Search results

Best Breakfast OOOH Yes! Coffee. Strong and black. My beloved Boodum french press makes an elixir I reserve only for our boat breakfasts. Cloudy and gnarly. Mornings when I can rise early are a spiritual experience. Sitting in the quiet watching the world come to life. My mug steaming away...

We had a situation where our Shurflow ran dry for a considerable period of time. I ended up having to replace it as it no longer operated reliably. I have since gone to using pumps for agricultural sprayers. They are essentially the same and the cost is considerably less.

Have an oil test done and a survey by a good diesel mechanic. Don't forget a good sea trial putting the engines under high rpms for a long enough period of time to show problems there. Have the mechanic aboard for the sea trial. The combination of these will tell the overall health of the...

Interestingly, all the fiberglass skins from the swim platform I'm currently recoring have the outer layer of the plywood ( or what's left of it) firmly bonded to it. The plywood failed at the glue bonds in the wood. I expected to just lift the rotten wood out, but was surprised to have to work...

Thanks for all the input. It's nice to see all the different methods everyone used. I'm really sold on both Vinylester resin and Corecell. Vinylester works just like polyester fast and easy. When I researched Corecell I saw that it is used considerably in the megayacht market. Yes, it's...

I used 37 gallons of Vinylester on the recore of a Hunter Legend 37. It's super stuff. The problem with bonding the outer skin down is the open time is really short. Much like Polyester Resin. The idea of an hour + open time using a slow hardener is the only reason for using epoxy for that part...

Well, I have all the goodies gathered and I'm ready to start my recore job on the flybridge deck. I have done plenty of recoring but have always laid new glass over the coring. I'd like to try reusing the outer skin this time. Both to save time and materials. Has anyone here recored...

I'll watch Criagslist..... Any other places I should check out? It would be worth the trip.

.....so where does one go to find a 100$ skiff. Up here in Ohio, if a 2x4 floats it will bring more than that. After gutting a 37' sailboat, a skiff would be easy to restore....

We boat in freshwater only. Bottom paint is (almost) a mute point. No matter what you use, you're gonna get slimed. Only a scrubbing will keep you clean. Even the 40 plus kt boats grow a layer. I used to use Vc 17 hard Teflon. It was awesome to be able to coat a 37' sailboat hull in 30 minutes...

I've never towed a tender. I'm wanting to purchase a BW 11' or 13'. What is the limit that I can expect it to take while towing when things get rough. Lake Erie can throw six footers + in minutes during squalls. Our West Indian isn't really designed to take a hard tender onboard so that's not...

yeah, everyone that's sewn bigger items dreams of a machine with a deep throat. All you need to do is get off a couple grand or so because the people with those machines ain't letting them go...

I got into canvas knowing nothing a few years ago. I have the Sailrite LSZ with all the goodies. Major projects so far have been two bimini tops and a winter cover for our previous 37 foot sailboat. Oh, and a sun top for a dune buggy. If I were to buy another machine knowing what I do now, I...

Being new to trawlers but many years a sailor There's two things I've learned, 1. Tools. You cant have too many tools. 2. Back and fill. The art of trawlering with a single screw. (still learning that) I've learned not to not be humiliated when I back up for a quarter mile because the cross...

We have a "Vintage" BenMar autopilot. 40yrs old and still ticking. Course is set with a degree dial and has a sea state trim knob. Oh, and a clutch engage knob.That's the whole ball of wax. I compare the autopilot course to the gps heading. I then trim the pilot to the heading. Super simple...

Our 1977 West Indian 36 has aluminum tanks from the factory. I personally don't feel aluminum is that great. Our previous boat had aluminum tanks and water pooled in a corner under it and the metal rotted where it was in contact. This was fresh water so I'd hate to see what salt water would do...

Hello Everyone, Sorry it took so long to get back. Thanks for the ideas. Naturally the coupling is near impossible to reach. But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.... Actually that would be great to be the source of the problem. At least I can do that without the boat yard. The shaft is one...

Greetings, When I pulled our boat this fall I checked the cutlass bearing for wear. Although it felt great, I noticed that there was a polish mark forward of the bearing indicating that the shaft is moving fore and aft in the bearing. It appears to be about 5/8 of an inch. The boat is new to...

Tach Thanks folks. That's what I thought. By the way, I got mine on Amazon for 11 bucks......:dance:

Hello All, I've been wondering about my tachometers being out of calibration all season. One is a Stewart Warner on the fly bridge and the other is a Motorola on the lower helm. The tachs ran off the stator wire from the alternator. The boat long ago was originally equipped with a...

Hello folks, I'm looking for what I would call "wind screen" for lack of the correct term. We have a West Indian 36 trawler with a rail around the full length upper deck. It currently has Sunbrella skirting on the rail approximately 18" high. I saw a Chris Craft with what appeared to be some...

Hmm... never heard of using epoxy. Is pot life an issue? I'll be working out in the sun. I read an article on it and it does have some advantages.

Hello all, I'm getting ready to apply the finish on our exterior teak. I was wondering if anyone has used one part polyurethane as a finish? I suspect most varnishes are relatively the same but poly is a completely different chemistry (I think). Does poly hold up better in anyone's experience?

Ahhh... Now that's my version of Pleasure Boating...

It's never pretty to see a piece of history go by the wayside. I drive past Admiral Byrds personal yacht weekly. She was a very unique vessel It's been dying a slow death for the past 20 years. She was about 50 feet with a high plumb bow and flush deck running to a small pilot house set well...