Plastic Classic Forum

Quetzalsailor

Dave's got it right (of course) about the direction of the scarph. You should see the angle from the side of a toe rail, not the top. As others have said, the length of the scarph is a minimum of 8:1 and I'd venture to say that the angle should be 8:1 including the vertical bits at the end, that is,...

Quetzalsailor

I posted a sob story like this a couple years ago. My fitout from hell! I cut that shaft out, replaced the coupling. Used the split coupler. The 4 1/2" dia x 1/16" thick cutoff wheels from the Despot work wonderfully fast, chucked up in your angle grinder. Don't leave a mess to remind you ...

Quetzalsailor

I think an old upright would weigh in at 5- 600 lbs. A small, baby, grand about the same. A little 'studio' upright would be much less. I estimate that this 6'-4" grand weighs about 750 lbs plus 250 lbs for the player mechanism. The pump, with an 18" square cast iron face, and the motor, a...

Quetzalsailor

I purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of the Despot's (also at Lowes) fiberglass sheet wall surfacing, about $25. This stuff is shiny and covered in a random-ish diamond pattern on the show side and dull flat on the back. It looks a lot like some patterned head liners. I intend to use this stuff as the 'headl...

Quetzalsailor

Good, throw it back together and go sailing. Dad noticed large divots out of the bronze driveshaft on the Morgan 27. He cleaned it up and had it hardcoated. It suffered no more corrosion for the twenty or so more years that that boat was in the family. By large divots I mean several 3/8" or so ...

Quetzalsailor

The Ampico (AMerican PIano COmpany) player action is one of several makes which reproduce the playing of the original pianist. The American Piano Company was formed by the merger in about 1912, of Knabe, Chickering, and Mason & Hamlin; they built those three top of the line brands and a whole co...

Quetzalsailor

A 1919 Knabe 6'-4" grand with an original Ampico player: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvB-UeKkqDU

I've wanted one of these since I was about 14.

Quetzalsailor

Lovely, lovely boat; congratulations!

D

Quetzalsailor

It works fine, but better if you can be sure you're not cutting into the stern tube. And that's hard to do when you can't see what other end of the blade is doing. Quetzal's cutless is about 4" long and fits a 1" shaft, mounted in the trailing edge of the keel, just like yours. Additionall...

Quetzalsailor

Jim, Great to see that you've found your way on to this site! Lots more activity and lots more variously knowledgeable people here than on our site. No one here, but me, will be suggesting that you put your Medalist back together the way it was. And there are at least two other Medalist owners who c...

Quetzalsailor

I restored our three burner LeComte knockoff of a Luke stove/oven. The story is to be found in these archives. Works fine but is sensitive to proper knob installation and effective shut-off. Easy to end up with a large puddle of alcohol which then ignites... I have also restored our old Kenyon two b...

Quetzalsailor

Why not take that thing to a shop and weld a nice, neat bracket onto the tube? You might arrange to mount the light under the tube so that it will not instantly snag any line that passes by. You might even arrange the bracket so that the light is not the first thing to arrive at a piling. A gob of s...

Quetzalsailor

I've done the saw-it-out method on the Morgan. A great deal of work! I did not like the idea of bashing the new cutless in while mounted on fiberglass, so I did the work at home by taking the strut off. I tried the tap-it-out method on my stern tube in the LeComte. Failed. I tried pressing it out wi...

Quetzalsailor

Bob, you can certainly use the McMaster Carr fiberglass as suggested above. However, it's quite dense and all, but not very pretty. I don't think it will take a fine finish directly; sanding will bring up glass. You'd have to shape the pieces, coat 'em in epoxy and paint, or coat 'em in gelcoat. Alt...

Quetzalsailor

Rachel, drifts are pins, like bolts without heads or nuts, or nails without heads. You'll see 'em pictured in wooden boat's deadwood or across wood boats' centerboards or rudders. Think of 'em as transverse fiber. For another example, in the good old days of Chesapeake Bay Log Canoes, they were iron...

Quetzalsailor

Absolutely, Bob, I'm talking about the SS United States. She's been berthed in Philadelphia since about 1996. She's just been bought by the SS United States Conservancy from NCL. The problem is now to find a use for her as a whole, rather than scrap metal. Plenty can be found on line by Googling her...

