Plastic Classic Forum

I sailed on a Nonsuch 26 about 4 years ago when I was considering buying one. It was a windy fall day on the Chesapeake and the seas were choppy. I had a blast. Given the short waterline, it was not as smooth as a larger boat, but I was left with the feeling that I'd been zipping around in a sports ...

The only documented boat I've ever owned had the numbers on a piece of teak epoxied to the inside of a locker. I've seen the numbers in almost all possible visible and virtually invisible locations. I have to conclude that "clearly visibile" is a term of art. (Since Heather has graduated f...

It's a current listing; it was last updated on May 2. And $68K does seem almost too good to be true.

At the risk of being booed off this site, I admit that I kinda like the Splicing Nut, even though I do know how to tie a bowline and a few other knots. I also have to admit that I wrote the review of the Splicing Nut for Good Old Boat magazine. I have only one of them on my boat, on a Cunningham, an...

At 600-700 Euros ($700-800) for the set-up, those aren't jerry cans as we know them.

Try Chesapeake Marine Fasteners in Annapolis. www.chesfast.com

There's an interesting article by Herb McCormick, former editor of Cruising World, about his J30 in the current issue of Good Old Boat.

Pearson put the lead pigs in Ariels and Commanders without inboard engines to equalize the weight between inboard and outboard versions.

I didn't mean that hand crimping weakened the actual wire; it weakens the lifeline assembly at the swage. According to the C. Sherman Johnson web site, properly hand crimped lifelines will withstand 65-70% of the pull out strain of 7x7 wire. So that 30-35% less strength on 7x7 wire which is about 20...

Mike:

I used RiggingOnly.com for the wire and to swage a pelican hook on one end of each upper lifeline. I got the Suncor fittings directly from Suncor.

I just replaced my lifelines and I went with 1x19 316 uncoated stainless, which is about 25% stronger than the traditional 7x7 or 7x19 wire. I used Suncor Quick Attach swageless fittings, which are like StaLok, etc., but are easier to attach and at least as strong as the wire. (They actually cost mo...

I used to own a Sabre (a 32) and one of the great advantages of owning a used Sabre is that there is a fellow at the factory whose job it is to help out the owners of boats no longer under warranty. He can tell you where the thingambob that just died was bought, and maybe even sell you one (at a rea...

I tried using Easy Off on my boat's prior two-tone painted name with virtually no effect. I think it depends on the kind of paint used.

You can do a Google search for remote oil filter and you'll find a lot of them, mainly automotive, which will work just as well as anything called marine. The $190 Early Light paid for his kit was really on the high side.

I tried the Folger's plastic coffee cans and discovered that the lid did not stay on very well and it was not water-tight (guess how I found that out). However, the very similar but somewhat larger Domino sugar 4 lb. plastic containers have a much tighter fitting top and are reasonably water-tight. ...

I saw these tanks at a marine chandlery and they seemed quite well-made. However, unless they come in more than one size, the one I saw was about the size of a typical home barbecue tank. Thus, unless you are building a new propane locker, they are unlikely to fit in an existing propane locker.

As always, Tim gives sound advice. But the 2 strokes he's talking about have been illegal to manufacture or import into the US since 12/31/2005. There are still some new ones around, but savvy sellers are raising their prices as the small 4 strokes are a lot heavier (and, according to a review in a ...

I had roughly the same idea as you did. When I bought my boat a few years ago, I hired a local captain to deliver it. I also told him I'd be interested in helping him deliver boats on longer hauls. A year later, I checked with him again, but no luck timing-wise. I checked again this season and next ...

Uh, really dumb question. How do I clean my engine (boat is hauled for the winter) so I can paint it?