The Cape Dory Board

I had a short in one of mine so I took it off and disassembled it. After it was in pieces I polished it on a bench mounted buffing wheel. It comes out very shiny and the compound will cut through any coating that may be on there. It is still lots of work and you end up with a shiny 20 YR old fixture...

I always thought sea water a more descriptive term than raw water. A "captive" water cooling system may be a more accurate description of a fresh water system. We have a captive water cooling system with a sea water heat exchanger. We always try to bring spring water from home so as not to...

I found an old teak boarding ladder that I would like to refinish and set up to mount on the starboard side. Has anyone used one of these on their Cape Dory? We had one of those aluminium jobs with the plastic steps last year. It was made to work by cutting the candy cane shaped pieces so that the w...

We too are planning a Maine trip this summer. We will be leaving Noank, CT around July 20TH to 23RD for favorable tides through to Provencetown. From there an overnight across the gulf and then there is no set itinerary and I would imagine it will pretty much stay that way. All these suggestions are...

What a lucky dog you are to have your library looking for current sailing books. Ours has a very good selection for an inland library. It is mostly donations that are a bit dated but still a great deal of good reading material. I have not even checked the Groton/Mystic library as yet. I am heading f...

Joe, you might want to read "My old man and the sea". It is written by and about a father and son who sailed from New London, CT down through the canal over to the Galapagos and then down around the horn and back. I believe they did this in a 26 FT boat that was probably not as seaworthy a...

Hi Bob, I can't answer any of your questions. I did install a Racor filter on my boat last year though. I did this while changing the fuel lines, which was recommended by my surveyor. I figured I was already disconnected and it seems like the Racor elements are easier to find and change than the Fra...

I enjoyed reading the list of provisions put aboard Magellan's ships for the voyage. The only thing they seemed to have enough of was Spanish wine. Conditions degraded to an unimaginable level. The ships stank so bad the men would sleep on deck even in adverse conditions. Stores were contaminated wi...

I recently read, "Over the edge of the world" by Laurence Bergreen. It is about Magellan's circumnavigation. If you remember your history Magellan never made it. The first man ever to circumnavigate was most likely Magellan's slave. He had been captured in the Philippians and was transport...

Clay, I think your best chance would be with a NW wind and some sort of big ole cruising chute flying as you go by. I don't think Carter could heave to with that sort of rig hoisted so you would get a good run at him. May the best boat win, Steve.

This kind of sounds like dodge ball in the dark. I wonder if the money would be better spent on a used radar? It would be pretty scarry to know some one was out there, just not knowing exactly where, how far, fast, big or in what direction they were moving. Do radar units come with this alarm built ...

When I was doing a bunch of canoeing, kayaking and hiking I would print out things on the internet or make copies of maps and charts then lay them out and spray them with clear lacquer. You have an instant water proof chart or map of whatever area you need. Even with an ink jet printer the colors wi...

My boat came with some very nice toast canvas. I am all for keeping things original but it was just too much brown for me. I went with a very dark red, almost burgundy, boot stripe and black bottom paint. I figure the boot stripe and bottom are one area where you just do whatever you like. If the ne...

Humm, it is illegal to discharge wastes from the boat. A crew person on board is not considered a part of the boat and there fore it is not an over board discharge in the legal sense? I wonder. I guess there is hanging from the shrouds on the lee side. That sounds a bit tough too. I heard some where...

I was in the same place you are a little less than a year ago. I barrier coated right over the fairing block. I fact after sanding it I gave it a couple of extra coats of barrier. It seemed sound and well sealed so my thinking was to leave well enough alone and add to the bond with barrier coat. If ...