cjohnson

That vintage Whaler is probably pretty solid, but watch for possible rot in the wood-cored transom. It's a problem on some of the Whalers from the 80's. Also, you may find some fastenings into the hull aren't really done right and need rework. I have a 20' Revenge and a 13' Fisherman (from around 1960). I'm a Whaler believer. But they aren't quite indestructible and need all the usual maintenance. Probably the best Whaler website is at www.continuouswave.com. Check it out.

Wax makes cleaning a lot easier, and there are non-skid waxes out there. But some parts of the nonskid probably should be left untreated. I've found that the easiest way to clean nonskid is with a bristle brush and almost any good household cleaner, and if the brush isn't too stiff it works well as a polisher for rhw waxing phase too. The bristles will get down in the diamond pattern much better than a sponge or rag.

The name doesn't matter to me, now that I'm here. But I think you might get a wider variety of members with Joeboater. The site does seem much more fish-centric than THT was.

All GPS units that I know of have a track screen that shows you a "breadcrumb trail" tracking back to your starting point. Chart plotters essentially add a background graphic of the appropriate chart or map of the area behind the breadcrumb trail. Your location is shown in the center of the chart, updated automatically. Chartplotter functionality is not really necessary, regardless of how far offshore you are, but is pretty useful. In reality, the more time you spend near shore the more useful the feature is, since when near shore you have more stuff to look out for that the chart will actually show. 20 miles offshore the ocean mostly looks the same on the chart. A chartplotter is not a substitute for paper charts; you still need to carry those. A cheapie GPS will work fine in conjunction with paper charts.

Did you talk to piranha about it? Maybe they sent you the wrong pitch or something. I do believe the plastic prop will have more drag than equivalent stainless, but I wouldn't expect that much performance drop.

I think you will like them. I have been using one on a 150 Evinrude for several years. The only thing is, they will ding up much easier than an aluminum prop, so figure replacement blades as an annual expense and be sure and check the prop if you dust the bottom, even a just little bit. My brother brought the boat home from a night fishing trip one time complaining of low power and overheating. He said he had hit some mud and maybe sucked some in the intake. I looked at the prop the next morning and the blades were down to about 1" long. Motor was fine though. Changed the blades in a few minutes and went for a ride. Didn't invite my brother.

Interesting discussion. Two points: I wouldn't completely write off the engines as uneconomical to repair. Just because they were underwater and seized doesn't mean you can't free them up and fix them with a couple days work and fooling around. Also, even if they are toast their scrap value may be pretty high if you are willing to seriously part them out and test the parts you resell. In addition to the LU, most of the electrical parts are probably good, and they are expensive retail. But rehabbing boats always coasts more than you think. After working up an estimate on paper I'd add at least 25% additional for "surprises."

If you are getting a loan for the purchase you will require insurance and will need a survey. Some insurance companies also require one before they will issue a policy, even if you pay cash for the boat. But beyond that it depends on the boat. What are you getting? It also depends on your ability to do the stuff a surveyor would do. After hanging around boats nearly all my life I probably wouldn't get a survey unless I was forced to by a bank or insurance company, but then I probably won't be buying any 40 footers anytime soon. Take a look at Pascoe's website www.yachtsurvey.com to get some idea of the kind of stuff a surveyor will be looking for.

I've never seen a homebrew plan like you describe, but I'd like to. I think it would be doable and practical for someone with a good junk box on hand. But you might consider old-school cable steering. It isn't seen any more, but was all the rage at one time. I have an old Whaler that was originally equipped with a steering wheel that linked to the outboard using a cable run through pulleys. A spring in the cable helped maintain tension in the system. It was not very positive steering, but when adjusted right it worked OK. Many small outboards made before about 1970 actually came from the factory with a hole in the handle to accept the standard cable steering bracket.

I remember a hell of a party at one of my favorite bars on June 9, 1969. Won't see one like that for another 60 years or so.

I think nicknames are more of an east coast thing, anyway. Among my east coast relatives, they have become a requirement, because half the men are names Richard and the rest are mostly named Bill. Without nicknames we'd never tell them apart. Thus, we have Little Ritchie, Big Richie, etc. In college I was known as OWJ, after Old Wierd Johnson, the Cosby character. Also, on occasion, the Undertaker, for reasons I won't go into here.

Probably less stuff in there than it looks like. The hull is full of water, so everything has floated to the top. The empty bushel baskets contribute to the cluttered look, but they are standard equipment on a crabbing boat. I'd vote for a broken thru-hull as the cause.

I have considered sealed lead acid, but had a bad experience with one several years ago (battery burst after a couple of years service and without warning, causing damage to the boat). I think my experience was just a freak manufacturing defect, but have been shy of them ever since. Research continues. I probably won't replace the battery for awhile yet; maybe I'll find a super-sale. I agreen the AGM price tag is a bit off-putting, but as it should only happen every 8 years or so it isn't too bad.

