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All Hands on Deck

by Don Casey, Posted December 3, 2008

I’ve been looking to replace the anti-skid decking on my Etap 30, which has panels that are glued into shaped recesses molded into the deck. Anti-skid paint doesn’t work very well. A photo in your article on making handrail covers (December 2007) showed your deck with an interesting looking anti-skid material. It could be the answer to my problem. Could you give me the name of the product and

All Ground Up

by Don Casey, Posted November 21, 2008

"I am repairing an older 19-foot daysailer that has a slow but persistent drip from the bottom of the keel; the drip comes from an area about 6 inches square. The ballast is 400 pounds of iron, encapsulated in the fiberglass shell that is part of the outer hull. When I ground down the laminate, I could see that some of it had delaminated.I ground the surface as smooth as possible and

Cedar Ceiling

by Don Casey, Posted October 20, 2008

"I’ve taken out the cabin liner on my 1984 Beneteau 35 and have wire-brushed the glass surface underneath and painted it with EZPoxy. I now want to line the side walls with cedar paneling. How would you prep the painted glass surface, and what adhesive do you recommend?"-- Charlie Wetherill , Bayfield, WisconsinDon Casey replies : Many lockers that contain

Big piece or small?

by Don Casey, Posted July 22, 2008

"Many books on fiberglass repair, including one of yours, have drawings showing how to lay up cloth and mat over a tapered repair area, like a hole. The repair always begins with a small piece of cloth at the bottom, and as the layup continues, the pieces get larger. This makes sense to me, because a layup schedule doesn’t depend on just one interface bonding. Going from smaller to larger would

Finishing touch

by Don Casey, Posted June 23, 2008

"Our boat was built in the Far East, and the interior has a beautiful lacquer finish. I have a photograph of a worker brushing on the lacquer, and I can see he is using a 1-inch brush. I’ve tried a thick brush, a thin brush, short strokes and long strokes, and I can’t get a finish that looks like the original. Any suggestions?"-- Duane Ericson, Oceanside,

Tanks two

by Don Casey, Posted June 23, 2008

"Our Hunter 34 has a 25-gallon fuel tank. We’d like to add a 20-gallon tank so we won’t have to carry jerry cans on deck. I estimate the two tanks will be about a foot apart. What is the best way to hook up the second tank so air can’t get in the fuel line? I’d like to avoid having to pump fuel from the new tank into the old one when it gets low. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room to install

Go for the green wire

by Don Casey, Posted June 18, 2008

"I’m rewiring my Cal 2-27 and have reviewed the advice given by Don Casey in his Sailboat Maintenance Manual. He mentions grounding the green wire of an AC system to the engine’s ground terminal, but I’m not sure where to put the green wire on my engine, an outboard with an electric starter and a 6-amp alternator. Do I even need one if I install ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI)

Sail on the Cheap

by Sail Staff, Posted June 2, 2006

By Leah WelchI am a novice sailor. I took one sailing course in college and earned an Ohio Division of Watercraft license (the equivalent of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's America's Boating Course). It was only recently that I decided to make sailing my lifestyle and began researching ASA (American Sailing Association) and U.S. Sailing schools. Like most working Joes, I had