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BOAT TIPS & SHORT ARTICLES
last update August 2007
This includes short articles on safety, boat handling or
maintenance. If you see a good "how to" article in a magazine or
book, or have your own "fix it" tips, please let us know by sending an
E-mail to the WEBMASTER. Please
include the the reference for any articles such as the publication, month &
year of publication and author. We won't reproduce articles here but will list a
quick review of their tip.
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SEALANTS
- Aug 2007. Summary of Silicones, Polysulfides, Polyether
and Polyurethanes. Sept 2007 Cruising World Magazine, p132, by John Wilson.
www.CruisingWorld.com
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MOSQUITO'S -
June 2003 -
submitted by Charles Davenport of the Marathon Sail & Power Squadron:
Pass this on to anyone who likes sitting out in the evening or when they're
having a cook out. So you don't like those pesky mosquitoes, especially now
that they have the potential to carry the West Nile Virus? Here's a tip that
was given at a recent gardening forum. Put some water in a white
dinner plate and add a couple drops of Lemon Fresh Joy dish detergent. Set
the dish on your porch, patio, or other outdoor area. Not sure what
attracts them, the lemon smell, the white plate color, or what, but
mosquitoes flock to it, and drop dead shortly after drinking the Lemon
Fresh Joy/water mixture, and usually within about 10 feet of the plate.
Check this out---it works just super! May seem trivial, but it may
help control mosquitoes around your home, especially in the South and
elsewhere where the West Nile virus is reaching epidemic proportions in
mosquitoes, birds, and humans.
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MEASUREMENTS & CONVERSIONS:
Issue #129, 2003 Ocean Voyager - Handy list of units of measurements and
conversions to other units.
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MULTIPLE TIPS - April 2003 Practical Sailor -
Termin-8 vs Cuprinol: Jasco Termin-8 wood preservative is an
oil based 25% copper naphthenate product sold at Home Depot for about
$17/gal. Made by Jasco Chemical Corp in Santa Ana, CA. Collinite
hull wax - good for a general cleaner/protector for dodger windows
and lifelines. Red Cap as Caulk Condoms -
www.littleredcap.com - roll the
miniature condom down over the caulk tube tip, then squeeze a small bit of
caulk into it - works great to keep caulk tip open.
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WATERPROOF YOUR CHARTS - Dec 2002 Backpacker
Magazine - Mary Whitley shares how she waterproofs her topographical maps
for hiking - but it will work for boat charts too. She paints them with
Thompson's Water Seal - available at the hardware store to treat wood decks
and the like. She paints the paper maps outside because of fumes and lets
them dry for 10 minutes. She says pens don't work well on them then, but
pencils are OK. Sounds like a plan for boat charts in exposed boats to me.
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MARINE WEATHER DEFINITIONS AND
DISCUSSION OF "SIGNIFICANT" WAVE HEIGHTS - Aug 2002. When the local
marine forecast calls for 2-4 ft seas - what does that really mean? What
will be the average seas really, and what will be the largest waves you can
expect.
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FULLY DEVELOPED SEA HEIGHTS:
Nov 2000 article in Cruising World Magazine by
Michael Carr. Faculty Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies in
Linthicum Maryland.
Discusses relationship between wind speed, fetch and
how various wave heights are projected. The summary tables are shown here.
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OFFSHORE SAFETY CHECKLIST
- List of items carried by well-found cruising boats for extended voyages.
March 2002 Annual Special Issue of Ocean Voyager on handbook of offshore
sailing.
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BEDDING COMPOUND THAT STAYS FLEXIBLE FOR YEARS:
July/Aug 2001 Living Aboard Magazine, by Tim O'Neil
Dolphinite is manufactured by Woolsey. Used by wooden boat builders for
years. Consistency & look of peanut butter, cleans up with mineral
spirits, available in natural color (peanut butter) or white, in quart cans.
Comes off easily. Easy to work with. Can scrape up the excess bedding and
put back in the can. May need to be special ordered.
