The Cape Dory Board

Many, many engines use that tranny. You might get parts from some boat company that uses that engine. The Volkswagen diesel uses it in their marine version. Also you might get parts in Canada. There used to be a guy with a company called "Pathfinder" in Canada who rebuilt them and was a go...

If you're taking down all your sails, here's how I used to do it and anchor under sail when single handed. First I would heave to and get the way off the boat. While I was hove to I'd take the anchor line and cleat it at the forward cleat and bring it to the stern outside the shrouds and everything....

I haven't personally tried it, but... This might come in handy... For all of you that are mechanically inclined..... Penetrating Oils Compared Machinist's Workshop magazine actually tested penetrants for break out torque on rusted nuts. Significant results! They arranged a subjective test of all the...

You can stop the rattling by wrapping the eye of the latch with seizing twine. As many turns as it takes to tighten up the connection.

Unless I missed it no one explained what a "full flow" valve is. If you're working with an inch and a half valve or seacock full flow means that when the valve is open the opening is a full inch and a half all the way through. Some valves which accept 1.5 inch hoses have smaller interior p...

BTW the model 25 is not 25 horsepower as many erroneously assume. It was originally 18 hp, but was redesigned by Universal to make it 21 horsepower. FYI the power curve graph is on the first page of the parts manual, not in the engine manual as you would expect.

I don't think the color of a boat affects the value at all unless you happen to pick a color that most people don't like. I've never seen a pink boat, and I never hope to see one, but even then I'd just make an offer based on the idea I'd have to change the color. Might lower the price very slightly...

I don't necessarily agree, but the H quote is a famous one as the Ford quote is. One thing about a bright yellow boat is that you can always spot it easily in a crowded marina or anchorage and it's easy for the Coast Guard to find you in an emergency. I have always heard that a white boat reflects h...

You all probably remember Hereschoff's famous dictum about boat colors. Roughly paraphrased it went: "There are only two colors for a boat - white or black, and only a fool would have a black boat.

As luck would have it I've been looking into putting mine up for sale and have a little information. In 2007 and 2008 about 10 of them sold for the $ 48,000 range most of them on the East Coast. I 2009 I could only find one that sold. That one was in Florida. It sold for $ 26,000. What you can't tel...

The outside case of the Atlantic water heater is stainless, but the important part, the interior tank, is aluminum. Electrolysis will eat through it if you don't replace the zinc on your heat exchanger regularly. Easy to overlook because it's a nasty job to get to. Without zincs they go in about 5 t...

If you go to rebuild it, be sure to get the whole rebuild kit and not just the diaphragm. In my experience it's more often the flapper valves that go bad than the main diaphragm rubber. A piece of rust or lint can sometimes get caught under the flapper valve and that puts it totally out of action al...

I don't think there is any way to seal the top of the mast because the halyards have to enter there so there are openings at the sheaves. If there is any wind with the rain, it's inevitable that some blows inside and runs down the mast. When I pulled the keel stepped mast on my 31, I estimated there...

Concerning Oswego Johns post about wiring, I asked an electrician about this that I happened to run into on a job today. I know that a lot of boats use a single neutral/ground wire for a return to all the lights. This guy is not a boat electrician, but a house electrician. He said that you don't hav...

This from googling up "Santana Winds": The original spelling of the of name of the winds is unclear, not to mention the origin. Although the winds have been commonly called Santa Ana Winds or Santa Anas, many argue that the original name is Santana Winds or Santanas. Both versions of the n...