Modernizing a Prout Elite 37ft

[sailorcherry]

I was beginning to worry the refit was put on hold due to being too busy with The Beach.
Looking good! Thanks again for sharing your work, she is really coming together.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by sailorcherry

I was beginning to worry the refit was put on hold due to being too busy with The Beach.
Looking good! Thanks again for sharing your work, she is really coming together.

no worries there,the work continues,but the beach is a mixed blessing as i am forced to work the tides ,either walking round when the daytime tides are low and the cat is dried out,or using the dinghy when they are high,or both.

this is compounded by the tide arriving an hour later each day,which makes it difficult to maintain a steady routine.

yesterday for example i took the dinghy on the falling tide at 1pm,spent all day under the catamaran removing the old stern drive and bracket, working from the dinghy and pallets in the mud,finally got the out drive off and loaded into the dinghy at 7pm,then had to wait till 8.30pm before the dinghy floated on the incoming tide to get back home ,then had to wait again,have some dinner,untill the tide was high enough to offload the stern drive into the car,finally finished at 11.30 pm

the joys of working with 15-16 foot tides

as for not posting much,......there are only so many photos you can show of varnish drying,and trim being glued and clamped

[atoll]

A quick update from the beach for those that are interested

so far the weather has been mostly good allowing me to remove the old sillette sonic sterndrive that was dury rigged to the transom as a temporary means of propulsion.

that done, the holes and cut out for the drive shaft were refilled with epoxy,ready for the new sillette catamaran drive to be fitted.

i also had to rebuild the engine beds and fit flexible engine mounts so as to reduce vibration with the new set up.

the drive leg although in a nearly new condition had a small amount of paint corrosion and due to it being about 20 years old, i decided to strip it down and replace the lower seals and CV drive rubber gaiter.

whilst stripped down,all componets are getting etch primed,epoxy primer and a 2 pack polyeurathane top coat,as well as an oil change and pinions greased.

i re-aligned the engine and did the new cut out using the old bracket as a template ,ready for the new sonic drive to be fitted in its place.

all going well,apart from having strained the muscles in my right arm and shoulder bashing out pins in the old sterndrive which got cannabalised for spares for the new unit,hope to get it all re-assembled and fitted next week.

[atoll]

sail drive leg re-assembled after its paint job, transom cut out and drilled ready for the unit to be mounted.

i just need to turn the cat around to face the shore,and find a couple of helpers to help me get it mounted and bolted on

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by atoll

sail drive leg re-assembled after its paint job, transom cut out and drilled ready for the unit to be mounted.

i just need to turn the cat around to face the shore,and find a couple of helpers to help me get it mounted and bolted on

Bang up job all around!

Just have to ask, since you are investing way more time and $$$ than required to simply get you out on the water, if you wouldn't mind sharing a bit about your decision making process on this project? I.E. on any refit project choices have to be made on where to spend and where to not spend.

I think many keen observers, myself included, would appreciate insight into your thought process.

PS Keep up the good work!

Signed,
Ardent Fan

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Delancey

Bang up job all around!

Just have to ask, since you are investing way more time and $$$ than required to simply get you out on the water, if you wouldn't mind sharing a bit about your decision making process on this project? I.E. on any refit project choices have to be made on where to spend and where to not spend.

I think many keen observers, myself included, would appreciate insight into your thought process.

PS Keep up the good work!

Signed,
Ardent Fan

i,m not sure if i can add insight! as boat building is more therapy and physical exercise for me,in between the more mundane daily process of making a living and supporting my family.

as you may know, i already live on a yacht,so getting out on the water and messing about on boats is something i have done daily for the last 30 years.

the catamaran is the 4th vessel that i have built from a bare hull to cruising yacht ,2 of which i completed multiple world circumnavigations on with my partner and children.

if i have learnt anything from over 100,000 sea miles on home built boats; it is ,that when constructing a system ,object or part,it is prudent to build it to the best of ones ability,using the best materials available,and not to cut corners in the construction!

ie; do it right the first time,otherwise it invariably comes back to bite you in the ass at the least opportune moment!

[atoll]

end of summer update!
i must apologise for not posting more,as i have been having problems uploading photos,that and having torn some tendons in my arm,that brought work to a halt for about 4 weeks,still painful but i am managing to get some work done before the cold and wet starts in ernest!

i finished fitting the sillette sonic catamaran drive on the cat ,now tested with the steering control cable and locking cable installed.

the new engine bearer's and anti vibration mounts work well,as well as does the shortened universal coupling.

i fabricated a new fuel tank to fit in the cockpit well which i will fit in the next few days if the rain holds off,approx 120 liters.
the old 80 liter plastic tank i will see about fitting in the anchor locker in the bow to give a total capacity of about 200 liters which should give a range of about 1000 miles under engine.

