Recent content by edokarura

I need your expertise, folks. A couple weeks ago in the Clarence Strait north of Ketchikan I hit a log with my 1991 Ericson E-34 and suddenly lost the ability to do anything but turn left. I climbed down the swim ladder to discover that the rudder had been bent aft just enough to jam against...

Okay, I'm convinced that the sail is the right size. I guess I need to build a lower bow pulpit and tie in a piece of line or install a longer shackle on the tack. Thanks, guys!

Yeah, I just realised it was 1-inch wide. Don't know if that'll make it easier or harder. The dock line 'n' caulk idea is appealing. Tape just seems so wrong. Thanks!

Fellow E-Yachters, The foot of my headsail is resting on the bow railing on pretty much all points of sail. It's on a Harken roller-furler and I have pulled the halyard swivel up as far as it will go and have run the drum/basket as far out as as the manual says I can (2 inches of exposed...

Okay, mast tape it is, covered with a Sunbrella "boot" West Marine is quite attached to theirs at $40+ for a 4" x 10" piece. This is just self-fusing silicone tape, right? In that case Rescue Tape would seem to work at a fraction of the cost. Any thoughts?

I had what looked like an over zealous application of mast boot tape sticking out beyond the canvas cover snapped onto the base of my mast. It was deteriorating and I was getting some water dripping down the inside of the mast so I decided to clean it up. I removed the cover and several wraps...

So, I pulled up the adjacent boards since they were wet and glued them back down in a bed of epoxy. Unfortunately, they got a little beat up in the process. So I was thinking, sand them down and then put some coloring goop on them. So, will any of the pictured goops do the job?

Many thanks, all! Is the orange coloring of Cetol reminiscent of varnish (which seems dark orangish to me) or of, say, a hunting vest? Can anyone recommend a particular make and model of Cetol to avoid the orange color? Oh, and doesn't oil protect the wood insofar as it inhibits water...

…is looking pretty sad. What's the quickest, easiest way to deal with it so that I don't have more problems later? Sand off the varnish then sand it smooth and apply tung oil? Is it safe to assume it's teak? I don't much care how it looks. It just has to function and not deteriorate...

Ahhhhh….Interesting. Hadn't thought of that. Could you use something else? Polyester resin, perhaps?

Captain Williams, VERY helpful article. Thanks a bunch! Was wondering, why did you use butyl to seal the opening ports but Life Calk to seal the fixed ones? I'm sealing fixed ones and have got both on hand. I'd prefer to use butyl because it's a fraction of the cost of Life Calk and seems...

You guys know of what you speak: In order to remove this stanchion base I had to remove remove adjacent stanchions and discovered little puddles of water inside their bases. First thought was, why didn't someone drill drain holes at the base of these when they were installed? Any ideas?

I think this is a good idea but oesn't butyl have to be under compression to work its magic?

I think there's some Confucian saying about "To know a thing's proper name is to know that thing". The boating equivalent for me has been, "To have to fix a thing is to know it's proper name." Since I'd never had to fix them until now those things that let light into my boat were...

Have a look at the attached pics (from above and below). I've got water coming through the hole which feeds the wire to my aft nav light. This travels down the tube of the stanchion, drops onto the bottom of the locker, then drains down to and around the base of the steering shaft then into my...