Captain's Blog

          The rear deck has a very nice custom aluminum cover. We have a full set of curtains for it but it is easier to access the boat without them so we have them removed & stored.     The access to the flybridge is through a hole with a canvas cover. The problem I have with the canvas cover is that it is difficult to open or close it without hanging on from the outer gunnel.  I decided to make a hatch that would be easier to open & close as well as secure when we are away from the boat.     I started by making a template out of 1/4" plywood. Making a template is always a good idea as it gives you the opportunity to adjust the design, especially when you have an oddly shaped piece like this will be.     I decided that making it out of plywood & fiberglassing it would be the best way to go.  I used a piece of 1/2" plywood so that the final hatch would not be too terribly heavy.      With the 1/...

 What can at the very least be a small nuisance and at the most be the nail in it's coffin disaster is a raw water restriction or flow decrease and engine overheat in a diesel engine. It can be very preventable just by constantly scanning your gauges. But it only takes a few seconds for some type of raw water flow reduction or impeller destruction to turn your engine into toast. A project I had planned from the beginning was High Temperature Alarms. I installed them on a previous boat, a Luhrs 320. I know they work like they are supposed to because not long after installing them (2 engines) my port engine must have sucked up a plastic bag or something & instantaneously the Raw Water Alarm went off. I pulled back the throttle, shifted to neutral and the alarm shut off & the engine temp dropped. At 25 mph and a butt load of seawater being cycled  through the engines, this small event could have been cataclysmic but instead it was a hiccup.  The Camano moves much slo...