Recent content by alan006

T1=b1 T2=b2 T3=b3 Is it that easy?

Another factor at the modest end of the market is for trailer boats to be taken away from marinas and stored in driveways and other sites. Ok this is a small percentage of the total market, but I think this option happens when people on modest incomes are finding it harder to make ends meet.

I wonder if the acidity in modern concrete could leach through the hull timbers and start attacking the hull fastenings? As the previous poster has noted, older pilot boats can use alternatives to lead for ballast. I've seen granite blocks used for this purpose.

As someone has already suggested, how about a compromise. If you line the woodwork with a thick layer of bitumin based paint then pour the concrete onto this. The bitumin will act as a natural barrier and protect the timber from any adverse chemicals in the concrete. I've got a timber boat that...

Yes, you are right John. There is more to this than I first saw. I still think it would be a good approach to peel the gelcoat and then hotwash to remove contamination. If you try to deal with the contamination on a blister by blister basis I think you will find it very difficult to clean and...

I'm very interested in your site as I own an Osbourne Eagle which is being restored as we speak. I was doing it myself but there were several jobs I kept putting off and now I have a specalist shipwright helping with it. I admit I'm not too brillant on computers anymore but I tried to register...

With the amount of liquid that has come out of the keel I would suggest a different approach. I would peel off the gelcoat on the keel, then pressure wash the grp with steam several times ( to flush out any unwanted chemicals) then leave to air dry. Once the moisture content is down ( use a...

The reason I suggested being carefull with the pressure washer is we haven't been told what type of rope the rubbing strake is made from. If it is a manmade fibre then it is safe to pressure wash, however I have seen natural fibre ropes disintergrate under pressure washing. If it is, for...

Hardy used to sell replacement rope fenders for their boats so thats worth a try. A pressure washer might be a bit hard on the rope unless you are very carefull. Best of luck

If when you pop the blisters there is a vinager smell then I would suspect osmosis. If not then as you say it was probably not dry enough when applied. You can use a heatgun to dry out where the blisters were. A piece of tissue paper touched against the blister hole is a simple way of seeing if...

You can paint a single coat of gloss dulux weathershield straight ontop of the canopy. This paint is flexable enough to cope with movement in the fabric. I have seen this used and it works well.You may be surprised how well this works.

Whilst I can't give you a precise figure may I make a couple of comments. Firstly epoxy coatings are not 100% waterproof ( I know they are close and much better than polyester but they are not 100%) consequently although they will improve the resistance to moisture ingress it would seem wise to...

I would suggest you touch up any areas inside where the red lead has worn thin. The epoxy coating , as I am sure you know, does not cope well with expansion and contraction of the wood and so it is best to keep the wood sealed from moisture. I know that there can be problems caused by excess...

A friend of mine had a simular problem with her Mercruiser powered speedboat and all the symptoms seemed to be suggesting fuel starvation. However it turned out to be the ignition amplfier module that was starting to break down. This was confirmed by taking the module to a Mercruiser dealer with...

I have been very pleased with Dulux weathershield when I've used it on wooden boats. The only thing I've noticed is that if the weather conditions are marginal it sometimes seems to bloom, so I try to apply it in good weather rather than neutral weather conditions. I agree that one of its great...