Among the multitude of things that needed upgrading on our project boat, the cockpit drain seacocks loomed large. The wheels on the 1973-vintage gate valves were frozen open so the valves could not be closed. This is a typical problem with gate valves. The valve stems and the valve body are usually dissimilar metals, and eventually theyll corrode so that the valve sticks on the position it was
Wayne Steinhauser of Hartford, South Dakota, asks:”We sail on an impounded Missouri river lake with only one pump-out station within 100 miles. We find returning to the pump-out station is troublesome when we spend a week or more exploring and sailing. Were thinking of installing a composting toilet. What is your opinion of these?”Don Casey
Jan Warren of Brighton, Michigan, asks: “I have a 1982 Catalina 30 and have just purchased a 4:1 boom vang. What is the best way to attach the vang to the boom and mast? I have been told to do it different ways and am a little confused. The vang is set up with a snap shackle for the mast attachment. I was thinking of installing a Forespar curved base mast eye and drilling
Dave Stillerz of San Francisco, California, asks:”I recently installed some new tanks aboard my older wooden sailboat, and now my automatic pilot wont keep me on a steady course. Any ideas?”Gordon West replies:Sounds like your new tanks are metal and your pilots fluxgate heading sensor is mounted nearby. Reposition the fluxgate compass away
Bill Schultz of Bay City, Michigan, asks:”I am installing a 24-volt battery bank in the bow of my 40-foot sailboat to power a bow thruster. Do I need to run a grounding wire to my engine block? Or can I use an alternative grounding site? What size wire do I need?”Nigel Calder replies:Technically, if the bow thruster has a case ground
Dean Hall of Anacortes, Washington, asks:”I enjoy watching TV broadcasts from our local PBS station while aboard my boat. When they switched from analog to digital signals, I added a small digital converter to my set. I do get reception, but with some freeze frames. Any suggestions?”Gordon West replies:If the freeze frames are occurring
Mike Allen of Beaufort, South Carolina, asks: “My standing rigging is 22 years old. It seems to be in good shape, but there is some oxidation and discoloration. Is there an ultraviolet penetrating dye that can be used to inspect standing rigging, chainplates, turnbuckles and other hardware? If so, do you know of any vendors?” Win Fowler
Bill Reilly of San Francisco, California, asks:”To increase energy efficiency onboard I am wondering if I could plumb my water heater into my generators cooling system so that it shares the circuit from the main engine coolant loop that heats the hot water. It seems that a couple of sturdy Y-valves and brass one-way valves would adequately isolate these two systems, which
Peter Burke of Fredericksburg, Virginia, asks:”We recently went aground in a creek off the Potomac River in my Hunter 28, which has a shoal keel that draws 3 feet 6 inches. We were unsuccessful in our attempts to break free, but fortunately a marine police boat and a rescue boat came along within minutes to assist. Surprisingly, the rescue boat had to pull hard with its
Pete Econ of Columbia, Maryland, asks:”How long before we see fuel cells replacing generators on sailboats? They make a lot of sense in that they are smaller, lighter and quieter than generators. I see one yacht manufacturer is already installing SFC methanol fuel cells, and I know the military is using fuel cells to replace and supplement batteries.”Nigel
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The fire alarm went off with a wild shriek at 0300, about 10 minutes after I’d turned the engine on to start motoring through a
