Purchased a new boat.......

[Donziweasel]

No, it is not a blue and white 22 w/ an Ilmor. Boo Boo wanted a cuddy "family" family boat for the twins. I tried the Donzi route and was met with immediate resistance. I tried again and was threatened with physical violence. I tried one last time and she played the "if you want to see me naked ever again, then you will not buy a Donzi as a family boat". Well, I like seeing her naked, so the point was taken. She is not against Donzi's, but I think whne she envisions them, she sees small cockpits and fast speeds.

Anyway, we got a Formula 28 SS, so we did stay in the Aronow family. Twin EFI 350's and she will run over 50. Now, how do I sneak a couple of whipples on them 350's without getting a divorce? :)

[roadtrip se]

Looking good JP... Now, start shopping for that 18.

[gold-n-rod]

I didn't buy a Donzi for a family boat, either. Does that mean I get to see Boo-Boo naked?

:nilly:

[Carl C]

You can't go wrong with a Formula. There might be one in my distant future.

[Donziweasel]

Randy, you will have to ask her..... :)

[Walt. H.]

ConGrat's DW,
You made a wise choice that will keep you both happy, whether it's buying a house or a boat, we all know women need and want that must have bathroom area!
And hey you'll find it pretty convient too after you reduce your refrigerated beverage supply.:drinkbeer: instead of using that half gallon apple juice container we all keep hidden in our other boat.
The only issue now is feeding that big beutiful baby fuel @ todays prices when it only gets 1.5 to 1.8 mpg at best like my 27'-C/Craft.
This is the only one I will leave in water during the summer, but unfortunately again not this summer due to the rising price of fuel.
My 18 is a indoor stored "trailer queen" :wink: and she might face limited use also for the same reason.:frown:

Best of luck, you picked a good one!
WH

[Donziweasel]

Nice ride DW,,as you know your not the only one on here with the formula brand..you,me,roadtrip and i think shea all have one good luck with the new ride! now all you need is a cummins to pull it ha ha!

Actually, I had to tow it 850 miles from Havasu to here. The new F-250 w/ 6.7L Scorpion Powerstroke was amazing. Over the 1629 miles round trip, I averaged 11.1 mpg. Most of this was towing 80-85 mph (Western speen limits are higher than back east). I also pulled alot of 6%-8% grades 2-5 miles long and it never missed a beat.



Walt. H.


ConGrat's DW,
You made a wise choice that will keep you both happy, whether it's buying a house or a boat, we all know women need and want that must have bathroom area!
And hey you'll find it pretty convient too after you reduce your refrigerated beverage supply. instead of using that half gallon apple juice container we all keep hidden in our other boat.
The only issue now is feeding that big beutiful baby fuel @ todays prices when it only gets 1.5 to 1.8 mpg at best like my 27'-C/Craft.
This is the only one I will leave in water during the summer, but unfortunately again not this summer due to the rising price of fuel.
My 18 is a indoor stored "trailer queen" and she might face limited use also for the same reason.

Best of luck, you picked a good one!
WH

Thanks Walt! I will put the fridge to good use. I looked at alot of brands, and they all had good characteristics. Some has great build quality, some great customer support, some with serious performance, but Formula seemed to be the only one that had everything and a really nice family layout.

A do have a couple of questions since I don't have an owners manual. 1. how do you drain the water tank? 2. How do you pump out the head? Never had a pooper in my boat, or a water tank for that matter.

[zelatore]

Nice looking ride there. I'm sure you'll be able to put her to good use. Just remember, the blowers are a safety feature due to the altitude. Mot exactly sure how to sell that, but you'll figure it out.

On the head, is it a built in tank? If so, you will have a deck pump out fitting that looks about the same as the water and fuel fittings. Should be labeled 'waste' and the cap won't be tethered so don't drop it overboard. Most bigger marinas or fuel docks will have a vacuum based pump out. Pretty straight forward; just use the machine to suck the waste out through the deck fitting.

You might have a Y valve that would let you pump the tank directly overboard, but that's only legal 3 miles at sea, so not much use for you.

As for the water tank, I've seen plenty of boats with no provision to drain the tanks. All you can do is open the taps and let the pump run until it's dry. Or pull the pick up hose off the tank and let it drain into the bilge.

[Donziweasel]

Don,
I checked it out again. Next to the head, it says, "To use Macerator, put Y valve in open position, open sea petcock and push button". I checked under the hatch and there is a pump with a valve next to it. One hose goes to the "waste" port on the transom, one goes to a ball valve fitted through the bottom of the hull, and one hose goes I would think to the holding tank. At Alltrans, I have a "RV" style dump to dump the restrooms in my motorcoaches. Is it possible to use the system on the boat to pump out the tank into my RV dump? I know, lovely topic, but thanks for any help.
As for the water system, there has to be a way to evacuate the water for winterizing. For the RV, I just empty the tank, then, while blowing compressed air through the system, open all the faucets and shower knobs. Never had a problem.

