A friend of mine was asking about installing bilge pumps on his boat. So, I thought I’d write about that today.
My recommendation for a full bilge pump setup has a small “maintenance” bilge pump down in the lowest part of the bilge. The float switch for this pump can be integrated or separate, but [...]
As a caveat, I am not a laminate engineer, but a just an amateur boat builder. As such, the information contained within this post is written to be a basic primer.
Modern GRP boats often use a cored laminate construction for several reasons. A cored laminate can be much stiffer, stronger and lighter than a [...]
I was over on s/v Itinerant, helping Joe with his WiFi setup, and decided to write what I did. Joe had bought a NanoStation2 based on my recommendation and was having some trouble with it.
The equipment I’ve been recommending for cruising sailboats are either the NanoStation2 or the Loco2 for monohulls and the Bullet [...]
Well, this past weekend, had me working on three different boats on three different days. Three days and three different boats—Saturday: an O’Day Javelin; Sunday: an O’Day 302; Monday: a Gemini 105Mc Catamaran.
It started out on Saturday, when I was helping my friend’s son and a friend with the O’Day Javelin that they bought a [...]
On a sailing forum, the question of what tools should a boat have aboard came up. While the tool kit would vary, depending on what boat you have and what area you’re sailing in, as well as what kind of sailing you’ll be doing. If you’re just day-sailing or weekending, or sail on a [...]
There was a sailor asking me about his mainsheet setup on an on-line forum, and was thinking of using line clutches or line jammers for his mainsheet. I tried to explain that this was both unwise and dangerous. A line clutch or line jammer can take too long to release—and in the case [...]
On one of the sailing forums I frequent, a poster asked about fender boards. For the cruising sailor, especially one that has to deal with slips that have rough pilings, concrete or stone seawalls or locks, fender boards can prevent a lot of damage to the boat and fenders.
The simplest fender board to make would [...]
One thing you have to do on boats is bed hardware. This has to be done on a regular basis, especially with hardware that is under heavy cycling loads, like cleats. However, using the right sealant can make this task much simpler.
Most people are familiar with silicone caulk, since it is the most commonly used [...]
In my opinion, the greatest storm safety device ever created is the Jordan Series Drogue.
The JSD was the brainchild of Don Jordan, a retired aeronautical engineer, in response to the fatalities that were the result of the 1979 Fastnet disaster. I believe that the Jordan Series Drogue is a piece of gear that every sea-going [...]
Recently, I wrote a post on a sailing forum about the 25 Watt solar panel I added to the s/v Pretty Gee to act as a maintenance charger for the boat, while it is stored on the hard for the winter. On one of the forums, I was asked if a charge controller was [...]
This winter, I decided to store the s/v Pretty Gee outdoors.
Since my marina doesn’t allow you to keep a boat plugged in, I decided to add a small solar panel to keep the batteries topped off, so I ordered a small 25-Watt panel from Harbor Freight. While I have two large solar panels, I felt [...]
One thing that I’d highly recommend for all cruising sailboats is upgrading to LED-based lights. This is for two reasons. The first is that upgrading to LED lights can reduce the electrical load on a cruising sailboat significantly. The second is that LED-based lights are lower maintenance and lower cost over the [...]
Over on one of the sailing forums I participate in, there was a question about how to setup the bilge pumps on a boat. Here are my thoughts on that issue.
Ideally, the a monohull sailboat should have at least four bilge pumps. Two would be electric, and two would be manual.
The two manual pumps are [...]
I thought I’d add another name to the vendor black list.
Apparently, Quantum Sails of Newport doesn’t think much of its customers, at least in one case I’ve seen. I was looking at the stack pack on a friend’s boat, and there was a section about three inches long that the stitching had missed going through [...]
Here’s a quick update on most of the 2008 boat projects.
Main Hull and Cockpit
The ama retraction lines and Spinlock PX Powercleats have been installed port and starboard. I’ve actually tested the system on the port side at least, and it works as planned.
The new cockpit locker still needs a partition made for it so that [...]
Today, I went over to Wickford Harbor, in Rhode Island. I went to see if I could help Wyatt out with some issues he’s having on his Dehler 33. He seems to be having some problems with the VHF radio, which is original to the boat from 1997. I brought my SWR [...]
One of my goals, as part of leading the halyards aft project, was setting up a new lazy jack system on the Pretty Gee. The original system only had two legs and really didn’t do a very good job of controlling and containing the main sail. This past week, I finished setting up [...]
Recently a friend asked me what work I’ve done on my boat. Here’s a list of the various upgrade projects that I’ve either done or am in the process of doing on the boat over the last two years. The ones with the asterisks are works currently in progress.
Main Hull and Bottom
Installed Jacklines [...]
Today was a good day. As I was hoping, we got the boat launched today. Here’s a spring boat projects quick update.
As part of the spring refitting, I finished up the mounting of the TackTick displays that I installed last year. Last year I upgraded my boat’s instruments to TackTick instruments after having some [...]
Here’s a quick update on the various boat projects going on at the moment.
The new line-controlled genoa cars have been installed. The new block and tackle for the outboard motor lift, that has an integrated cam cleat, has been installed. I’m upgrading the blocks for the backstay adjustment, and will be using a [...]
Woohoo!!!
I just got a package in from Garhauer Marine. If you don’t know what Garhauer Marine is, you’re missing out on one of the best vendors for blocks and such on a boat. They’re a family-owned company in California that sells both direct to the public, and to manufacturers. Catalina and several [...]
This Tuesday, I will be hauling the Pretty Gee for the season. I always dread this annual task, since it means that the sailing season is at an end. The long cold dark of winter will be settling in soon. I have some more projects for this winter.
New Instruments
The first one is [...]
Well, after all the time the barrier coat and new bottom paint took, I thought I’d post a few photos of the Pretty Gee with her new paint job. The bottom paint will turn a verdigris green from what I’ve been told, but is still copper colored at the moment. As part of [...]
Well, Thursday was a good day. Thursday morning, I finished applying a royal blue bootstripe to the Pretty Gee and that afternoon, Arion and I put her back in the water. She is back in her slip and awaiting a chance to do some more sailing. Saturday, Dave and I finished rigging [...]
I finally had a chance to finish painting the bridge deck and put the non-skid paint on it. After sailng and working on the boat over the last two months, I’ve ben very pleased with how well the new bridgedeck has worked out. The locker is easily accessed from the cockpit, as well [...]
Unfortunately, the painting of the bridgedeck keeps getting interrupted by thunderstorms… really good thunderstorms… so I’ve been working on other projects. I hope that next week will have a few dry days in a row that I can get to the boat during to finish the painting.
The projects I’ve managed to get a start [...]
We finally got the Pretty Gee de-trailered on Friday, in preparation for the soda blasting and bottom painting. This was a bit more complicated than I had hoped.
We placed the two beams under the boat, and soon it was clear that the two beams that Arion had made up to do the de-trailering weren’t [...]
On Saturday, I did some modifications to the Pretty Gee’s trailer. I moved the wheels back about four-and-a-half inches, in the hopes that it would help balance the trailer out better. I moved the winch post back about seven inches as well. This should allow me to extend the amas while the boat [...]
Well, even though I’m not quite done with the bridge deck project, I thought I’d report on how it is going. The glassing of the exterior is complete, and I’ve started on painting the exterior of it. I got to test the bridge deck in action, on a day sail yesterday, with Mike [...]
Yesterday, I had the marina launch the Pretty Gee. I have some work to do on the trailer, and putting the boat in the water was the simplest way to get it out of the way so I can try and get the trailer balanced. I did have another motive for putting her [...]