Having recently bought my 2004 MK2 3 berth centerline C42 this summer (now called Sea42) after owning an 1981 Islander Bahama 30 (see
http://sailing.inetd.com/SanDiego05 ) I have been enjoying finding out the capabilities of this new boat. Its generally been a fantastic move and allowed my 2
kids to have a cabin each and so much more.
The 4 of us spent a lot of time aboard our old 30ft boat and its been interesting comparing the differences.
We live in the San Francisco bay area and we first spent a week at Sausalito on the guest dock at Schoonmaker marina which is one of our favorites. We had a great time. This last week we spent on the hook at Halfmoon bay just outside the SF bay and got a chance to sail the boat in open water pacific swells.
I sailed it down by myself over a 2 day period, stopping the first night on the hook at Treasure Island and then waited at Angel Island tied to a mooring ball until high tide to flush me out the Golden Gate. I had fantastic weather and made great time. Single handing the C42 was no problem and actually easier than our 30 ft boat in most ways. Its certainly easier to move around on and simple to reef/set the sails.
Here are the main observations about the boat so far:
I filled all water tanks before leaving and we only used half the water in 7 days with 2 adults and 2 kids. I wont be so careful with the water next trip, there is plenty! The hot shower works great.
The windlass made anchoring very easy on my own (no windlass on old boat).
Our Honda EU2000i generator was fantastic. We ran it in the dinghy and you couldn't hear it with the companionway doors shut. It allowed us to run the water heater, charge the batteries and run an air heater on the cold mornings. We never started the main engines once. We used a total of 1.5 gallons of gasoline over the 7 day period.
I recently installed a Link20 battery monitor and this helped immensely charging the batteries. Charging the last 50 amp/hrs took forever due to the way the charger works. We have a total of 540 amp/hrs and keeping it between -200 and -100 amp/hrs allowed the quickest charge time while keeping our 50% rule to extend the life of the batteries. We used around 100 amp/hrs a day.
I used a snubber on the chain and wrapped an old towel around the chain where it passed thro the roller to keep the noise down when it swung during the night. We also removed all ensigns/flags from the rigging, this got rid of a lot of mystery noises! The boat is very quiet at night.
The motion at sea and anchor is much less than our Islander 30. It also heels much less. A lot more comfortable is all respects.
The boat is very fast. Sailing back thro the golden gate with an 8ft swell, flood tide and a small craft advisory (25-30knts) on our tail was incredible. We had sustained 9+ knots over the ground for hours and even hit 10knt at times. The C42 is a fast boat.
The stock 120% furling jib is a heap of $%@!. To stop the leach flapping around while pointing requires the track to be run all the way forward, and thats the external track outside the lifelines! I intend to get a new sail next season from UK Halsey that is cut correctly.
The helm position could be better while under sail as it places the dodger just a eye level. You really need to be standing on the removable swimstep bench to be in a good position.
You need a second winch or at least a cleat on the port coaming to furl the jib single handed.
There is no where near enough hand holds on the boat. I will probably add about 5.
The standalone bench in the 3 cabin centerline cabin can come loose if its hit hard or in a rough seaway, this is very dangerous! Im adding some solid catches to stop this happening.
There is a lot of flimsy paneling and woodwork on the boat around the doors and handholds. Not much can be done here.
The side panels on the factory dodger were made by a blind arthritic monkey, the fit is terrible! The dodger also flexes too much and needs thicker wall SS tubing.
The fly screen inserts on the Lewmar oval hatches are a terrible design and nearly unusable. Besides that, the hatches work great.
The cockpit design is great underway, very spacious. Good access to the winches.
The SS used to build the rear pulpit is too thin and it flexes badly.
The combo swimstep door is a bad design and it needs to be tied/bound shut for it to be secure.
My kids really enjoyed the modern design and the great rear cabins. The layout of the cabins is great for our family.
The galley is totally functional and allows you to cook meals like at home. The C42 is like having our own mobile hotel.
The vent on the rear holding tank stinks out the cockpit whatever the wind direction, at anchor or sailing.
The 110 AC wiring setup works great and is well thought out.
Some fiberglass is poorly finished and there are often voids in the sandwich.
The antiskid on deck cleans up really easily and looks good.
The companionway hatch jams about 3/4 shut and my kids cant open or close it.
The curved cabin seating makes finding a comfortable lying down position difficult. The table converting to a bed is great!
Lots of great storage. I have yet to run out of room.
