HC & Independence Trawler Owners

[hctrawler]

It's taken a little while to get a niche within the HCOA group. I hope that those of us lucky enough to own one of these awesome boats will join. Because there are so few of these boats around, I don't know how much communication there is between us. I have had great difficulty tracking down other owners. I purchased #11, M/V EXILE last March. I have a lot of questions, especially regarding the fuel system, but no one to ask. I hope trawler owners will discover this board.
-David Cowan
650 704-0323

[adirondack]

I Have hull # 10 - Inedpendence Trawler. Not sure what you need - but I've owned "Adirondack" (formerly Northern Star) for 7 years during which we've made more changes than I can list. We've lived aboard for the last 3 years and cruised from Sitka to S. Mexico. Currently in La Paz.

Jim Neff

[hctrawler]

Hi Jim,
Great to hear from you. It sounds like you have enjoyed some great adventures. We live in Redwood City, CA. Currently Exile is in Coos Bay, OR awaiting a weather window to head north to the San Juans and eventually beyond. Like any new boat owner I have encountered a few mysteries. My primary concern has been air sucking into the fuel system resulting in shut down. I've tracked the problem to the port engine room tank feed line or manifold valve. No problems with the other tanks/feeds. I plan to disassemble this line and see if I can find the origin of the air leak. I've spoken with Mac, HC#14, who had a similar problem requiring dis and re assembly of the entire valve and manifold set up. Have you had any fuel problems? Anything come to mind that a novice such as myself should be aware of? Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks and hope to hear from you,
-David

[adirondack]

Congrats on Exile. Was she Commanders Palace before you bought her? I thought she was Hull #11 - and the owner Mac?

Anyway, ours is a single Lehman 135, and so far - no air problems. That's with us logging about 2000hours on her. If you get air - I would suspect the lift pump. It's a rubber diaphragm pump that if it gets a crack - could allow air into the lines. Worse, it would allow fuel to go into the oil sump. However, it might not leak enough for you to see a level change in your engine oil before shutting you down. I have an electric fuel pump to bleed the lines - and if I had an air leak external to the engine, I would expect to see a drip when it runs (pressurizes the line).

Before chasing down any of these - I'd call Brian at American Diesel in VA (804) 435-6420. He's the expert and a tremendous resource for info and parts.

Good luck,
Jim

[hctrawler]

Hi Jim,
Our HC was originally named Lion Of Devon and lived on the east coast. I dont remember the name of Mac's boat but its #14. He has been up and down the west coast Alaska to Mexico 20 times he tells me. He is currently in Mexico, but I'm not sure where. I cant find his email right now but his phone is 503 805-7804. He is an original owner, nice guy and a wealth of information. We also have a Lehman 135. Our fuel problem has been traced to the fuel feed from the port engine room tank. She runs great on all of the other tanks. By chance have you replaced the tracks for the windows in the pilothouse doors and rear salon windows? If so could you tell me where you found them etc. Also I need to replace the black rubber Strips on the outside of the window frames which leave ugly streaks. Are you running a 3 or 4 blade prop? At what RPM do you typically cruise? and what speed does that give you? If you send me your email address I can send you some photos of Exile. My email is petdoc4u@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
-David

[conwellj1]

We just purchased our Independence 45 Hull Number 5 in January of 2014. We are currently cruising in Florida. We are in Marathon until April when we will be heading to the Bahamas and then to Saint Petersburg for the Summer. We have already made a number of improvements to the boat and are interested in finding out about the other boats out there that have these rare Trawlers. Does anyone else get the question when they walk by them on the dock of "what is that". Then when you tell them it doesn't register that they HC was a sailboat manufacturer. The name of our boat is Serrano, it has a dark green hull. We have come from a sailboat to this one and have just sold the sailboat. Everyone says that we have gone to the dark side, but in our case we tell them that we went to the dark green side. We have a Ford Lehman 135 also and have already had a lot of work done to it to keep it in top shape.

[hctrawler]

Welcome Conwellj1, (?),
Its great to hear from another owner of a truely great boat. We have had our HC45 since March '10 and have enjoyed every journey (once our fuel problem was resolved) we have taken. She is based in the PNW and most of our vpyages have taken us from the San Juan Islands north into Alaska. She has performed well and to date we have had no problems of any consequence. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you may have but cant promise any answers.
Cheers,
-David

[conwellj1]

We have some friends cruising in Alaska on a Defever 49 named Adventures. If you see them in your travels, be sure to say hello for us. We are Jeff and Mary.

[robmac]

We have hull 13 and I would be interested in any ones solution to the window trim problem. The original strip over the screws "bleeds" down the side of the hull. I found some replacment rubber on the boat, from the previous owners, but have not been able to find a source for more. Any one have a suggestion? Also....... stop looking for an electrical diagram.

[hctrawler]

Hi Robmac,
I think we all have the same problem. Solutions I have found;
- Hull #2 removed the rubber and left the screws exposed. This is the best solution in my opinion.
- I found a medium brown vinyl at an independent RV parts dealer which does the job, however I need 5 more feet which I cannot find in the matching color. Perhaps you can find what you need on ebay if you look under "vinyl insert". The vinyl dosent streak.
-I found a bunch of the black original rubber stuff on my boat but am undecided as to if I want to go thru the black streak consequence of using it.
-Even if you replace the trim with vinyl you will still have to deal with the streaking that comes from the black rubber that the windows themselves ar set into. Ispoke with one owner who took a razor blade and cut the window rubber flush and claimed no more streaks. Very tedious job.
Please let me know how it goes.
-David 650 704-0323