Hi all,

We had our maiden voyage this weekend on our Wellcraft 30 Monaco. Did a
whole lot of cleaning, moving in and figuring things out. By the time we
were rigged for a cruise on Saturday afternoon a thunderstorm had moved in
and by the time it had moved out our "wait out the thunderstorm"
refreshments had disqualified us for a cruise. We got out today though and
had a visit to the gas docks and a nice easy cruise for an hour or so.

As some of you may remember me saying we are new to owning a boat and I
arrive this evening with approximately 1 million questions. I'm hoping some
of you will take a stab at setting me down the right road.

In no particular order they a

Water pump -- it is very loud when operating. It's a shure-flo diaphragm
pump and has a small (looks like 1/2 litre) pressure chamber. Just makes an
incredible racket when operating and annoys the hell out of me. So my
question is, is this normal and if so, is there something quieter I can
replace it with?

FW tank -- So if I'm opening my tap to drain my FW tank and it runs dry and
I don't notice, will I burn out my pump or does it somehow know to shut
itself off?

Fridge -- My Norcold fridge cycles off for only about 5 minutes before
coming back on even when it has reached temp. Last night I threw the breaker
off for some peace and quiet and it held enough of its cold to keep the food
chilled but I can't be doing that all the time. Is this sounding familiar to
someone and maybe you can give me a clue as to where I should start looking
for a problem (or is it normal)?

Shift levers -- They're single levers but they don't have a good feel too
them. When maneuvering I find I'm either not getting it solidly into gear or
I'm getting it into gear and applying throttle inadvertently. When underway
I find increasing or decreasing power is difficult to do smoothly. I'm
getting more used to them but they feel unsure -- not so much sticky as just
.... crappy. I don't mind considering an upgrade -- I notice my neighbour has
single levers by Morse and I will make a point to ask him about them. My
question is, would an upgrade give me a better, more positive feel?

According to the manual they have adjustments for detente and friction
however at times the resistance on both of those seems both too tight and
too loose. I can't describe it other than to say that they don't feel
"sure".

Flares -- The house next to the marina was blasting music, and I mean
blasting, until well after 4 a.m. My question is, how far do you think my
flare gun will shoot on a horizontal angle? (I'm kidding ... well, okay at 4
a.m. I did actually wonder if I could hit it from there).

That's all for now, but I'm sure I will have more.