[mikedefieslife]

What witchcraft is this that allows you to do 5nm per litre or was a joke I missed? And where is your gearbox? You seem to have a lot of space in the engine bay compared to my 35 with a Yanmar 3GM30

Lovely fuel tank.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

What witchcraft is this that allows you to do 5nm per litre or was a joke I missed? And where is your gearbox? You seem to have a lot of space in the engine bay compared to my 35 with a Yanmar 3GM30

Lovely fuel tank.

the gearbox is intergral in the top of drive unit,based on the old sonic 100 outdrive but with an extended leg,ratio is 1:1.6 driving a 14x9 prop
http://www.sillette.co.uk/sonic_type...ran_drive.html

the 1;1 direct units like you have were brought in so the engine could be used for charging the batteries with the leg lifted,and the gearbox in neutral.
plus have a bigger prop with finer pitch utilising a gearbox ratio of 1:2.65

fuel consumption was based on about 1200-1300 rpm in flat calm weather giving about 5 knots on tickover for about 1.5 liters/hour,but in reality would probably be carrying a further 100-150 liters in cans as well
ie 5.5 days on tanks+4 days spare fuel,650+400NM ie 300-350L total

[weavis]

Its a fairly heavy boat.

Looking at the displacement and trying to figure what extras, ie living weight you can add and still be viable in the water. Balancing the fuel is a good idea.

The 37 is a sturdy vessel. Over 500 built. a Good choice in the end to rebuild.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by weavis

Its a fairly heavy boat.

Looking at the displacement and trying to figure what extras, ie living weight you can add and still be viable in the water. Balancing the fuel is a good idea.

The 37 is a sturdy vessel. Over 500 built. a Good choice in the end to rebuild.

yes this is my thinking,the bow tank will most probably be empty most of the time except on extended voyages,like up the red sea for example where a lot of motoring to windward can be expected.

on the 350 mile passage from london to cornwall we used 150 liters,mostly motoring at 1800 rpm @6.5-7 knots so 250-300 liters for 1000+nm it quite possible without overloading excessively.

[mikedefieslife]

That's good GPH. I get about 2.5 at 2400-2600RPM. That equates to over six knots in flat calm seas, four beating, and five plus most other times.

I've only got a 100l tank and 40l of cans. Need to get to Greece from Sicily 280nm. Been waiting 10 days so far but the wind doesn't seem to blow that way often. Choices are beat and sail, or motor when there are a few calm days.

Back on the subject of the gearbox then, does that mean you'll be carrying a generator if you can't charge with the leg up? Or will you just drop the leg and let it idle?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

That's good GPH. I get about 2.5 at 2400-2600RPM. That equates to over six knots in flat calm seas, four beating, and five plus most other times.

I've only got a 100l tank and 40l of cans. Need to get to Greece from Sicily 280nm. Been waiting 10 days so far but the wind doesn't seem to blow that way often. Choices are beat and sail, or motor when there are a few calm days.

Back on the subject of the gearbox then, does that mean you'll be carrying a generator if you can't charge with the leg up? Or will you just drop the leg and let it idle?

i guess i will just drop the leg if needed,but hopefully with 600w of panels and a wind generator it will not be often. i also have a 2.2 inverter generator that i use for power tools at the moment,so far 1 panel and a 350w inverter is enough to run a radio for music ,lights and tool chargers during day to day building work onboard.

strange as the wind from sicily to greece is generally out the NW,though winter does bring easterlies.
low pressure areas over Nafrica bring easterlies,lowpressure over europe generally bring NW,though watch out for gales this late in the season!
i never had a problem going east in the med,but have bumped many miles going west lol!

[mikedefieslife]

Sorry Atoll, more on your fuel tank...

Do you have a drain in the cavity that the tank does in? I can't see one on my 35 and the cavity is often 1/5 full of water and crud. Which brings me to my second question. Do you have a pic of the flooring/hatch/cover that you use to cover the cavity once the fuel tank is in place? I'm using a teak grate which I need to change for a more permanent solution.

Finally, where's your filler cap going to be? Is that under the floor or are you going to locate one on deck for easier access?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

Sorry Atoll, more on your fuel tank...

Do you have a drain in the cavity that the tank does in? I can't see one on my 35 and the cavity is often 1/5 full of water and crud. Which brings me to my second question. Do you have a pic of the flooring/hatch/cover that you use to cover the cavity once the fuel tank is in place? I'm using a teak grate which I need to change for a more permanent solution.

Finally, where's your filler cap going to be? Is that under the floor or are you going to locate one on deck for easier access?

hi mike ,yes the cockpit well has a single 3" drain in the bottom,and should have a deflector on the outside of the hull to stop water spraying up when underway.

for the hatch cover i molded a fiberglass laminated lid,aprox 4mm thick with pu foam reinforcing on the underside.

the filler and inspection cover are on raised(1cm)moldings in the top of the fuel tank to reduce the chance of water leaking into the tank.

picture of the hatch cover,sorry not very good one,but will post some more next time i've been onboard of the tank , hatch cover and locker