Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

Bob L

For everyone's information: Simple Green: No effect Greased Lightning: Nada SootSolv: Works slightly, if left on damp for days Solvents: Effective, but danger of explosion No Fume Oven Cleaner: Works slightly Regular spray oven cleaner: Effective, but atomized spay will gag you The magic bullet: Ove...

Bob L

Thanks Tom and Chris for your suggestions. I read about TSP, then contacted a bunch of cleaning supply companies to find out what the pros use. They just seem to sell it, not use it, but the consensus is a degreaser - I was recommended an orange citrus base cleaner, stuff similar to Simple Green (Gr...

Bob L

I'm tackling the cleanup of a boat that had a smoldering fire, leaving the interior coated with what is referred to as "wet smoke residue" - a thin black layer of residue that is difficult to remove. I made some test cleanings with the Mr. Clean Magic eraser and also with Spray 409 - the r...

Bob L

I just checked on my neighbor's teak... 10 months now and the finish looks great - slight wearing at points where the dock lines touch, but the large surfaces seem barely changed since he has applied the oil. Unfortunately, my old varnish hasn't peeled itself off since my last post. Looks like I'll ...

Bob L

Wilmington, NC - no chance of sandstorm, rats...

Bob L

In anticipation of all my varnish peeling off (a long process, but 3/4 there...) I've been searching for "anything that doesn't peel". I worked at Lowe's and was familiar with Austrailian Timber Oil, a product designed for teak furniture. So last fall I was chatting with a guy at marina. H...

Bob L

I like the idea of the spray foam, because it will add to the rigidity of the structure. While the floor is off, I want to overfill the cavities, then grind them down flush. BTW, if you ever have to remove this stuff, the tool of choice is a cup-shaped wire wheel on the end of a drill. It is like a ...

Bob L

I am replacing the cockpit floor on a Cobia center console. The area beneath the floor had sprayed in foam for floatation, but I needed to remove this to repair the stringers. The cost for "marine grade" foam is something like $250 for a propane-size tank holding 8 cubic feet. Can I use ar...

Bob L

Thanks for all of the replies. That's what I figured. How about another 2 cents? I have seen the AIS system. Now I also learn that the DSC VHFs can also overlay position on a display. Is there a reciever that does both? Then I could see the big um's and little guys.

Bob L

I reaching the point with my boat where I need to start thinking about elecronics. I have looked at the popular GPS and chartplotters from Raymarine, Furuno, Navman, Garmin, etc. and it seems to me they all use proprietary map cards. I can see me shucking out $1000 or more for the hardware, and then...

Bob L

Thanks Tim and Bruce. I know this would be a lot of work, but what has me thinking about it is my impression that the hardware removal, teak removal, recore, and fairing is the huge undertaking, and the non-skid is the icing on the cake. If I'm going to go through all of that work, I may as well hav...

Bob L

OK, before I get assulted with alternatives, let me say that I've already had a thread going on Interlux Inter-Deck an I'm interested in it, I've looked a Treadmaster and am so-so about it, and also looked at Ultra-Tuff and ruled it out. Here goes: For my upcoming deck de-teaking and recore, I'm thi...

Bob L

Come to think of it, Tim has been out of the boat biz for 6-18 months, based on good behavior...

Bob L

To explain the lack of theft: The key might keep some hooligan from going out on a joyride, but how do you hide a 35' full keel boat? I don't see many chop shops parting out cruisers... well, there's that one up in Maine... :)

Bob L

Agree. Some of the other units have locking watertight lids - another way to "lock" the boat, and really keep the instruments dry.

Bob L

Good call. I will look into this more. Thanks!

Bob L

Gaaahh..... I knew the first reply would be "make it yourself" :)

Hey, great thread link. Thanks Tim!

Bob L

I want to be much father from land!

Bob L

My original Yanmar engine panel is aft-facing, screwed into the vertical surface of the cockpit footwell, just under the companionway. The PO decided there "wasn't enough" teak on the boat, and made an angled teak fixture for it with slide-in plexiglass to protect it from the weather. When...

