who-knows-what-else
Diesels, and I just imagine the cost of flying in a factory specialist
and the required parts when you spin a rod bearing in Queen Charlotte
Sound. Hah!

I'm jealous - if and when I upgrade from my 36, a 42 DC or 48 YF with
J&T Detroits is my dream boat. Enjoy!

[David Oates]

Waterguy (Mark?), thanks ever so much for the thorough explanation of cored fiberglass boats.  I am going to share your information with other members of my yacht club. Seriously, I think the original owner was glad not to have it even though the reason may have been a little off.  He was concerned about insulation value of the core material when living in a colder climate.  I, on the other hand am delighted with my boat, just the way it is.    About the engines, I have the 8.2L Detroit Diesels (4 cycle V8s).  And, I don't think one will find many that know much about them in remote locations -- unless it is because they are common in old school buses, military and dump trucks.  As I said to Kerry, I would be glad to have the 6-71s.  I don't know why so many boats have the 300+ horse power engines.  My 8.2L Detroits are rated at 206 hp and yet the boat is reported to cruise at 17 kts.  I know from experience that if I push the throttles down she will jump right out of the water and I'm at the cruise speed as soon as I look at the instruments!  I tried WOT once and reached 23 kts.  The 8.2s are called "Fuel Pinchers"; I'm doing a fuel consumption study now to find my average burn.   Thanks also for the tip on the hydronic heaters.  I'll put them back on my list.   DavidO, 42'DCMY Adventure --- On Sat, 4/11/09, waterguy <markm...@mindspring.com> wrote:

From: waterguy <markm...@mindspring.com> Subject: [UnifliteWorld] Re: Introduction

[Kerry Lebel]

Waterguy,

I am saving this post. I also forwarded it to my wife. She is sitting next
to me reading it and laughing at your comments about the fish guts and being
half drunk. Hehe. There is some serious reassurance that comes from all
the happy folks that I hear talk about those 6-71's. I guess I just need to
add some real sound insulation under the salon carpets and along the stairs
to the galley that lift up. I am getting a ton of noise out of there. As
long as I don't have to yell to have a conversation I would be fine. BTW,
my wife and I have both noticed how solid she feels in the water. Its
amazing. We have some good boating friends that just picked up a new to
them 36 Bayliner and that boat rocks and blows in the wind in their slip
like it were a kayak with a sail up. Our boat feels like it is poured in
concrete. It is just awesome. Slowly but surely I will get everything
figured out. :) The "sanitation" plumbing is the big thing I need to figure
out right now. Trying to follow the hoses along after they drop into the
walls is pretty frustrating for me. I keep loosing them. Keep the info
rolling. Consider me the newbie sponge.

Kerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Unifli...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Unifli...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of waterguy
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2009 11:11 PM
To: UnifliteWorld
Subject: [UnifliteWorld] Re: Introduction

[HBH]

the two uniflite guys are not at blaine marine any longer...don't know
where they went yet...

seacure is in acme, wa and they have a website you can order parts
from