42: L42 Conversation

[RoadRacer]

We're taking delivery of our L42 after the Annapolis show and have some system installation ideas I'd like to kick around. I'm surprised that there isn't an owners thread running as we are hull #302 and I assume there are some CF members in the same boat. I'd like to see some solar installation choices. There is a lot of real estate on the coach roof but what about boom access and mounting/wire run options. Also interested in power surveys. How hard are you hitting the batteries underway and while on the hook?

Chuck

[12BCruzn]

Are you referring to Lagoons?

You will find many owners here: Lagoon Catamarans - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Also on multihulls4us you will find an owners group.

[RoadRacer]

This message is posted in the Lagoon cat section.......

[12BCruzn]

"I'm surprised that there isn't an owners thread running"

I read this as "I'm surprised that there isn't an owners group . . ." duh.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by 12BCruzn

"I'm surprised that there isn't an owners thread running"

I read this as "I'm surprised that there isn't an owners group . . ." duh.

i think these days there is facebook group. Looks like owners want to keep issues private and site is naturally made for promotion of all sorts of products. Or maybe too many issues with L 42?

[RoadRacer]

Or maybe too many issues with L 42?

Hahaha.....I hope that is not the case!!

[DeepCut]

There is a Facebook "Lagoon 42 Owners Group".

I am hull #20. Happy to answer any questions.

Mine is in TMM charter fleet in BVI. Damaged by Irma. Repaired in Florida and back.

[RoadRacer]

Thanks DeepCut. I avoid FB but I'm aware of the owners group there. Hope your Irma damage was corrected to your liking. I'm interested in solar solutions that other owners have implemented.

[Intentional Drifter]

Hi, RoadRacer --


While not an owner, we cruised while living aboard for 2 years and are quite familiar with the issues. We chartered an almost-new L42 for 2 weeks this summer and were thrilled with the boat. You made an excellent choice for a well-performing, well-designed, comfortable cruising sailboat. We were asked to give feedback about the boat and things that could make it better. The boat had 4X100 watt solar panels, the standard Lagoon AGM battery bank with the extra 280 amp/hour optional bank. There were 3 of us on the boat for 2 weeks, sailing in the mild PNW climate. It did not have a generator. I'm including, below, my comments to the owner.


On to the suggestions – first of all, let me say that you’ve got a wonderful boat, here! VPLP and Lagoon really hit this one out of the park. They got so many things right, it seems picayune to criticize! The three of us have sailed many, many miles on cats (I personally stopped tracking 5 or 6 years ago at 12,000 nm) including Lagoon 380, 410, 420, 440, 500, as well as other builders (St Francis, Manta, Leopard, Gemini, Fountaine Pajot), so we’re pretty familiar with them. We kept finding little things that lots of designers and builders would overlook and VPLP/Lagoon nailed it. Simple whenever possible, effective, easy to use. This is the best of the Lagoon models we’ve seen, by a long way. You’ve already got an excellent boat and we look forward to chartering her more in future years. These suggestions are intended to help you make an already excellent cruising boat, a bit better!

1. Starting with an easy one, string some of the “hotel clotheslines” you see in hotel bathrooms in each head as a place to hang towels to dry. I’m talking about the ones that pull out of the round chrome housings and snap into a fitting on the other wall. A simple easy way to get a clothes line for when you need it that will disappear when not. Handy!

2. Replace the awful Lagoon diaphragm pumps they use for the shower sumps with a real sump discharged overboard and float-switched pump. I didn’t check, but if Lagoon is following their usual practice, they’re dumping the shower water into the bilge to be pumped overboard by the bilge pump. Cheap, but sloppy, and prone to clogs in hard to find places. This will greatly quieten the shower and with the float switch you don’t need to worry about activating it. It will also concentrate the hair and other junk from the shower inside a sump and filter and not downstream in the bilge pump.

3. On the steps going down into each hull, replace the dark non-skid strips with something that has a contrasting color. At night, it’s easy to mistake the last step and stumble. This happened to me, twice, and to another member of our party, too. A bit of contrast in the dark would be a big help.

4. At the mast, install 4 or 5 more battcars to the sail, between and lower than the battens. This will help tremendously to raise and lower the sail quickly – it will become almost self-flaking and will greatly reduce the need to go up and manually pull the sail down the last 15 to 20 feet in breezy conditions. They will also save some wear on the sail. A downhaul would also help but may be harder to rig and manage.

5. Find out and specify what Yanmar recommends for what to do with the saildrives when under sail – neutral or reverse? Put a small notice of such at the helm station.

6. Determine whether the depth sounder indicator is from the waterline or from the lowest part of the keel. Put a small notice of such at the helm station. It’s always nice to know which it is!

7. Rocna/Manson anchor and more chain. Of all the anchors I’ve used in NW waters, I’ve found the Rocna/Manson type to be the best. No doubt at all when it’s set and they turn and re-set in tidal waters very nicely. They set faster than the Delta in my experience, too. You can back down on them more aggressively, thus setting them deeper. Not good for rock, of course, but they’re pretty good even in soupy mud. Another 30 meters of chain would be very nice, too. There were several times when we wanted to anchor and stern tie in deep/tight places where we couldn’t get a 4 to 5:1 scope.

