Messages

I recently "refaced" a Groco pump cover that is about the same as our water pumps and it took about 20 minutes.  Starting with 400 grit paper on a sheet of glass I took it down at least .024" and then went to finer paper stopping at 1500 which was overkill I know.  The Flitz polish then was really over the top but it was very pretty. The point is that the whole project took less time than a good machinist would take and the results were perfect.

We store a 9.5' AB aluminum dink on the fore deck with a cushion under the stern protecting the deck and the mast.   Using the spinnaker halyard to hoist I also hang a ratchet block from the pulpit and lead the painter through and back to pull the boat forward in front of the shrouds.  While my wife cranks on the mast winch I can ease it over the lifelines and down to the deck to flip over.   I can do it solo but prefer help.  The AB seems a lot heavier that advertised! Our old air floor 9' dink could be pulled up over the lifelines without a halyard.  I love the hard bottom but miss the portability of the roll up. 

The Amazon price went up to $17.99 but that includes to transmitters and I initially only had one.  Search for Liebmaya windlass remote and at that price you will find the receiver and two transmitters that are about the size of a car remote. The remotes have worked for years with the only issue being they do do not like to make the trip to the bottom on an anchor check.  Salt water kills them.
Maybe I mentioned this before but my initial test showed a 450' range on the transmitter.  With that range I hope few people use these units as I do not know how many different frequencies are used.  I hope to never encounter another user on 403mhz while raising the hook. I did buy another remote/receiver as a backup and got one marked 404mhz and will change out the receiver if I go for another swim.  The battery in the transmitter seems to have a good lifespan.  So far so good. 

Piggybacking on this just a little. The original nylon? 90 degree fittings on our boat were suspect.  Most of mine were leaking just a little and had a bit of black debris at the hose ends and I suspect that debris was mold.  My pressure pump was going off regularly but once they all were changed for dark gray plastic 90s from the hardware store all is well.  The leaks were so minor only in aggregate did any symptoms appear.

Maybe I am missing the obvious I do not know.  Is there a way to download a .plr file from these pages? I found that the Garmin will also load polars if I can get them on an SD card.   Thanks for posting the info.

If that falls through I have one. 

Hi Paul,  Your son works for a great company with a long history up there.   It seems like we passed the Battery a couple hours after slack tide to ride the current northward and to be sure we arrived at Throgs Neck before the turn and trying to hit Hell Gate at the appropriate time.   It's only about 6NM up to Hell Gate and another 6 to Throgs Neck so you will make the trip rather quickly.  The most interesting traffic we saw were the launching and landing sea planes on the river.  There wasn't much wind either way for us so we did motor the whole thing.   On a breezy day I suppose it cuild be a challenge.  For us it turned out to be rather easy and fun to boot and cruising under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges was a hoot. 

You are in for a good ride if the timing is right.  We did this a few years ago both ways and hit 12.6 SOG just east of Hell Gate.  It was a fun ride.   We did not experience any excessive turbulence in Hell Gate and cruised right through both ways but the launch driver at the City Island Yacht Club told us how he and his friends go out here for fun and spin around in circles.   We did not meet much traffic but it is a big river and obeying the regular rules will keep you out of trouble along with using the VHF when in doubt.  If the UN is in session the guard boats will keep you offshore and not too close in. For timing both ways I made sure that we hit max flood at Hell Gate and it went well.   Good luck with the sail and enjoy the scenery.  The CIYC was a great stop with 24 hour launch service for the mooring field that I think cost $25/night with shore facilities included. There is a great Italian restaurant a few blocks west and bus service to anywhere from the island.

When I rewired I updated the deck light by installing an led light on a spreader that really lights up the boat.  That along with aforementioned windex light were great additions. 

Having a Universal engine, I just go straight to the Kubota dealer.   The price is fair and I get good quality.

Yes.  I used a slightly off white Krylon last winter and it has held up well.  The trim pieces were ugly and yellow.  Not any longer. 

Thanks and I will check the C36 site.  Onward. 

I am replacing the rubrail and found a number of 10-24x2 ½ machine screws protruding above the surface.  Does anyone know their purpose? Are they part of the hull/deck joint? The new rubrail is unlike the original and wants to sit flat on the surface.  I can counter sink the backside of the new rail if necessary but these screws are a mystery. 

I would back the ZF12 comment.  It was cheaper, the offset and gear ratio were a bit off.  With a Max Prop I could adjust for the ratio and had ample room for minor offset change. 

I used the longest roller that Garhauer makes and it fit perfectly on our Mark 2. Even the hole pattern matched.  The hook sticks out a bit but never chips gelcoat on the retrieval, any longer.