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I have 3x 8D AGM 200Ah each. They are about 10 years old now and are no longer holding a strong charge (engine struggles to turn over on start). Plan is to replace them with LiFePO4 of same specs (200Ah, same dimensions). Charger is Xantrax Trucharge 40+, doesn’t have Li setting, but does have...

How do I find a good broker for selling an older trawler (Seattle area)? There are plenty that are happy to sell your $500K boat, but what about one that will still do a good job advising and selling for a $50K boat?

Anyone know what brand/model of raw water strainer this is? It’s got a cracked cover and is leaking. I’m trying to find a replacement part. It’s on a Ponderosa 35 (CHB).

In the middle of a long 11hr run to the San Juan’s. Noticed bilge pump was running more than normal. Found a leak in the aft cabin bilge floor, right about centerline. There is a fingernail-sized chip of fiberglass missing and water is percolating up through it. This is aft of the stuffing...

I have a Ponderosa 35 (CHB class) with a single Ford Lehman engine and Borg-Warner Velvet Drive transmission. Not sure if these all have the same prop shafts... I need to install a new shaft anode (old one seems to have been lost), and I don’t know what size to get. Shaft diameter? Length? Style?

I returned to my boat after a couple weeks absence, and discovered a puddle of power steering fluid sitting below the wheel of my upper helm. This happened while it was not being used. I’ve never had so much as a drop leak before. What could have caused this?

After years of faithful service, my Robertson AP300DL Autopilot suddenly gave me an error that it does not detect any compass input. I checked all the physical wiring, everything looks good. And all other features are functional (except obviously cannot autosteer now). Looking for other...

I’m getting ready to take my boat north up to the Puget Sound in the next couple weeks. I’ll of course look for a good weather window. But I notice swells are almost always straight out of the west, meaning they’ll be directly across my beam the whole way up. Given my rolly single engine...

I’ve got a pretty bad gouge I need to repair. I’ve never done anything with fiberglass before. I don’t know if I need to reinforce with mesh and epoxy, or just cover with gel coat and sand. Anyone know of a “starter kit”? How do I deal with the part in the groove? Looking for pointers to get me...

Sharing a technique we don’t hear mentioned much in trawler circles, in case it may help others... When we first got our single-engine, big stern, no-thrusters trawler, we were surprised at just how poorly it handled in reverse. And since we keep it on a river where 2-3kt currents are the norm...

I’m still confused about the necessity for regular hull cleanings and air-foul reapplications in FRESH WATER. All I can see is a thin layer of algae. In theory that might have some minuscule effect on performance through the water, but in a big tub of a trawler like mine, I doubt that’s...

I want to buy a small portable generator (for top side) that I can plug my shore power cable into for recharging my house batteries without having to run the big diesel. Basically I’m trying to figure out the minimum wattage output necessary for this. I assume the most relevant info is I have...

I have an “Ozone sensor” in my engine room. What is the purpose of this? I have no idea if it even works, or what it would be “protecting” me from. I also have multiple carbon monoxide detectors. I know what these are for, but I was surprised during some recent work on my diesel air heater...

Looking for suggestions/recommendations for how to mount bicycles and kayaks, preferably to the outside rails of the upper decks. Anyone know of any off-the-shelf options?

We’ve been blessed with a well-operating holding tank system, no leaks or bad odors. We flush a packet every weekend of use, and that has seemed to keep things in order. However, we recently mistakenly overfilled the tank, and after pumping out, we now find that there’s a venting of very bad...

A common check during surveys of older boats is whether there are dead or “wet” spots in the fiberglass stringers. Tapping on them can indicate if rot has entered. This can be a major repair job and can often knock down the asking price of the boat quite a bit. But is this really a big...

I have raw teak decks (untreated) that are in good shape. And I’ve BBQ’d over my rail for years with no ill effects. But recently I had a large grease splatter (olive oil I think) that was left overnight, and it left spots all over the deck that I have not been able to remove. I’ve done multiple...

I don’t have a genset, and so I’ve been thinking about getting a portable gas generator for auxiliary AC when on the hook for longer than a day. Besides just running an extension cord and powering 110V appliances directly, could a standard shore power cable (with adapter) be plugged into a small...

Anyone familiar with with the channel into Ilwaco (PNW) knows it is long, narrow, and unforgiving. Entering the other day, I was doing about 6kts (my cruise speed) and staying to the right side of the channel as best I could. A larger fishing charter came up behind me at least double my speed...

I’ve just discovered that my galley sink drains directly out a thru-hull just below the water line. There are no Y-valves, so presumably this is how it was designed. I had always assumed it drained to my holding tank. Is this typical? Also, I discovered my shower drains straight into the bilge...

Here in the Taiwanese Makes section, looking specifically for anyone who has taken their CHB-class trawler across the Columbia River Bar. I’m looking to confirm whether these boats with their square sterns, small rudders, and slow speeds are up to the challenge of tumultuous seas. Requesting...

I’d like to convert all my “traditional“ cabin lights to LED. My assumption is this would consume less power and greatly reduce replacement frequency. Is it possible to keep the fixtures as-is and simply replace the bulbs? Or will I need to replace all my fixtures as well? It seems WestMarine...

When you want to get the attention of a fellow boater who is belowdecks while anchored or tied up to the dock, how do you call out to them? You can’t ring the doorbell after all... “Ahoy!” “Hello?” Hey [Boat name]! Knock on a porthole?

Trying to find a replacement for this clasp. Anyone know its brand or name?

I used a simple handheld digital laser tachometer to verify my engine RPM gauge. However, the handheld (pointed at the shaft) showed an RPM reading (691) that appeared to be exactly half of the engine RPM (1400). I can't imagine that my engine gauge is off by that much, but is there something...