Recent content by Dipper

I'm a proud owner with a biased opinion! David Feltham (designer of the Cobra series of yachts) originally built a Seawolf 26 for himself to race in the Round the Island Race but when people expressed interest in one for themselves he started up Seawolf Yachts and eventually 50 Seawolf 26s were...

We had a fin keel boat in our club yard one year that got damaged because it was stored in a cradle on its keel. I believe it was one of the French models. Some apparently can't rest on their keels without damage..

I've bought oil for both my Volvo 2001 and my Jag from Smith and Allen. They've been blending their own oil since 1925 and their range is astonishing - and cheap!

It's a shame it's now unavailable as I use it on my propeller and saildrive. This is my propeller at lift out this year and I hardly used my boat.

Another vote for UHMWPE. It has high abrasion resistance, low coefficient of friction and importantly low moisture absorption. Years ago I bought a micro lathe and make my own rudder bearings, bow rollers etc out of UHMWPE. I'm an amateur at this but they seem to turn out OK. It's certainly...

Apologies but I should have mentioned that on the new cap there was a cylinder of foam beneath the disc. I'm thinking that Penfold is probably right about the baffle. The disc holds the foam in place which acts as the baffle. My old cap didn't have this foam unless at some stage it fell apart...

The disc winds up against the spring as the vent is opened.

Sounds plausible.

I hadn't used my Suzuki DT2.2 for at least 5 years so thought that I ought to start it up in a dustbin and give it a bit of a run. Before storing it I had run the carburettor dry and drained the fuel tank. On opening the cap to put some fuel in the tank I found that the metal components inside...

Some 25 years ago a small pod of dolphins took up residence in Portland Harbour and seemed to like following my boat. One of them enjoyed swimming upside down whilst bashing my rudder with its body which became a little alarming. A few years later the welds on my rudder tangs failed which may...

If you do buy another paddlewheel, chop the cable off the old one and remove the wheel then you can use it as a plug in the housing instead of the cap. I was never very happy with the screw-on cap as a seal because that relies solely on a thread. If I leave the boat for a week or two, I put the...

I have had that propeller on my saildrive for around 25 years. The original fitting instructions from Lake Engineering said to apply Keenol grease to the pivot pins and teeth of the blades and most of the time that is what I have done (not necessarily Keenol though).

Can you fit a short length of hose to the valve so that the hose end is just above water level? You can then inspect the valve (open and closed) by looking down the hose without any risk of letting water into the boat.

I had a new mast supplied by Z Spars for my 26ft fractionally rigged yacht. It came with overlength 6mm standing rigging with Sta-Lok terminals that I had to fit myself. I had to do it all on the first day of the club lift in. After the morning lift, my mast was stepped by the crane using the...

I have the same boat as you with the same problem. I had considered getting a longer ladder then having a bend put in it but wasn't sure how neatly that would stow. In the end I lowered the mountings (with suitable backing pads) so that the lowest step was below the waterline. I'm glad I did...