PDQ OWNERS FORUM

Hello ALL,
I am a new proud owner of a 2004 PDQ 34 and have a few questions about the boat and a few replacement items ( make model, size,etc).
(Sorry for so many questions, just trying to get up to speed asap.)

1. THe small vent on the Starboard bow bowmar hatch completely fell apart- make/model and size of vent ? ( vent Idisintregrated so cant read make or size)
2. MAke and model and size of the Port eng room exhast hose vent cowling on the back steps.
3.Paint-Color of hull- trying to repair a couple spider cracks and wondering if there is a known white color
$, Interior wood stain color match?
6.HAs anyone had issues with the stuffing boxes leaking in the engine room and corrosion?
7. Cutless bearings?
8 Turbo problems
9 Besides regular maintenance - any suggestions to keep engines reliable
10- Keep dry and prevent corrosion ?

Thanks in advance for any info or advice and look forward to meeting some of you out on the water.

Regards,

David

hi david,

welcome aboard.

that's a pretty long list but a lot of them have been addressed on this forum. i would recommend just start searching. i can tell you that 6, 7, 8, 10 have been documented in great detail.

Welcome to the PDQ forum, David. That IS a big list... My first and probably best suggestion is to find and develop a close relationship with a local experienced professional boat maintenance person or group. It will save you tons of wasted time, mistakes in judgment and errors correcting / fixing issues.

#1 - See: https://beckson.com/vent2.html
#3 - There is no standard gelcoat or paint color that will exactly match the hull/cabin/flybridge/deck colors on your 2004 boat (or newer boat). The sun UV impact makes sure of that. Fixing gelcoat is an art. The best thing is to find a specialist in custom gelcoat colors. Some guys can do the mixing by hand and get it right (or very close). Other use new electronic "guns" that read the color and create a formula that gets it pretty close... some of the time.
#6 & 7 - Are you referring to the shaft seal as well as the cutlass bearing? Or your raw water lines? If so, yes, our boat has had leaks in the past and it did create corrosion... we fixed leaks and replaced our cutlass bearings and our shaft seals last year... AND had our running gear straightened and re-aligned with the transmission/engine. We also replaced our worn out fuel injectors and resetting all valves. None of this kind of maintenance had ever been done by the prior owner on our 2006 PDQ. It made an enormous difference.
#8 - It's too vague to say "Turbo". What makes you think you have turbo issues? The Yanmar turbo is a complicated device. The source of some symptoms, like burning too much oil, can appear to be the "turbo" when in fact it is the oil cooler... or it could be your exhaust elbow being clogged.. or the heat exchanger. Again, it will save you tons of time and money to bring in a competent Yanmar specialist to evaluate engine issues. They diagnose stuff fast and can prioritize steps to correctly interpret and address symptoms.
#9 - Just stay on top of the Yanmar maintenance schedule. That IS what the pros do.
#10 - Address leaks. Your thru-hull valves and shaft seal and rudder packing should NOT leak. If it does, get it fixed. Again, I've found that the professionals can fix these critical factors much faster than I can (I do most of our regular maintenance, but I learned to know when to ask for help.)

hi david,

2 things i thought about: 1) 2004 was the year pdq switched to the new style bathroom. if you have a saltwater head the hose leading to the holding tank is a 5' flat run. this can get clogged over time and needs periodic flushing with vinegar. 2) you need to make sure that your propeller is pitched correctly. we have 75's and needed to have pitch reduced in order to make max rpms.

All,
Thank you very much for your replies and good information.
I have a lot to learn about the boat and will just take some time crawling around the boat to figure stuff out.
Thanks again,
David