What did you do to your boat today

DanD2

LaRea said:

60 feet of 5/16" chain and 220 feet of 5/8" 8-plait.  

BTW a few years ago I upgraded from 30' of chain to 60', and it made a big improvement with how the anchor holds.  However, the 30' I added was actually the wrong size chain.  The links were 5/16" diameter, but slightly too long for my gypsy.  When bringing the anchor in for that final 30 feet, the gypsy would grab for two links, then the third link would jump.  It was really loud and annoying.

Now I have 30' of 5/16" BBB and 30' of 5/16" G4, both of which fit my gypsy perfectly.  Very smooth and quiet.

Bonus:  I stowed the other 30' of chain under the v-berth as ballast to help with balance.  Big difference!  Now I probably will not have to use trim tabs at all!  

What type of link did you use to join the two chains together?

LaRea

A galvanized connecting link.  You clip it in place and then use a hammer to flatten the rivets.  Simple, strong, goes through the windlass seamlessly.  

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/seafit--connecting-links--P005_154_002_004 

Ian

shawnmjr said:

I also have the same ones as LaRea and they work great. 

Any tearing off running through the windlass gypsy?

LaRea

I have one marker that went through the gypsy regularly (60' at the end of the chain).  After seven years and probably 30 uses per year, it was ragged but readable.  

Aqua_Aura

Fresh oil change, new manual hand pump for the toilet, fresh linens, new ice maker, and all organized for our trip tomorrow!! 

Got the rest of the spider nest out of my horn to so that works completely now. 

Aqua_Aura

Docked for the rest of the week got the new TV and DVD player installed now watching Dumb and Dumber. 

bry1429

Aqua_Aura said:

Docked for the rest of the week got the new TV and DVD player installed now watching Dumb and Dumber. 

skuter99

Classic!!

aero3113

I finally fitted my cockpit cover and installed the snaps on the lower windshield channel today. I still have to install some snaps on the cover for the transom door area and on the outside of the arch. It made the job a lot easier that the cover came with the windshield snaps and rear bungees installed. But it’s useable now, nice to know I can now take down my canvas if a storm or hurricane is coming. 

Ian

Tut tut - there’s dirt in that frame channel..

aero3113

icoultha said:

Tut tut - there’s dirt in that frame channel..

I know! I was telling myself this needs to be cleaned when I was installing the snaps!!

mattie

Fixed some good sized dents in my stainless windlass surround. Disassembled it and took a dent hammer & dolly to it. Came out real good. Sanded & polished.

Old anchor had punched in a half inch divot in the top of it, also chain had gotten wedged & bent it on the side as well.

PickleRick

I honestly didn't think @aero3113 would ever ever have any competition for cleanest anchor @mattie

That is clean. What do you use on that blue gelcoat to make it pop?

Rinker owners keep their boats cleaner than any forum I've been on.  


For the past 3 days I've cleaned monkey fur.  Bathroom mildew cleaner with bleach. Spray, let sit. Repeat.  Im too ashamed to post before pics. The owner had let the windows leak for years.  Not only was my first repair resealing windows and adding drain holes to window channels but I also park it covered. 

It's finally cool enough to start bleaching.  The area around the windows was black .  my v berth shelf was black.  

Aqua_Aura

Last time I was cleaning my boat all I could think was I never thought I would spend so much money on something just to have to clean it all the time 😩. Seems like it never ends. 

PickleRick

I trailer mine home each week.  I park it under the garage and a tarp so the windows never close and a box fan is always circulating air.

I still can't keep it clean. I have no idea how you guys in a slip do it.

Aqua_Aura

I have a circulation heater in the cabin and we leave the bathroom window open since it's angled down and hard to get water in. Also if it did it won't matter since it's the shower. It stays pretty fresh in there. The outside is always getting spider pooh and some in the cockpit area so we are constantly wiping that. 

I did try a ceramic coating spray and I think that helped last time I checked. 

Boat will come home soon for a bit to get some serious cleaning. 

PickleRick

What does the ceramic coating spray do?  I get black mildew that grows between washings.  Sometimes it appears in a week in spots sometimes weeks but id love to prevent it all season.

I think I want to try poliglow this spring before launch.

aero3113

LoL, I am a little jealous!! Looks great @mattie

Aqua_Aura

It's supposed to create a barrier coat basically and help with keeping dirt and stains from sticking. I bought the turtlewax ceramic coat spray bottle after watching a comparison of them all. Like wax but supposedly better. 



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYQZ493/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_OB5kYago8lwCc

YYZRC

I just take pics from far away and it looks great

PickleRick

I wonder if the ceramic wax can be used over the poliglow...thanks for the info!

McGarnicle

Boat is winterized, shrink-wrapped, and ready for winter. Paid some guys to wash my boat before getting wrapped and they completely destroyed my vinyl so she's white again for the winter too. 

Aqua_Aura

What the heck did they use steel wool? 

McGarnicle

Aqua_Aura said:

What the heck did they use steel wool? 

Thats literally what I asked when I walked up, "did you guys wash my boat with a SOS pad?" Looked like they used one of those stiff brushes used for concrete. 

Spyderweb

So just like that you lost the cost of a wrap job??

McGarnicle

@Spyderweb Unfortunately, the whole situation around my wrap is pretty frustrating. The initial install was horrible, so been trying to deal with that guy to get it resolved and he’s been MIA. Now the wrap gets ruined from a wash and these guys are MIA. Fortunately, I found a pretty reputable shop that charged less to take off the existing and re wrap that first guy did to just wrap it. Sucks, I had to pay twice now but trying to stay positive and chalk it up as a lesson learned. 

Spyderweb

That’s got to be so frustrating.

MarkB

McGarnicle said:

@Spyderweb Unfortunately, the whole situation around my wrap is pretty frustrating. The initial install was horrible, so been trying to deal with that guy to get it resolved and he’s been MIA. Now the wrap gets ruined from a wash and these guys are MIA. Fortunately, I found a pretty reputable shop that charged less to take off the existing and re wrap that first guy did to just wrap it. Sucks, I had to pay twice now but trying to stay positive and chalk it up as a lesson learned. 

All I can say is that someone would be paying if this was me ... one way or another, they'd be paying.

TonyG13

Changed the oil today and saved myself $250 in mechanic labor costs thanks to all of you who gave me the courage - via reading all of your trials and tribulations - to try doing some of the "easy" stuff myself.

Picked up a West Marine oil changer on sale for $50 earlier this year. Took me a few tries to figure out how to get everything together and use the garden hose connection. Worked great, although it is a little slow. But I guess slow and steady wins the race.

Hardest part was getting the filter off and trying to keep the oil from pouring all over the place. I did read somewhere that if you punch a hole in the top of the filter before unscrewing that it relieves the pressure and the oil drains out so less spillage. Does that really work?

aero3113

Nice @TonyG13 ! Just familiarize yourself with everything and it won’t intimidate you as much. I’ve punched a hole in the filter and it doesn’t help as much as everyone says. I found if you put a plastic bag under and around the filter mount works the best.