Recent content by Shrew

I cruise at around 8 kts. Top would only be 9-10 kts, but I cruise around 8 (give or take with tide). Much like anchoring, the diameter of the gear is based on the size of the boat (in this case the boat being towed). The length is somewhat fixed. The faster you go the narrower the width of...

I'd mount it outside of the upper railings along the stern. By the time the upper gets to water level, it's time to step off. The bow it will may be cumbersome to deploy inside of the bow rails.

My 99 350 has two switches at the upper helm. One selects the upper or lower helm. The other selects the Port or Starboard tank. At the lower helm, there is a single switch for port or stbd tanks. Why they chose to put the helm selector at the UPPER, I will never know.

This is not a correction or a criticism. This is just a comparison. I had a tow bridle made by Rope inc. They make tow rigs for yachts to tow center consoles. Mine is obviously sized much smaller. I'm towing a 13 ft Boston Whaler (1,000+ lbs) Bridle: 2 x 30' (5/8" MFP Floatline) Tow...

I have a flush-step lower helm door. (Are you not the captain when running from the upper helm where there is NO door?? ;) ) To me, it is invaluable. I got on and off docks from there and I pick-up mooring balls single-handed from there as well. I dock with one foot in and one foot out and...

My preference is to set the offset to Actual Depth. This allows the sounder to match the charts. I know my draft (3' 6") , and my shallow depth threshold (5-6 ft) is based on how many feet I feel comfortable under keel. This also allows me to easily add the 5 feet of pulpit height when...

I would start with a survey. There is no sense in dumping a bunch of money into the engines to find out that you have an issue with the stringers or transom. Figure out if the boat is worth saving, then figure out if the engines are worth saving. You'll repower a boat, but you won't build a...

There is no reason why a 1997 350 would be at or greater in price than a 2004 or 2005 34T. The 350, then later then 390 are the same boat rebadged. The 34T is the same class as the 350 and 390 but completely redesigned. They are also respectively 7 and 8 yrs newer. The 350 owner is...

I didn't catch the "I don't keep my money in banks". Yikes. It's not 1929. I can't think of anyone that would be willing to take possession of that much paper currency. Both for security and for chain of custody. Every 'cash' (wire transfer) purchase I've made has involved showing that the...

Couldn't an ACR achieve this goal?

Cash is a lot more common than you think. From the broker and seller's perspective, it's always 'cash'. Even if you obtain financing, what they get is cash (i.e. cashiers check or wire transfer). Cashiers checks are getting rare these days. They don't really care how the wire transfer is...

23 year old colored gel coat. Your only option is to custom color match. Even if you had the exact brand and color, it would not match at this point.

Here is my .02 on this, just one person's opinion. The total fuel capacity of the tanks is greater than the usable fuel. I'd like to know what the actual 'usable capacity' is for the tanks. Then calculate my safety margin from that.

I would think that USCG Sector San Juan would cover that area.

When I've done raw teak, I used several coats of West System (105 Resin with 207 Special Clear Hardener). This fills and lays down the first few building layers. This also reduces the number of varnish coats you need to do. Sand between coats of epoxy. Then start using the Captains Varnish...