Your thought folks

[Mark Laurnen]

I'm onboard with Jleonard ... Autopilot Pilot was most impactful addition out of many I have done.

 

[Ertyqway]

Already had an autopilot and hydraulic dinghy lift when we bought the boat, so the two best upgrades I've done so far are the Marriage Savers (duplex headsets) and Starlink.

Of course, my icemaker and oven are recently deceased, so I'm thinking through what to do about both of them now.

 

[philmitch]

Stern thruster to go along with a bow thruster. Game changer.

 

[Caballero II]

I have searched and haven't found one on the Forum so I thought I would start one. What is your best modification to your boat, whether it be engine, cosmetic, fishing related, it doesn't matter. Let me know please

Thanks

There have been a few over the years. I guess the best modifications will vary by owner with the performance of the equipment they started with. In my case, a few mods in order of the pleasure they have brought me have been:

1. Diesel forced air heater, Espar in my case. What a luxury. We had no heat before.

2. Salt water washdown pump, Groco kit with valves and vane pump. We had none before.

3. Electric thru-hull valves. Groco as well.

4. New, powerful Lofrans Kobra windlass replacing old, tired and frail windlass

 

[slowgoesit]

Some of our upgrades, in no particular order:

• Hard bimini
• 2880 watts of solar
• LiFePO4 house battery bank
• Water Maker
• Starlink

 

[Mark Laurnen]

My boat is too small, but the Marriage Saver headsets sound like a brilliant idea. I saw a video where the poster mentioned a t shirt he had seen; “sorry about what I said while docking sweetie.”

 

[NancieLafferty]

As a liveaboard on Morning Mist, a 1986 PT35 Sundeck, the improvement I appreciate every day is our electric mattress warmer! And the fresh water heads; and the enclosures of the sun deck and fly bridge; and the bow thruster that we rarely need but is always there. We have lived aboard this jewel for over 20 years and every day she warms my heart.

 

[Sababa]

Strictly speaking, the OP asked about modifications, not upgrades. Hands down, the best *modification* I ever did was to soften the forward chines on the 2001 Nordic Tug that we used to own to reduce the notorious bow slap that plagued those boats. Our life as cruising couple would have been cut very short without that mod.

 

[kthoennes]

As a liveaboard on Morning Mist, a 1986 PT35 Sundeck, the improvement I appreciate every day is our electric mattress warmer! And the fresh water heads; and the enclosures of the sun deck and fly bridge; and the bow thruster that we rarely need but is always there. We have lived aboard this jewel for over 20 years and every day she warms my heart.

Thread drift: Your post reminded me of one of my favorite moments that made me feel like our boat is our second home. We bought it years ago in Somerset, Mass near Newport, Rhode Island in April. We motored it to West Wind Marina to spend a few days in Newport before taking off, so early in the season very few other boats were there yet. We walked a long way to dinner and stayed out very late, when heavy fog and wind and cold drizzle blew in. Dark rainy misty night. The buoy bells were clanging, the fog horns were sounding, we were cold, soaking wet, walking through dark spooky boat storage yards back to West Wind. We turned a corner and stepped onto the marina boardwalk and there it was in the slip - the warm glow of lights inside, heating system waiting for us, all safe and comfortable and dry with a cozy master berth and a good night's sleep. That's the moment I knew it was a good boat and we made the right decision.

 

[Rob at LTP]

My best mod has been practical and very cheap.

Being new to boating (other than off-the-beach cats), one of the things I don't always get right is catching my mooring. Worst example was a day when a near gale wind was blowing chop right on to my normally calm mooring. I managed to catch the mooring ball, but being a centre cockpit, the boat immediately went beam on to the chop, and it took a lot of grunting to get the mooring line up to the bow.

On the advice of an experienced friend, I now have a 12mm line permanently attached to a bow cleat, laying outside the rail and back to a cleat just outside the wheelhouse. And on the rope loop at the base of the mooring float, a 10mm snap shackle.

Now when conditions are a bit iffy, once I manage to pick up the float, I clip it onto the line, then slowly reverse until the float has slid up close to the bow, where I can attach the mooring cable to the cross bollard as usual.

