Recent content by Parrothead

The asbestos I mentioned was the thickening agent of the era that provided tremendous strength to the resin amalgamation due to its fibrous properties. When the dangers were discovered other safe structural thickeners were substituted. Loren mentioned sawdust and I can attest it was used by...

If it were mine, I would repair the external fiberglass and fair the keel first. Following that I would drill an array of small holes, say 3/4", in the keel sides and pump in mish mash (the material I described earlier) using the upper holes as inlets and the lower holes as sight gauges...

Really? Massive voids and foam encapsulation are acceptable?? Please read this short 20 year old thread from your own forum, especially Martin King's response: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/e27-encapsulated-keel-void.853/

In no way did I intend to suggest the internal ballast was "supposed to be that way." It's your boat and therefore your choice but once I knew of the condition, that would never fly on my boat.

During my employment, the companies where I worked set internal ballast in a pool of mish mash, an asbestos fiber thickened resin in a pour-able consistency. It was poured in the keel void prior to and after the insertion of the ballast. The intent was total encapsulation although we never cut...

Fixn, it's your boat and your choice. You know your sailing style, you know your boat and you have a preference for a tiller. You've thought it through and your reasoning was well laid out. A tiller doesn't prevent you from having an autopilot if you want one, a tiller doesn't prevent you from...

I did the same thing Herbert after a good acid flush and physical mucking out of the water jacket in preparation for a FWC conversion. The strategy was to keep things as clean as possible until the conversion was complete. Additional advantages to antifreeze cooling over a flush routine are a...

Did Tom discuss the merits of antifreeze cooling? It is the single most important upgrade you can do for your engine.

Tom Thatcher (mentioned in thanks in your post) is great with these engines but more importantly teaches as he works. Leif, I'll bet you know your engine far better than you did only a couple of months ago and could probably be of great help to the next guy. Pay it forward.

My take: This is not a factory installation but rather a dealer or previous owner solution to meet certain offshore racing rules regarding lifeline support spacing. Such supports are stanchions and pulpits but regardless, certain racing rules require a maximum span of 87" between supports. At...

After reading your posts it's clear to me you're done with Moyer Marine so my best advice is find another source. Italy would be a good place to start to avoid international shipping then broaden the search until you find what you're looking for.

My experience with Moyer Marine over the past 18 years mirrors Tenders.

Yeah, what Christian said. My experience is the Catalina kit glazing vinyl is for 3/16" panes and the Ericson 26-2 ports I refurbished had 1/8" panes. Of course, if you (Blue Streak) are making new acrylic panes they can be any thickness you want within reason. Maybe get the sealing kit...

Any advice you get from Ken at Moyer Marine is golden. One option I don't see mentioned is a Moyer rebuilt engine or a Moyer new block engine. Both are tuned and tested before leaving the rebuild facility on Universal's original dynamometer, come with a warranty and are exact drop-in...

Yep, there's no downside.