53c info

[ADaily3224]

Chris,
I had the same issue when I bought my 36. It was an easy fix. Mine had plenty of slack under the bridge to reverse the cables. Throttles are on the stb side now.
Hope you enjoy your new boat.
Tony D

[Maynard Rupp]

As in our discussions when I was aboard your boat. Just pull the units off to gain access to the backside. Move the cables to where you want them, then swap the external knobs. When you gain the access to the back of those shifters, it will be obvious how to extract the cables. Don't forget to set or unset the detents before closing them. Throttles do not have detents and the shifters do. The detent is for neutral. I would set them up the traditional Hatteras way, after all you have a classic Hatteras for sure. Hatteras sets them up with the throttles on the left and the shifters on the right. After two seasons I still get confused, but that is part of what makes a boat a Hatteras.

[chris piazza]

Thanks I know its a minor thing, and lord knows I got i lot of things to do to get it wherer I want it to be but hey ya gotta start someplace! I would like to set up an oil change system on baord, but maybe next year. any suggestions on a portable system?

[rtrafford]

maybe i'm being a little thick here, but the cables themselves should all be the same animals. regardless of slack available it seems that you should be able to swap controllers and their attachments in the engineroom at will, making whatever combinations that you desire.....

[REBrueckner]

No matter how you set up your throttles/shifters, when you are backing in a slip and are turned facing backwards trying to see what's behind, you'll get the knobs mixed up unless you keep your grip.

When backing, I leave my throttles at idle, and keep one hand on each shift lever, that way I never grab the wrong one...

I still like single lever controls (one for each engine) which we installed on one boat many years ago...

[ThirdHatt]

Chris, I have been looking into the oil change systems as well. Unfortunately, my mains were at 100hrs on the oil about a week ago and I had not made my decision as to what system to go with. I decided not to wait and just use the little Tempo Oil Boy fluid extractor that has served me so well with the gens, ski boat, etc. It only holds 5qts at a time, so I just kept an empty 5-gal pail sitting next to it to pour the used oil into. I warmed the motors up to a little over 100 degrees before suction and it flowed pretty quickly. I even hooked it up to the oil pan drain hose! It's certainly not the most convenient setup, but it required about the same effort as any portable system would and it was also very inexpensive and quite easy I thought. I used it to suck the oil out of the gears as well, by pushing a 1/2" hose over the dipstick tube as posted elsewhere on this site. Sucked nearly 2 gal out of each gear in a matter of minutes. It felt so good to go for a ride with all those fresh clean fluids!

I looked at the portable systems that have a motor to pump the oil but they all have a 4 gal catch bucket at most. My mains hold more than 4 gal each, so I would have to empty the 4 gal into a 5-gal and that would be much more difficult than with the fluid extractor. It sucks out 5qts and stops, so just unplug the hose from the top, pour into a bucket and reconnect the hose. I think this is a great portable system considering it's flexibility.

[chris piazza]

Thanks all for the info. As far as the shifters go, I do like to turn around when im backing in, one in each hand behind me. I never did use the throttles very much but sometimes were required on my old boat which had prop pockets. its just that the clutchs are set soooooooo far apart with the wheel in the middle I can just reach them. Knowing that the shifters are the only ones with detents in them I will also have to move the handals around? I still dont know what oil change system to go with. The permanent ones are a little pricy and the portable ones pose the problem of getting oil in and out of the engine room which only has access from a small door under the stairs in the galley.

[OldHatt45]

Chris,

This is an idea for you, since you don't know what you want to do for a permanent installation yet.

Screw an "L" fitting (I think it's 1/2 inch NPT, but someone can correct me) into your Oil Drain on each engine. Then take a length of suitable hose and run the hose from the "L" to a Convenient place. At the convenient place, attach each hose to another hose barb threaded on the other end. Take two Gate valves, not Ball valves and thread them on to the barbs. Connect the 2 valves together with a "T" put another hose barb on the center of the "T".
You now have your own Manifold. You can then plug your portable into the hose barb, open the Correct valve and drain or replace your oil as needed.
At some later time, you can find yourself a suitable permanent pump and just plumb it into the system.

OldHatt45

[chris piazza]

Well thanks all, sea trials are tuesday and if everything goes good should close on friday. Talked with the owner today and he is going to help me change the oil in mains and the gen, guess i wont have to deal with the oil change system just yet! This is good because I got plently of other minor things that I want to do before I take it home to Bay City. (You should see the list my wife has allready!) I was thinking that I will be able to spend next weekend on board and get some things started but i may just sit and enjoy the moment...

[rtrafford]

congrats, and best of luck witht he final process. exciting times!

when you get on board keep a notepad handy and start listing your questions. bring them to us. we're happy to help! it's always much more enjoyable to help someone else with their problems than to deal with our own.