Burger 80 - Work in Progress

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I'm still kicking myself for not buying that boat and I'm a sportfish kind of man. Let me know if I can help in any way, I'm based just a few miles from there although I'm dealing with a sick mother right now. West Nile virus is hard on an 82 year old.

a classic Burger, quite a canvas for you to create your art masterpiece !!!

Thanks for sharing. Love old Burgers. The stern at the transom is flatter than I was expecting. Not a criticism just an observation.

If I'm correct, she was originally 72 feet. The Burger cockpit also has historically had a radius transition at the cap plane changes. The wheels and rudders are in the proper location for the original boat. The added cockpit is a nice feature that could well improve the ride, the handling and use, and also much added fuel.

Your battery project...this might be a good time to transition to 24v from 32v. You can swap the starters, alternators, and shut down switches on your Detroits to accept the change. The 24v will give you a better modern DC backbone for the vessel. It's also a good time to relocate the batteries from the original lazarette into the ER and replace the battery cables with new ones, much shorter as well.

We installed both a refrigerator and a freezer in the transom fish boxes of our 1964 65 Sparkman version. It was a really nice feature if the casing and tubing are still in good order, perhaps consider revisiting it later in your project. If in good order would be a smart plan to seal the copper tubes aboard after removing the compressor.

List anything that "must" remain 32v. Consider replacement of any vintage 32v with new 24v. Use a temp DC panel to handle the conversion, housing the smaller load on the temp, be it 32 or 24. Phase out the 32 over a short time period. Much of what is running 32 can likely run fine on 36v as your temp 32v system.

I made a clean House break from 32v at the onset. Changed lighting to 12 and 24v LED, toilets to 24v, electronics to 12/24, etc. I left the iron for last and ran them on 36v. In hindsight it was an easy swap (iron) that I could have done at jump street. As I recall the starters, for instance, were simply rebuilt with a 24v solenoid replacing the 32v version. I upsized the alternators to provide more punch so that the mains can charge everything underway, including handling the electronics load in the event I want or need to cruise without 120v running.

Make a list. I think you'll see that it's not a major hurdle.

BTW, all of your wiring for systems outside the ER is run through common chases outboard of your rear guest staterooms. You'll find AC and DC junction boxes behind the closet panels in the guest and master staterooms. Really simple to add a ground leg through that network to update you AC outlets, etc. Simple boat to refit in that regard. Be sure you run the proper wiring, however, for any new systems as the original wires are all black and white coating, no DC color schemes aboard historically.

You'll also likely find a tractor trailer worth of nonsense beneath the pilot house counter. I think I pulled out an old telephone system that was the size of a VW behind the former radar "pit". I actually rebuilt that whole area into a proper desk/nav/office. Acres of available space.

....if you find you are ready to convert the house DC panel, you simply feed the panel with the 24v rather than the 32v...the breakers don't care. Good plan to remove any wires associated with ER systems, and rewire the replacements with fresh tinned copper. But really good idea to abandon the long heavy battery cable feeds to the laz, and install new cables within the ER with the new batteries. That long run coupled with load and age is a sketchy cocktail for a DC fire...

Well, the starter and alternators can come from a source like DieselPro, shipped to you for around $1500 per engine. You can do better if you have a shop that rebuilds and can convert your existing starters to 24v via a swap of solenoids. I think I used 130 amp alternators.

I haven't seen your electrical panel, but it might be that you could bifurcate the existing 32v panel into a 24v as well as a 32/36 volt. But given the level of "gutting" I see in your aft salon, I think this would be an appropriate time to swallow the pain and commit to the transition. You'll be happy that you did going forward.

Also, if you're just converting the iron to 24v at this time, You don't need a panel. You just bridge through your existing disconnect battery switches. You can feed the panel later, and you'll want dedicated batteries for the mains, anyway. You don't want delicate electrons or lighting to be sharing a circuit with those big demands for starting. In fact you'll want a dedicated bank of batteries for your electronics and sensitives altogether...

...add, that if you simply need to get her underway and power the engines, you can feed them as-is with 36v rather than 32, and they will happily start for you. Then you can manage the transition upon arrival. I can't speak for your resources at her location today or destination....that's the tricky part.