STAR DANCER 490 MERIDIAN SECOND EDITION MAY 20, 2010
A Note from the Owners of Star Dancer Welcome aboard and thank you for choosing Star Dancer for your cruising vacation. Star Dancer is a 2003 Meridian 490 Pilothouse. When you and your guests come aboard, a representative of Anacortes Yacht Charters will conduct a checkout and systems review, including a briefing on safety and operating considerations. Please ask any questions, you wish, to clarify your understanding.
BOAT OPERATION ENGINES The main engines on Star Dancer are very reliable Cummins diesels. If treated correctly, they can be expected to give trouble-free economical cruising. The engine room is accessed through panels in the floor of the salon or through a hatch at the top of the companionway stairs next to the refrigerator. Twin Cummins Diesels – Model 6BTA 5.9M3 – 330 HP each Freshwater cooled The hour meters are at the aft edge of the DC panel in the pilothouse.
Visually inspect the bilge. Check under and around the engines. During your inspection, ask yourself if everything looks (and smells) right. Check the general condition of the belts and hoses. Sea Strainers: Ensure the valves on each RAW WATER THRU-HULL are open. (The lever is in-line with the hose or valve). The Raw Water Thru-hulls are normally left in the open position. However, if they are closed, there will not be any water flow from the stern exhausts when the engines are running.
After engines start, walk out to the swim step and check the exhausts for water flow. If there is none shut the engines off immediately and troubleshoot, starting by checking the sea strainers. Sea strainers are the large bronze and glass cylinders, located aft in the engine room, that filter debris out of the raw waterside of the cooling systems. Remember to close the seacocks before opening the strainers and to REOPEN when done.
CRUISING Slowly come up to your desired cruising rpm. (Do not exceed 1400 RPM until the engine temperature gauge reads at least 140 degrees). Star Dancer can cruise nicely at approximately 16-17 knots. However, the realities of vessel hull design and power plant engineering dictate that higher RPM operation will be less efficient on semi-displacement hulls. Thus, you will notice from the following table that every knot above “displacement speed” (about 7 knots) can get expensive.
ensure the Bow Thruster is turned on by simultaneously pushing both “on” switches from the helm position. The Bow Thruster should only be used in 3-5 second bursts. It will overheat and/or drain its battery quickly if used continuously and then will not be available when you need it. Turn the Thruster OFF after you’ve docked. SHUT DOWN Before shutting down, the engines should idle for about 5 minutes to let them cool.
SAFETY EQUIPMENT Life jackets are located below the cushion, under the window, on the port side of the pilothouse. There are 3 fire extinguishers. One in front of the pilothouse exit door on the port side. One in the cockpit next to the fresh water washdown on the stern and one on the flybridge on the port side fore of the davit. There is a “throw ring” for a “man overboard” on the starboard side of the stern cockpit. It is intended to keep a “person overboard” afloat.
WHEN YOU PLUG INTO SHORE POWER… Turn off the dock socket before plugging or unplugging either end of the cords. This prevents arcs, sparks, and shocks: and the cords, sockets and plugs will last longer. It is good practice to plug in the boat end of the cord before plugging into the shore outlet. Turn the dock socket on when both ends of the electrical cords are securely connected.
DC POWER There are four battery banks in your 12-volt system: Port Engine/Generator Start Batteries, Starboard Engine Start Batteries, House/Inverter Batteries and the Bow Thruster Battery. The battery master switches are located aft, next to the salon sliding door on the port side. Normally you will leave the switches in the on position except for the anchor winch and the davit battery switch. There is a DC MASTER SWITCH (it is black) on the left of the panel.
Note: Voltage will tend to read less than actual if the batteries are under load (being used). The only true voltage measurement comes from a battery that is not under load nor has been for a brief period of time. Therefore, you will probably have a little more battery power remaining than indicated. All the batteries are charged while underway (above 1000 RPM) by the alternators. Caution: Alternators may not be able to keep up during times of heavy draw on house bank.
GENERATOR The Generator can supply all the AC power that you can get from shore power. It can be run while under way or stopped. This gives tremendous flexibility, especially when at anchor. To start the generator, ensure that the fluids have been checked and the raw water thruhull is open. (Note: The generator dipstick is on the port side near the bottom of the generator. You must remove the access panel first.) The generator controls are located on the bottom of the AC electrical panel in the pilothouse.
The system can make or break your vacation. Therefore, it is imperative that every person on board be informed on the proper use of the toilet. If you don’t tell them how to use the heads they will not know how to avoid clogs. The valves, openings, and pumps are small (about the size of a quarter) and can clog easily. If the head gets clogged, it is your responsibility. Always flush the head for small children so you can be certain of what is being flushed.
