The Cape Dory Board

Those who were with us on the Maine cruise this summer may remember that Windhover blew its exhaust hose. We were kindly towed to Robinhood, where after several thousand dollars worth of work and a new elbow, it wouldn't start. Robinhood guessed that the engine might be shot. To be fair, I was angry...

Hi Brett, my exhaust elbow rusted and burst through too last week. The boat is on the hard awaiting repairs and I hope that the problem isn't more serious than just replacing the elbow. I've been told to insist on a brass elbow -- it should last longer. The mechanic at Robinhood seems to know what h...

I second all the comments that compliment this great trip and its organizers. We had a blast getting to know everybody and exploring some new places. Windhover is now at Robinhood awaiting repairs. Most everyone knows how we were towed, twice (oh, the humiliation! :oops: ) very kindly and profession...

Well after three weeks at the yard this is what has been done in order: Replaced #1 battery (which needed doing) and battery contacts Replaced glow plugs New fuel filters and filtered fuel. The yard then said it started fine, but it was still dead when I came down to try. When this was confirmed, th...

In fact I took the old Hallett stackpack off the boat because I found it cumbersome when reefing and working the sails. I have a loose-footed sail now and am much happier -- it's just old and blown out.

Thanks for this. I'm already getting excited about the difference new sails will make. How much should I budget for a new set of Main and 140 genoa?
Cliff

What a helpful reply, Mark. Thank you. They have suggested a compression test but may be shy because they know they have really screwed up on some other things already. The difficult point is that this is a very high-end, expensive, and reputable boat yard in Camden, Maine (you can probably guess wh...

My 1981 CD27 was repowerd about 12 years ago (before I bought it) with a Westerbeke 13. It has been great for four seasons and I've been glad to have the larger motor. But this season it has become progressively hard to start. I've changed batteries, put on a new starter, cleaned the fuel, changed t...

I have a 1981 CD27 that is in need of new sails (main and 140 genoa, spinnaker is a dream too). We live in Maine where a lot of good sailmakers are available. But I've never done this before and want to make an informed decision before signing someone up to do this. I'll plan on a cruising/racing da...