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Esteemed Forumites,

The clutch on my ST 4000 disengages itself when the autopilot is rotating the wheel in one direction (and not the other--I think it's clockwise but I could have it backwards).  The lever just slowly moves itself to the out position.  Then the motor turns but not the wheel.  I could keep a roll of vinyl tape handy, and tape the lever down.  But that could be tough if I have to disengage in a hurry.  (A roll of vinyl tape and a box cutter?  There's probably some solution that involves vise grips too ;>)

There's an Allen screw at the axle of the clutch lever.  Tightening it seemed to help a little (maybe), but did not solve the problem.

Have any of you seen this? 

Thank you,

Tony

Hello,

When I got my '89 Mk I, the PO had disconnected the blower fan.  I had always assumed that it was dead.  But I am trying to reduce the oil smell aboard, so I found the old wires and jumped them to 12 volts.  The fan roared to life.

I just spent the evening rewiring the fan.  (And I did a lovely job if I do say so myself--A DPDT switch in the instrument panel lets me run it either off the ignition circuit with the key on or off the house circuit with the key off.)  I ran the fan to burn in the installation.  Both circuits worked fine.  After a momentary surge of about 5.5 Amps, the fan drew 3.7 A.  But after about 20 minutes the blower motor started making a lot of noise, as if the bearings were going.  (And current draw was creeping up--4.1 A.)  My guess now is that when the fan heats up the bearings go wonky, and that's why the PO disconnected it. 

Has anyone replaced that fan?  Any suggestions for a source?

Thanks,

Tony

Ahoy y'all,

The temperature-pressure relief valve on my water heater started leaking regularly and profusely.  I removed the old one and found that the local plumbing supply place didn't have anything with a 1/2" thread.  I called Seaward, but customer service assured me that I had to call Atwood, since that company had manufactured the unit for Seaward.

Atwood steered me to a local RV dealer, who sold me a Cash Acme NCLX-5.  It fits.  Atwood technical support assured me that the listed temperature, 210 degrees F., is correct.  (She said it might start to weep around 155 degrees--I hope not!)

I'll let you know if this unit causes trouble.

Thanks,

Tony
Helen C. #903
Std/Wing

Ahoy,

I have a Mark I with a Universal M25XP.  This weekend I ran the engine for the first time this season, and I noticed that the throttle lever is hard to move.  I could see the red plastic lever breaking in the near future (probably while someone else was at the controls or while I was approaching a dock--you fill in the other Murphy's scenarios).

What advice do you all have for making the throttle work more smoothly?

Thank you,

Tony

Helen C/#903
Std/Wing

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My starboard Lewmar 46 ST primary winch will not turn freely if I try to spin it by hand.  When it's loaded, I can trim the genny using the handle (with some effort), but it is very difficult to pull the line by hand (e.g., to take the slack out of the new working sheet during a tack).

If I remove the self-tailing horn, the winch will spin, though the little black plastic tab inside the two jaws of the tailing hat was quite stiff.  I separated the two jaws,  and cleaned some old grease off the plastic parts and lubed with some Lewmar winch oil (not grease).  Now if I drop the horn on top of the tab and hold it in place by hand (not much downward pressure), I can spin the drum.

But, here's where it gets sticky:  The horn is held on by two brass clips--like e-rings--that sit flat on top of the horn and lock into slots on either side of the spindle of the winch.  On my starboard winch, these don't want to go in easily.  It looks like the slots in the spindle are ~1/64" too low.  With some persuasion, I can get the clips to seat.  Then a flat plastic cap covers the clips and four Phillips-headed machine screws lock-in the clips and hold down the cap.  It seems that the clips are compressing the horn down on top of the self-tailer.  The horn (chromed brass) sits stationary while the self-tailer (plastic) rotates underneath it.

I looked at the port winch, which spins freely.  The clips can be easily removed and replaced from that winch.

I looked for something that might be holding the winch drum high on the spindle, but I can't see anything.  The inside of the drum was pretty clean.  I thoroughly cleaned the tops and the bottoms of the self-tailer on the sticky winch.  But still the whole assembly rides high.

I've a mind to remove a thin layer of plastic from the top of the self-tailer to see if that gives an easier fit.

Has anyone encountered this problem before?

Thanks,

Tony
'89 #903
Helen C.
Standard, Wing

Hi,

The November 2001 tech notes have a piece on the set-up for an assymetrical (cruising) spinnaker.  There's a small photo of a padeye custom made to bolt right over the stanchion bases on the pushpit.

Does anyone have more detail on the construction of these padeyes? 

I'm hoping to fly my assym. before the end of the season!

Also, how do folks attach the tack of their chutes?

Thanks,

Tony
#903 Helen C
'89 Standard, Wing

After a very late start this season, I'm finally sailing.  This year, the main is very difficult to raise.  The easiest way seems to be for me to lift the sail with some difficulty by pulling the halyard right at the mast, then taking the slack out at the rope clutch.  This maneuver is tough to do alone.

If I pull from the cockpit, I need to use the winch almost at once.  Last season, I could pull the sail most of the way up by hand and just winch it taut.  Looking up the mast, I see that the main halyard goes into the mast slightly to starboard.  Is the sheave offset?

None of the blocks seems particularly hard to turn.  The sail doesn't seem to be snagging or binding; it's just consistently hard to pull up.

I remember a post on this subject some time ago, but I can't find it now.

Tony Benoit
------------------
Helen C
'89 #903
Wing/Std

Hi,

Practical Sailor did a review of high pressure inflatable floor dinghies a short time ago.  Apparently the HP floor give some of the stiffness and tracking of a RIB without as much weight and with the option of deflating and rolling up.

I have a slat-floored inflatable now that is light and easy to use.  But, it is slow, tracks poorly, and seems inordinately wet in the slightest chop.

Does anyone have experience with an HP floor boat?  I wonder if it would be any better in a long ride back to Helen C after dark against a wind and chop?

Thanks,

Tony

#903 '89
Helen C

Hi,

There's a sail on boom kickers at:

http://shop.catalinaowners.com/boomkicker/detail-bk.tpl?fno=20&cart=1112041245135462

Has anyone experience with these?

Thanks,

Tony B
#903 Helen C