kerno

It is funny that you mention chargers. I think of all of the electric devices on boats, I've had more trouble with chargers than anything else. And it is usually with multi-battery chargers. The old one charger for each battery system worked pretty well. I am now running four batteries with two chargers that are set up for two batteries each. Guess what? I have one battery that is nearly dead and three that are perfectly happy....... That means on leg of one of the chargers has died. Hopefully, it didn't take the battery with it. Hey Bob: Has Homesite seen the quad replacement? Dry sump #6 Yeeehaaaa.

I opened THT on one tab and this post on another. No pictures in the first post.....................

I've found the best way to keep everyone out of trouble is to use the PM system for personal stuff. For example, someone on THT was talking about doing an engine upgrade today. I have one that would work great for him, so I PM'd him with the details. That way, I was not advertising and only the guy looking for the engine saw it.

Your wiring looks like it should. It makes me proud to know you even if it is only over the internet.

Water pressure gages don't come standard on the F225's. They were added as an option. Go to the back of your instrument panel and find the water pressure gages. They'll each have their own nylon tube feeding them. The tubing is 4 mm diameter (about 5/32) and is held on with a brass nut. The first thing you should do is to swap the hoses between the two gages and see if it is actually the water pressure from the engines or the gages that are off. At the engine end, you'll find the same nylon tubing running into the power head area and it usually attaches to a fitting low on the same side of the engine as the controls. But the first step is still finding out if it is the pumps or the gages that are off. As far as the pee stream is concerned, it will vary according to any debris in the plastic nozzle. Stick something small in the hole to clear it out and see if it changes.

Break out another thousand.

Things always seem to get Garminzed AFTER I buy them. Oh well, Garmin's updating it can only make a good product better.

I'm a diver, so I get to see my anchor rode on every dive. It is also usually windy. I always want to see a low angle between the anchor and the chain. The chain makes the pull parallel to the bottom instead of trying to lift the anchor. The weight of the chain is important, but so is the length. I'd rather have a lighter, long chain than a heavy short one. The line size is more a function of what you can grab and pull easily. The line seldom breaks, but you do have to be able to get a good grip on it.

I have the TR1 and it works well. I don't like the user control panel at all. I haven't seen the Garmin version and don't know if they've changed it. THe TR1 is a mass of pushbuttons and not intuitive at all. The primary reason I bought it was becouse of the shadow drive where you can take control at any time. That's handy when dodging things like crabpots.

Since I am running Yamahas, I'll also take a volt/ohmeter and see if there is any current flow between one end of the ground strap and the engine at different times when running, off and with shore power plugged in.

since it is so easy to add that grounding strap, that's what I am going to do. Adding the strap is way easier than replacing the cylinder or rod.

I can't really tell how deep the scratches are, but it is always better to spend more time with finer paper than spending extra time to try and get out the scratches from coarser paper. If the sratches are not deep, I'd start that with about 400 grit, the go to 600 grit and finish with 1200. 1200 seem slike a luxury, but it will cut down the compounding time quite a bit. I never use anything coarser than 320 on gelcoat unless I am trying to remove it.

I need to offer an apology to Capt. Thunder who thought I was calling BS on his post or his problem. I am not. His post is valid and his problem is valid. I am questioning SeaStar identifying the problem as being caused by "stray voltage".

Nah, Andy. I heard he was somehow related to wheel-less........

It is a lot easier job with two people, especially if you are doing it for the first time. There are a lot of things that need to be jiggled and aligned and four hands really makes it a lot less frustrating.

One of the problems with both blind rivets and self tapping screws is that both of them shatter the laminate as they are installed. I have attached many things to fiberglass by drilling and tapping the hole. Tapping cuts the fibers and does not destroy the properties of the laminate. If you install the screw with some epoxy, it is a stronger attachment than a self tapping screw. Blind rivets work best if they have a washer on the back side. The washer absorbs the force of their expansion and distributes the load over a larger area. But for something like a gas strut, a tapped hole is not going to last. Glass a block in place as suggested. That way, if you do meet a large concrete structure at 70 mph, you'll have time to say "Dam" before it fails.

I understand that vinylester is not a guarantee, but it sure is better than polyester and e-glass. I have had two issues with World cat. One was their resin choice and the other was their wiring. Sure, things are very tough in the industry at the moment, but unlike cars, boats cannot just be used up or realistically traded in on a whim. They represent significant amounts of money and should be built with an expected life design of no less than 15 years.

Just be careful the cooler does not slide out in the turns...... Ask me how I know!

Turkey hunting is one of the top things on my bucket list. I understand they are really "Wiley" critters!

It will be interesting to see how they resolve the differences in the construction and lamination between the two "brands". World Cat does not use vinylester in their layup, whereas Glacier Bay did. Under Graff's hand the Glacier Bay became known for its water abilities, leaving speed and fuel consumption as non issues. The World Cat's design gave it more speed and better fuel numbers and still offered good rough water abilities. My choice? A World Cat hull laid up with GB laminates and GB wiring. That has some real (or Reel) promise.

The Mercury 225 four strokes are Yamaha 225's painted black. They are not the most powerful thing out there, but there are lots of them in service and are good, reliable engines. I am on my second pair of them with Yamaha labels and they just plain work.

I call BS. I'm going to jump in here before Bob gets back with his reply. If we are to believe the stray voltage theory, we'd have to find adequate isolation (insulation) between the pieces until the electrolyte (salt water) is added. The electrolyte has to act as a conductive medium between two surfaces, where one is grounded and the other has a positive current flow to it. Any corrosion will be at the interface of two dissimilar metals, not in the middle of the the shaft. So, I'll believe it when I see the corrosion only happening where two different materials meet. Here's my take on the problem. When SeaStar took over Morse/Hynautic, they dropped the best steering cylinder, the Hynautic K-6. What made that cylinder great was the used of a 17-4 PH stainless shaft instead of the chrome plated steel shaft on the SeaStar. 17-4 PH(17 percent nickel, 4 percent chrome, precipitation hardenable) will develop a surface rust haze, but does not pit readily. I've seen some where the aluminum housing was badly corroded, but the shaft was still just fine. But I've seen many more SeaStars where the housing is fine and the rod is junk. Why? First, the main shaft is mild steel and is soft. That makes it very vulnerable to being nicked. But the real problem is the chrome. Chrome makes a pretty surface but is very porous. To properly apply it to steel, you should put copper plate on first, followed by nickel and then the chrome. But you can short cut that process and have it still look good, but as soon as it sees salt, the salt gets in the pores of the chrome, corrodes the steel and pops tiny pieces of chrome off, resulting in what appears to be pits. Once the chrome is gone, the steel is exposed and the whole mess degrades quickly. The good news is that the K-9 was continued in production by Teleflex Canada and they are now available here again. I have taken the SeaStar cylinder off every hydraulic cylinder equipped boat I've owned and replaced them with the Hynautic. I've also found that air in the system makes the movement of the engines jerky and contributes to play in the steering.

I think there is a good chance the Odysseys are made here. Here's the statement from their website: ODYSSEY batteries are manufactured to strict quality standards in two facilities globally: Warrensburg, Missouri USA and Newport, Wales United Kingdom. Though, at the price, they could have been shipped first class from the UK.

I'm going to have to see this one. I'd expect to find a "politics free Tireless" right after I find calorie free beer. The real problem is that I usually agree with your posts!

You can run the rode down the pipe, but what are you doing now to stow the anchor? Opening the hatch and dropping everything into the locker lets you include the anchor. But once you put a chain pipe into the system, the anchor has to stay in a roller or hang on the rail.