Quinna III Project
I bought her in 2001. Not in a particularly bad shape, obviously lightly used but neither having had any upgrades. Home port in Germany was Travemünde, meaning that she had been in fresh water most of the time. The boat also enjoyed indoor storage during the winters. The gelcoat was in remarkably good shape. With just about 1000 hrs on the gauges she seemed to have spent a leisurely life.
The superstructure is not as bulky as on present yachts of similar size. The steering position is more aft, right in the centre of movement, giving a very comfortable ride. Also the engines, fuel and water tanks are centrally located. The dinette is raised, everybody sitting there have a good view out, and in every direction. Generally speaking the layout of the interior is divided in less areas and fewer levels than on most new yachts. In my opinion there is more harmony in this traditional layout than in many present ones where every inch is exploited to the max. The dinette is roomier than on most new yachts, even so, only four can dine comfortably at the same time.
I decided to use the boat one season and then either put her back in shape or if not satisfied put her back on the market as is. As it turned out I was more than satisfied with the boats performance and in the following I give a review of what upgrades and repairs have been done in the winter 2001/2002, 2002/2003. Also you'll find here my view of what will be done this winter 2003/2004.
I collected data during the first summer and in the autumn 2001 I had a fair view of what I wanted to do. Then I made a priority list and got started!
1. Below the waterline 1. Below the waterline
Now everything is like new but with the new props I lost 100 rpm still maintaining the same speed. Compared to the originals these are more cupped so I suspect I need to reduce pitch a little to achieve maximum rpms. 2. Hull, area between waterline and deck Last winter I painted a new grey "snob line" along the waterline. The narrower red one is still there and I have difficulties deciding whether to keep it or remove it. I also renewed the grey and burgundy decor tapes along the sides of the superstructure. The new tapes are in metallic grey and burgundy and look great.
3. Deck 4. Superstructure Last winter I had the rectangular Vetus lights lighting up the cockpit repaired by an electrician. I will maybe replace them this winter. They are not originally intended for use outside and look ugly. All windows are covered with something that looks like some mineral. When the boat is cleaned the windows look great while wet but when they dry a closer look show that they have a thin white film on them. I have tried every chemical between pH 1 and 14 and nothing works. Next I will try to polish. I have heard that there are some stuff that Vintage car renovators use to restore car windscreens.
5. Below decks I have checked the function of all bilge pumps and also checked the condition of all thru hull fittings. Stainless steel valves were fitted to most of them by the previous owner who seem to have taken mostly good care of necessary technical service.
I also try to do some preventive work. The oil coolers have been taken apart and cleaned. Exhausts are checked for leaks and I renewed some rubber exhaust hose and clamps. Already two years ago I bought a Cruisemaster fuel consumption gauge that I haven't installed yet. Might be done this winter... The Eberspächer heater has a thermal breaker that tripped out all the time. Finally I found that it took air via a ventilator located behind the sofa in the saloon. The ventilator got clogged by dust and that caused the thermal breaker to trip. I moved the air intake to the Port side locker in the cockpit and this solved the problem. 7. Rudder machinery and bow prop
8. Accessory space 9. Plumbing A large holding tank, approx. 250 l in stainless steel was made to measure fitting the space available below the pentry sole. The loos both have separate vacuum pumps and accumulators so loss of one is not an immediate problem. The holding tank can be either pumped out at sea or emptied in port through the deck discharge. The holding tank has a tank ventilator on deck, with a carbon filter keeping the odours inside. The toilet improvement involved 100+ hours of work and a lot of gear.
The Shower compartment is roomy and well designed. An improvement that soon will be made is replacing the original shower mixers with new thermostatic mixers. Originally when showering a small discharge pump had to be started every time. Otherwise flooding would soon occur, and also occurred and had occurred in the past based on the signs visible. An other reason for this were the ridiculously small water discharges in the shower stalls, they got blocked all the time. In the picture the old discharge is displayed beside the new one.
I replaced the discharge pumps with a Jabsco shower sump were the discharge pump is automatically operated by a float switch. I also doubled the diameter of the hoses from the shower stall to the sump and installed large discharge fittings. Showering is now as comfy as at home. Next project in this area is to add heating. The fresh water is originally filtered before the pressure booster set by a small in line strainer located in the lazzarette. The strainer got clogged regularly by sediments from the tanks. I replaced the strainer with a good sized filter that just fit inside the box holding the booster set. Obviously It would be a good idea to clean out the tanks. I will probably do it quite soon. The water however tastes OK and the sediments seem to be calcium or something similar white in colour and not particularly disturbing. - Probably German tapwater chemicals! All through hull fittings are inspected. The renovation of the toilets, removal of one toilet and also some other improvements made a lot of through hull fittings unnecessary. The unnecessary valves are removed and replaced with brass plugs.
I will consider laminating these when the next thorough bottom overhaul is due.
I also installed a new cooling water strainer with transparent cover so now it is easy to see that the generator cooling is OK.