The boat lists to port however I load the tanks.
Overall the boat is fantastic value for money and the styling is second to none, its a beautiful boat. We get lots of compliments.
Joe. 2004 #872 3CL
The 4 of us spent a lot of time aboard our old 30ft boat and its been interesting comparing the differences.
We live in the San Francisco bay area and we first spent a week at Sausalito on the guest dock at Schoonmaker marina which is one of our favorites. We had a great time. This last week we spent on the hook at Halfmoon bay just outside the SF bay and got a chance to sail the boat in open water pacific swells.
I sailed it down by myself over a 2 day period, stopping the first night on the hook at Treasure Island and then waited at Angel Island tied to a mooring ball until high tide to flush me out the Golden Gate. I had fantastic weather and made great time. Single handing the C42 was no problem and actually easier than our 30 ft boat in most ways. Its certainly easier to move around on and simple to reef/set the sails.
Here are the main observations about the boat so far:
I filled all water tanks before leaving and we only used half the water in 7 days with 2 adults and 2 kids. I wont be so careful with the water next trip, there is plenty! The hot shower works great.
The windlass made anchoring very easy on my own (no windlass on old boat).
Our Honda EU2000i generator was fantastic. We ran it in the dinghy and you couldn't hear it with the companionway doors shut. It allowed us to run the water heater, charge the batteries and run an air heater on the cold mornings. We never started the main engines once. We used a total of 1.5 gallons of gasoline over the 7 day period.
I recently installed a Link20 battery monitor and this helped immensely charging the batteries. Charging the last 50 amp/hrs took forever due to the way the charger works. We have a total of 540 amp/hrs and keeping it between -200 and -100 amp/hrs allowed the quickest charge time while keeping our 50% rule to extend the life of the batteries. We used around 100 amp/hrs a day.
I used a snubber on the chain and wrapped an old towel around the chain where it passed thro the roller to keep the noise down when it swung during the night. We also removed all ensigns/flags from the rigging, this got rid of a lot of mystery noises! The boat is very quiet at night.
The motion at sea and anchor is much less than our Islander 30. It also heels much less. A lot more comfortable is all respects.
The boat is very fast. Sailing back thro the golden gate with an 8ft swell, flood tide and a small craft advisory (25-30knts) on our tail was incredible. We had sustained 9+ knots over the ground for hours and even hit 10knt at times. The C42 is a fast boat.
The stock 120% furling jib is a heap of $%@!. To stop the leach flapping around while pointing requires the track to be run all the way forward, and thats the external track outside the lifelines! I intend to get a new sail next season from UK Halsey that is cut correctly.
The helm position could be better while under sail as it places the dodger just a eye level. You really need to be standing on the removable swimstep bench to be in a good position.
You need a second winch or at least a cleat on the port coaming to furl the jib single handed.
There is no where near enough hand holds on the boat. I will probably add about 5.
The standalone bench in the 3 cabin centerline cabin can come loose if its hit hard or in a rough seaway, this is very dangerous! Im adding some solid catches to stop this happening.
There is a lot of flimsy paneling and woodwork on the boat around the doors and handholds. Not much can be done here.
The side panels on the factory dodger were made by a blind arthritic monkey, the fit is terrible! The dodger also flexes too much and needs thicker wall SS tubing.
The fly screen inserts on the Lewmar oval hatches are a terrible design and nearly unusable. Besides that, the hatches work great.
The cockpit design is great underway, very spacious. Good access to the winches.
The SS used to build the rear pulpit is too thin and it flexes badly.
The combo swimstep door is a bad design and it needs to be tied/bound shut for it to be secure.
My kids really enjoyed the modern design and the great rear cabins. The layout of the cabins is great for our family.
The galley is totally functional and allows you to cook meals like at home. The C42 is like having our own mobile hotel.
The vent on the rear holding tank stinks out the cockpit whatever the wind direction, at anchor or sailing.
The 110 AC wiring setup works great and is well thought out.
Some fiberglass is poorly finished and there are often voids in the sandwich.
The antiskid on deck cleans up really easily and looks good.
The companionway hatch jams about 3/4 shut and my kids cant open or close it.
The curved cabin seating makes finding a comfortable lying down position difficult. The table converting to a bed is great!
Lots of great storage. I have yet to run out of room.
The boat lists to port however I load the tanks.
Overall the boat is fantastic value for money and the styling is second to none, its a beautiful boat. We get lots of compliments.
Joe. 2004 #872 3CL
