Le Chateau Owner’s notes
Welcome aboard
“Le Chateau.” The literal translation
from French is “the Castle” but “Chat” is “cat” and “eau” is “water” so we have
the French pun of Water cat. This catamaran
provides a good ride and economical fuel use at 7-9 knots and a high speed
cruise of 13-15 knots, while still only using 4 gallons per hour.
The anchor
windlass breaker is located to the right of the lower helm wheel and must be
turned on prior to anchoring. The
control for the windlass is kept behind the helm seat with the upper helm
radio. There is 150’ of chain and 150’
of nylon rode for a total of 300 feet of anchor line. The chain portion is marked with yellow tie
wraps at 20, 40, 60 and 80 feet. It is
marked with red ties at 100, 120 and 140 feet.
Depending on conditions, a scope of 3 to 1 to 5 to 1 will suitable. There are two snubbing lines in the locker above
the fuel tank. The shorter, single line
can be used in light conditions. The
double line can be tied to each inside bow cleat to reduce swinging. One of the snubbers should be used to reduce
any load on the windlass while at anchor. If you are on the nylon portion of
the anchor rode, that line can be secured on the center cleat in front of the
windlass in lieu of a snubbing line. When setting the anchor, use minimal power in
reverse to assure the set.
The propane
barbeque is stored under the forward starboard hatch on the fly bridge. Remove it from the locker and attach it the
bracket on the rail at the aft end of the fly bridge with the thumb screws in
the bottom of the grill. Place the mat
stored in the locker with the grill under the grill. Remove the propane tank which is not in use
from the front port fly bridge locker and connect it to the grill. Place the propane tank on the mat and secure
the propane tank with the bungee cord wrapped around the mat to the railing.
Always
remember to turn the tank off when disconnecting the gas lines.
The house
batteries are located under the hatch aft of the entrance. There is a basting bulb for topping off if
necessary stored in the same compartment.
Distilled water is stored in the aft end of life jacket locker. The disconnect for the house batteries is
under the lower helm seat. Engine
batteries are located behind the engines and are sealed and need no attention. Disconnects for the engine batteries are
behind the doors entering the staterooms.
All disconnects are normally on.
There is an automatic battery separator to avoid discharging the engine
batteries while at anchor. Use the Link
10 to monitor battery draw down (not to exceed 200 aH) voltage and current
draw. CONSERVE BATTERY POWER. If you are approaching 200 aH, start the
engines and run at 1000 RPM in the fast idle mode to restore some power. To raise engine speed above idle, you must
pull the levers out before advancing them.
The alternators from both engines charge the batteries, and charging of
the house batteries will only begin after the engine batteries are fully
charged.
There are two
full (60 x80) queen berths in the aft staterooms. An additional sleeping area can be created by
removing the legs from the dining table and placing the table top on the lips
under the dining seats and placing the foam inserts (stored under the forward
dinette cushions) on the table top.
Place the table legs on the helm seat to be out of the way.
The automatic
bilge pumps are located aft of the engines in each hull. The bilge pump breaker must be on and the
bilge pump switch to the right of the lower helm must be in the “auto”
position.
Always wear life
jackets when using the dinghy. The 9
foot Aquapro dinghy has a 1000 pound capacity which allows four persons to be
in the boat safely if necessary. The 10
HP Honda is the maximum allowed and should be used with care to avoid a serious
accident. The helmsman should use the
stop lanyard for trips of any length.
When raising the dinghy on the davits, it should be tied securely to the
davits to prevent any movement during operation of Le Chateau.
Le Chateau is
equipped with a full set of Raymarine electronics: Chart plotters at the upper helm and the
lower helm, Depth sounders in both locations, Autopilot on the lower helm and a
remote autopilot control for use when on the upper helm. In addition radar is available on the lower
helm. All electronics are activated by
the breaker labeled ELECTRONICS located at the lower helm. There is also a
portable VHF radio which plugs in to the right side of the upper helm. CAUTION:
The main VHF radio at the lower helm must be turned OFF when connecting the
remote radio at the upper helm. CAUTION:
Do not leave the lower helm while the autopilot is on without the remote
autopilot control. The autopilot should
be used in the “PILOT” or heading mode and not in the track mode. The auto
pilot MUST be placed in the “STANDBY” mode to allow manual steering. Vigilance should always be maintained for
hazards such as floating logs, crab pot floats, and fishing seines, etc, and
one person should always be on the lookout for such things. Also be cautious of tugs pulling barges as
there is a cable between the two which can be up to a half of a mile long. Do not go between them.
The engines
are located under the beds in the staterooms.
Daily checks are performed in the following manner:
1.
