At the MTOA Rendevouz in St Augustine, Fla. this spring one couple had to leave due to a family emergency. Since they had come on their boat the problem of getting it home arose. Fortunately all worked out and someone totally unfamiliar with their boat ran the boat home for them. This got me to thinking of such a problem as THE WIFE and I are now making much longer cruises (up to several thousand miles round trip). I have had CCRIDER 18yrs and have 9, count them, 9 loose-leaf volumes covering every piece of equipment and system on the boat. There dozens of wiring diagrams and notes on how I did repairs .

I have also made a conscious effort to garner phone numbers and addresses of vendors of all equipment. These have proved invaluable when repair parts or service was needed. Even though all of this info is well categorized it does NOT tell HOW TO OPERATE THE BOAT! The incident at St. Augustine moved us to action-- fortunately not like EX-LAX, I digress.

THE WIFE and I have just completed a first rate, if I do say so myself, OPERATION MANUAL. It was not a difficult task but it certainly takes a lot of thought. Ours fills 12 typed pages in , basically, outline form. We attempted to present it in such a fashion that anyone can go on board and SAFELY operate every system with ease. Not only are all systems described in detail but there are full, step by step instructions on such esoteric topics as How to take on fuel, change fuel filters, operate the entire sewer and refrigeration systems to name a few. Everything is covered right down to which circuit breakers should be on for any given function.

• Electrical

• 12v

• 120v

• Gen. Set

• Fuel

• Water

• Refrigeration

• Main Engine Starting

• Tools

• spare parts

• Sewer

• Lazarette

• Stove

• Emergency Gear

• Bilge pumps

The following is an example:

4- WATER

There are 3 tanks each holding 125 gallons. The engine room has two, one each side aft of the fuel tanks. Each tank has a deck fill. The aft tanks deck fills are the first ones from the transom. The forward tank's deck fill is forward on the starboard side. (There are brass placards on the side of the cabin) To maintain proper trim of the vessel use both aft tanks at the same time.

Valves for each are located at the base of each tank. There is a valve near the base of the Fresh Water Pump that will isolate BOTH of the tanks. The Fresh Water Pump is located on the starboard forward portion of the engine room.

The third water tank is forward of the engine room and is accessed through the hatch in the hallway. The valve for this tank is located below the fresh eater pump and is just forward of the valve controlling the aft water tanks.

NOTE: There is a complete replacement fresh water pump stored in the engine room starboard aft along with many misc. parts.

There is a sight gauge on the starboard aft water tank: to operate, open the valve on it.

We have the entire OPERATION MANUAL in Word and will be happy to e mail it to anyone who would like to use it as a form . Our e mail address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In closing, not only will such a manual be of immeasurable help in an emergency but also if you simply need someone to do something on your boat when you or it is away.

 CC Rider Operation Manual