Recent content by Martin King

Ha! You'd be better off installing a Lewmar bow thruster.

I've got a similar situation to Christians with a narrow fairway, crosswind, and a fixed 3 blade for a prop. The E31 does not like to back up like most Ericsons, and the outboard rudder seems to exacerbate the problem. To leave my slip, a crew member is stationed on the dock pulling the bow over...

However you attempt to cut a patch, you are going to see it. Even if the joinery is perfect, the grain mismatch alone will reveal it. Your next best option would be attempting to re -veneer the entire panel after patching the rotten wood. If it were my boat, I'd rip off the entire panel down to...

Pretty sure it's a 39. Nice chute and blooper.

Well, you could make up the difference with 1/4 inch ply glued on the back side if you can't find the 3/4 inch but if it was me, I would just plan on redoing all the base trim anyway. So what if it's lower by 1/4"? Guess I'll be sticking with the carpeting I got on my boat. It can be easily...

Yep, even Weber plywood would have to order it. You are looking at $400-500 per sheet!

Unicorn steering herself going to weather with the wheel locked. I wish I was 16 again.

This is hardly best practices and I think he got lucky here. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

No. She has a split backstay on the main mast and a triatic stay from main to mizzen. Mizzen mast spreaders on Warm Rain are also swept aft.

Nah, blisters are not a deal breaker. You can fix 'em or not.

Well, for one thing both the 36C and the 31C were expensive to build, even back then and appealed to a very niche market. The market was also beginning to change in the late seventies with a demand for increased accomodations for a given length, and little or no exterior wood. I've talked about...

Well that's better than nothing but it swings on rope. The foldaway is fixed in place and has 2 rungs below the water so it can be used as a swim ladder. Can also be deployed to help recover someone who falls overboard. I see that scanmar marine is marketing their version of it now. One of the...

Thanks Christian, That video makes my point. If you have to scramble like sherpas to get on to the boat, might I suggest a fold away ladder from Mystic Stainless? It's a fantastic piece of kit. It clips right to the toe rail and stows under the lifeline when not in...

This evolution in fiberglass boats is discussed in the latest iteration of my fathers book. Briefly, it's broken into 4 phases. Phase 1: Early fiberglass designs are based on their wooden predecessors. The plugs for the molds are actually constructed from wood. Finished boats had applied wooden...

He did lots of boats for Hinckley. The 36 jet drive picnic boat and the larger versions of it, the talaria 29 runabout which could be optioned as a center console t top, the beautiful daysailer 42, and the the 70 foot semi custom sailboat. With all his accomplishments, you think he would have...