Posted: June 02 2008 at 16:31 | IP Logged

Ahoy there!

I'm another new meber to the forum.  Late last season I bougt a 31' 1970 Uniflite Express Cruiser.  It's my first boat!

Right now I'm having the full Raymarine C-120 integrated syatem installed at not small cost, but I feel that it's money ell spent.  I'm spending the majority of my time in the Grat South Bay (between Long Island and Fire Island in NY.)  The C-120 has the integrated VHS radio, course plotter and charts w GPS, Sounder/Fishfinder and RADAR.  The firmware is easily upgradable online (which is great for charts) and the 17" color display is visible i daylight.  I'm have mounts wired for both stations.

One small problem I'm having is getting this thing insured.  In order for an older boat to be insure it must be surveyed first.  Well apparently Westmarine don't pay their Surveyors very well because no one wanted to do it.  I finally begged a guy to do it with tears in my eyes (no lie)

Well I guess he couldn't stand to see a 45 yr old man cry, so he agreed to survey it and it passed with flying colors.  1970 or not the Uniflite hull from that time is one of the finest ever built.  He said that there was a small issue with the engine compartment he has, but we're getting together tomorrow.  It's just something he wants me to look into, he won't hold back my insurance or anything.

Posted: June 02 2008 at 16:39 | IP Logged

Welcome and thanks for joining in! Glad you got your survey done and things look in order. Let me know how you like the C120 system, I'm thinking about the same one for mine!

Brad

Posted: June 02 2008 at 16:55 | IP Logged

OMG!  She's beautiful!

What's it like working on those Volvo engines?  Were the Volvo engines some kind of upgrade or did they come standard with that model?

I have Chrysler 318's which are a breeze to work on as My father taught me how to work on engines from our family car, a 1972 Dodge Coronet.  When I was in college I owned a 1978 Cordoba which was a 360, but was very similar to the 318 with some dopey emmisions feedback and other stuff that never really worked.  I wound up buying a kit to rip most of that stuff out and replace it with a couple of startegically placed clamps and hoses.

Where do you do most of your boating?

I usually stay in the Great South Bay, but once in a while I'll go a few miles out to sea to fish the artificial reefs off Long Island.  The bay is always pretty mild, but you really have to pick you spots when going through the Fire Island inlet into the Atlantic.  I usually talk to the party and charter boat captains to see what the conditions are in the inlet. 

Posted: June 02 2008 at 17:46 | IP Logged

Thanks for the compliment! I'm hoping to get some better pic's before too long. She's docked about 170 miles from my house currently, but I'm going to bring her up river within the next month or so. I plan on staying in the inland rivers, Great Lakes area, maybe venture down the mississippi to the gulf in a few years(?) Turbo Diesels scare me a little, as like you, my background is more automotive. Extremely reliable as long as you maintain, so I'm hoping not to have to get too deep into them! The Coastal Cruise came with a single diesel standard, and had the available twin's as an option. Twin screw handling proved tricky at first, but now I love it, you can spin the thing on it's axis if you want! Anyway, thanks again for the kind words, she needs some work, I plan on hauling out this summer and doing the paint-blister fill routine. Later!

Brad

Posted: June 02 2008 at 18:42 | IP Logged

Welcome aboard!! 

I have Chrysler 440's in mine and agree they are a breeze to work on. Let me know if you have any problems finding some of the Chrysler Marine unique items, I have a couple of good sources.

Posted: June 02 2008 at 20:27 | IP Logged

pasqualino31

Let me chime in and welcome you to the forum.  Your 31 looks great.  I have a 42 Double Cabin and I want to make the ladder that goes down to the swim platform, swing up.  Maybe some time you could post a picture of your fly-bridge ladder hinge so I can evaluate the system.

DavidO

Posted: June 03 2008 at 11:09 | IP Logged

Yeah, I have no problems with diesels perse; however,  converting a boat from gas to diesel has a long list of hidden pitfalls and I was just passing information down to guy with the light bulb over his head.

I've got the twin 318's and get about a mile to te gallon.  (I know you're supposed to do hours, but I'm always thinkng range.)  It does break my heart to fill the tanks and pay $400+ at the pump, but I don't care.  This is much more than a hobby, it's a lifestyle and when I'm anchored off Fire Island on the hottest day of the year it's worth the whole year's worth of gas. And once those engines are off it's all gravy!

Posted: June 03 2008 at 11:24 | IP Logged

Hey 31,

 I couldn't see your pic's before when I posted, very cool boat, I like the design. What's the layout like inside? I've never seen one of those before, quite unique!

Brad

Posted: June 05 2008 at 12:41 | IP Logged

Thanks to you and Alan on the compliments.  As this is turning out, she's the perfect first boat for me.  The surveyor has her valued her at almost 17k and I bought her from a friend of my brother's for $9k since he had been trying to sell it for almost 3 years with no takers.  What a bargain!  The instrumentation was all from the 70's, so I'm putting a complete Raymarine C-120 integrated instrumentation system.

This year hasn't been w/o its problems though.  In order to insure it I had to have a surveyor have a look.  (All older boats need to be structurally verified.) It was real difficult to get a surveyor.  One guy agreed in March to do it in April and then changed his mind to do something more lucrative I'm sure   I mean say you'll do it or say you won't so I can find someone else.  The second guy got called out to an emergency in FLA and the 3rd guy took my insurance quote and wasw never heard from again!  I finally got the guy who got called off to FLA in on Monday and now have a full report.  With the exception of some hoses, clamps and corodsion on some terminals and a coat of paint and she's ready to go! The transducers are thru the hull, so the wiring can be finished once she's launched.

I'll work on getting some pics of the cabin and engine room.