I came about a Parker 335hs (from 2003) for sale in The Netherlands. It is probably the only Parker 335 in our country.

Last saturday I visited the ship. It looked good, although some improving actions have to be performed, like fixing the rubber sealing at the transom for the rudder. I saw a posting on this forum how this has been fixed. Some of the equipment is a bit outdated, but it works.

My question are:
- about the keel depth indicator on the cockpit console. The LED's don't work anymore. The keel mechanisme works fine as far as I could judge from lifting and lowering the system once. Is this a know issue for older 325/335? Can this be easily fixed of are replacements available? I really would like to have an actual reminder as to the depth of the keel. We have some shallow waters in the Netherlands :)
- The keel ram anode has last been changed some 7 years ago, but the ship has primerily sail in the Dutch inland (sweet) waters. Is there a way to inspect the condition of the anode from the top?
- the interior woodwork looks a bit tatty. It seems as if the varnish (or whatever they coated the wood with) was rather thinly applied. Has anyone restored the interior wood? Was it necessary to remove all old varnish?
- In the aft cabin the carpetting of the roof is een bit loose so this has to be glued again.

So far I did not see important issues. What critical issue are there to be watched for?

I hope your answers will help me to decided with my aspiration to become a Parker 335 owner.

Thanks in advance
Dirk Bakkeren

Hi Dirk

I think the 335 is a great boat for Holland, ours has been there several times and I hope will be visiting again this summer.

The original keel indicator on the 325/335 was a poor quality item and I doubt if many of them worked after the first year or two. I built a much better system based on a tank level gauge that has worked for 10 years now, I can send you the details if you want.

As far as I know there is no practical way of inspecting the keel ram and anode whilst it is in the boat. If the keel ram was last serviced a few years ago, I would suggest it should be taken out for inspection and will probably need repainting and a new anode. This is not a big job and can be done in a few hours.

The only common fault I know of on 325/335's is leaking around the chainplates where the rig is attached through the deck. This is usually fairly easy to fix, we did ours without taking the rig down.

Good luck
Martin
335/50 Tringa

Hi Martin,

Thank you for your swift and comforting reply. I would like to receive your description of the replacement/alternative for the keel depth indicator on the instrument pod.

Kind regards,
Dirk

Hi Martin

Thanks again for your answers and photos. Could you send me please your plans for the keel height indicator as I am thinking about a similar solution to my missing original indicator. This was one of my reasons for finding out more about the keel’s construction. Thanks.

Regards
Simon
Kerenza

Pictures and sketch for the keel indicator.
The sender and gauge came from Wema UK who were very friendly and helpful.
  Sketch.pdf (302kb) downloaded 46 time(s).

Hi Dirk

I can't compete with Martin's professional solution to the keel indicator, but I can recommend the Mk 2 Bungee system. Jan the previous owner kindly refurbished the LED system for me but it has been patchy at best, better for impressing friends in marinas than knowing precisely how deep your boat is. My experience of Dutch waters suggests that this is essential knowledge, as it is in Chichester Harbour. A fluoresecent plastic bobble tied onto some string onto the top of the keel is reassuringly mechanical. The Mk 1 bungee ties onto the lower spreaders, the refined Mk 2 goes through a block on the spreaders and back down to the spinnaker ring for more stretch. Either system will at least get you home safely until you can install something more technicalat the helm.

As to your other questions - we also faced some ageing varnish but with light sanding and a few new coats it has come up very nicely. The issue with the carpet is more to do with the backing which may have crumbled. We took ours out and replaced it with vinyl (OK I paid someone to do this properly); the result is clean, fresh and light. If your carpet doesn't glue back easily you might consider this option. The frankly indulgent addition was to replace the hull side carpet in the sleeping cabins with varnished grooved ply. If I wake up in the morning and don't move for a minute I can persuade myself I own a Swan.

Good luck with your purchase!
Peter

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Thank you Peter. Your answers are also very helpful and reassuring. A nice mechanical suggestion for the keel height indicator 🙂

Kind regards Dirk

Another mechanical solution is to run the line from the top of the keel along the coach roof back towards the cockpit, and attach it to a pulley block system, fixed at the forward end, that reduces the movement of the free pulley to be one third the movement of the top of the keel. The mobile end of the pulley system is attached to an extendable dog lead that is mounted in the cockpit at the bottom of the forward face of the cockpit, so that the 'dog end' of the lead moves up and down with the keel. The 3 to 1 pulley system means that the full keel travel of around 1.5m converts to 500mm on the vertical surface in the cockpit. The advantage of this is that it's very easy to see in the cockpit while bending down operating the keel control switch, which is just above the cockpit floor on our 275. The disadvantage is that none of the dog leads available appear to be rust proof, so that the set up now, after nearly 8 years, looks a bit rusty, but it still works. I'll take some photos next time we're on the boat...

Gilliane

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Hi Martin,
The original keel heigh indicator of the 325/335 was apparently a weak spot. Was it the keel transducer / pully device that failed or the indicator on the instrument pod or perhaps both?
The reason for my question is think about a replacement for the indicator on the instrument pod alone. If both the transducer and the indicator failed than I completely understand your ingenious construction.
In the 335 handbook there is a schematic drawing of the lift keel system. It shows the line that runs over (or around?) the transducer, is that line pulled back by a shock cord?
The mechanical solutions are elegant too by their simplicity.

Hi Dirk

I think it is fair to say that almost every component of the original keel indicator was poor.

The transducer was a multi-turn potentiometer mounted where it was exposed to water and salt. It was turned by a string wrapped around the shaft that was supposed to be kept tight by a length of rubber "shock cord" After a while the string would occasionally loose grip on the shaft then tighten again when the keel was lowered. This meant that the potentiometer was turned beyond its normal range and was broken. A partial solution to this is to replace the shock cord with surgical silicone tubing which does not become slack with time.

At the other end of the system was a poorly sealed plastic box which leaked water onto the electronics inside.

From new, our Parker system lasted about a year before it first broke down and then for a further couple of years after various repairs. Then I gave up and built my own system. I think the cost of the parts to build a system like mine now would be something like 150-200 euro.

I think the best choices are either to use one of the mechanical systems which I believe work well, or to build a completely new electrical indicator system. I don't think that trying to keep the original system running is a rewarding plan.