Search results

I'm curious about this. How do you re-gelcoat existing surfaces? I've been under the impression for a long time that painting is the common choice.

Not much to it. We booked in November, sent payment and deposit in advance, and booked direct flights from Toronto to Heathrow. A train took us from the airport to the canal boat dock, we did a half hour orientation and left. I booked with these guys. Cost for a 60' for 4 weeks is just under...

My sister and I are about a week into a four week narrowboat tour of the middle of England. I'm really enjoying everything about it. Here's a taste. I'm blogging and sharing a few shorts as we go along for those interested. Happy to discuss here. Jeff http://boatingadventures.ca

That's what I'd suspect. Could also be partial blockage in a heat exchanger or other such issue.

Heh. That was boat building in the 1970s. They would have served as a rough guide for the guys on the floor 😭

Agreed. I've been on sailboats with dual anchors and split lockers, but it seems to me to be a practice that dates back to the days when you chose an anchor according to bottom conditions, or regularly did Bahamian two anchor mooring. I keep a second anchor with rode in the stern, and a third...

What do you want to do with the boat? I've seen nice smaller swedish trawlers like the Albin 27 and Windy 26 for sale in Ontario fairly often. Spend half your budget on the boat and the other half maintaining/improving it 😄

It's obscure. I only tracked it down because I had one, and slowly ground down the thrust bearing using it behind a LH engine :)

Probably 5+ years ago. The RH version was a rare bird, and you're not likely to find a replacement. Are you sure yours is toast? If the reduction gear is ok the rest can usually be easily and cheaply rebuilt. I've had hands on experience. Had a M34 and went through a couple of engine/trans...

The 2.1 is the exception to this rule. I've pointed this out before here and supplied supporting documentation.

Got a photo showing the prop installed? The 2.1 didn't reverse the rotation, but was rotation specific, unlike the other reduction gears. So VD made the 2.1 in two versions depending on rotation.

Perkins made both RH and LH engines, and Mainship used them interchangeably in the early 34s. First step is knowing for sure which engine you have.

I saw several credible reports at the time that they had repurposed a Leaf battery.

I haven't seen this mentioned here, but along the same lines https://www.tribune242.com/news/2025/feb/25/govt-cancels-exuma-wide-moorings-lease-deal/ The government had granted rights to a private company to drop moorings over a wide swath of the Exumas, and then to charge for their use or for...

Sure. Or as others suggest you could use a dc-dc charger to limit current. It seems like you could direct both existing alternators to the start battery and use a 30-50a charger off that to charge the house bank. Cheap and easy, and likely perfectly adequate, especially if you regularly run...

Yep, in an area of continued prosperity and constrained slip availability I'd agree. An interesting corollary to this is boat prices. The entry point for working class locals used to be to buy a used boat, invest some time and effort keeping it pretty and functional, and not be buried by...

I'd suggest that 2 mpg is a reasonable guess at 8 knots. Slow down from that and mileage goes up, speed up and it goes down. 7 knots or less will be a much more economic speed, if you care about fuel burn.

Have you seen the boat? I'd plan to spend a few hours poking around before calling the surveyor in. This could be a great find. Just take things one step at a time. Interesting that you can get up into Lake Moultrie/Marion. Sounds like maybe a nice place to visit! I have a pet project to...

Me too. I've used shrink wrap tape for lots of things, but it hasn't always been an easy/clean removal.

SteveK that may depend on the vintage of the unit. AFAIK in any variable speed unit the controller takes 12v or 110 and converts to some unknown operating voltage. Here's an example of the controller I'm thinking of...

Gdavid, you may recall I met your parents when they were bringing their 390 home. 2019? Glad to hear they're active and well.

Mine failed one way or another - can't remember which - and I just switched over. A few months later the other side failed and I replaced the controller. All good. Based on my experience I'd suggest replacing the controller before the unit fails completely

I've got to say it feels pretty great to be living a lifetime dream. I feel fortunate to have achieved it. OTOH I've been pretty single-minded in my pursuit of it, and now that I've been at it for a while and seriously scratched that itch it's getting easier to contemplate other retirement...

A Tartan 40 sailboat? Here's a well known alternative. https://www.raymarine.com/en-us/our-products/boat-autopilots/autopilot-packs/ev-200-sail-pilot Normally you'd use the existing drive unit, assuming it's functional. You'll find more knowledge relative to your boat and drive arrangement...

This seems to me to be the right approach. Pick the mission, then decide how big the cost/effort to change is and act accordingly. The mission in this case seems doable with your current boat. I'm not fond of the 'last boat' designation. I suppose it might make an exorbitant purchase feel...