All batteries were renewed for the season 2002. Two windscreen wiper motors has been renewed. Bosch HD are used here. In connection with the renovation of the interior that took place the winter 2002/2003, all old spotlights were thrown in the bin and replaced with new ones, 44 pcs! The level of light can be adjusted and one spotlight above the chart table is coloured red. The dimmers and switches are from Mastervolt.
12. Electronics
All old STOWE instruments are replaced. The new electronics are:
The electronics are mostly situated as originally. I am very fond of the sliding and rotating base for the radar display. On the fly the radar display was mounted in a housing made by Navpod(r), bought on the net from USA.
The radar/chart overlay is a fantastic feature. The use of the system is a little complicated and I think we´ll see development here in these equipment in the future. I was surprised to learn that Furuno is using the less common, big C-Map cartridge. These were not available in a single shop in Stockholm, not to talk about smaller places where I tried to buy some additions to my chart assortment during last summers trips. - In Helsinki they are available from stock at Troil Marin, a well stocked chart dealer. The Echopilot is excellent except for the fly repeater that is impossible to read in daylight and turns black after a couple of hours in sunshine. This is of course annoying as it would be normal to stay on the fly in order to have a good view when approaching an unknown narrow passage or harbour. The old Cetrek 737 autopilot is perfect but I renewed the repeater panel on the fly and also the Cetrek 555 compass display on the flybridge. Most engine instruments were OK except for the instrument lighting that required new bulbs in most of the gauges. One RPM gauge had to be replaced because the rubber seal had expanded and prevented the needle to show any readings. The hailer has had a moisture problem sometime during life. It work perfectly in every case so it is still in place.
For 2003 I installed an alarm system. Only basic with no mobile phone connection, but the sound of siren and horn is impressive if alerted. The remote controlled searchlight mounted on the radar arch, resisted my aims to repair it and I installed a new Jabsco 255SL instead. I made a base for the light allowing rotation of the light without need to adjust the elevation all the time (stupid original design). A Sharp Aquos 22" LCD TV set was purchased and fit nicely in the corner on the bar cupboard. Next we needed to get a picture from it and I installed a Naval Mark 20CA aerial to solve this. I didn't buy the Naval antenna power supply/amplifier but a standard one from an antenna store. The Naval antenna is specified to be fed 15 volts while my amplifier only give 13,8 volts. I´m not sure of the importance of this, but we mostly have a reasonable picture on the TV. The name of Navals power supply/amplifier is PSA 30W2.
The original stereo set didn't function properly despite having it serviced so I bought a new set for the season 2003. The new Blaupunkt Sevilla set also have RDS and a CD player. All speakers in the saloon, cockpit and on the fly are also new. 13. Interior
Vinyls were ripped of the walls in the forecabin and pentry and replaced with oak ply that required careful selection to get the texture and colour right. The seat armrest at the steering position also got new plywood. Photo before... The interior hullsides were covered with classic wooden ribbing in the cabins and the pentry, instead of the original vinyl.
Photo before... Detail of hatch Owners cabin office before...
and refurbished...
The dining table was very unstable with the original Besenzoni telescopic leg flexing in every direction. A new, also better looking telescopic leg replaced it. SWMBO is not fond of buttons in the cushions, so they are avoided.
The diagonal vinyl panels in the ceilings were replaced with longitudinal Mionetta fabric covered panels with a wooden rim in between. In the saloon a dome with indirectional lighting was built over the sitting area.
A wooden panel was added where the ceiling is divided between saloon and dinette/steering area.
New ceiling in a couple of angles
The sofas where remodelled from "Three seater" to "two seater" styling, giving better proportions to the furniture. - The backrests would look better if 5 cm (2") lower, but sitting comfort is better as is. SB side photo before and with new two seater.
Port side photo before and remodelled...
The steering position was totally taken apart for the refurbishing. Quite a big job actually. At the same time I got to know very well the electric and other installations behind the panels. The instrument panel was made of Valnut imitation and all instruments got chrome rings (VDO Ocean Line) instead of the original black ones.
and finished... During work
Furniture fabric: Novatex 9879 col. 02 In the pentry the soft carpet was replaced by oak floor panels. The worktop was built of Corian and the ceramic tiles on the walls were replaced with brushed stainless steel. A new mixer tap and stainless steel sink were added. A new domestic size kitchen fan was added as well as a small Candy washing machine. A Bosch ceramic stove and oven were also installed.
Renewed... During work... Ready... I would have liked to install a toploaded dishwasher beneath the Corian work top, but obviously toploaded sets are not available. If the original washer brake down I´ll probably buy a new similar desktop unit as it washes very well. 14. Flybridge and cockpit Old cockpit and fly cushions
New cockpit and fly cushions "Photos coming" The cockpit canopy was made new also in a grey Sunbrella fabric. The tubing is of stainless steel and folds between the aft seat cushion and the backrest. The canopy can be opened in many different ways and sections. On the flybridge all seats also have new protective covers made of grey Sunbrella. "Photos coming" The cockpit sole is presently being covered with teak. Also some other upgrading will be done here during the winter. Small but important improvements are replacement of the hinges on the aft cabin and fly bridge hatches. The hinge on the fly hatch was moved from the SB side side to the aft and the hatch was also given the support of two gas struts.
