Just bought a new ocean 55ss

Theboat is an 88 and I bought from a long time friend. I sold my 2006 Carver 46 for this. It's a boat I've admired for years and am super happy to finally own.

I'm on Georgian Bay, so won't be doing much offshore, more pleasure cruising. The boat is really in better than new condition mechanically. I'm going to update the salon a bit and maybe a serious galley update. I do enjoy cooking, and like to entertain on the boat so a very functional and enjoyable galley is important. Currently my host has a full fridge in the aft part of the galley, which works in the galley but really closes in the salon area. I believe I can move the fridge to the bow side, opening up that wall, and putting a new induction cooktop on the counter that would replace where the fridge was.

The boat is out of the water now, stored inside so I'm not able to test out some things. I've had princess stoves and ovens before and they were ok, not great at all. I expected the galley maid to be about the same, but just opening the stove up shows that this thing is of significantly better quality. Are they good?

My plan is to put a two burner induction cooktop from True Induction on the counter (built in). I'm looking to replace the oven with a Panasonic convection oven with steam (it just arrived st my house, but I haven't tried it). It looks amazing, I may end up having to buy another one for home!

The boat has a wine fridge, which I love. My old boat had a dishwasher just my wife loved. Our arrangement on the boat was that I do the groceries, make all meals,and she does the dishes. To keep the peace, I just ordered an 18" Bosch dishwasher. I'm looking for a smaller wine fridge that I'd like to install across from the galley on the wall at the stairs to the cabins (behind the tv).

For entertainment, I've purchased an LG 55" oled tv. Most LCD TVs make me motion sick. I'm likely going to install a Paradigm sound bar.p for sound. I enjoy music, especially when cooking, so I'm looking to install 6 Paradigm Millenia One bookshelf speakers if I can. They are a little heavy so I may not be able to mount them securely. These will be powered by JL Audio M series marine amps. I want to power the speakers with 12 volts for when I'm at anchor. I'll likely install a JL M series subwoofer in the salon. I'll install JL Audio speakers in the cockpit and bridge. All speakers will be controlled by a Fusion radio, separated into zones.

The boat has a nice Intellian satellite dish, pioneer elite receiver, and blu ray player. I'll remove the pioneer and blu ray player. It will be replaced with an NvidiA Shield, running Kodi (to play my media library) and Netflix. Th boat will be wired with Ethernet and wifi, running a cellular router. I get a great rate for data so I can stream music and movies cost effectively. I will have a few Western Digital Mycloud devices with 16tb of data each. On my last boat I had a large Synology NAS. It was great but drew tons of power from the inverter, the WD units draw much less, and when sleeping they draw almost nothing. I'll mount switches for them externally so I can turn only the one I want on at a time. Each cabin will have an NvidiA Shield unit to their TV and be able to access Netflix or the local library. (If anybody is interested in this kind of thing, just ask. I've been using these things for over 10 years. I've tried just about every device and every different way of doing it).

After looking at everything I just wrote, it looks like I want to totally change the boat. There are things I want to do to make it mine, but this is the boat I have always wanted to own. I've lusted after it for 8 years. This will be the last boat I ever own and I want to do every little thing to make it the best it can be.

I will post some pictures of my engine room. It will make gesrheads drool. My slip neighbour runs generator company and has been a long Detroit mechanic. He and other really skilled DD techs tell me that these are the best examples of their kind in service anywhere (the boat is staying in the slip it was in before, the same marina I've been st for years but his is a bigger, better slip). The boat runs better than my electronic Volvo diesels! They fire up if you just touch the ignition and they sound beautiful. You could eat off the floor under the engines. The pride my friend had in this boat is apparent to any who sees it. I'm mechanically challenged, but he's given me a number of talented technicians and he's still my friend.

My new boat is called Painful Pleasure. Some may know it already, she lives up to her name

If anybody has photos of updated/renovated salons or ideas, please share them with me.

Cameron

Thanks.

Previous owner has increased the battery bank and installed an inverter. I'll expand on that so I don't need to run the generator constantly. I've no issue running it when in need or however long I need, but I do also enjoy the quiet.

My last boat, prior to the one I just sold, was a 47 marine trader that I had a very efficient power system on. I had 6x6v forklift batteries (~1200ah). That bank lowered the inverter and dc systems. It was hooked up to 2 magnum ms2812 series inverter chargers. When running the generator, both units charged that single bank very quickly and safely. When not running, one was an inverter. If I ever had a failure on the inverter, it would be simple to switch to the "backup". This system allowed me to run the generator for a few hours in the morning and again in the evening and enjoy all services all the time (tvs, fridge, ice maker, lights, etc). Some loads, like dishwashers, air conditioner, stove, hot water heater, and he like are just not suited for inverter so the generator would run if I wanted those.

If it's hot at night and I want the air running, I love that it's at the other end of the boat so I can't really hear it from bed! It beats my aft cabin boats.