Remove the
seat cushion and place on the bed.
2.
Remove the
step and place on the bed.
3.
Carefully
remove the cover and place on the seat cushion.
Oil dipsticks
are located on the starboard side of each engine. Please check the oil daily. The coolant expansion tank is located on the inboard
side. If coolant is required, premixed
coolant is stored in the starboard forward locker. The raw water strainer should be check for
any foreign material and cleaned out if necessary. After checks are complete, reinstall the
engine covers reversing the above steps.
To start the
engines, assure that the controls are in the neutral position and simply turn
the keys at the lower helm station to the start position. There is no preheating function. Leave the engines at idle speed after
starting. The upper helm keys are normally left in the “ON” position, but only
function when the lower helm keys are in the “ON” position. Engines should be stopped from the lower helm
and the keys turned to the “OFF” position when they have stopped. Do not remove the keys from the lower helm.
There are two
good speed ranges on Le Chateau. At 1200
to 1600 RPM the boat will cruise at 6 to 8 knots. At 2800 to 3000 RPM the cruise speed will be
13 to 15 knots. Between these two
ranges, the rear of the boat squats and it feels like it is plowing. Do not exceed 3400 RPM at any time.
There are two fuel
tanks on Le Chateau. The main rear tank
has a capacity of 115 gallons and is located under the floor next to the lower
helm seat. The fill inlet is just
outside the entrance door. When filling,
close the entrance door to avoid any diesel fumes or droplets from entering the
boat. Fill carefully to avoid any
spurting of fuel out of the fill pipe.
Keep an absorbent towel handy to capture any overflow.
The auxiliary tank
is forward of the cabin on the port side and has a capacity of 70 gallons. If
it is necessary to transfer fuel from the auxiliary tank to the main tank, use
the following procedure:
1.
Turn on
the breaker for the fuel tank pump.
2.
Open the
hatch over the auxiliary fuel tank on the port side of the foredeck.
3.
Open the
two valves on top of the auxiliary tank.
There are clips on the valve handles which must be slid back to allow
the valve to turn. Valves on the main
tank are normally open.
4.
At the top
of the pump above the tank under the port side of the hatch move the switch
toward the aft or main tank. This will
activate the pump.
5.
Carefully
monitor the transfer operation to avoid overfilling the main tank and do not
empty the auxiliary tank completely, as this will cause an air lock in the
lines.
6.
When the
transfer is complete, turn off the pump, close the valves on top of the auxiliary
tank and turn off the breaker for the fuel pump.
The head on Le
Chateau uses fresh water for flushing.
This greatly reduces odor and keeps the toilet bowl much cleaner, but
care must be used in flushing to avoid wasting water. Remember, the water tank is only 80 gallons
when full.
There are two
buttons for flushing. The upper one
pushes to the right to empty the bowl and add water at the same time. This is normally used for liquid waste
only. The lower switch adds water when
pushed to the left and empties the bowl when pushed to the right. This combination works best with solid
wastes. Use as little toilet paper as
possible.
The holding tank pump
out control is located in the head to the right of medicine cabinet. The “Y” valve controling the direction of
pumping out the holding tank is located in the forward starboard locker. A valve is located on the pump out line and
the LONG end of the handle along with a triangular arrow indicates the
direction of flow. For shore pump out
the valve must point to the starboard or left when looking aft. To pump overboard, the valve must point to
the port or right when looking aft. The
macerator breaker must be turned on and then the pump out control button in the
head may be pressed. You will know from
the change in pitch when the tank is empty.
Stop pumping at this time as the pump can be damaged by running
dry. Remember, you should only pump
overboard when in open waters.
Le Chateau has three
methods of heating the cabin.
When hooked up to
shore power, an electric heater is available and is stored in the cabinet with
the inverter power supply in the starboard stateroom. It may
be plugged into any 120V outlet. Do not
use the electric heater when not connected to shore power.
While underway, the starboard
engine supplies hot water to heat the cabin.
To operate properly two DC breakers labeled “HEATER” must be turned
on. One is for the blower and the other
is a circulating pump to keep the hot water moving to the heater. The vents under the entry door must be
open. Turn the breakers off when the
engine is not running.
For very cool
conditions, there is a Webasto hot water heating system with outlets in each
stateroom, the head and two outlets in the main cabin. Each is controlled with a thermostat. The system is activated by turning “on” the
switch located to the starboard side of the breaker panel. In addition, the
system will supply hot water to the boat’s hot water system. If at anchor, the system will use 80 to 100
aH of battery power overnight, so the batteries will require recharging with
engine operation to avoid exceeding the 200 aH usage limit. (See “Batteries”
section earlier)
There is a 7 gallon
hot water tank. It is heated by the port
engine while under way or by shore power when at a marina. It will not operate off of the inverter. If showers are desired it is often most
convenient while under way if weather conditions permit since the water will be
reheated by the engine while it is being used.