[Donziweasel]

Mike, sounds like it will work.


Found a complete canopy under some storage. I don't think it has ever been used. It is incredibly nice and fits like a glove.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

John,
That looks like a really great boat from the pictures. Congratulations, Bill

[Carl C]

"Ranman" also has a Formula and 18C here in Michigan.

[BUIZILLA]

did you find the cockpit cover?

[Ghost]

That enclosure might add a month or 2 to the season.

[Walt. H.]

Quote from Ghost: That enclosure might add a month or 2 to the season.

And for staying overnight dockside including when on the hook.

[Sweet Cheekz]

Well done DW

Parnell

[Donziweasel]

Thanks everyone. I am really impressed by the build quality. Was in it messing around all day yesterday. I have to say, it seems the quality is above what I have seen in Donzi's. Nothing against Donzi, but my Formula seems really built well.

Jim, no. Couldn't find one. The owner I bought it from purchased it new. He kept in a climate controlled storge facility except when he was in town to use it. Guess he never needed one. I am going to call Formula on Monday and see what they can do. If they can't help with one, there is a custom boat shop about 90 miles from me. I have used him before and he does really quality work.

The other option would be to buy a ful tow cover, but it is overkill and the prices I have seen are pretty steep.

[mike o]

DW, I can see your family having a whole lot of fun with it. Congratulations

[zelatore]

There's no 'good' way to use the dump at Alltrans, but you might be able to rig something up.

From your note above, you have an overboard discharge like I was talking about. Basically, when you flush it all goes into the holding thank. Once it's there, you have a choice based on which way you turn the Y valve you found. If it's in the 'normal' position, the waste can be sucked out through the deck fitting via one of the dock mounted systems found at marinas. The other position on the Y will run through a macerator to a below the waterline seacock (must be open to run the macerator) and pump the tank directly overboard. Of course, this is illegal unless you're at sea. In fact, the Coasties around here expect to see that sea cock secured with a zip tie or small lock of some kind when you're in fresh water or near shore, though I've never seen them ticket somebody if it wasn't. Heck, half the installations I've seen have no real way to secure the thing anyway.

Gravity won't help you empty the tank, but you might be able to rig something that would utilize the macerator/overboard discharge. The simplest would be a big funnel of some kind that would simply catch the discharge and let it drain into your collection system. Not to sure about that though. You might be able to figure out something that you can connect to the thru-hull and let the macerator pump the tank directly into your RV system. Or you may be able to change the thru-hull to a slightly different fitting that you can get a solid connection to.

The overboard discharge thru-hull should be easy to find. Most sanitation hose is around 2.5" and a stiff white material so it's easy to pick out. Just follow it from the tank, though the macerator, to the seacock.

I haven't messed with an RV style dump; I'm assuming they are just gravity fed to a 'collection pit' that then drains to the sewer.

As for the water system, I don't winterize around here but what Fixx described is pretty much the normal routine. Open all the fixtures on the boat, turn on the pump and let it run until dry, then re-fill with a few gallons of RV antifreeze (or cheep vodka) and turn on the pump again until the mixture shows up at the fixtures (the antifreeze is usually pink so it's easy to see). The water heater is the only part that might add a little complexity. They are usually plumbed with a by-pass system; find yours and look at it to see. It should be obvious, with a 3 small valves at the input/output of the heater (on/off for in/out and by-pass). When you winterize you can put it in bypass and open the drain on the heater just letting it dump into the bilge. That way you don't have to waste 3 to 6 gallons of antifreeze filling it back up.

[zelatore]

Found a complete canopy under some storage. I don't think it has ever been used. It is incredibly nice and fits like a glove.


I'm surprised you were able to get that to fit in the cold. Usually they are so tight when cold you can't get the snaps to line up and have to leave it out in the sun for a while.

Get one of these to help with the snaps. Doesn't look like much, but it makes getting hard to fasten snaps on MUCH easier!

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=11151&partNumber=255648&langId=-1

[Donziweasel]

I will mess with the discharge system and see what I can come up with. Thanks Don.

I noticed the port engine is missing the power steering belt. Since I have never had twin engines, is this normal?

[BUIZILLA]

some twins only used one pump...

[Ed Donnelly]

Now that is a family boat...ENJOY.....Ed









Superchargers only make it a FAST family boat LOL

[show-n-go h2o]

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Thats how most of them are, almost everything is controlled by the starboard engine, power steering, gauges and most power accessories.. Have fun with it. thats a nice looking boat.