Joe’s 1969 Allied 42 yawl, fully problem solved & awaiting owner #3

Ben Ellison

Ben Ellison

Panbo editor, publisher & chief bottlewasher from 4/2005 until 8/2018, and now pleased to have Ben Stein as a very able publisher, webmaster, and editing colleague. Please don't regard him as an "expert"; he's getting quite old and thinks that "fadiddling fumble-putz" is a more accurate description.

11 Responses

  1. Leo Starrenburg says:

    “And since the hulls were typically overbuilt of solid fiberglass, many still survive and are often good rebuild candidates.”
    I agree, went through a major refit of my 1971 ‘Vesta’ after checking out the basic hull condition, solid as a rock even after all those years. Have a look at http://www.starrenburg.eu
    w fr greetings, Leo

  2. Ben Ellison Ben Ellison says:

    A well meaning reader suggests…
    “You may want to remove the battery box photo; too many code violations:
    Use of wingnuts rather than hex nuts/lock washers
    Too many connections on a battery post
    Inadequate battery tie downs”
    …but I think it would be better for all to discuss possible violations instead.
    Replacing wingnuts with hex nuts definitely is a recent ABYC directive, but it would only take a few minutes and dollars in this case. I’m not sure about the hold down requirements, but if you click the battery box photo bigger you’ll see that there appears to be a missing third hold down stud at the right side of house batteries. If that makes the thick plexiglass (or similar) bar sufficient, then again a few minute/dollar fix.
    How many connections to a battery stud are too many? I’d like to know myself. But I do know that Blue Seas has a neat (and inexpensive) new way to distribute up to four smaller gauge feeds from one terminal connection, blade fuses included:
    https://www.bluesea.com/products/5023/ST-Blade_Battery_Terminal_Mount_Fuse_Block
    Ed Sherman has some good dope on proper battery installs:
    http://edsboattips.com/boating-maintenance-diy-tips/replace-the-wing-nuts-on-your-boats-battery-with-hex-nuts/
    http://edsboattips.com/boating-maintenance-diy-tips/bad-battery-install-more-than-wing-nuts/
    I particularly like Ed’s second entry as he emphasizes the reasoning behind the regulations. And I’m pretty sure that Joe accomplished the goal even if there’s a code violation (easily fixed). I really doubt those batteries are going anywhere and you can see for yourself that there is zero corrosion and that all the ring connectors seem to have excellent contact with the terminals.

  3. Leo Starrenburg says:

    A setup for part of the distribution system on Vesta.
    The fuse holders accept the standard car blade fuses, they come in 10, 6 and 4 fuse sizes. Negative bus bars above and about half the area of the panel reserved for cable runs, I find they take up quite some space.
    This bit of amateur woodwork goes to the rear side of the steering pump housing, the fuse panel is hinged for easy access. These fuses protect mostly comms., depth meter, navigation lights and such.
    http://www.starrenburg.eu/stuurkast1.jpg
    http://www.starrenburg.eu/stuurkast2.jpg
    http://www.starrenburg.eu/stuurkast3.jpg
    I have no knowledge of the US standards, but I agree that a hexnut set with a wrench is better than a wingnut fixed by hand. That said, please DO take care while wriggling the wrench near the battery poles (!)
    w fr greetings, Leo

  4. Jason Young says:

    Great post! As much as I love the Marine Electronics industry it is so enriching to hear stories like this. People, people like your friend Joe are what keep the electronics, boats, and the industry going as well as the voyages and dreams. Ben, thank you for sharing!

  5. Ben,
    Not to belabor the point, or to cast aspersions on what is obviously an outstanding vessel and person, but to answer your own question – the number is four:
    ABYC 11.16.4.1.11. No more than four conductors
    shall be secured to any one terminal stud. If additional
    connections are necessary, two or more terminal studs
    shall be connected together by means of jumpers or copper straps.
    This limit(along with the wingnuts) is pretty well-known, even for non-professionals like me. I know my reaction when I see something as obvious and visible as this, is not “what would it cost to do this right”, but rather “I wonder what other shortcuts were taken that I can’t see?”

