Recent content by Shoalwaters

Doug, I believe the main reason for jacketing is to stop the engine room heating up too much and prevent burns if you/hoses/wires touch the hot bits. I have Yanmar 4LH-DTE's and used header-wrap on my new risers. It works fine, but the blue tends to rubs off on anything that touches it. There...

Sounds like a plan, but mice pee a lot. Wouldn't that make the problem worse?

Not nearly tall enough - needs more weight up top too.

Janice, Interesting project. I can certainly understand why you want a transom door. A few considerations: Opening out and hooking in the open position saves space. Do you significantly weaken the back of your boat by cutting a piece out of the transom? Did your mfg ever offer this option...

Yup! I keep a pack of those little single-use sandwich bags on board for just that purpose. Easier to clean brushes at home in my workshop.

This

Don't forget to insulate it well though, or the outside of the PVC will run with condensation and flood the cabinets.

Am I looking at hose-barbs with tapered threads screwed into the bottom of plastic sea-strainers? The plastic threads on one of them may have been stripped and repaired with pipe tape to stop leakage. Leaving aside the possibly stripped threads, I would be concerned that the forces produced by...

GFI's and other safety measures aside, isn't there something counter-intuitive about a hose-bib mounted within inches of 110v or 220v outlets? I know it is common practice in thousands of marinas, but . . . . turn off water, residual pressure in hose, unscrew dock end, fan of spray as pressure...

All of the above. Suggest you familiarize yourself with the whole system now, at your leasure, while tied to the dock. There will come a time when you need to do something "in anger" like draining gunk/water, bowl clean, filter change, refill etc. Nice to know the procedures in advance.

When redoing my a/c systems I found that 4" PVC waste pipe made excellent ducting. Foil-coated bubble-wrap makes good easy insulation. I made a varnished mahogany trunking where part of the ducting was visible. My boat originally had the "slinky spring" type flexible ducting. Looked like it...

Swamp: I would expect the 1,000 gallons to eventually heat up and the ice maker to stop working - question is how long this would take. A much smaller water reservoir should work if you include a radiator and an electric fan. In fact, didn't you try this a few years ago?

Alaskan: I suggest keeping a close eye on the hi-pressure lines, esp. the one from the pump to the membrane. 800+ psi can make for a lot of pulsing and vibration and chafe. Probably preaching to the choir here, but suggest securing with cushion-clamps to timber structure. Avoid using cable-ties...

IMHO your engine is configured the sensible way. When it is running, it doesn't require electricity to keep it running - same as my Yanmars.

Your foredeck is probably strong enough to carry the weight of a generic dinghy when supported in chocs or a cradle. I would be surprised if any GRP deck could carry the turning moments involved in hanging say 500lb over the side and swinging it inboard. I'm not saying that is the weight of your...