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New Adventure Operating Manual – 5/1/2011 
 

Welcome to the New Adventure! 

2005 42’ Africat Power Catamaran 

 

 

 

THE AFRICAT 420 

 
Thank you for chartering the “New Adventure”.   Power catamarans are not common on the west coast, 
but they are very popular in the Caribbean and in Florida where we bought the boat in February, 2008.  
They have both disadvantages and advantages relative to a similar sized monohull boat.  On the positive 
side, our experience is that they are very stable and tend to ride better than a monohull in rough waters.  
With a width of 22’ the New Adventure is much roomier than a monohull of the same overall length.  It 
has three staterooms each with its own private head, and the master stateroom suite has its own separate 
shower stall. In addition it can get up to 40% better fuel economy and cruises at a comfortable 16 to 18 
knots.  With its shallow draft of just over 3’, it can access shallow areas not available to most monohulls.  
On the negative side the width of the boat is larger than most marina slips, so getting a moorage is more 
difficult.   
  
You’ll find that if you familiarize yourself with this handy manual you’ll be able to start enjoying your 
cruising vacation. If you have any feedback or suggestions on the completeness or clarity of the manual, 
please leave a note in the binder. 
 
This document is not intended to be a comprehensive user’s guide to this vessel or to yachting in 
general.  Please be sure that the AYC check out or skipper training program has provided you with a 
good understanding of the various systems and their operation before departure and that you feel 
comfortable in your ability to safely handle the boat at all times. 
 

Summary of Contents for 420

Page 1: ...shower stall In addition it can get up to 40 better fuel economy and cruises at a comfortable 16 to 18 knots With its shallow draft of just over 3 it can access shallow areas not available to most monohulls On the negative side the width of the boat is larger than most marina slips so getting a moorage is more difficult You ll find that if you familiarize yourself with this handy manual you ll be ...

Page 2: ... ourselves but also for all of our guests Please help us by assuring the following No smoking onboard No pets Remove shoes when on the boat No crab cooking in the cabin This manual is provided to AYC for distribution Please refer any questions or concerns to Anacortes Yacht Charters New Adventure Layout ...

Page 3: ...ty page 4 5 Basics breakers switches and controls page 5 8 Engines page 8 9 Instruments and alarms page 9 11 Household toilets water pressure stove etc page 11 15 Electrical System page 15 17 Electronics page 17 18 Tanks water diesel fuel waste page 18 19 Anchoring Dinghy and Outboard page 19 22 Other Issues page 22 23 ...

Page 4: ... A boarding ladder that fits in a fixture on the back of the starboard aft step platform is located on the hot water tank in the starboard engine compartment Flare Kit A USCG approved flare kit is located in the starboard locker in the fly bridge along with spare flares signaling devices and other required safety communication items First Aid kit The First Aid kit is located in the master starboar...

Page 5: ...may damage alternators and other systems on board However in the event of an emergency such as an electrical fire when you may decide you need to cut all 12v power to the boat you can do so by throwing these three switches Through hulls Assortments of wooden through hull plugs are located in both engine compartments near the sea strainers BOAT BASICS The switches on the DC and AC panels are covere...

Page 6: ...ch has settings for different operating conditions anchoring underway etc Second column The water system grey water and all toilet related breakers should remain on Third column The upper fridge under the seat on the fly bridge if it is used The freezer located under the salon seat to starboard if it is used DC outlet and tank management Fourth column The music system powering the radio at the sal...

Page 7: ...ter This breaker is also only operational when the generator is on or when connected to shore power The Sal Outlets breaker controls the outlets in the salon at the microwave and the toaster over To protect the inverter these outlets are only active when the generator is on or when connected to shore power Note If you are on 30 amp shore power you can only run one Heat Pump Air Conditioner at a ti...

Page 8: ...nerator hour meter Note see the manual for more info on the generator Engines Please refer to the Anacortes Yacht Charter boat manual for standard AYC departure checklists and daily procedures This section only provides a quick reference on the mechanics of starting and stopping the engines maneuvering and cruising Pre start 1 Standard Anacortes Yacht Charter pre start checks 2 Bilge pumps should ...

Page 9: ...re the cover for the aft controls is put in a safe place when the controls are in use and replaced over the controls when they are not in use The controls can be damaged if they get wet 3 Note that rudder steering control is only available on the flybridge Spare engine oil transmission fluid coolant and steering fluid are located in the starboard hatch under the rear facing seat in the cockpit are...

Page 10: ...e temperature and oil pressure It cannot be used to start the engines Note The engine oil pressure gauge on the fly bridge for the port engine sometimes is malfunctioning and mistakenly indicates a lower and sometimes erratic oil pressure than the starboard engine Alarm panels The salon nav station and the fly bridge helm have optical alarm panels for each engine The panels will light up for the f...

