Recent content by Pete the Cat

I was in the insurance business, insurance brokers are not always your best friend when it comes to deals. Their "free" services are really paid by commissions from the insurance companies and, well, you can fill in the rest. There are good ones, and I know some, but do your homework...

$1400 seems like a lot for liability. About 5 years ago I had liability only on my Folkboat from Progressive for $500K--I think it was $200 for the year. I suppose a Folkboat with an outboard can't do much damage as a 38 foot boat.

Looks like an old repair in there. Have isolated the leak to this keel area? Is the laminate cracked in the bilge?

I don't disagree with anything said here. I have a Raymarine under deck autopilot on my Tartan 37 that has handled 30kt quartering 15' seas for more than 24 hours at time and did the majority of steering on a 7000mi trip from SF to Maine via Panama--it could handle anything the boat could stay...

I have always had leather on my Tartan 37 for the last 25 years. They stay on because they come off annually for winter storage and get new sail thread. Over time they form to the spreader and wire and seem to last a long time. Mine are getting near the end of their life after 15 years. I...

I had a PSS bellows break on a delivery a couple decades ago with a full crew on nicely maintained Swan 48. We were going up the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco and were, at the time, quite a few miles offshore and had been motoring for a couple days (you don't sail on a...

You are right, I was wrong. WM is not in Chapter 11. They have been through a number of restructurings under various management turnovers where they filed some IRS protections in return, but not Chapter 11 for the whole business. Some stores may survive for a time though I am not sure about...

Defender and West Marine (recently filed for bankruptcy) were taken over by private equity and I think you see the resultsf. I am not sure if this was the whole cause of their downfall. Certainly there were problems in the retail Marine industry before either was taken over, but I have...

True marine plywood should be fine. The bulkhead tabbing looks sort of wimpy to me. I this a lower shroud chainplate? I think you are going to be visiting a metal shop for the deck plate anyway so getting a new chainplate made might not be a big deal in the scheme of things--you can reuse the...

I much dislike that welded deck plate design on the chainplate. Did all the early Ericsons have that? Decks flex and twist on the best of boats and it seems like a real challenge to get that sealed. On many production boats that deck plate is detached and floats over the hole and sealant so...

The first picture shows a bulkhead that needs to be replaced. I would not approve the "sandwich" or penetrating epoxy option. This is a very important structural part of this boat. You need to be absolutely sure you get the load solidly distributed to the hull and tabbing, not just fixing the...

You can save money by going to the traditional bronze stuffing box and, for anyone doing serious offshore work, I recommend it (Don't ask). You can make a traditional bronze stuffing box dripless or almost dripless if you are willing to put in the time to make the serial adjustments and if your...

I have always used a coat of white marine lithium grease on everything except a very very thin coat around the pawls. I go through mine completely to iinspect and lube once every other season now that I am a mroe casual sailor. When I was cruising full time it was part of annual maintenance...

I carry two sets of gear on my boats. One is the Grunden's stuff the lobster guys wear when it is really snotty--it is waterproof but you sweat and I just put what I need under it for warmth (the old Line 7 that Christian mentioned was similar and I wish they were still around). That is my...

So what is your plan for the bottom? just fill fair and paint? How deep in the laminate? The previous owner of my boat (which I think has the same hull) just filled and faired and it came out fine. I have a couple blisters that reappeared after a few years, but no big deal. I got a little...