COCONUTS STORY
Since 2008
Our 1996/2013 Krogen Express is significantly improved from her sister ships in many respects. Central is that Caterpillar repowered the vessel under warranty in 2000 when they replaced the original CAT 3116 engines with upgraded, 3126TA motors. We purchased her in 2008 and laid her up for two years for a major refit. Although the hull is a 1996, the work in 2009/2010, and further robust scope of work in 2012/2013, makes her younger and better than might be initially thought. All the work was carefully considered with and performed under the watchful eye of expert marine consultant Steve D’Antonio and in accordance with ABYC standards. In sum, in many cases new equipment makes her higher quality than when new and comparable in some areas to the latest Krogen Express 52’s now in production. In many regards, COCONUTS is only eight years old or less.
The drive train aft of the transmissions on both engines has essentially been totally replaced. The constant velocity shafts were removed, disassembled, cleaned, inspected, parts replaced as necessary, re-greased and reinstalled. The 1996 vintage Aquadrive thrust bearings were replaced with better engineered 2010 Aquadrive units. The sometimes problematic drive shafts in the original Krogen Express boats were replaced with new Aquamet 22 stainless steel 2” drive shafts. The yard removed the struts, laser aligned new positions, and reinstalled them. Michigan Wheel Dyna-Quad 26 x 22 Nibral props, with ProProtector disc cutters, replaced the original props. The yard installed high temperature exhaust alarms that enunciate at 140 degrees, far quicker than visually checking for climbing water temps, thus avoiding potentially costly engine damage. Coupled with the original Mathers MicroCommander throttles, the result is a smooth, highly reliable, balanced, and communicative drive train that is far better than originally delivered and comparable to that on new 52’s.
The hull had existing bottom paint removed to bare hull and 10 mils (5 coats) Interlux 2000e epoxy barrier coat applied. This added to the original vinyl ester barrier coat specified in the build schedule provides exceedingly high confidence in a lifetime, blister free hull.
Engine reliability is 90 percent dependent on clean fuel. After steam cleaning the tanks, the yard installed Wiki filter vacuum gages on both Racor main engine primary fuel filters and Racor genset primary fuel filter. Fuel stripper tubes were installed to permit quick draining of tank condensate as necessary. Algae-X filters were installed to both port and starboard main engine fuel filter systems for enhanced filtration. The yard installed UL listed correct Racor filter bowl drains, installed water sensors in both Racor filter bowls and Borel “water in fuel” alarms. These upgrades manage and deliver diesel fuel better than originally built.
The engine room is the heart of the boat. We installed brightly polished diamond plate deck between the engines and replaced the fluorescent fixtures with large, LED fixtures for operating room, light level intensity. We upgraded the Sea Fire FM-200 suppression system in the ER and added a remote pull station at the pilot house helm. We installed a MARCO oil changer system for engines and generator with drain shut off safety valves on main engine oil pans and transmission housings. The engine room is spotless with better visibility, easier maintainability, and manual fire extinguishing better than when new.
The electronics, autopilot and television systems were upgraded in 2010 with top of the line Furuno, Simrad, Airmar, KVH, and AIS equipment. Coupled with a new, oversized Accusteer hydraulic pump and scores of proven east coast routes and Great Loop waypoints already dialed in, low stress navigation, “run on a rail” course keeping, and real time weather monitoring is available over and above the original delivery.
The tired Westerbeke generator was replaced with top of the line Northern Lights 12kw generator. Wet cell house bank batteries were replaced with AGM units, increased to nearly 1000 Amp-hours, and relocated outboard of the mufflers (two per side) for better balance in a seaway and vastly more under salon storage space. Rotary house, engine, and genset switches were relocated out of the engine room to comply with ABYC safety standards and replaced with Blue Seas Dual Circuit rotary/combiner switches adjacent to the breaker panels. The yard upgraded and upsized all charging and battery cabling, upgraded over current protection, and installed a Blue Seas digital voltmeter that monitors the status of all start batteries.
The original 2500 watt Xantrex inverter charger was replaced with a Mastervolt Mass Combi 4000 watt inverter/charger (standard with Krogen Express 52’s) with remote LCD control panel next to the breaker panels. A custom engine driven charging system was engineered and installed by replacing the original, 70 amp alternators on the CAT’s with a 210 amp Balmar alternator on each CAT engine coupled with a full suite of Balmar and Magnum Electronics components to manage and deliver 12v power efficiently and seamlessly. The outcome is an abundance of reliable, redundant power with high resolution battery monitoring and underway recharging independent from the generator that is not needed but for cooking or HVAC. These robust energy systems were not on the original Krogen Express vessels and provide long range, worry free cruising without running the generator but for HVAC and oven usage.