The original saloon door handles were ugly. The new ones are made by a local stainless steel artist.
I made a spacer lifting the water tank filler caps some 3 cm above deck level, to prevent any diesel spills to enter the water tank by mistake.
I also found in a store the original Yale locks used for the cockpit sole hatch and the lockers in the outside walls housing the filler caps for diesel and water. The locks are not very high tech, but as they fitted directly, I installed them replacing the long ago corroded old ones. The tank vent hoses were inspected and found making a loop downwards causing fuel to block the ventilation and be thrown overboard everytime the tanks were filled up. I changed the position of the hoses and also made new ventilators allowing buckets to be mounted on the outlets collecting any fuelspills coming out during tankage. Old flush tank vent New tank vent can hold bucket
Environmentally friendly filling up
Spill collection bucket
15. Safety gear So! The raft was serviced, new flares, life wests and 3 pcs hand extinguishers were purchased.
All Finnish pleasure boats flying a club flag are undergoing a mandatory annual inspection as to sea worthiness and safety equipment. Approved inspection of fire extinguishers and life raft is also obligatory every year to get the stamp in your boat certificate. The last 3 m of the anchor chain was of stainless steel. Good looking but slipped in the anchor winch. I reversed the chain putting the ss end down in the locker. Quinna lll - Fire fighting equipment Below decks 16. Santa Claus list Extend bathing platform to take rib and install hydraulic passarelle/crane. The davits are not very comfortable to use and I suspect the Avon rib puts a lot of pressure on them. Also boarding in many locations would be much easier as most pontoons and docks are very low. New refrigerators will be on the job list quite soon. The original ones are quite noisy. Underwater exhausts. My idea is that underwater exhausts would solve the diesel fume problem in the cockpit.
Loa: 16,88 m Lwl: 14,02 m Yard Nr.: Z1057 Hull number: MPPGB0575989 Port Starboard Primary fuel filter: 2 x Fleetguard FS1201 Replacement: Part nr: ASP0329 ASP0328 Replacement: 2,14" diameter rudder stock and blade in aluminium bronze, AB2, BS1400. complete with tiller arm, key nuts and bolts. Teignbridge Part nr. ASR0604 (price each 2002, £ 745,00) Replacement: Teignbridge 26 x 30, Aquacup, 73% DAR. Aluminium bronze Tailshafts About speed and consumption Top speed of Quinna lll is 26 knots with half fuel and water + normal cruising gear. At factory testruns prior to delivery as new she reached 31 knots??? This information I have from the factory. - Maybe I can probably reach another knot when the props are adjusted. In view of the above I find it strange that a Princess 55 equipped with 2 x TAMD122P EDC engines giving 610 hp each, reached only 30 knots. Also acceleration was slow, 14.1 seconds to reach 20 knots (Volvo publication 7735455). Volvo test report - Performance fig. Rpm Knots l/h l/nm 1000 10,3 40 3,9 When MBY tested Princess 55 in May 1987 the top speed with TAMD71As giving 358 bhp each, was 23,1 knots and acceleration to 20 knots 14 seconds. To install 2pcs Volvo D12C A MP engines giving 452 kW would cost abt. 100.000 €. - Not interested!
Rpm Knots l/h l/nm 1000
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Quinna III is a Princess 55 motor yacht built by Marine Projects in 1989. She was first named "Lady of Shallowford" with home port in Poole UK. In 1990 she was sold to Finland where she spent two seasons as "????" before being sold to Germany in 1992 where she spent the next 9 years as "Katja lll".
I like the design for many reasons. The Princess 55 is a very beautiful boat. "Beautiful yachts sail well", It´s said before, and in this case it's a fact. Sea keeping is excellent.
Quinna lll is stored in heated indoor storage during the winter so working environment is excellent. The boat is transported to and from storage on a trailer made from an old car transportation lorry. The boat is also stored on the trailer.
M/Y QUINNA lll Development plan 2001-2004
In the winter 2001/2002 I removed props and shafts and had them measured. The shafts were OK but I had some wear filled in at the stuffing boxes making them as new again. The reason for the vibrations was the SB P-bracket that obviously was slightly bent. I bought a new one from Teignbridge, the original manufacturer of the gear. At the same time I also ordered new props from Teignbridge degrading the old ones to spares. I also renewed the propnuts.
6. Engine room and technical equipment
I had the sound insulation box rebuilt with the frontal part made as a separate unit, allowing all normal service to be done without braking my back lifting the whole box out. This improved sound insulation also.
The VHF was OK except for the receiver on the fly that needed to be repaired. It had suffered from moisture.
The same corner now...
New panelling...
During work..
Refurb'ed..
The Avon 345 SS Rib with 25 hp Merc. was given thorough service. I also refurbished the seats of the Avon in white and grey vinyl.