Recent content by BillyT

Wow Geoff that is a fantastic shot of Delightful against the city lights! Nicely done.

A word of caution from an engineer friend. When you remove the old seal the shaft may be so corroded that it would be wise to replace it before fitting a new seal of any sort. Let the boat bucks fly!

Hi Eric. Sorry I don't know your sheave size, but I could not get stock replacements for my E31. I ended up going to Zephyrwerks for custom ones and was very happy with the result. I thought their service was excellent and I was happy with the timing and cost even though I am based in...

An obvious tip with all hose removals/replacements is to heat them up with a heat gun to soften them up. I was recently told this (being a slow learner of the bleeding obvious) and it changed my life, or at the very least allowed me to change my hoses:). Bill

Thanks Christian Tough job but I'm happy I took it on. Will do the port winch when the skin grows back on my hands! Bill

Trying to be a good maintenance guy I decided to give my sheet winches a full service. They are Barient 19 st and a previous owner has kindly left a printed service routine, so I knew this would be a walk in the park. They were ticking like a pair of Swiss watches but like many things in the...

Hi Jon I am the new owner of an Independence 31 which had the inner forestay removed when the bow sprit was replaced. The aft lower backstays are still in place and the rig appears to operate just fine with the sloop set up. I will be replacing the inner stay and staysail as I prefer cutters...

E31 down under Sealivin looking pretty back on her mooring in Mosman Bay after a busy Christmas and New Years Eve on Sydney Harbour. (Had to look at this photo twice - thought I'd suddenly re-grown an inner staysail, but that's a future project I'll seek forum members help to complete)...

Thanks for the warm welcome. Christian I agree - far too handsome for my feeble will power! The way she sailed was also a pleasant surprise and sealed the deal. Tenders - I understand she was bought in the US and imported by an ozzie two owners ago who I suspect also fell for her abundant...

Well I appear to be the new owner of the best Independence 31 in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite looking for a larger and younger boat, I fell for the classic plastic look and feel - hook, line and sinker. She is hull #71 and I'm looking forward to varnishing, varnishing more varnishing as...