I notice the MD tag number... I often visit Cobb Island Maryland, home to Captain John's Crab House and Marina. I've seen many similar boats, and a few in similar condition. It isn't yachtie territory. Several years ago there was an old wooden cabin cruiser there, clearly a one-off boat, really sharp lines and cool looking but not maintained much. It was may favorite boat to look at while eating crabs and drinking beer. One afternoon when I arrived I found it on the sunk to the gunwales, only held afloat by its docklines. I disappeared not long after. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Can't use a normal wet cell on a sailboat, since the boat heeling may cause acid to spill. A normal battery box is not spillproof enough to endure a knockdown. Some kind of sealed cell battery is essential. I am open to other possibilities than AGM (and they are expensive) but if I can't safely hold it upside-down and shake it I can't use it in this application. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Thanks. Interstate sells the Optima series in stores only, according to their website, but there are a few dealers near me. I'll call around.

Turns out Sears has an AGM for marine use that sells for around $200. Has anybody tried one of these? Thanks

My sailboat is really small (19') and so there aren't any large areas of nonskid to worry about. I don't wax the seat tops, which is about the only place I stand on. And I don't wax my big Whaler much, just wash it down seasonally. I agree that Collinite is typically too slippery for nonskid, at least for the first few days after application. Woody is probably better in that respect. I used to use a paste wax called Aurora Sure-Step that was perfect for nonskid and regular surfaces as well, and had a good durable shine, but it isn't available anymore that I could find. I think it is made in Canada. Boaters World, West Marine, etc used to handle it but they don't anymore.

I don't think they make a waterproof cell phone. Most of them are far too fragile for any mission-critical application, regardless of what they can do when used at home.

I've used Woody and found that it worked pretty much as advertised, but did not have as durable a finish as paste wax. I mostly use Collinite now. A couple applications a year seem to be enough, even though my sailboat is in the water 24/7/365. Woody does make a better shine than Collinite, though. Woody seemed to attract bugs when fresh. Lots of them on the deck after the first application. No problem after a couple of washings.

OT = off topic (I know this isn't a sailing forum). OK on the AGM; I like those too... but what brand or source of supply? Any really good deals out there? Thanks

This may be a little OT for many of you guys, but here: I have a 20' sailboat in my fleet that has an electrical system and some instrumentation. The present battery is a sealed gel cell 12 volt maybe about 120 AH (about the size of a car battery) and is 9 years old; ready for replacement. I'm not going to spend a mint of money on it, because a battery isn't really mission-critical on a sailboat (at least this one). The boat lives in a marina with no shore power. I keep the battery topped up with a 11 watt solar panel. In my typical usage, the battery powers a VHF and sounder/plotter, and sometimes a boom box or some small cabin lighting on gloomy days. I guess I use maybe 20 AH per week average, as I only go sailing once a week or so. The present battery is probably overkill capacity-wise considering average use, but I want to stick with overkill as every now and then I weekend on the boat and can run the battery down pretty far, and the solar panel takes awhile to recharge the depleted battery. So, given this kind of load and charging situation, what kind of relatively cheap battery would you use? One thing: it must be a sealed battery, since sailboats are known to go sideways sometimes. I'd prefer something I can pick up at some common retail outlet, like Sears or West Marine, since freight on a battery is pretty steep. I think Sears has some kind of sealed marine battery in its catalog but I've never owned one. Any advice appreciated. I need to fix this sometime this winter, I guess. Thanks.

My vote: leave things the way they are, at least as far as the Sandbar goes. I'm not as active here as on the old THT, but that has nothing to do with content... I just don't spend as much time online as I did. But on the whole, I think I like this forum better than the old THT. As for rumors and vendor bashing, I'm basically in favor of them. The vendors have plenty of places to tell their story unopposed. Vetting posts relating to vendor products (more than required to avoid slander) tends to inhibit discussion. One other note: Splitting the forum into many sub-boards has its downside. For example, I think you could eliminate the Boating Safety form. As important as that is, it intertwines with all the other topics to such a degree that making a place for it probably tends to reduce safety-related posts. I don't have the time to check every sub-board, and I suspect many other users have the same problem.

What material is he using? Sunbrella currently sells for about $20/yard (60" wide). It is pretty much the industry standard, but some other fabrics used in marine applications may cost a bit more. You can estimate the yardage and that will give you some idea of his materials cost, after adding maybe 10% for snaps, thread, binding, etc. One factor is if you are replacing a cover or getting a new one made from scratch. There is a lot of labor in making canvas work from scratch, since the maker will most likely have to spend a few hours measuring and making a pattern. It is unlikely that he has a pattern for your boat on hand. If you can find someone who has made a cover for a boat like yours you should get a better price.

Yes. I'm not sure how much of a safety margin it adds, but I can't see any downside and it was fairly easy to do. Connecting the GPS and VHF was a little tricky but not nuclear physics.