Ragin Cajun Questions

[Kerusso 10-40]

Last year I bought a RAGIN CAJUN 18XL. With a Johnson 175 Fastrike (J175GLERA). I have a few questions about the boat.

1. I have found basic sizes from the NADA sight. I'd like any information on gas tank size, livewell size, fuses, etc.

2. On the back of the boat across from the motor is a large black dial with hoses going the the gas tank. At 3 o'clock on the dial it says off, at 9 o'clock it might say reserve (most of the letters are missing). I'd like to know what this is for?

3. There are also a couple switches on the driver console that I don't know exactly what they do. One for lights that says Anc and Nav. Whats the difference? The other just says fuel?

If you have any other information that you think would help me I would appreciate it. Thanks for the help. I'll get some pictures posted soon.

Larry

[DJ from MN]

Hey Larry, another Minnesotan. You Betcha and WELCOME aboard.

The fuel switch more than likely does say RES. A lot of Cajun, and others, hold about 3 gal. of fuel in reserve in the tank. There is a dual pickup system so you have to manually switch to the reserve. That way you can't run the tank completely dry and you know you have 3 gallons to get to shore or fuel.

The light switch (my guess) is for anchor position and navigation position. Anchor is just the white pole light and navigation the pole and the front red/ green are both on. You are allowed to be at anchor at night with just the white pole lamp burning but before you move (navigate) you need the front lights on.

It was explained to me that Cajun had a fuel switch that disconnected the fuel gauge from the battery. It seems that at speed in chop conditions a fuel gauge that is not at rest against the E peg is sublect to internal damage. So, while underway in choppy conditions they want you to shut the fuel gauge off.

Don't have a clue about the rest of your ?.

DJ

[Kerusso 10-40]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll see you on Minnewaska some day. By the way, when I purchased the boat the fuel gauge was broken. Thanks again.

Larry

[JackOH]

I know the 1988 Rajun Cajun had a 30 gallon gas tank.

As far as the gas gage switch, I think it was to keep the gage from draining the battery when the boat was'tin use. I used to run mine all teh time with the fuel gage on, and never had any bouncing issues.

[DJ from MN]

Don't want to start no pissing contest, but if you turn off the MASTER accessory control switch the gas gauge is off. Therefore no drain on the battery.

I don't have any personal knowledge, but the old boy that told me that was pretty heavy into Cajun sales. Anyway, it's like believe it or not. <U>Believe it</U> or <U>not.</U> I shut mine down when I have 1/2 tank or less and the needle starts bouncing around.

Now, the newer Cajun's have digital gauges and still have an on/off switch so go figure.

It's a good habit to get into to shut off the master switch. If you are wired right your depth finders are also wired through that sw. so you can't accidently leave one of them running. Only thing I don't like about that switch is my auto bilge is controled by that switch too so if I don't get it in the shed and forget to pull the plug I got a problem.

[cavasteve]

Don't know if Ragin Cajuns are wired different the RGFM's, but my auto bilge is wired direct. I always turn my master power switch off. I came out one day after some time on the water and the auto bilge was running (master was off). I had to give it a tap with a dowel to get it to stop running. I contacts must have stuck on it. I wish mine was wired to the master switch.

[JackOH]

I guess it all depends on what model and year you had. I'm certainly not going to argue about who's right/wrong about it anyway. All I know is that my old 86 Maverick didn't even have a "master switch" for the electronics. The fuel gage, livewells, and lights were all operated thru toggle switches on the dash.

The auto bilge usualy is wired direct for a purpose. If your boat is docked and unattended, and it rains hard or otherwise starts taking on water, you want it to be able to switch on and pump the boat out. If it's wired thru a master switch, you would have to leave it on for the auto bilge to work.

[CajunBass]

Most of the Cajun's I'm familiar with (let's say "pre-genmar") had a master electronics switch. It shut everything off on the console, except the automatic bilge pump. That was wired "hot" to the battery, for just the reason someone mentioned. If your boat started to take on water for whatever reason, (rain, a leak) you want that pump to start no matter what. When you turned on the bilge pump switch on the console, you were actually turning on a second bilge pump.

The only thing the ignition switch controlled was starting/shutting down the outboard. Of course individual riggers may have done thing differently. The idea was that if you shut off the master switch, and took the key with you, (all I ever saw had a key switch for the master) no one could turn your accessories on, and run your battery down, or burn up a pump.

The Anchor/navigation light switch is just as someone else described. The anchor position turns on just the rear white light. The Navigation position turns on both the front (green/red) and the rear.

The "fuel" switch just turns the gas gage on and off. Why? Because they could.

Fuses are probably catch as catch can. Every Cajun I ever saw just had individual in-line fuses. You'll have to find them, and find out what's needed. They should be located in a "convenient" (yea, right) place in the bilge.