This post is in praise of Kelly and the other fine folks at Torresen Marine. Not only did they overnight my parts here (nearly unheard of in the islands), but when a mis-fitting part was found, they made the whole return/replacement process not only painless, but even enjoyable. Yay Torresen!
December 17, 2007
November 21, 2007
score!
Yesterday was a good day. Just before lunch, a sailing friend from the WEYC dropped by. He said he was cleaning out his storage unit, and had a few bits of boating hardware to get rid of, and wanted my opinion on what it might be worth.
Among the things he mentioned were a pair of winches, which interested me a bit. He brought them over half an hour later. A pair of Harken 44 self-tailing winches, the old style with the roller-bearing stripper, freshly re-built and in factory boxes. They’d come off the raceboat he crews on, to be replaced by the newest/lightest/greatest by a manager with plenty of his owner’s money to spend.
“I figure they’d be dear to someone… what do you think they’re worth?”
“Oh, I dunno,” I replied, “How much do you want to get out of it?”
“Well, for you, say, $50 each? I mean, they’re just taking up space in my little container…”
I had the cash out of my pocket and the boxes carted off before he had a chance to reconsider. $100! For two 44 ST’s? Yikes! I wouldn’t have expected these winches, used, to go for less than $500 each… New 44’s are around $1400 apiece..
I used to kid my friend Marty for switching out his 42’s for used ex-powered 48’s, but after sailing with him before and after the switch, I’m convinced that otherwise “oversized” winches are just right; sooo much less effort and hassle, less wraps, quicker sheeting, etc. The only drawback, of course, is the crazy expense of new winches these days, easily the single most expensive pieces of hardware on any boat.
Now my standart Lewmar 42’s can move back onto pedestals for secondary use; stays’l, spinnaker, etc. What a score!
October 30, 2007
lame-ass
Whoa, long time, no blog. Partly becase I’m back on the boat, away from reglar internet access, and partly becase it’s soooo frstrating trying to write withot se of the letter “”. Dang keyboard.
In other news, I’ve been slogging along on the ol’ girl. Nothing major in the last while; two more coats of paint, and many many fiddly little electrical and systems things, deck hardware, mast bits, etc.
Mainly I’ve jst been hnkering down and plowing ot some long hors at work, making/saving a little cash for the pcoming bnch of “big(ger)-ticket items”. Off the list this past weekend: all the rest of my necessary Norseman wire terminals for my rigging. Hard to see how a doble handfl of bits can be worth $400, bt there it is. Also fond a price on rigging wire: $550, a little less than I was expecting.
As mch as I enjoy rigging, the next big psh will be on getting the engine in. Needed: new exhast flange and gasket ($85), new freshwater pmp ($320), new Racor diesel filter ($160), and oh yes, new diesel tank (hard to say exactly, bt I’m bdgeting $450). Maybe another new propshaft (I certainly hope not).
After that, it’s batteries, a few fiddly bits, refit the saggy old sails, and off we go!
July 28, 2007
A week of ‘do-overs’, or “Three steps forward, Nineteen steps back.”
In addition to other ongoing projects, during this last week I’ve started re-bedding my portlights (windows) again. The first time (many months ago now) was as part of a general replacement, as the old plexiglass lenses had gotten crazed and murky. I bought a quarter-sheet of bonzed Lexan sheet, and cut out five new windows, cleaned up the old screw-holes and bronze frames, then put the works back together with what I had been informed was “the bomb” solution for Lexan; some Sikaflex “product”.
I say “product”, but it was more like “junk”, the same as most any other Sika product I’ve tried. Further research has shown that the Sika product intended for Lexan requires the mating surfaces to all be doped with acrylic primer prior to installation. Grrrrrr… What’s the point of buying $25 tubes of goop if you need $20 flasks of primer to make them stick?
The ports started leaking a few months in. Not only did this leave me with the inevitable interior drips, but the water was getting into the screw holes, then into the laminate, and pushing off the new cabinside paint. Shit.
So this week, extending into this weekend, I’ve pulled the bronze frames and Lexan, removed the Sikashit (crumbly and dry on the Lexan, completely un-cured and goopy on the bronze, and somewhere in-between on the fiberglass), and am re-bedding with BoatLife’s Lifecaulk. Will it work? Who knows for sure, but the BoatLife goop says “for Lexan” right on the tube, no primers, and “only” $24/tube (three tubes needed).
The other part of The Great Re-Do? I’m scrapping the screws; I’ve re-drilled and countersunk the bronze frames for 1/4″ bolts with stainless T-nuts inside the cabin. The T-nuts are visually ugly, but pretty much flush to the touch, and very strong. Also very expensive… The oval-head bolts were 35 cents a piece, but the nuts are a whopping $2.15 each! Not so bad, except that I need 50 to get the ports bolted back in. Just like that, another $200…
I’ve only gotten two of the five ports re-done, at the cost of hours or foul cursing, hammering, sweating, over-heating, sweating, cursing, getting covered in goop, sweating, etc.
Now as if all that wasn’t enough to keep my spirits soaring, I discovered that the water in my shower sump is not coming from rain through the head dorade, but actually from my midships water tank. Yay! Repairing this, of course, necessitates the removal of all the furniture in the main salon not permanently ‘glassed to the hull… After sweating and cursing through the removal of all this woodwork, I’m seriously debating deleting the folding table from the salon.
