coastal cruising page
Tied up in Ashkelon waiting for better weather. Adding Raymarine 54 DSC radio plus Furuno Navtex soon. Had to do some updates to register Sea Belle with Ministry of Transportation here. Not much else going on in the eastern Med. Thinking about adding a 3rd and 4th battery.
Sea Belle is a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40 built in October 2001. She came with a package including ST60 autopilot, Raymarine 425 Chartplotter, and a lot of other goodies. I've had her surfing up to 9.6 knots in funny conditions off the coast of Israel. She is a comfortable boat that is built well. I've encountered very few problems. Equipment I've added includes 12volt fans, and a Yaesu FT900AT HF ham radio.
Adding the 18,500 btu Flagship Marine A/C was a big job. On the SO-40, I found the best spot for the unit is under the settee forward of the salon dining table. It just fits, and you must custom fit panels to isolate the unit from the bilge. You can see the unit below. As long as the sea water temp. is not too hot, the unit does a fine job cooling all three berths.
If you have any questions about the boat, please email me.
American Radio Relay League
Flagship Marine Air Conditioning
Starpath Celestial Navigation
Israel News
Defender
Ahoy Captain
Sherline Miniature Mills and Lathes
Litespeed Bicycles
Collins Antique Radios
Raytheon 425, Flagship Marine A/C thermostat
1) Some Jeanneau models suffer from a yellowing of the deck after leaving the factory. Rumor has it that this is caused by the mold-release agent not being fully removed following construction. Jeanneau has a special cleaner that is given to dealers to be used on boats should this problem arise. The dealer SHOULD do this job for FREE if it is necessary. All this is rumor, because I haven't actually gone through the process myself
2) For 2001 models, a repair is necessary to the steering system. The flange that is connected to the rudder chain needs the addition of stainless hose clamps to ensure that it doesn't pop off if the allen screws that are holding it fail. This is required for both wheels. I did this repair and it helps to have skinny arms (which I don't, so it wasn't easy). Jeanneau dealers have a directive on this fix that can be mailed or faxed to you.
3) My SO-40 has water tank controls that are labeled 1 and 2. I recommend using permanent marker on the handles and labeling them Forward and Aft. Maybe you won't forget, but your crew will.
4) When your SO-40 arrived, it probably had the anchor rode connected directly to the hook on the anchor well. Not good. I recommend tying a piece of line (1 foot or so), in between the end of the rode (chain), and the permanent hook. Then you can cut it away if you have to....can't do that with chain, right? Also, if your commissioner put on a cheap shackle, you will have to cut it away when it rusts and that can be messy.