 

[Moonfish]

Dark rainy misty night. The buoy bells were clanging, the fog horns were sounding, we were cold, soaking wet, walking through dark spooky boat storage yards back to West Wind. We turned a corner and stepped onto the marina boardwalk and there it was in the slip - the warm glow of lights inside, heating system waiting for us, all safe and comfortable and dry with a cozy master berth and a good night's sleep. That's the moment I knew it was a good boat and we made the right decision.

Great anecdote! We can totally relate.

 

[Dnnsmrgn]

Removed canvas from flybridge and added solar panels instead (cheaper and lasts longer). Added wireless control for SM davit.

I liked the remove canvas and replaced with solar. But would it still be possible to enclose it for bad weather?

 

[dhays]

I liked the remove canvas and replaced with solar. But would it still be possible to enclose it for bad weather?

That is what a pilothouse is for. ;-)

 

[Mac2]

I liked the remove canvas and replaced with solar. But would it still be possible to enclose it for bad weather?

Absolutely. The panels have a lip/frame to attach zippers/snaps to. I’m debating riveting the u shaped aluminum framing to the panels to create a gutter system for rain collection. Keep in mind the hardest part is finding the dolar panels with the right foot print you’re looking for. The bottom or outside of the frame would be the attachment location.

 

[Xlantic]

My most valued modifications have been:

1. replaced Bimini with hard-top and 2 kW of solar panels (together with switch to propane stove this permitted removal of ancient generator)
2. removed fly-bridge faux-chimney and added a table and bench seat where up to eight can conformably sit under new hard-top
3. added a dishwasher (this was the first thing I did after buying the boat)
4. removed old equipment and general clutter that POs had accumulated over the previous decades
5. Flopper-stoppers (paravanes are next)

 

[Pascall]

My best additions;

1) A day tank.
2) Paravanes.
3) Passi will soon get a new engine.

Greeting,

Pascal.

 

[jimdavi]

Boat came with everything except…I installed stabilizers. Did all work except the fiberglass reinforcement and fin install. My wife likes me now!

 

[Comodave]

Boat came with everything except…I installed stabilizers. Did all work except the fiberglass reinforcement and fin install. My wife likes me now!

Bet you saved a bundle.

 

[jimdavi]

Bet you saved a bundle.

Yes-about 40%

 

[Jklotz]

Boat came with everything except…I installed stabilizers. Did all work except the fiberglass reinforcement and fin install. My wife likes me now!

Interesting. How difficult was it? What system did you use?

 

[jimdavi]

Lots of work and learning. Took a few months.

 

[Mambo42]

I would say:
1. Rewiring the boat and going from 12 V to 24 V
2. Installing 3.2 Kwp in solar panels
3. Installing 1400 Ah of LiFePO4 batteries, making the boat completely self sufficient without the need for a generator or shore power
4. Adding CMC stab 25 electric stabilizers, which improved the usability and comfort onboard immensely.

The engine change was necessary unfortunately, so I won't call that something we would have done normally.

 

[lwarden]

I posted this in another thread, but my biggest improvement on our boat was the reconfiguration of the flybridge. When we bought the boat the original design with three back-to-back seats was really poor for our use and we had planned to redo it.

I removed all the original seats and reconfigured the box they sat on to be part of an "L" arrangement and made Starboard backrests. We bought two custom helm seats from Bentleys and installed seat posts for the captain and navigator. A custom table was added, made from Starboard on an adjustable mount.
This change transformed the flybridge and we now use it often for entertaining.

Original Design



Finished arrangement:

 

[Bob Cofer]

Went from this:

To this:

To this:

 

[Mac2]

Bob: Why did you get rid of the flybridge? I know it looks better, but I also know they add flybridges to help sell boats too. Just curious-not criticizing.

 

[Comodave]

We went from a flybridge trawler to an express cruiser. I miss the excellent view but I don’t miss the steps up to the bridge, my wife especially likes not having the steps.

 

[Bob Cofer]

Bob: Why did you get rid of the flybridge? I know it looks better, but I also know they add flybridges to help sell boats too. Just curious-not criticizing.

We wanted to make something one of a kind. She sold quickly when we moved on.

 

[Mac2]

We wanted to make something one of a kind. She sold quickly when we moved on.

Wondering if you did that before Greenline yachts came out? If so, you may be due some royalties

 

[Bob Cofer]

Wondering if you did that before Greenline yachts came out? If so, you may be due some royalties

GB Eastbay Prototype!