The Cape Dory Board

Gents: I actually think I broke my Cape Dory. It appears the hull and deck are separating at the stern and there is a gap under the teak trim. My boat was from the 1st model year 1974 and I am not sure how they made this joint. I may post some photos but there is a widening gap under the teak trim a...

just completed a hellish project on a 40 year old CD 28.At the end of the season last year there was some vibration and the boat stopped moving forward even though the engine was running. examination confirmed the shaft was spinning in the coupling. The key way was gone and the set screws had milled...

actually the engine starts and runs fine and is obviously running on both cylinders-it sounds exactly the same as it did before-I spoke to a mechanic who said it would be vibrating and shaking if the exhaust valve was not closing- the decompression lever is a lever that depresses the exhaust valve r...

I need some ideas-I had 2 dead batteries due to a bad alternator on my MD11 Volvo-so I flipped up the 2 decompresiion levers and now the one for the rear cylinder won't go back down-what do I do? should I take the rocker arm cover off? The motor did not start so I sailed back to the mooring- once I ...

You just impressed the hell out of me-great job!

Here is the secret-anything you can use to clean a fiberglass or porcelain tub or shower with-will work on your boat-tilex-bon-amie or bar keepers friend or any other mildly abrasive bleach product-gel toilet bowl cleaner works very well on water line stains as well-so do not ever buy any exspensive...

Has anyone dealt with Progressive insurance? They sent me an ad so I went to their web site and got a quote for insurance for around $400 for a cd 28 insd for 20K plus 100/300 BI and PD-their price is about 1/2 of what I am currently paying and they did not ask for a survey-however-when I asked them...

I have a nice old CD 28 in the water in South Dartmouth Mass-if anyone wants to go for sail let me know-we have a genoa and a cruising spinnaker -I go out alot during the week assuming its a nice afternoon/evening-thanks-

Also-if you get your diesel from a truck stop it is less likely to be old-stale or contaminated by water-(assuming you get it from a busy truck stop)-I agree-its a pain to pull up to the fuel dock sometimes and I also agree that you should carry a 1 gallon jug of diesel in case you nee to change a f...

Everybody has rusty chain plates-they are not chain plates-they are a piece of steel that cape dory used as a "backing plate"-the bolts that hold your "pad eyes" in place are installed through the deck-through the hull lip and then through the backing plate-whether or not the bac...

Pump the old fuel out with a hand pump into a jerry jug and put it in your home's oil tank (assuming you burn heating oil) or give it someone who has oil heat-and then you will have nothing to worry about-you also can get a good look at the fuel and see how much water and junk is in it-it will proba...

I had the exact problem with my 1974 CD 28-to the extent the cutlass bearing walked out the boat until it hit the zinc on the shaft-I'd do a little exploratory grinding and see if you can tell if its secured-or if you can slide it out and re-secure it with marine tex-which can be drilled and tapped ...

What would happen if you shot someone in the chest with one of those 12 gauge flares? I'd bet it would slow them down don't you think? Are we not allready armed? knives-which handles etc. I can think of many items on a boat that could be used as weapons- A gun could go off acidentally and put a hole...

My 1st comment is that if I lose my job during sailing season-I am colecting unemployment and going sailing! 2nd the last thing I wouod get rid of is my boat-hey-I could live on it if I had to-and 3rd-I am anxiously awaitng the return of the boating season here in the northeast so I can assess the d...

I am considering sanding my toe and rub rails down to bare wood and switching from cetol to varnish-so at the risk of inciting a riot I'd like to ask what varnish people have found to give the best results-and on a related subject-since spring is approaching-I feel compelled to put in a word for the...