Bob L

A few shots of my boat before and after my first sailing experience with it: http://www.beneteau235.com/wb_boats/beagle/beagle1_andy_1000c.jpg http://www.beneteau235.com/wb_boats/beagle/beagle_andy1_1000c.jpg http://www.beneteau235.com/wb_boats/beagle/beagle8_andy_1000b.jpg http://www.beneteau235.co...

Bob L

Problem fixed, for now. Here's the story: New regulators have multiple wires, among these are Ground, Field, Battery or +, and Ignition. The regulator doesn?t work until switched on by the ignition system. My ancient regulator has three wires, green, black, and red. Green for Field, Black for Ground...

Bob L

You also have to take the boat's other power consumption into consideration: If computing power is the priority, then replace lights with LEDs or florescent, shut off the fridge and drink warm beer, use a vane instead of autopilot, etc.

Bob L

Gee, this tread is only a year or so old, but I found this Xantrex document on how to convert an internally regulated alternator to an externally regulted type:
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/760/docserve.asp

Bob L

Now to the questions: #3 ... oh, I think I get it now... Your regulator is suppsed to sense the system voltage through the Aux terminal. The + and Aux are connected to the same windings so you can use either one. The fact that yours is connected to the + terminal at the moment shouldn't be a proble...

Bob L

Regarding Mini-ITX DC PCs: This is the way to go, at least for the nav station. The VIA boards vary in power consumption, but Mini-Box has a power consumption calculator right on their website! http://resources.mini-box.com/online/powersimulator/powersimulator.html If you don't want to build one you...

Bob L

I've got a Yanmar 3QM30 with a old 55-amp alternator and an old aftermarket Motorola solid-state regulator attached to it. After spending the night on the boat, I inadvertently left the battery switch on, but every DC breaker and the bilge pump was turned off. Four days later the batteries were comp...

Bob L

How about hauling out to the country, pulling off the trailer, then employing Man's oldest friend - fire :) Yeah yeah, it involves the dangers of self-immolation, starting a wildfire, EPA issues, and the fact that your roasted mashmellows might taste a little funny... but a few gallons of unleaded a...

Bob L

So I'm in my carport getting ready to depart for my daily work on boat ritual, and I glance over at my sprinkler system and have an epiphany. A few years ago I had installed a water resistant box made by Rainbird to enclose my automatic sprinkler control. You know the type, gray plastic, costs about...

Bob L

Sorry for the delay in replying - I had to pick up yet another project boat... (19' Cobia center console in need of a floor) Right, I hear what you all are saying, Harbor Freight stuff is cra.. well, not the greatest. But more to the point: Will flux-core type welders do a good job on stanchions? (H...

Bob L

have some welding work to do on my boat, and I'm thinking a welder might be a good investment. Harbor Freight has a 110v/90amp flux-core welder on sale this weekend for $89. I guess the principal behind it is that there is flux in the wire, therefore you don't need a bottle of inert gas to shield th...

Bob L

I don't need to get my whole hand in there, just being able to fish them out would be good. I got the Don Street book today, and he is generally against the idea though. I'll post a picture when I figure it out....

Bob L

CharlieJ, thanks for the Don Street reference. Since I don't have the book, I tried to find it on amazon in the "search inside the book", but it was unavailable. Rats.

Bob L

It's a fairly big section, I'm guessing 10" fore to aft and 4-5" side to side. Total length is 45'. I need to fish out the wires more that get my whole arm in there.

Bob L

Right, "no way" on the fist sized hole... I'm a little hesitant to do the fitting&hose - I'm going to strip the teak off the deck this winter and would like to leave it intact for now. Perhaps I can make a hole in the mast the same size as the OD of the hose I will use, and I can fish ...

Bob L

>Do you think it might once have been a packing material that squeezed >around the chainplate when the top plate was installed, or is it just a >filler to fill up the large void around the chainplate and give sealant a >place to rest without falling through? That sounds like a rational explanation. ...

Bob L

Pictures of the fibrous material: http://webpages.charter.net/robertlanghorst/gunwale3.jpg http://webpages.charter.net/robertlanghorst/gunwale4.jpg space around chainplates for movement (is this enough?): http://webpages.charter.net/robertlanghorst/chainplate3.jpg http://webpages.charter.net/robertl...

