SHETLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Bundegi wrote: Wed Oct 22, 2014 2:12 pm Hi,

We bought our 27i from Shetland around the same time as Polski.

Very happy with the ordering process and delivery and have used the boat loads with no real issues. I did have a problem with the bow thruster and fridge being faulty on delivery but both were replaced quickly and without fuss by James.

The only things I wished I had changed on the spec at the time would have been to move the water tank gauge from the helm position to the inside of the boat to sit next to the holding tank gauge. I would have then replaced the vacant spot on the helm with a volt metre. The reason being that knowing how full your water tanks are is not essential information while going along but knowing that you batteries are charging ok is useful!

Also at the time of ordering James suggested that two small cleats on the bow might be more useful than fairleads but in hindsight, I would have preferred to have fairleads.


Bits that I added to the spec at the time of construction:

Disc rope cutter on prop shaft
Epoxy treatment to the hull (Gelsheild Ii think) as a osmosis prevention
Upgraded to a diesel (wasbasto) hot air heater
Went for a ‘U’ shaped dinette rather that the railway carriage type


Work that I have done myself post delivery:

Added 240v sockets into engine bay for winter heating (Tube heaters) Would like to add a couple more sockets in the main cabin to at some point too.
Upgraded the battery charging system from the old fashioned (but simple) spilt diode and 1/2/both switch to a voltage sensitive relay (Sterling Pro Split R)
Changed all G4 Halogens for LEDs (I would recommend this as the G4’s eat power and get hot especially in the reading lamps. (BoatLamps is a good source)
Replaced the thin/cheap Coax Cable from TV aerial to TV with high quality properly shielded cable as I was getting some interference issues but the upgraded cable resolved this.
Added a primary fuel filter/water separator (Racor) into the fuel system.
Put all the batteries into plastic boxes with lids


Works planned:

Add some more 12V charger sockets as 2 is not enough by the time you are charging phones, tablets, hovers, torches etc.
Add in a bilge water oil filter as I believe that my boat my fail a boat safety test as there is no oil tray under the engine and if there were an oil leak it could end up being pumped out the boat by the automatic bilge pump.
Might add a flexible coupling to the prop shaft to reduce noise
Might look to add sound proofing to the underside of hatches and improve the existing sound proofing as the factory supplied is a little thin.

Our boat is based on the Lower Thames if you wanted to have look.

Make sure that you take loads of photos during the build process as they are useful later on!