  6. A beautiful boat, Ben – your friend was a true craftsman! The difference between a boat (re)built by someone who lives boats and what you see at the boat shows is amazing. The boatshow stuff is really neat looking – but the one built by experience WORKS.
    On the disputed battery box, the one missing item that concerns me is the main battery fuse for each battery – the ABYC wants it within 7″, but they’ll apparently settle for “close”. My experience with large station batteries in comm sites is that this big fuse can be VERY important “disaster insurance” – the proverbial dropped wrench or loose big cable (blinding flash) scenario. I do see a large fuse holder in the other compartment, so it’s possible they are there, but it isn’t clear how. You are right that fixing the wing nuts and battery hold-down should be easy.
    As I’m sure ALL of us can testify, these problems are truly minor compared to what is found every day on boats more than a few years old..:(
    Our first boat (a Gulfstar 50) had a solid hull, and it’s still going strong. I loved the ability to listen to what was going on in the water (porpoises and other creatures!) but the propensity of the hull to work against the furniture in a seaway was dismaying – I remember going up forward after rounding Point Sur to discover a large collection of toothpicks that used to be teak paneling against the hull..:)

  7. Ben Ellison Ben Ellison says:

    Thanks, Jason, much appreciated.
    And thank you for the ABYC reference, Grant (though I will note that you failed to pass your self-proclaimed standard “not…to cast aspersions”).
    Hartley, I think you hit the nail on the head — thanks! — but don’t know about the battery fuse situation. I suspect they are there somewhere and will note that Joe supervised the building of many new Robinhood power and sail yachts as well as the rest of the yard. (Robinhood is owned by the founder of Cape Dory and got some of its tooling when that operation closed down.)
    Somehow this all reminds me of what I’ve learned about surveyors over the years. Many are quite competent and will report on most of the code violations aboard a boat. But the really great ones in my experience will further explain the true severity of the violations and also advise on other issues that might cause problems as well as ones that can be tolerated for a while. I’m pretty sure that Furly B will do fine with either type of surveyor.

  8. Sorry Ben, I thought I covered myself when I stated this was “obviously an outstanding vessel and person”. My apologies.

  9. Ben Ellison Ben Ellison says:

    PS I recall now that Joe took an excellent surveyor — Steve Bunnell — to Virginia to look at this Allied 42 before he purchased it, and I believe that Steve also did subsequent insurance surveys. Like Dave Perry, Steve was part of my A team when I bought Gizmo in 2009:
    https://panbo.com/archives/2009/04/gizmo_deal_for_real_thanks_to_the_a_team_.html
    Incidentally, it took Steve all of 30 seconds to realize that Gizmo’s hull is balsa cored despite what was written in the buyer’s survey that the prior owner had shared with us. That surveyor had also detected moisture in one section of Gizmo’s “solid fiberglass” transom and had theorized that the hull might be delaminating. So there are also frighteningly incompetent surveyors out there!
    (At Steve’s suggestion, I contacted the company that built Gizmo’s hull and learned that the layup was designed to stay stiff even if the coring failed, and that the outer hull also had a moisture barrier. Moreover the coring is segmented and the yard that finished the boat was super careful about back sealing penetrations. So the moisture remains in one section of the transom and I have no plans to mess with it.)

  10. Ben Ellison Ben Ellison says:

    Thanks, Grant. I may be a dite touchy on this subject 😉
    Incidentally, there’s a nice bio of Joe on Robinhood’s FB page:
    https://www.facebook.com/robinhoodmarine/photos/a.306409841286.193483.306401176286/10153489867846287/?type=1&fref=nf&pnref=story

  11. Rick says:

    Good Read!!!! I bought Dauphine, the only fixed keel 42xl and I love her. I collect all I can on the 42xl and this article is fantastic. Im getting Daffy ready for my retirement when I plan on sailing her about the watery places of the world….Anyone with any additional 42xl info would be greatly appreciated.

Join the conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *