The Cape Dory Board

Ken: Our radome is mounted at the top of a pole originally part of a Windbugger system. The pole is through bolted at the base, and attached to the pushpit rail using a U-bolt that goes around the rail and through the pole. It is further supported by a single strut attached to the same U-bolt and go...

The recent post on the longevity (4-5 years) of deep cycle batteries causes me to wonder about the use of 2 6v golf cart batteries in series. It would be great if we could hear of your experinces with this set-up.

Rich: I don't know what kind of laptop you have, but many are powered by an AC to DC unit that works over a very large range. Mine states on the label that the input voltage required is 100-240 volts. This is to accomodate travel to or sales in Europe, for example, where standard outlets are 220 vol...

Randy: With all due respect, why do you still use wind to power your boat? There are no fail safe high tech systems, period. That's why there are redundant systems on aircraft. GPS is great for telling you where you are on the surface, but a chart plotter is only as good as the chart it is based on,...

The cove south of the East Greenwich yacht club is one the best hurricane holes in the area. I kept Mintaka there for 2 seasons, and went through one of the named storms (I don't remember which one) in 1999. During the storm I was helping, along with other owners, to pull boats at Norton's Shipyard....

You are likely to get as many answers as there are readers of this board. For what it's worth, I used West Marine Bottom Pro Gold for the five years I was on the Chesapeake. It ain't cheap, but worked quite well. The previous owner used the same product when the boat was in the Bahamas, and he was s...

All good advice above. One more to add. The warm hose (by hot water or heat gun) expands the hose slightly and makes is a bit more pliable but doesn't decrease the friction between the hose and the fitting you're trying to put it on. You can make the process easier by smearing a thin film of lubrica...

Have you looked into BOAT/US insurance? There has been some debate as to whether they are as good as they once were, but I have had them for years with no problems. My premium increased slightly this year because of last year's storms. However, I recently moved the boat from the upper Chesapeake to ...

Beth and I departed Rock Hall aboard Mintaka on May 7. We poked along the Chesapeake visiting several towns we had not been to before. We continued down the ICW, and with the exception of a bad navigational guess at the entrance to the Alligator River the depth sounder never showed less than 8 feet....

Nice boat, but not a CD 40, in my humble opinion. Anyway, thanks for the info. It's always nice to look at a beautiful boat.

Dana: Coax will corrode, particularly in a wet environment, and especially if the connectors were not properly sealed at the outset. There are three links in your chain: the radio, the coax, and the antenna. Ideally, you'll check all three. You will need (a ham friend with) the following test equipm...

We will be bringing Minataka down the ICW in a couple of weeks. We plan to use the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal route, not the Dismal Swamp. Our concern is shoaling, as the boat draws 5'8". Does anyone know, or can tell me how to find out, if that is going to be a problem? Thanks.

We had a foul odor on Mintaka that we ultimately ascribed to the bilge. It seems the PO eliminated the shower sump, which also received the outflow from the icebox. He allowed the latter to drain directly into the bilge. Now that is a great place for all sorts of smelly bugs to breed and stink, espe...

On Mintaka, the space you're referring to is filled with foam insulation. I don't think the cabinetry face is thick enough to retain a screw that should be through-bolted anyway. We have a bar across the front of the stove, but I don't remember how it's attached. Sorry it's not much help. At any rat...

Steve: On my boat, think of the ice box as being in a cabinet. The ice box is on the port side, next to the companionway steps. The hole I referred to is near the floor, facing forward. There is no space between the ice box itself and its "cabinet" enclosure, as it has been filled with som...