Recent content by Charieis

I have had a Clipper wind instrument for two and a half seasons. In my view the Clipper masthead design is mechanically very poor. I got through the first vane in 3 weeks, the second in three months. My home made replacement vane on the original hub, has survived 18 months so far, but the...

Having read the various posts on this and other forums on the subject of worn gearbox drive splines, I thought I ought to check mine this winter. I seem to be one of the lucky ones - the wear I have on a 1985 engine is relatively small. However, I was intrigued by all the chat about torsional...

Try testing the impeller tips with a nail to see if your magnets are still present. I seem to recall that there are two to keep the impeller balanced. Otherwise saw off the bottom of the transducer about 10/15mm above the flat part of the transducer base. You will find a reed switch potted in...

Have used a diluted solution (5:1 or thereabouts) of Milton baby bottle steriliser, dabbed on with a paintbrush, with some success. It does bleach sweat-shirts quite well. so be careful and try a bit of headlining somewhere inconspicuous first. My headlining on two different boats has survived...

Sounds a bit like the "cold start mixture enrichment" feature (the equivalent of a choke on a petrol engine) is misbehaving. My 2002 often runs a bit smoky for a few seconds after starting and then clears. The Yanmar 1GM10 I had on a previous boat used to run a bit lumpy for about 15 seconds...

The question has to be - where do they all come from? If you try to find a spot in a marina or anchorage on August Bank Holiday they are all full. Surely there must be empty moorings or marinas somewhere that they must have come from, or does someone conjure them up from from thin air...

My one only had two magnets in opposite paddles, so don't be surprised if you only get half the pulses. I replaced the reed switch on one once, years ago, having chopped the end off the unit. I think I got one from RS Components and repotted it in resin as per the original, if I remember correctly.

Re: lifting keel that won\'t drop Had same problem with my 1985 Feeling 920. Assuming that you do not have acres of mud or stones in the keel box, the problem is most likely to be caused by one of the following. Either the plate itself has expanded a bit due to surface corrosion and is being...

I wonder how stiff your hull is. Was the propshaft aligned with the boat ashore, standing on its keel? My old Jouet 760 hull used to distort by getting on for half an inch with the hull pushing down on the keel, rather than the keel pulling down on the hull. This led to the Deep Sea Seal...

Take measures to avoid the interest of the wandering albatross, you may find that your masthead becomes even more attractive to them! I fitted the same instument two seasons ago. The vane was broken off in two weeks and the anemometer cups in three months. The replacement vane lasted all of...

I fitted a Clipper wind instrument myself at the beginning of last season and am concerned about the robustness of the mashead unit. The direction vane broke off within two weeks of fitting and two of the anemometer cups broke off before the end of the season. Whether or not this was due to a...

Take care. These devices detect radars. They do not use radar to detect targets. They are very simple versions of the radar warners used by the military and rely in the other chap transmitting. If I remember correctly the device to which you refer was a four antenna device with a simple display...

I had similar concerns in the middle of the channel once. I could feel it in the cockpit floor and down the backstay. After half an hour's frantic searching, it turned out to be the anchor bumping against the hull in the anchor locker at the bows! It was only moving a few millimetres, but sound...

Irrespective of the instrument you choose, check the cost of replacement masthead parts. You will need to beware cormorants, etc. landing on your masthead light - there is an awful lot of flapping at the final moment! I lost the wind direction vane from my new NASA Clipper installation after...