Page 11: ...the problem Continuing to run the engines when an alarm is on may damage the engines The Household Heads toilets To prevent truly unpleasant troubles with the heads follow a few simple rules Don t put ANYTHING into the toilets other than the marine toilet paper supplied on the boat and what you ve already digested No cotton balls bubble gum wrappers floss paper towels etc Make sure every guest fol...

Page 12: ...toilets the holding tank often fills faster than that on the starboard side If the toilets will not flush but are not obviously plugged it is usually because the tank is full If in doubt pump it out Hot Cold Water System Overview Two fresh water tanks on the boat hold up to 200 gallons of fresh water These tanks are connected together so there is no necessity for switching from one to the other El...

Page 13: ... shore power or the generator is on or the main engines are running You need only leave the Water Heater switch on located on the 110v AC panel and the system will operate automatically Stove and Oven Please refer to the instruction manual for operating the stove 1 Make sure the valve at the LP tank located in the forward starboard deck hatch is on 2 Turn on the gas circuit breaker on the 12v DC p...

Page 14: ...reezer and an icemaker refrigerator on the boat The main refrigerator and the ice maker are located in the salon and both operate on 110V power A small 12V refrigerator is located under the forward port seat on the fly bridge and a large 12V freezer is located under the starboard seat in the salon To counteract the formation of water condensation on the top of the freezer we have placed an insulat...

Page 15: ...r the plasma TV monitor and one for the home theatre system The TV control turns the monitor on and off and must be independently set for the input to respond to the DVD player The player AM FM receiver and the sound system are all controlled by the LG remote Both remotes are kept in the middle drawer under the seat at the salon nav station There is another radio receiver located at the nav statio...

Page 16: ... charge the house battery bank and the engine batteries when either shore or generator power are present The Xantrex panel is located to the right of the 12V DC panel and to the left of the salon C120 Raymarine display The panel shows the voltage level of the house battery bank battery 1 and on the left of this panel there are two important buttons The top one is labeled Invert and when the green ...

Page 17: ...heat position and hold for at least 30 seconds 4 Move the lower switch up to the Start position Release as soon as you see the voltage gauge indicate 110V and the oil pressure gauge operate 5 The Generator Power light will turn on at the AC panel 6 Run genset 3 to 5 minutes before you put any load on unit To stop the generator 1 Make sure there is no heavy load on the generator all appliances air ...

Page 18: ...arine owners manual for operating instructions Depth sounders Water depth is indicated on a digital display at the salon nav station and on the starboard C120 terminal on the flybridge when the Raymarine electronics are turned on Electronic GPS Charts A GPS receiver is connected to both C120 terminals on the fly bridge and to the C120 terminal at the salon nav station However detailed electronic n...

Page 19: ...at the nav station to the right of the radio Filling The water tanks can be filled from any source of clean water Remember that the water you put in the tanks will be what you cook with shower with etc so be sure to use a good clean source There are two water hoses in the front port hatch or in the rear cockpit cabinets which can be used for filling the tanks To fill 1 Remove one of the filler cap...

Page 20: ... of the tanks In fact the port side level indicator is sometimes erratic and should not be relied upon In practice the two tanks tend to track fuel levels quite closely regardless of generator usage Note also that the tank sentry breaker must be turned on at the 12V DC panel in order to activate the tank sentry Anchoring Dinghy and Outboard Anchoring with the windlass There are 200 feet of chain c...

Page 21: ...LACK BEFORE ACTIVATING THE WINDLASS 3 As you get near the position directly over the anchor run the boat over the anchor position with windlass off to free it then turn on the windlass to retrieve it 4 When raising the anchor it is sometimes necessary to redistribute the chain in the anchor well to assure the windlass will continue to operate The hatch cover over the chain well should be open duri...

Page 22: ...et out more cable and move the dinghy to the rear of the boat so that someone can get on the dinghy to disconnect the cable clasp from the ring Watch out for the heavy weight at the end of the cable so that it does not hit you or the boat Retrieve the cable with its weight and return the davit arm to its rest position connected to the storage ring on the deck 12 Tie up the dinghy safely at the bac...

Page 23: ...enders on the boat as it is tied up at the marina and three smaller fenders in the forward port deck hatch Lines other than those used to tie the boat at the marina are located in the starboard cockpit hatch under the rear facing seat Waste While onboard this vessel please handle waste according to the following guidelines Collect all refuse and garbage from the bins located in the salon and state...

Page 24: ...ath the mattress on the forward port bed when not in use Manuals Manuals for all items on the boat are located in the cabinet with sliding glass doors above the microwave area on the port side of the salon Cruising Log There is a cruising log in the salon as well as a maintenance log Please enter all relevant information during your cruise into these logs At the end of your trip please tidy up all...

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