The bow thruster under the master state room was dangerously cantilevered off the underwater, cross hull tube with high potential to crack and flood the boat. The yard fabricated and installed new supports that corrected this safety issue. The smaller water heater was replaced with Wabasto 11 gal water tank including engine water heat exchanger. We installed bronze shutoff valves each side of A/C sea water strainer for quick, easy cleaning without saturating the bilge. Florescent lights in the machinery spaces were upgraded to ultra-bright LED fixtures. All these upgrades improved the vessel over originally delivered.
The Steve D’Antonio bilge pump rule of thumb calls for 1000 gallons of pumping capacity per hour for every 10 feet of vessel length, or 5000 gph for COCONUTS. To overcome system head and voltage losses, and provide backup pumping reserve in the event the hull was holed, we replaced two of four 1500 gph pumps with 3700 gph “crash” pumps for a total of 10,000 gallons per hour including upgraded wiring and larger through hull fittings. No boat is unsinkable, but this upgrade fosters the freedom to explore remote areas, such as the Bahamas and further points south without hesitation while assuring additional time and options in the event of an emergency not available in the original boat.
We installed a new generation Ultra Anchor 60 lb stainless steel anchor that sets deep and has never dragged over 3000 hours of our operation. We sleep easy at night. We installed foot switches for windlass operation on the foredeck and nearby quick disconnect fittings for both sea water and fresh water wash down making anchor retrieval and deck cleaning an easy, one person job not provided when new. Anchoring out is now a pleasant, easy, and high confidence experience.
We operate COCONUTS gently, conservatively and with attention to detail. Prior to every main engine start, we check the dipsticks on both the CAT engines and transmissions. Ditto the generator. We warm the main engines to operating temperature underway at no wake speed before throttling up beyond 1000 rpm’s. We run COCONUTS at 1500 rpm’s to achieve hull speed of 9.5 knots, our operating speed the vast majority of the time. At 1500 rpm’s, the oil pan is 205 degrees F. Steve D’Antonio advised us that temperature indicates the cylinders are hot enough thereby preventing carbon build up and assuring the rings are expanded to optimum fit. Every other day or so we run her up to 2400 rpm for five to ten minutes to “stretch her legs” and assure no anomalies. A number of current and former CAT employees we got to know at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club in Peoria, IL (CAT headquarters) advised our operating mode will defer major overhaul to 20,000 hours because the engines are not stressed.
By many critical measures, COCONUTS has been revitalized to better than new mechanically and is in splendid, overall general condition. What COCONUTS is not is a project boat. Our refit and upgrades exceeded expectations and provided us a safe, reliable, highly capable, and fine-tuned cruising yacht for years to come.
Since 2008
Our 1996/2013 Krogen Express is significantly improved from her sister ships in many respects. Central is that Caterpillar repowered the vessel under warranty in 2000 when they replaced the original CAT 3116 engines with upgraded, 3126TA motors. We purchased her in 2008 and laid her up for two years for a major refit. Although the hull is a 1996, the work in 2009/2010, and further robust scope of work in 2012/2013, makes her younger and better than might be initially thought. All the work was carefully considered with and performed under the watchful eye of expert marine consultant Steve D’Antonio and in accordance with ABYC standards. In sum, in many cases new equipment makes her higher quality than when new and comparable in some areas to the latest Krogen Express 52’s now in production. In many regards, COCONUTS is only eight years old or less.
The drive train aft of the transmissions on both engines has essentially been totally replaced. The constant velocity shafts were removed, disassembled, cleaned, inspected, parts replaced as necessary, re-greased and reinstalled. The 1996 vintage Aquadrive thrust bearings were replaced with better engineered 2010 Aquadrive units. The sometimes problematic drive shafts in the original Krogen Express boats were replaced with new Aquamet 22 stainless steel 2” drive shafts. The yard removed the struts, laser aligned new positions, and reinstalled them. Michigan Wheel Dyna-Quad 26 x 22 Nibral props, with ProProtector disc cutters, replaced the original props. The yard installed high temperature exhaust alarms that enunciate at 140 degrees, far quicker than visually checking for climbing water temps, thus avoiding potentially costly engine damage. Coupled with the original Mathers MicroCommander throttles, the result is a smooth, highly reliable, balanced, and communicative drive train that is far better than originally delivered and comparable to that on new 52’s.
The hull had existing bottom paint removed to bare hull and 10 mils (5 coats) Interlux 2000e epoxy barrier coat applied. This added to the original vinyl ester barrier coat specified in the build schedule provides exceedingly high confidence in a lifetime, blister free hull.
Engine reliability is 90 percent dependent on clean fuel. After steam cleaning the tanks, the yard installed Wiki filter vacuum gages on both Racor main engine primary fuel filters and Racor genset primary fuel filter. Fuel stripper tubes were installed to permit quick draining of tank condensate as necessary. Algae-X filters were installed to both port and starboard main engine fuel filter systems for enhanced filtration. The yard installed UL listed correct Racor filter bowl drains, installed water sensors in both Racor filter bowls and Borel “water in fuel” alarms. These upgrades manage and deliver diesel fuel better than originally built.
