Recent content by Dan Morehouse

I concur with towing on a shorter line. I think the dink behaves better than on long tethers. But I've never bothered with bridles, and I towed our hard bottom inflatable from Washington to Alaska & back on a single line, attached to the hard point at the front of the hull & maybe two dinghy...

Hmm. I chartered a Bavaria 34 once and liked it fine. The fact that I cited Bavarias twice doesn't mean I have a brief against them...it just means my proofreading skills are on the wane. Dan Morehouse 1981 E-38 "Next Exit"

Great question and discussion. The fact that we're unavoidably comparing apples to oranges just speaks to what a unique niche Ericsons occupied when they were being built, and how much more unique that niche has become as time has passed. For instance, how many of the proposed near equivalents...

I will. If it hangs up, I can always cut the shackle splice out & go to a knot instead. This line is a polyester braid over a Spectra core, looks very similar to your picture.

Hmmm. I just bought a 7/16 pre-made main halyard for my 1981 E38 from Defender, brand "Novabraid", which included a headboard shackle spliced to the line. I was a little dismayed to see the splice appeared to increase the diameter of the line to over a half inch. I had climbed my mast to...

I didn't reinforce mine at all, and I've never noticed any loss of rigidity. I don't believe the pan ever afforded any. Dan Morehouse

Doug, Don't try to remove the rim after cutting out the pan. I simply left it in place. It's doing no harm, and interfering with nothing. Sand the cut edges & let it alone. Good news, yes? Dan Morehouse

It's a horizontal windlass, so the motor is inside the port side of the casing, above deck. It doesn't hang below the gypsy/capstan like the motor on a vertical windlass. Much easier to install, which is the advantage of a horizontal unit. The disadvantage is that the chain gypsy can only engage...

Update: I cut a big hole in the vertical face of my shower seat and installed an 8" inspection port. Bomar, I think. There's a nice little unused and otherwise inaccessible space under that seat, and by placing the port in the vertical face, it doesn't have to cope with the greater likelihood of...

Doug, In practice this arrangement has worked pretty well, since the chain drop from the windlass is located almost directly over the deepest part of the locker. But chain has an affinity for castling up if given the smallest chance, and mine does it too. After MUCH anchoring with this...

Definately read. I crewed on no other boats before taking out one I built myself, and all I knew was what I read. (I prefer to learn by doing without someone shouting at me.) That was thirty-two years ago. The downside is that learning alone is far slower than the alternatives, but in no...

I also wear a climbing harness and use ascenders. I tie off the spinnaker halyard on deck and just climb that. It's a little fiddly; I use a foot strap on one ascender and connect my harness to the other, but I imagine any other approach would be just as fiddly. I probably should include a...

I already painted the cove stripes black several years ago, which was a great improvement. I'll have to try to get some pics of the funky cabin gelcoat next time I'm at the boat. The original gelcoat cove stripes looked too perfect to have been applied aftermarket by someone who didn't even...

So, after reading a recent thread that mentioned many general issues vis a vis cove stripes, I finally remembered one of the strangest quirks on my boat. I had owned it for over a year when I first noticed that the stripes on either side were TWO DIFFERENT colors...I kid you not, one side was...