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PRACTICAL NAUTICAL FORMULAS:
December 2000. Gregory Absten,
A Two page collection of practical formulas. See how the
tides change per hour, calculate the flood rate of a hull based on hole size
& depth, thickness of patch to fix holes, distance to the horizon, hull
speed, distance by sextant angle, ranges of lights, draft of a sailing
vessel when heeled, speed of wind driven current, wave speed and period
relationships, convert gallons/liters/cubic feet, flotation & buoyancy
weights, force needed to pull boat off aground, weight of hard aground,
breaking strength of lines,
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REPAIRING A BROKEN VHF ANTENNAE: May 2000.
Gregory Absten,
Well, I did it again for the second time - broke off my VHF
antennae. The first time I forgot to lower it under a bridge, and this time
I didn't see a second story overhang at a dock in Cuba - that's why my wife
now calls me Capt Crunch! When it's just the fiberglass shaft that's broken,
but not the cable inside, you can make temporary and permanent repairs.
Temporarily use the clear cellophane packing tape to make a cast around the
break, first going diagonally in one direction, then back down the other.
Allow about 1/2 overlap for strength. The cellophane tape has no give to it
like duct tape and will allow the antennae to stand erect. For permanent
repairs mix up a batch of west epoxy with the white silica powder - 403 or
406, as a buttery mix. Then flexing the antennae shaft back and forth to
separate the fibers, work in the epoxy mix with your fingers. Finally wrap
it tightly again in a "cast" of duct tape (the cellophane is too
hard to remove from the epoxy) and allow
to harden overnight. Remove the cast, sand smooth the surface, and paint
with primer and white boat paint if needed. Perfecto!
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REMOVING RUST STAINS: Mar/Apr 2000 Living Aboard
Magazine Vol XXVII No2. John Kaufman.
Recommends Ospho and Web. Ospho changes rusts makeup into a
surface which can be painted, and removes stains from most any surface of
vinyl, metal, paint & fiberglass. Use care with fabrics. Web is an
industrial strength cleaner that uses phosphoric acid and soap. Dab or spray
small test area first. Let stand a few minutes & wipe or scrub off, then
rinse.
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BUGS ON BOATS: Mar 2000 ENSIGN Magazine. Cdr Robert
C. Wright, S
Discusses the problem of bugs infesting boats - especially
here in S. Florida. Essentially says regular insecticides are ineffective.
He says the best way is to tape seal the vessel and release and circulate a
gaseous fumigant for an adequate exposure. Then open the seal and aerate for
safety.
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STAINLESS STEEL REVIEW: Feb 2000. Gregory Absten,
This page reviews the different types of stainless steel and
their uses and limitations on boats. CLICK
HERE to view the information, including polishing.
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HURRICANE LINES "SHOCK SNUBBER"
FROM OLD TIRES: Feb 2000.
Cdr Gregory Absten, personal tip. Tying your boat
down to prepare for a Hurricane requires lots of lines with as much length
as you can get to accommodate the surges and rising water levels. Two of the
potential problems are lines snapping under stress and surge, and chafing
through. We use old tires as "snubbers" on at least our two
crossed stern lines because we make these fast to concrete piles on shore.
To see a picture and description of the setup CLICK HERE,
. For an article how to think through and prepare for Hurricanes here in the
Keys, click on HURRICANE ARTICLE.
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WATER TANK REPAIR: Jan/Feb 2000, Vol 5, No 1
Passagemaker Magazine p. 114 Ed Babniuk
Repair of metal water tanks which leak on the inside and are
too difficult to remove. Use Microseal, an FDA approved non-toxic and odorless,
thin liquid plastic type material. Available from Microseal company of Rome,
New York. Phone 315-337-2720 at $36/gal. You must first open the access
ports on your water tank and clean it out (pressure sprayer), then let it
completely dry (shop wet vac to suck up as much as possible). Remove the
water connection fittings so they don't get gunked then plug the hole with
something. Microseal is dissolved in Methyl Ethel Ketone (MEK - nasty stuff)
which evaporates after 3 days to leave the sealant bonding with the tank.
One gallon microseal in the water tank (unknown size). Can use garden
sprayer to get it up high on walls if needed. If not just slosh it around to
cover bottom and corners. Don't use heat gun to dry (explosive). Question of
whether it would also work on metal fuel tanks or deck leaks, but not
tested.
MORE TIPS & SHORT ARTICLES TO COME - SEND YOURS IN TO
CAPNGREG@BOOTKEYHARBOR.COM
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