WATER SYSTEM FRESH WATER TANKS AND PUMP Star Dancer holds 200 gallons of fresh water located in two separate tanks. To fill the tanks, remove the deck water fill caps located on the port side of the bow. Use the food grade white-blue stripe hoses (stored in the starboard compartment in the cockpit). Fill only with potable drinking water. A manifold to switch tanks is located under the companionway stairs on the port side of the compartment. There are two hoses feeding into the water pump.
finished to keep the shower presentable. Pick up any accumulation of hair in the drains as it clogs the hoses. Ensure that the faucets are tight turned off after each shower. FRESH WATER WASHDOWNS There are fresh water washdowns located on the bow (in the locker near the anchor) and aft (in the port compartment in the cockpit). Be sure they are completely turned off after use to prevent loss of water (especially the aft washdown which can end up in the bilge).
when on 12-volt power such as when you are at anchor. Use a cooler when available to keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible. The power switch is located on the front door of the refrigerator. Be careful not to turn too high as items will freeze and possibly rupture. A setting of 2.5 or 3 should be good. ICE-MAKER The icemaker uses lots of energy. It operates just like most home icemakers and must have an AC source of power.
For more heat there is a Webasco Diesel furnace. It distributes the heat by heating water and circulating it throughout the boat. There are temperature controls with integrated fans in each area of the boat. Be certain that one or more of the temperature controls are calling for heat. If all are closed the furnace will shut down. To start the furnace, turn on the toggle switch in front of the wine cabinet. It will take about a half-hour for the water to heat and to feel the heat in the salon.
of the computer box showing that the computer’s “reboot” switch is just below. Normally you will not need to use the “reboot” switch. To turn on the system check to be certain the two breakers on the AC and DC sides of the panel are turned on. (They should never be turned off.) Turn on the display by depressing a button on the right side of the display. The screen should begin to “paint”.
2 red 3 red Solid red 250 275 300 Always have the engines running when raising or lowering the anchor. The Windlass (Winch) power breaker is located on the Master Battery Control Panel in the cabinet just to the port of the salon door. The Windlass is operated by using the foot switch in the foredeck. On the starboard side of the winch is a three-pronged handle.
4. 5. When the anchor is clear of the water and close up to the bow roller, bring it in slowly so it doesn’t slam into the hull or the roller. Usually it is best just to handle those last few feet by hand. Turn off the “windlass Power” switch. Note: There is a Chapman’s on board with discussions on anchoring. A spare anchor, chain, and line are located in the Starboard lazarett. This “lunch anchor” is for emergencies and is not typically adequate to hold the vessel by itself.
INTERNET ACCESS Star Dancer subscribes to the Clear Network. It provides 4-G internet connections. The password is “20stardancer08”. BARBECUE The barbecue is mounted on the starboard flybridge. Attach the propane bottle and regulator. The regulator should lock in-place, as you rotate down, be careful not to drop this overboard. The barbecue can be lit manually if you have trouble lighting with the igniter. If needed there are butane lighters located in the bar cabinet near the barbecue.
Release the ties holding Starlet to her mounting brackets. Release the line that is tied to the front mounting bracket. Put on a stern line on the starboard side of Starlet to help guide the dinghy as it’s lowered. Station a crewmember in the cockpit to guide the dinghy as it is lowered and to keep it from swinging and damaging Starlet or Star Dancer. Using the davit control cable lift Starlet about a foot above her mounts, push the davit arm so that it swings to port carrying Starlet.
OPERATING THE DINGHY Be certain to have the ignition key to the dinghy with you. Board the dinghy Check to be sure you have gas. Tilt the outboard down if has been raised. The tilt switch is on the starboard side of the outboard engine. Check to be sure the red insert is in place on the “man overboard” tether. There are two, one on the outboard engine and one close to the throttle. Squeeze the black bulb, on the outboard engine, many times until it feels firm and full of fuel.
The searchlight has a DC circuit breaker labeled “searchlight”. Be careful, the light gets hot. The light works from either upper or lower helm depending on how you’ve switched the controls. WASH-DOWN PUMP There are two. One is near the anchor on the bow and the other is in the port locker in the cockpit. Both have coiled hoses with a nozzle for convenience. There is one more wash-down unit located next to the aft cockpit door to the swimstep. This is a freshwater wash-down for washing off swimmers.
Spare parts are located in a box in the starboard lazarette. They include extra oil filters, impellers, belts, etc. Extra oil, transmission fluid and coolant are located in the compartment under the stairs to the engine room. There are also spare parts for the vacuflush toilets in the box. Crabbing is fun but requires the correct license and season. Please be sure not to crab off the stern as the crab line can easily get tangled in the prop as you swing with wind or current.
Pay special attention to: Removal of diesel soot from transom and from around the diesel furnace exhaust. Removal of black streaks from hull. Scuff marks removed from hull (usually made from brushing docks or from dragging hoses or cables on the top deck) Windows cleaned with squeegee LEAVING THE BOAT CHECKLIST Dinghy motor lowered, dinghy washed and scum removed, seats cleaned, fuel filled, tie down straps secured, cover boat, secured davit cable and weight.
Hopefully tuck away another great cruise, a wonderful experience and a colorful memory.
SPECIFICATIONS AND IMPORTANT NUMBERS Vessel Make/Model Year LOA Beam Draft Bridge Clearance Fuel Capacity Fresh Water Capacity Water Heater Capacity Holding Tank Capacity Weight Engines Generator Inverter Meridian 490 Pilothouse 2003 54 feet 15 feet 1 inch 3 feet 4 inches 18 feet 2 inches 444 gal. 200 gal. 18 gal. 48 gal.
