The Cape Dory Board

Congratulations! Good boat at an excellent price. I sailed on her to Bermuda and back a number of years ago. She handled 25 foot seas and up to 75 mph winds very well. I know some of the history (up to the last two owners) and would be happy to answer any questions you might have about her. I mostly...

I bought my folding bike at Walmart. It cost $100 and is a Kent brand (made in China). It has 5 speeds and folds up as small as the high-priced bikes. I have ridden it all over Ft. Lauderdale, Key West and many other ports of call. At infinite MPG and 12 MPH, it is great ground transportation. And i...

Permanent mooring fields and "designated anchorages" (not very many of these around) don't require lights. Everywhere else does. 2 nm visibility is required. I have used the Davis Megalight in the past, but I am not sure it really puts out two nm visibility. It might. I recently installed ...

Confused, 6 + 6 = 12 Two six volts in series is a twelve volt bank. This means negative from one battery hooked to positive of second battery. Like several other skippers on the board, I have two banks set up this way for the house. Also have a starting battery that can be paralleled (positive to po...

My CD 28, with 3 blade prop and 30 hp engine, would spew water into the cockpit under power, especially in rough water. The cure was simple and I learned it from another Cape Dory sailor. Buy a can of grease (marine applications - like trailer grease) at West Marine or somewhere else. Dip finger int...

The trick is to keep the post packed with grease.

Bill

Neil, I find reefing with lazy jacks to be a piece of cake and one of the advantages to having them. Ease main until it begins to luff. Drop the main a little. Hook on the cringle. Pull on outhaul line until clew is where you want it. Tighten the main halyard. Don't worry about reef knots, the lazy ...

I made my own lazy jacks for my CD 28. Very easy to design and install. They worked great! I really liked them. In fact, with them installed, the boat was set up so that I could do all the raising and lowering of both sails from the cockpit. My current boat came without lazy jacks and I was reminded...

I installed an Alado on my CD 28 without assistance. It was pretty easy. The installation hints are very good. The system worked flawlessly for me. On my current boat, I have a Hood that cost twice as much and was more difficult to install. It works well, too.

Bill

If it is the shaft stuffing box, it's easy and fun to fix. To determine if the leak is at the stuffing box, either hang over the engine or hang upside down in the lazerette with a flashlight pointed at the box. If you see a drip, it needs some adjustment. If it has been a while, change the flax (dri...

Gil, I had to build a frame to hold the gimbal. It was not difficult. Mine was a 1976 CD 28 (the model with the sink on the starboard side). There was a large storage/stove space on the port side. The space was too large for the stove to fit exactly so I cut 1x1 lengths of wood to make a frame for t...

I did and really enjoyed it. I installed the 2 burner Origo gimballed stove. It's great, safe, but like all boat stuff, expensive. The gimbals and pot holders add a lot to the cost, but are worth it for offshore cooking.

Bill