Recent content by waterrat365

probably 3/8" I believe that's what's on my boat. Cliff Moore, SV Pelorus, Keyport, NJ, USA

I built a 11'6" "Cartopper" designed by Bolger about 15 years ago. I made it from 1/4 AC Fir plywood, available anywhere in the US at the time for about $10 a sheet. Best dink I ever owned. I used three sheets of plywood, stitch and glue construction. I took the simple precaution of coating both...

Re: Self emptying holding tank Headmistress: trust me - my plastic holding tank full to the brim weighs in around 180# and when that bad boy is full to the brim, believe me, it deforms just enough to pop the seal on the clean-out just enough to leak - and smell. I learned that the hard way...

We use holding tanks in the US by law, but there are a lot of variations on them. Basically, we are supposed to have deck-level fittings for the pumpout stations on them for use in marinas and closed harbors, but many people also have the ability to pump them out overboard below the water line...

You can probably make it work using Fugawi software. Check out www.fugawi.com. I belive the $98 (US) version works with Garmin charts. It will say on the website if so. I have Fugawi but also Maptech on my iPaq. I think Maptech is better, but you can only use their charts (not Europe or Englan...

There are two apps I use on my iPaq 2215 (Win OS: Fugawi (costs about $100 US) and Outdoor Navigator from Maptech ($20). Guess which one works better? Actually, the more expensive one has one great advantage: it works on a PC laptop as well as a PDA. But for the PDA alone, the Maptech is much...

Re: Bosun\'s chair??? and hauling aloft single-handed..... I have a softbottom seat with a bag attached - cost about $50 US a few years ago. I used to haul myself aloft with a block and tackle. But alone, the problem is tailing the excess on deck - it's too easy to faul it and then you're...

I've been following the general trend of this and basically, check out Fugawi.com. They work on virtually all commercial charts plus free ENC charts. To get a listing of free ENC charts, go to www.noaa.gov/charts.html. This is one of the few freebies from the US Gov anymore, although I have been...

Try Fugawi.com. It works on a laptop or a PC equiped PDA like the iPaq, which runs on a windows program. There are 2 versions: the cheap one (about $100)runs most available electronic maps and charts, inlcuding highway and aviation maps. The $180 version runs the ENC charts, which are free and...

I have a 15 watt panel on a 85 AH battery, and a 32W panel on a 240 AH battery, no regulators, for the past three years. No problems at all. I don't use a diode because the diode eats more current than the panels would lose at night. BTW, I sail mostly weekends except for the entire month of...

I have an Ipaq and I'm using Fugawi. BTW, there are all sorts of cable interfaces available. Look on google. I went to Radio Shack (USA) and found for $30, a hockeypuck sized GPS that works like a charm w/built in mapping sotfware. Cheap price becauise they've been trying to dump them...

Suggest you use an aluminum tank (which is what I have, but only 10 gallaons, alas!), mounted on neoprene rubber busings, to keep it away from SS, which can be a problem w/diesel. Tanks that size (55 gals) should have a proper baffle to knock down free-weight effect of floating liquids. Also, a...

I used Crest toothpaste with a paper towel. Works like a charm, and you can use it on your teeth later. Amazing! Who'da thunk it? My compass is about 20 years old and now looks new. BTW, I also used it on plastic ports and it cleaned them up too. HGappy sailing, Cliff Moore, SV PELORUS

I recently rebult a YSM8, a single cylinder. There are 4 big nuts to remove. First, pull the injector and take it to a mechanic for testing. Remove the lube oil feed lines, carefully saving and noting the order of all washers. The injector, BTW, has several insulating washers and a copper...

You can try "The Mother of All Sailing Websites," and it is a mother, indeed: www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html