The Cape Dory Board

...in the tank. Yes, the same thing happened to me. We were hobble horsing into the wind and sea when we both looked at each other as the motor suddenly skipped a beat and slowed down. After bleeding the motor (easy) we were on our way again as if nothing had ever happened. Now I make sure to fill t...

I use the Pela (last one pictured). It is not speedy I imagine due to hose size, but it is very easy to use. 2 quarts take about 10 minutes to drain from the oil fill. Warming up the engine a bit helps things out.

You could be getting air slowly into the line somewhere. Re-check all your fittings. Can you manually bleed the system? I would give it a try at each fitting to rule out any air ingestion. I have a manual fuel pump lever on my Yanmar which I use to bleed the system. I am not sure about your Westerbe...

How much room on my 27? Not enough either! You could remove the coupling from the shaft and slide the packing nut off. I came close to considering this, but rationalized with myself that this 20 minute job is going to turn into a two hour job. Honestly it is a struggle to get the old packing out. Es...

Be careful with the dental tools. They are hardened stainless, the ends are brittle. If you snag one on a thread or lip of the stuffing box and pull hard, it will fracture. Don't ask me how I know that.

I wound up making one out of some wire I had aboard. The long screw method sounds pretty good.

YSM8/12 are very similar except for the cylinder bore. I too was concerned about the "intake silencer" as it is called. That is about all it is, it is by far not any sort of air filter. Basically it is a metal canister with a perforated core. When I looked at mine it was pretty rusted in t...

Maybe this one has made the board somewhere else. If not check it out. Follow link on top of home page. Cool. http://www.passageweather.com Here is another one for web browsers: http://www.sailwx.com/PUBLIC/nwp.html Don't know how I missed this one. Nice. Disclaimer: I just found it and tried it. No...

Like others mentioned I also cleaned mine with boiling water and Simple Green or any other liquid degreaser. I also threw in a rag to help scour the grunge. Thoroughly inspect the bottom for corrosion once you get it out. You can use an awl or nail to pick at suspect spots. If the point goes in and ...

Same way my dad used to figure it out when he needed to fill the tank on the van. The fuel gauge was broken and my dad being the frugal person he was decided to track his mileage and fuel consumption manually. He would record the mileage, and the amount of fuel (gallons) he would purchase. Of course...

A light dusting of talc/baby powder/baking soda (pick one) in the suspect area will also help identify the source.

As a matter of fact there is... http://picasaweb.google.com/104430069605683448874/CD27GalleyProject?authkey=Gv1sRgCIb3uc67pOn0iAE&feat=directlink# This link is from an owner who rebuilt the galley area on a CD27. Check the "Project Photo's" area for a more detailed description of his w...

In my opinion , the stove shelf is not structurally vital to the overall strength of your boat. The bulkheads provide the majority of the stiffness to the hull. The seat-back and shelf as well are not a major structural section but do tie in (screws) to both major bulkheads on the boat. Removing the...

Bought a new main last year, same exact as Warren's from Doyle. I paid approx. $1400 which was middle of the ground as far as price goes. The sail is made overseas and we have been very happy with it. US made sails were just priced out of what I wanted to spend. Did I just hear some grumbles for buy...

Warren, I did the same sole replacement as you did as part of a refit in 2005. I used the old sole as a template to cut a new one. I built mine out of mahogany and poplar. I did not bother screwing it down since the floor is not a structural piece, there is a fiberglass sub-floor that it sits on. I ...

... a Cape Dory sailboat went out; all smiles aboard.

Captain reported "sea conditions were comfortable for my boat."