The engine room is the heart of the boat. We installed brightly polished diamond plate deck between the engines and replaced the fluorescent fixtures with large, LED fixtures for operating room, light level intensity. We upgraded the Sea Fire FM-200 suppression system in the ER and added a remote pull station at the pilot house helm. We installed a MARCO oil changer system for engines and generator with drain shut off safety valves on main engine oil pans and transmission housings. The engine room is spotless with better visibility, easier maintainability, and manual fire extinguishing better than when new.
The electronics, autopilot and television systems were upgraded in 2010 with top of the line Furuno, Simrad, Airmar, KVH, and AIS equipment. Coupled with a new, oversized Accusteer hydraulic pump and scores of proven east coast routes and Great Loop waypoints already dialed in, low stress navigation, “run on a rail” course keeping, and real time weather monitoring is available over and above the original delivery.
The tired Westerbeke generator was replaced with top of the line Northern Lights 12kw generator. Wet cell house bank batteries were replaced with AGM units, increased to nearly 1000 Amp-hours, and relocated outboard of the mufflers (two per side) for better balance in a seaway and vastly more under salon storage space. Rotary house, engine, and genset switches were relocated out of the engine room to comply with ABYC safety standards and replaced with Blue Seas Dual Circuit rotary/combiner switches adjacent to the breaker panels. The yard upgraded and upsized all charging and battery cabling, upgraded over current protection, and installed a Blue Seas digital voltmeter that monitors the status of all start batteries.
The original 2500 watt Xantrex inverter charger was replaced with a Mastervolt Mass Combi 4000 watt inverter/charger (standard with Krogen Express 52’s) with remote LCD control panel next to the breaker panels. A custom engine driven charging system was engineered and installed by replacing the original, 70 amp alternators on the CAT’s with a 210 amp Balmar alternator on each CAT engine coupled with a full suite of Balmar and Magnum Electronics components to manage and deliver 12v power efficiently and seamlessly. The outcome is an abundance of reliable, redundant power with high resolution battery monitoring and underway recharging independent from the generator that is not needed but for cooking or HVAC. These robust energy systems were not on the original Krogen Express vessels and provide long range, worry free cruising without running the generator but for HVAC and oven usage.
The bow thruster under the master state room was dangerously cantilevered off the underwater, cross hull tube with high potential to crack and flood the boat. The yard fabricated and installed new supports that corrected this safety issue. The smaller water heater was replaced with Wabasto 11 gal water tank including engine water heat exchanger. We installed bronze shutoff valves each side of A/C sea water strainer for quick, easy cleaning without saturating the bilge. Florescent lights in the machinery spaces were upgraded to ultra-bright LED fixtures. All these upgrades improved the vessel over originally delivered.
The Steve D’Antonio bilge pump rule of thumb calls for 1000 gallons of pumping capacity per hour for every 10 feet of vessel length, or 5000 gph for COCONUTS. To overcome system head and voltage losses, and provide backup pumping reserve in the event the hull was holed, we replaced two of four 1500 gph pumps with 3700 gph “crash” pumps for a total of 10,000 gallons per hour including upgraded wiring and larger through hull fittings. No boat is unsinkable, but this upgrade fosters the freedom to explore remote areas, such as the Bahamas and further points south without hesitation while assuring additional time and options in the event of an emergency not available in the original boat.
We installed a new generation Ultra Anchor 60 lb stainless steel anchor that sets deep and has never dragged over 3000 hours of our operation. We sleep easy at night. We installed foot switches for windlass operation on the foredeck and nearby quick disconnect fittings for both sea water and fresh water wash down making anchor retrieval and deck cleaning an easy, one person job not provided when new. Anchoring out is now a pleasant, easy, and high confidence experience.
We operate COCONUTS gently, conservatively and with attention to detail. Prior to every main engine start, we check the dipsticks on both the CAT engines and transmissions. Ditto the generator. We warm the main engines to operating temperature underway at no wake speed before throttling up beyond 1000 rpm’s. We run COCONUTS at 1500 rpm’s to achieve hull speed of 9.5 knots, our operating speed the vast majority of the time. At 1500 rpm’s, the oil pan is 205 degrees F. Steve D’Antonio advised us that temperature indicates the cylinders are hot enough thereby preventing carbon build up and assuring the rings are expanded to optimum fit. Every other day or so we run her up to 2400 rpm for five to ten minutes to “stretch her legs” and assure no anomalies. A number of current and former CAT employees we got to know at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club in Peoria, IL (CAT headquarters) advised our operating mode will defer major overhaul to 20,000 hours because the engines are not stressed.
By many critical measures, COCONUTS has been revitalized to better than new mechanically and is in splendid, overall general condition. What COCONUTS is not is a project boat. Our refit and upgrades exceeded expectations and provided us a safe, reliable, highly capable, and fine-tuned cruising yacht for years to come.