I just received the induction cooktop and have tried it out on a few things. I'm a pretty accomplished chef, but have very limited and disappointing experience with induction. This unit is from a company called true induction and the unit is called a mini duo. It's the model that winnabego is using now. It cost me about $250, so not expensive at all. It can be flush mounted or portable, I'm flush mounting it.

I'm writing this in case anybody is interested. This thing rocks! I fried an egg in 45 seconds from power on. The egg was over easy and I was using a scanpan brand nonstick pan (my favourite brand). It boiled a quart of water, uncovered in just under a minute. I even let the water boil over to see what the mess on the cooktop would be like.
The mess was wipe off easy.

This unit is 120v, regular plug, 15amp. It's very well built, has incredible flexibility and surprisingly inexpensive.

I do a ton of cooking on the boat, it's something I enjoy and it relaxes me. This will be better than any marine stove I've ever used by a long shot. It may actually increase efficiency and reduce clutter in my galley too. My wife loves tea and has electric kettles lol over the place. This unit and a pan will boil water much faster than the electric kettle, possibly reducing the need for the kettle at all.

I'm going to be completely replacing he galley and am doing that design this weekend. The one component I've got to figure out is an exhaust fan. It will likely be a downdraft type that raises from the counter behind the stove with the remote blower in the engine room, exhausting from the engine room vents. It will look good and function well, adding a splash guard in the process, but they are expensive..

What does everyone use for freshwater pumps? This boat has a shallow well pump now and has great pressure. I'd considered replacing with a dc pump, probably headhunter, but I'm not reading good things about them and they are crazy expensive.

Thanks, thats really good to hear! I'll keep the ac pump and add the headhunter.

Is there a way that the two are normally wired, or just manually switching?

The like where I boat is very clean water, clean enough to drink right from the lake, even in the marina (you get my meaning). On my last two boats, I actually drew water from the lake, passed through a 5 micron, .5 micron filter, the UV sterilizer and filled my water tanks. A few years ago I just started drawing the water direct from the lake and using it. I shower, wash dishes and clothes and even the boat with that water. For drinking and ice, the water is further passed through a 6 stage reverse osmosis unit (with remineralization). The water and ice are amazing. My wife will actually bottle it to take home during the week. Coffee from this water is better too, no chemicals.

The other reason for this is because I use s fair amount of water when I'm cooking, washing the boat, showers,etc. I don't ever want to run out or even worry about it. My carver had smaller fuel and holding tanks than my trawler, and less space for garbage. Garbage or holding brought me back to the dock a few times, as did vacuflush issues ( to having those toilets is on my top 10 loves of my new Ocean!). Water won't ever bring me home!

I watched a video on those headhunter toilets. Wow, that thing is a weapon! The boat has Galley maid heads now that have been completely rebuilt in the last 2 years. Everything on this boat mechanically has been maintained and rebuilt to a level almost indescribable. Calling things like-new wouldn't do it justice. I've read some reviews of galleymaid toilets and they seem favourable, are considered quite reliable and powerful.

I previously had Rarita. marine elegance heads befor the carvers vacuflush, and considered those the best I'd seen. Never had an issue, even with teenage girl guests. Vacuflush could clog even with their toilet paper, I kept plungers next to them. I'm considering replacing the head in the master with the raritan, for comfort and quiet. It's household size and height. Not sure if it's worth it, but they do use the least amount of water to flush I've seen. I've no experience with the galleymaid on that.

thanks, Capt. J!
I'll replace the master head with the raritan over the winter and keep going as I can afford them and the time. I've got quite a list, as you can see.

The galleymaids are freshwater, not raw.

I had all kinds of Vacuflush issues, from the clogs as you describe, to clogs inline and vacuum generator issues and vacuum leaks at both ends. I also hated flushing at night, who can sleep through that? The first night, I thought we were torpedoed!

For the pumps, you'd want to change from one to the other in the engine room instead of just a switch?

A few updates...
We haven't really started much of the refit that I've planned, I've been planning and adjusting plans. First off, the galley. My plan, as described above, was to swap the stove and fridge to open the salon area up. I had a contractor up to go over my plans and just as we were wrapping up, he took one more measurement. He measured the counter depth at the floor level and found that it was only 18" deep at the floor. The cabin that shares that wall slants and shortened the floor depth. That eliminated the fridge move and everyone else! Back to the drawing board.

My contractor discovered that we can move the Fridge over about 6" just be eliminating the spaces around the fridge and a little of the existing spice rack.

I spent the next 2 weeks, between work, trying to organize how I would arrange storage in the existing galley. I've planned pullouts for each cupboard that will make great use of the space.

The dishwasher I bought to replace the wine fridge won't fit, the same 18" problem. I can store it on the other side between the trash compactor and the fridge and keep the wine fridge!

We will be removing the dark mirrors from all around and put new veneers, except behind the fridge where I'm thinking of a regular mirror.

I've been investigating lighting solutions and window coverings. My first discovery was that most of the lights are 120v, not 12v. That was a surprise. I'll change the bulbs to led but leave the salon logs alone. I've ordered some sample leg strip lights that seem extremely bridge to use under the galley counters and under the side windows.