Now to the expensive ones, but they will make a major difference. When I’m on a cruising boat, I like to be able to go for two days at one anchorage without needing to generate electricity. Of course, you can have a simple boat with much lower energy consumption, but that takes away the luxuries we all like. You can have more ways to generate electrons (and it’s always nice to do so without using an engine or a generator). Or, you can have more storage.

Of course, your boat has lots of luxuries and we loved them! The freezer and two fridges were great, but they use a lot of electrons. Same with the microwave. And, don’t even think about using that darned toaster or coffee maker (I suggest you take them off, completely, anything with a heating element has no business on a cruising boat). Charging computers, phones, radios, anchor light, etc. used some, but really the bulk of the energy use on the hook is refrigeration, even with the LED lighting.

Flipping off everything that wasn’t essential and having the batteries at 90%+ when we anchored, we couldn’t get more than 8 hours overnight without the house battery alarm saying the bank was discharged to 11.5 volts. I can’t tell the size of your bank from the manual, but in my opinion, you have about 1/3 the storage you need to meet the “two days at anchor” criterion. (BTW, the manual isn’t clear; do you have 1 house bank of 280 amp/hours, with a “spare” service bank – see p. 22 – or what?) If you only have the 1 bank of 280, then you really only have about 100 to 120 useable amp/hours of capacity before having to charge. If the bank is 560 amp/hours, then you have about 200 to 240 useable. If it’s a cloudy day, then the solar won’t do much to recharge and you’re looking at running engines to charge.

I know it’s expensive, but I recommend you go to a bank of 800 amp/hours using lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) and a BMS. Much lighter and smaller. That battery chemistry will not do a thermal runaway, either; they’re quite safe. Much greater charge acceptance rate (they will take everything you can give them, quickly), you can routinely discharge them down to 20% without harm, and they last for thousands of deep discharge cycles instead of a few hundred. Such a bank will give you 640 useable amp/hours. A huge difference! The prices have been dropping over the last few years, so they are more feasible, economically. Over the long term, they are cheaper than any lead acid, including gell and AGM. (FYI, there are a couple of very helpful threads on Cruisers Forum describing the whats and hows of them.)

We chartered a 410 a few years ago with a similar energy budget as your boat and it was a joy. We never had to run the engine to charge. It had no generator, either. Just a bank of LiFePo4 batteries and a substantial solar array. We were quite profligate in our electron usage and never worried a bit! Truly, it changed the whole experience while saving several hundred pounds of weight, too – always nice in a cat. This beats the alternative of a generator by a long ways.

Now, as I mentioned, this was a boat without a generator, in the mild PNW climate. The boat did not have air conditioning and they aren't needed in our climate. The mild climate also reduced the refrigeration demand, too. In a tropical climate, I imagine the factory installed refrigeration will be an even bigger demand. If you are going to be in a climate where you want air conditioning on the hook, then you will probably have a generator, too. That will change things in the consumption - generation - storage relationship.


As I said, we loved the boat and have already signed up to charter her again, next year. These are the little things that make an already excellent boat, better.



Hope this helps.


ID

[RoadRacer]

Great info, thank you for sharing that feedback.

[TravellingKiwis]

Looking for any more info? Our hull number is very close to yours. Lots of work done but we don't have her in our hands yet but spent a few weeks onboard last month. I second a float switch on the shower pumps, would make life easier and prevent forgetful guests flooding the bathroom. Not done yet but definitely considering.

Definitely more batteries and solar if you live onboard and anchor out.

We have owners version with master cabin storage option instead of couch and love the extra storage space it brings. We have also raised the helm seat, added code 0 and wingaker, drogue attachment points and large 12v fridge / freezer as a seat for cockpit table. 1.6kv of solar being added, 3 on aft frame, 1 each on aft corners of cockpit roof. Still leaves a tonne of space to access the boom. Increased batteries to 8 X 140aH. Will consider lithium when they fail. No generator but added Victron electrics incl 3kw invertor charger, colour controller etc. More than enough power to run washing machine and hot water. Planning to live aboard with young family for a number of years so also have full electronics Inc radar, active radar reflector, forward scanner, Iridium Go, Vesper Marine AIS etc.

Small thing I didn't do straight away but regretted was adding a B&G command mic. Handheld vhf at the helm is great until you find you only hear half the conversation on channel 16, whilst the fixed vhf with mast head antenna is getting both.

Let me know if any questions but can really only tell you the thought process for what we did rather than the experience of living with it for very long. That will come... soon.

[jbinbi]

FB has a group.

If you go to advanced search in this thread, and pick L 42 (left side, half way down) from the pick list of all boats, you will see many threads.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ry-198851.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ns-192241.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-a-193930.html

etc. etc.