Recent content by Puget sailor

One thing on my list for spring. My original rudder tube grease fitting is just a little rust stain clogging its hole. A replacement by a previous owner seems to be about halfway to that same state of decay. I found 316 stainless grease fittings at McMaster-Carr. Topping up that grease to...

Not to be insulting because I made this mistake last year myself. Are you 100% sure you’re releasing the right line and not the spinnaker halyard or something?!

I would expect freshwater cooling system in the engine to be using anti-freeze just like a car. Assuming that's true, it should be fine. As for seawater that circulates through heat exchanger etc, that's more complicated. Puget Sound is salt water, so it will freeze, but not with conviction of...

My Ericson 32-3 fresh water pump froze over night in the engine room. Boat is in Port Madison on Bainbridge Island (Puget Sound) I thawed it by running the engine to warm things up today. It's going again, but has a leak, so plastic housing must have cracked. Never thought it would get cold...

I stumbled on this upcoming salvage auction in Cleveland. Date not scheduled yet. Research by hull number suggests it's an '86 E36. I'm always surprised to see boats like this at a vehicle auction yard, the cost just to transport them there must be crazy, and then they need to be transported...

Just learning the ways of my 32-3 out of Port Madison, just a west of where your track is on Puget Sound. Looking at your data, and ignoring the speed, the total distance and time shows more like 4.5 knots, which makes more sense than 11.8! I've been working on boat speed in that same water. I...

I have one of these cameras that plugs directly into an iphone. I have one on the boat, great for exploring the nether regions of all sorts of boat extremes. Can be submerged, has a light, and is easy to use. I even plan to use it for zinc and prop inspections, but it will need to be attached to...

When I first looked at your picture I thought, oh, that must be repair from a minor collision that was not done very skillfully, but is also not a big deal. When stopping by my boat today, a 1985 32-3, I decided to take a look at my own transom, and guess what. I seem to have a smaller cousin to...

I found length info on this site when ordering my new ones, perhaps from Peaman above? I have not yet installed them, but I can say that the ones on my boat, which appear to be original, are many feet longer than the needed and make a full gratuitous circumnavigation of the rudder post before...

Thoughts on rode: I’d never put a 30’ or larger boat on a 1/2” line. It’s not the breaking strength in theory, it’s the breaking strength after some damage that matters. Chaffe and wear during a storm are very likely. As safety gear, it needs to work in a crisis. Keep a light lunch hook...

Ericson 32-3 with a 37 lb Sarca Excel here. My boat came with a 22 lb Bruce. I don’t trust the Bruce to set on hard and kelpy bottoms, and it’s small for the boat. After much research I ordered a 37 lb Sarca Excel. Seems to be capable in almost anything Puget Sound can throw at it. We have...

Hard to say if you have a coolant air bubble big enough to effect heat exchange without seeing a diagram of the layout. But here are some notes to guide things: The reservoir is an expansion tank designed to allow coolant to expand when hot and contract as it cools without impacting the...

A thin mist does not seem like good water flow at all, or are you describing the exhaust gas? Water should be pouring out the exhaust in big splashes intermittently even at idle, assuming a water lift muffler of course, and a substantial spray of water at speed, mixed with the exhaust. One...

Our local club on Puget Sound is geared toward affordability. Initiation fee of a few hundred and annual family dues are similar, an individual is lower, juniors (minors) not affiliated with adult members are maybe 75 bucks a year. Two 4 hour work party credits per year per family, or pay a fee...

The specification for pressure from the bellows is in the form of a measurement of length after compressed, included in the shaft seal install instructions. It varies by the size of the seal. So it’s possible to verify if it’s set up properly for a new seal by the yard. Even when correct, it’s...