These lights have a single wireless 4 channel controller, and wireless dimmer switches. I'm. It sure if I can get multiple switches t control one light, say having a switch at each end of the salon to turn off on the way to bed. I got these all from superbrightleds.com.

The lights were the first item to cause me to question what I was doing. The toilets were the second. I have galley maid heads and was going to replace them. After looking at the units and testing them out, I think that I'll keep them. New ones can look better and use less water, but I'm not sure that would actually perform better, at least not right now. The macerstors on these toilets are in like-new condition and I have 2 spares.

The water pump being ac was another surprise. I'm still trying to decide whether it's worth installing a strong dc pump. My plan is to have the pump draw water directly from the lake, through filters and uv sterilizer directly to the taps. The water where I am is very clean, so I can do this. I'm just not sure if the dc pump is worth doing.

I've already increased the inverter bank from 6 gold cart batteries to 6 scrubber batteries. I may add a second inverter to increase the charging capacity and act as backup. I'm starting to think this is the most efficient solution to all the ac based systems instead of changing them.

I managed to get 2 Gsrmin 8212 units on sale @$1200 each to replace the older 5212 and 4212. I stayed with Gsrmin because. I can keep the radar. I've not been a big fan but it these units look like they will do the job.

I bought a chain counter and will install that next month. It's a pain to install on old windlesses that aren't provisioned for the sensors, but it's doable. Just drilling through the unit.

I'm replacing the anchor, hopefully with a Rocna 40. I'm not sur fit will fit in the roller and pulpit. The roller is a self launching unit from Good Windlass.

Thanks for the advice PacBlue, you're right about this! The new combi oven that will replace the Galleymaid is actually smaller so will have more room for ventilation. It's a panasonic oven, grill, microwave and steam (http://www.panasonic.com/ca/consumer/home-appliances/combination-ovens/nn-cs896s.html). I've been using it at home to make sure it's really as good as the marketing materials before I start pulling things out, and it seems to live up to the hype. The steam is interesting but I haven't done much with it yet. I'm not sure it's a must have option, but it can do nice things with fish and veggies. The big downside to this unit is the complexity and a few combinations that it can't do that vex me. For example, it can't grill and bake at the same time. The last convection in my old boat could do that and it was great for cooking certain meats and browning at the same time. To frustrate me more, the European version does support this! Maybe the existing options, of which there are tons, replace this functionality. I'm finding I need the manual almost every time I use it still, and the temp is listed in Celcius so I have to convert that each time. It does work very well though.

I originally dismissed the existing Galley Maid unit because it looked like the Princess units I've had before. Their ovens were ok but the stoves horrible. After more close examination of the Galleymaid, it's a much better unit than the Princess!

I know the previous owner had heat issues behind the TV where he had all the stereo equipment. He put a household tabletop fan in there to move air around. I'm replacing the 40" Sharp LCD TV with a 55" LG Oled. It barely fits but my installer is really good and has taped it out and it should look great. I'm going to use it to display photos and video's from past seasons while we're sitting around with company. I bought a Phantom 4 drone last year and have some really great videos. I'll install a computer fan or two if I need to, but I've only got a TV there planned (and turning the stereo area into galley appliance storage) so it should generate less heat.

I'm removing the household stereo equipment. They draw a ton of power and heat, and aren't the most efficient solution (IMO). For the TV, I'm installing a Paradigm soundbar so that takes care of TV. For music, I'm installing a Fusion stereo. They have 4 zones and I have a number of JL Audio M series amps from my last boat that I can reuse to power speakers throughout. In the salon, I'm planning on 2 Paradigm Millenia 20's in the aft corners powered by a JL marine amp. We're trying to hook the Paradigm sound bar into the system but may not work well (it has it's own volume and built in amp). I'm still debating a sub for the salon. It will either be a Paradigm Millenia One sub, because of their size and shape (and they work well), or I may go with a JL Audio 10" M series. I think the Paradigm will look better as I can install it right under the couch and it's totally invisible and installation is pretty much lift couch, put sub and plug in.

The cockpit will have 2 JL 8.8's in the bridge overhang facing down, and 2 7.7's in the cockpit. I may leave the JL 6.5's there too, but probably not. The bridge will have 1 pair 8.8's and 1 pair 7.7's. There is an existing 10" sub that I'll leave, but we're not sure if we'll connect it to the bridge or cockpit zone. I really hate people that blare a stereo when they're not there, like blaring on the bow when you're on the back. It's rude and distrespectful, wasteful and ignorant. Given that you could fix it with a $5 switch, there's really no excuse. For me, we'll likely listen most in the cockpit so I want good sound there but focused there and nowhere else. The bridge sub is probably best to put as part of the cockpit. I would install a sub in the cockpit but there is no room. I found on my last boat, while it could be dangerously loud, it was incredible at lower volumes too. It's the lower volumes that I want to try to reproduce as best I can, to enjoy a little classical music after dinner as I watch the sunset and my ears think I'm in a concert hall.