Bob L

I'm stepping my mast soon, and need to make a mod. How big a deal is a hole in the mast? Here is the arrangement: Deck stepped, beefy stainless support post in cabin, wires run up the center of the post from it's base. On deck, a metal mast step, with the wires coming out the center. Nice and weathe...

Bob L

Thanks Tim - but didn't you use 5200 on the toerail of Glissando? I'll get you a picture today. The deck and hull meet to form raised gunwales, and most of this is glassed together - except where the chainplates penetrate. Here there is a space bigger than the chainplate bar (leaving about 1/4"...

Bob L

I'm putting in a section of cap rail. There's white rubbery stuff under the old splinters. When bedding the new section, should I use 5200 or Polysulfide? Also there is some sort of fibrous material around the chainplates (this is the section I'm replacing, obviously). Leave it alone and caulk over ...

Bob L

My inevitable deck re-core job is still percolating in my mind. I'm completely familiar with the cabin top and side deck process, thanks to Tim and other web posters, but none of them seem to mention the sides of the cabin top. I can envision cutting off the vertical side skins and re-coring that en...

Bob L

Actually, I'm unfamiliar with Interdeck, but if it has the Tim Seal of Approval, I'll put it at the top of my list. My limited knowledge of non-skid paint deals with aggregate sprinkled on top, and the applications I've seen never seem to be uniform. I also liked the idea of rubber (hence Treadmaste...

Bob L

Thanks Tim and Tim. Tim L. have you ever seen in a light color, or was it usually black, and therefore ugly? Tim A., thanks for the links. I called the distributor and am having some samples sent out. Tim L. how about the peel-ply-type stuff that they put inside of boat molds to make the nonskid? Co...

Bob L

Anyone out there have experience with Ultra-Tuff rubberized non-skid paint? Check them out here: http://www.ultratuff.net/ I've heard good things about the product's durability and non-skid properties, but appearance is everything.

Bob L

Good advice Tim. Maybe I will do the cockpit decks with a foam core, like you've suggested, then do the lid out of something else -plywood or solid sheet FRP from McMaster-Carr. I really don't know what the fiberglass looks like underneath the deck. In the quarterberth area the PO glued some sort of...

Bob L

Are you talking about biax with epoxy, or polyester resin?

Bob L

He had his mosture meter out, which indicated moisture, but I'm not sure I trust that thing. He did the rudder and it indicated moisture, then we came back (after I drilled it!!), and it indicated nothing.

Bob L

So I joined my surveyor for the survey. He did the woodpecker routine with a nylon hammer, and around most of the thru-hulls the sound went "thud" instead of "ping". He suggested pulling them, letting them dry, coating the edges of the hole with epoxy, and then reinstall and rebe...

Bob L

My new boat (35' Young Sun cutter) is a forest of teak. One area that will need to be addressed quickly is the cockpit. The cockpit seats are teak, screwed into plywood, layed over fiberglass. Several problems: 1) wet teak equals wet butt, 2) locker lids swelled, ill fitting, and heavy, 3) cockpit i...

Bob L

Well, I've always have been unsatisfied with mainsail flaking. The Beth Leonard article on Sailnet let me to believe that it was the be all/end all system. The main on the 60' ketch we sailed from St. Maartin was heavy, but because it was a ketch, I assume it was the same size as the main on a 40' f...

Bob L

If anybody is paying attention to this tread anymore I have three words: Schaeffer Boom Furling . I think you can buy it through Lackey Sailing (Tim) at 5% over cost. That's item number one on my next boat. I thought that the Dutchman system was supposed to be the perfect thing, but after I sailed f...

Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

Search found 72 matches

Re: Boat fire residue cleanup

Re: Boat fire residue cleanup

Boat fire residue cleanup

Cabot Australian Timber Oil: non-peeling teak finish

Expanding spay syrofoam

GPS/chartplotters/PCs NOAA downloads

Making Non-Skid using Gibco Flex-Mold

Recessed, angled, instrument panel

Beagle's first sail

Alternator pulling amps with engine shut down

Waterproof electrical enclosure from Lowes

Flux-core welder for rails and stanchions

Mast hole? Cut or not to cut?

cap rail bedding and chainplate fibers

recoring the sides of the cabintop

Ultra-Tuff rubberized non-skid paint experience

Sounding out around thru-hulls

Teak cockpit replacement