The Cape Dory Board

Hi Bruce, there are 3 lights on the engine panel: oil pressure, coolant temp and battery. Find out which is lit to proceed with troubleshooting. In my case recently it turned out to be the coolant temp sensor that was causing a nuisance horn and was repaired by replacing the sensor. Cheers, Charlie.

With full main and 100 jib I also get some weather helm at 15 knots and thats when I reef the main for a very nice balance and keeps the rails out of the water. At or before the wind reaches 20 knots I tie in the second set of reefs. I also use a storm jib occasionally that seems to balance well wit...

The P-79 comes in different flavers. With a little research you may find the version that has the connectors to match your unit. The clearance between the hull and the liner varies all over the boat. The transducer comes with very good installation instructions. Remember your boat may be different t...

I also had an old sounder system that I fought with for awhile and finally gave up on it and installed a new Raymarine ST 60+ with an Airmar P-79 in hull transducer. The transducer is mounted port side, forward edge of setee and just aft of sink. This transducer can accomodate a 22 degree hull deadr...

Gary, I think I would leave it alone for now, go ahead and get it wired up and working to see if you have any other bugs. I don't think I would leave it like that for the long term. The pin should be x distance from the tiller pivot and the actuator should be 90 degrees to the centerline of the ship...

Gary, mine is the + version. Initially I did have a problem with it that was my fault. This auto-pilot is fairly light duty even though it is rated for our boats. I let the auto-pilot steer the boat in strong winds, close hauled with too much sail and weather helm which managed to strip the internal...

RG58C/U cable can be spliced using "bnc" type connectors and there is always some insertion loss. I takes an experienced hand to work with these connectors for low loss. GPS signals are very low so I wouldn't chance doing that. Why would you splice? Is the cable too short? Could the existi...

Though my 22D has the Raymarine AP, it also uses a pin pressed into the tiller arm. The pin was a tight fit also which is what you want...you don't want any possibility of slop. The epoxy is a safeguard to make sure the pin doesn't slip. In fact if as I recall I used a "C" clamp to careful...

Good Morning, I do what Mr. John does...tighten the tiller bolt for drag. I also made a stop with a small piece of aluminum drilled and taped in the tiller base. It is a dissimilar metal and it looks slightly chalky after 6 years but with the thickness being about 1/8" it is not a problem. I in...

Last week I was close hauled on port tack in windy conditions headed for lee shore rocks. I blew 2 tacks (too much sail) trying to get over to starboard tack. Lucky for me the engine started and I completed the tacks. This is what started me thinking about trying to learn the technique of heavy air ...

Gradually I am learning to sail in windier conditions--18-25 mph. With a storm jub and a double reefed main I complete most tacks but I have been reluctant (scarred) to ever try a jibe mostly because I don't quite know what will happen. I know to bring the boom amidship and ease the sheet on the new...

Another possibility I thought of last night that might save a haul out. You said the engine and trans was replaced last year. The transmission shift lever could be miss-adjusted or its position could have slipped causing non mesh or dragging of the internal gear drive. Alot of us would sure like to ...

I really don't see the cutless bearing preventing the prop from turning. You need to look aft of the transmission while it is in gear and see if the prop shaft is turning. Possibilities: broken shaft, missing key or stripped in the prop or transmission output flange or maybe I am not interpreting th...

I have the old orange plaid originals. I ran them through the washer on gentle cycle and hung them up to air dry. They came out looking very nice and clean. There is no doubt that they are starting to degrade after 24 years but they were thus before I cleaned them.

Just bought a gallon of brown Micron Extra from Defender. Maybe I should of waited for their sale.