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I keep a tank and gear on board. I realize not everyone is a certified diver, but I made a bunch of money recovering abandoned gear when I was a whole lot younger (college). My record was four anchors in one dive off a very snaggy spot at Catalina Island. If someone was in trouble I would do the...

We do import distribution through the Port of Los Angeles. Shanghai has been virtually shut down for the past six weeks due to Covid. The vessels that have the raw materials that the Chinese need to produce goods have largely been sitting at anchor. The short answer is that the Chinese aren’t...

Chinese copies of the dual Racor filters are now selling on EBay for $350.00. I have one tank that sips a bit of water while under way. I’m considering the dual so I’m not slumping a racor in the middle of a passage...

Two engines are usually better than one. However, if the functioning engine is pushing to the opposite way you want into a slip it’s a good time to have friends or a capable deck hand. Seriously, with a single going slow a deck hand should be able to keep you off of other boats. Don’t panic...

I hadn’t anchored since purchasing my GB 42 but was told about 200 ft of chain on board. Not wanting to have a similar situation I recently pulled out all of the chain and nylon rode on board and laid it on the dock. I discovered three things, 1. I really do have 200 ft of chain in...

8.5 knots is about right for that boat and a clean hull. 8.5 knots is 10 MPH. That's no where near 14 MPH. With enough horsepower I could make a rock fly, but not 120 Lehmans.

I will chime in here. Years ago I was watching a pretty girl and grabbing the nozzel to fuel my Dodge diesel pickup. Well, the truck ceased running when I reached my driveway. At the time I was about 80% gasoline and 20% diesel in a Cummins 6BT. I removed as much fuel as I could siphon from...

I don't know how practical this would be for recovering a stuck anchor. For a boat anchoring in deep water without a functioning windlass it makes a lot of sense. The best way to retrieve a stuck anchor when all else fails is to dive on it. A very small scuba tank and regulator should do the...

I run at 1600 RPM and see +/- 7.6 knots with a clean bottom. I plan for that speed because the engines seem happiest there. The boat will do a bit over 8 knots WOT but mostly I get a lot of noise and higher fuel burn running her that way. She’s an old girl at 47 years old so I don’t ask too...

Imagine the savings on a vessel that measures economy by the number of tons of fuel burned per hour. As an example, a Panamax container may burn around 50,000 gallons of fuel per day at twenty knots. For the sake of discussion let’s assume that vessel is burning low Sulfur bunker fuel at a...

I suppose that many of us dream of passage making to Hawaii, the South Pacific, or some other far off places. They are great dreams. Reality is that few are able to fully commit to the financial, time, and emotional stress involved in a passage like that. For the rest of us local cruising...

Agreed, there is probably some underlying system issue causing the genset to shut down prematurely. IIRC, old school systems had a relay that held the genset fuel solenoid open. If the relay was grounded for some reason then the solenoid closed. Several things could cause the ground...

Quote, “ I'd pull the impeller and install a very durable AC electric water pump that's wired to run with the generator. I run my Perkins 165 this way because the damn impeller is impossible to reach. Going strong for a long time.” If it’s an impeller issue that’s fine. If it’s some kind of...

If it’s the fuel solenoid tied to some kind of safety timer you could simply wire the fuel solenoid open in a pinch. The trouble with that is you lose your low oil pressure and water temp safety switches.

I tried to sign up for the Grand Banks forum a year ago. I never got confirmation of my request and never got an answer from admin there. I think the site must be largely abandoned.

My $.02. Boats are similar to private aircraft. Sales of private aircraft tanked in the late ‘70’s. Boats went into the 80’s pretty strong. Now the fleet of both is rapidly increasing in age. Both have held their value to some degree because of the high costs of replacement. Both are...

Agreed. I’m slumming in Wilmington CA at the bargain rate of $500.00/mo. There is no comparison. I’d expect rent at MDR to be close to double what I’m paying.

Do you really think the Coast Guard or local marine police have time to worry about if your anchor light is legal? Do you think someone is going to run into your boat and claim it was your fault because your anchor light could only be seen from 2 NM? I really don’t understand the concern.

I subscribe to the KISS principle. Keep it simple stupid. I favor an older boat with simple systems including old school mechanical engines. Simple systems seem to fail less often and are easier to fix. I’m pretty happy with my GB 42. Enough room to sleep an additional couple, lots of...

If you have a home system with Directv you may remove it and instal it on your boat. If you want to get a second receiver you can add service on an “RV” for an extra $5.00/mo. That’s how I’m set up, but I’m not sure if it is still available. I can use a my Tailgater resting on my dock. The...

It’s interesting that our backgrounds are very similar. In my younger days it was sailing. First a Lido 14 and later a Catalina 30. Later, trailerable motor boats to satisfy my fishing and SCUBA addiction. I took up G.A. about 23 years ago and have flown everything from Pressurized twins...

General aviation risk analysis is a great place to start. There is no such thing as zero risk. I was involved in a G.A. Accident and I can tell you that it has affected my risk tolerance. Everyone thinks it only happens to the other guy, until it doesn’t. I like your thinking but I don’t...

My renewal with Boat US was a modest increase of less than 10%. On the other hand, my aviation policy went up by 20%. I lot of insurers are abandoning niche market products. Also, they have been looking more closely at their loss ratio’s. Underwriting experience requirements are tightening...

I agree. Most modern diesel oils have very sophisticated additive packages. I might argue that for our older pre-emission engines that some metallic additives like ZDDP would be beneficial. Like “Lead” in old gasoline it was difficult to replace until metallurgy and seal material advancement...

Just shy of Kim Basinger’s age. She was my other heart throb besides my wife of 38 years. I’d like to say I’m retired but still working in the transportation business. My boat is my home when I’m working but like others I’m doing much less working with the Covid-19 crisis. The way the...