Remember to conserve water. There
is a stop button on the shower head which allows one to wet down, turn the
water off for soaping up, and then back on for rinsing. This will greatly reduce the amount of water
used in a shower.
The microwave oven
is a combination “Microwave/Convection” oven and should be used only in the
Microwave mode unless you are on shore power.
Even in the microwave only mode, the current draw through the inverter
is substantial and may cause the low voltage battery protector to trip the
system off. If this occurs, the system
should reset itself in a few minutes. It
may be necessary to run the engines at a fast idle (1000 rpm) to prevent this. Please replace the instruction manual back in
the oven when it is not in use.
Charts are usually
kept behind the lower helm. San Juan Sailing provides an excellent water proof
book of charts with red marks, (areas that former charter guests have run
aground) and green markings, (nice spots that former charter guests have
enjoyed). Parallel rule, dividers, hand
held compass, pencils and binoculars are also behind the lower helm seat.
The rudders on Le
Chateau are controlled by a hydraulic pump driving a cylinder on each
rudder. After some time (10 to 20 hours
of operation) the rudders may become mis-aligned. This will result in more effort to steer the
boat and reduced performance. Rebalance
the rudder cylinders using the following procedure.
1. Open the battery hatch cover just aft of the
entry door. At the very back of the
compartment is a valve.
2. Turn the helm wheel to starboard until
resistance is felt.
3. Open the valve.
4. Turn the helm further to starboard until
resistance is felt.
5. Close the valve.
6. Turn the wheel all the way to port until
resistance is felt.
7. Open the valve.
8. Turn the wheel further to port until resistance
is felt.
9. Close the valve and replace the battery hatch
cover.
The rudders are
now aligned and the process is complete.
1) Type III PFD’s Personal flotation devices, are
located on the fly bridge locker on port side.
These must be worn when using the dinghy.
2) There is a throwable flotation ring over the
entry door. There are also two throwable
cushions in the portside fly bridge locker.
3) Flares are stored in the fly bridge locker on
the port side.
4) There are three fire extinguishers located in
the galley, behind the door entering the head and outside to the starboard side
of the entry door.
5) The horn buttons are located to the right of
the lower helm and to the left of the upper helm
6) The first aid kit is in the medicine cabinet in
the head.
A radar reflector
which can be tied to the antenna mast is stored in the overhead locker behind
the upper settee, and a Canadian courtesy flag for mounting in the bow clamp is
behind the lower helm.
The best safety
device is one’s own caution. Everyone on
board must know where the life jackets are stored. Never try to prevent a collision with a dock
or other craft by using one’s hands, feet or legs. Boat parts are far cheaper to repair than
body parts.
Two 30 amp shore
power cords are stowed in the auxiliary fuel tank locker. Only one line is to be normally used and
plugged into the LOWER electrical inlet on the starboard side of the boat. There is also a 50 amp converter/splitter
which can be used when 50 amp power is available. After shore power is connected, check for
reverse polarity or a faulty ground at the indicating lights on the left end of
the lower helm station. There should be
three green lights. If all is well, turn
on the 120V breaker on the electrical panel.
If there is a problem with polarity or ground, it must be corrected
prior to turning on shore power to the boat.
To operate the
propane cooktop in the galley, several steps must be taken. The propane tank in the fly bridge locker
must be connected and turned on. There
are two breakers on the DC panel “STOVE” and “LP GAS” which must be turned
on. On the wall to the right of the
microwave is a wall switch, “LPG CONTROL” which must be in the on
position. To light the stove, push down
on the control and turn to the light position.
After the burner lights, continue holding down the control for 5 to 7
seconds until the burner will remain lit when it is released.
Two tool boxes are
stored under the floor board at the bottom of the steps on the starboard side
leading to the head. Engine spares are
located under the floor board leading into port stateroom. Spare batteries, bulbs and fuses are located
in the overhead locker behind the port settee.
The 80 gallon fresh
water tank is located under the forward hatch to the starboard side of the
cabin. There is a water level monitor in
the head to the left of the sink. The
breaker for the water pump is on the DC panel.
It is a variable speed pump which will operate at the speed required to
maintain constant pressure and water flow.
Always think “WATER CONSERVATION” if you cannot refill immediately. There are two hoses over the water tank. The pure white one is for fresh water
only. The one with blue stripes may be
used for either fresh water or salt water wash down. Do not fill the water tank with the blue
striped hose.