Quetzalsailor

Lots of folks complain about toe rails and early finish failure. I'm one. Nothing's more painful and harder to do, looks so good when fresh, and goes bad so quickly! I've tried Epiphanes and Cetol Teak and both have failed quickly. The failure typically starts at edges, where the wood meets somethin...

Quetzalsailor

Friends of mine closed today on the purchase of a Bigger Project Boat! Worthy of note, even if she's Classic Steel and Aluminum. Picture 001-r.jpg I've known and sung with Judge (ret.) Thomas Watkins for 20 years. He's chatting with Susan Gibbs, the granddaughter of William Francis Gibbs, the naval ...

Quetzalsailor

I would have thought that those 1" x 2 1/2" vertical boards would willingly take the curve, both horizontally and vertically. That's why the drawing calls for the two boards. The cap would be less likely but might make it. The 'covering board' surely would not. You could make a quickie ste...

Quetzalsailor

One of the dandy advantages of a canvas/bows dodger is that the thing folds flat on the housetop. Better for visibility and reduced windage when racing. Better for reduced windage and drag when at risk of being pummeled by water and weather. If you're in the path of really nasty weather, the canvas ...

Quetzalsailor

Finished the door this morning as the storm stopped Philly with 12 or more inches of wet, packable snow. Rumor has it that there's a big stom a'comin' next week, too. Unfortunately, not a single step beyond what was discussed earlier was amenable to jigging. Roughed out the hinge mortices with a rou...

Quetzalsailor

Salt is hydroscopic, thus the sludge or rock salt you find every summer in your shaker. We've taken to buying our table salt in the plastic grinders as available at a Trader Joes and similar.

Might be easier to go sailing in the rain.

Quetzalsailor

You can certainly install a Beckson access plate adequately. You might also consider one of those tape-on-the-side type indicators. A little pricey but, hey! You can buy one of those things with a switch to indicate fluid levels sequentially in up to four(?) tanks. In our case, fuel, sewage, and wat...

Quetzalsailor

I'm a grump about the Epiphanes and probably soon to be a grump about Cetol Teak.

I'm using traditional varnish over epoxy on the Flying Dutchman, but it will live under cover for most of its hours.

Quetzalsailor

Ohhh, no! Been there. Done that. Actually, on both our boats. Our LeComte's rudder was made to be hollow and open to the sea. The rudderpost and weldments are 316 Stainless. It was cut open by a PO who foamed it full. The openings were badly repaired and weeped foul-smelling goo. Not knowing what wa...

Quetzalsailor

I've always thought that the Sailcare re-resining did not do much for regaining the strength of sun-damaged fibers. Lots of do-it-yourself methods for washing sails, all way too much like trouble as soon as you get out of dinghy sizes. Unless they're really dingy. For me, besides sloth, the issue wa...

Quetzalsailor

Tapes have sort of a 'selvage' edge where the field weave is terminated at the two edges. It's where the weft is doubled back across the warp; hmmm, did I get that right? (I did; Googled to avoid a comment of greater accuracy) Indeed it's sometimes a bit thicker and a pain to have to go over, and th...

Quetzalsailor

Rachel, I think his clearance for 'glass might be required so that the glassed new wood fits correctly against the rudder post. A concave trailing edge of a keel should, I think, be left well enough alone, after any paint buildup has been removed. There may well be lots of glass there, on the traili...

Quetzalsailor

I should have remarked, re maintaining required clearances: you can mill the required clearances into the substrate. Been there, done that. For instance: slightly larger diameter and smaller overall dimension for the rudder shaft, slightly thinner to account for lapping layers of glass, etc.

Quetzalsailor

I suppose I should have been clearer about my understanding of Okoume and BS 1088. The standard requires a rot resistant wood plus a host of other requirements, like veneer quality (voids repairs, etc.) glue and so on. The Okoume is not rot resistant enough for the standard so it's treated. Glassing...

Quetzalsailor

An advantage to the plywood is that, as you plane the taper in you'll be able to compare sides by the appearance of the veneers. I understand that the Okume only gets its BS 1088 by virtue of wood preservative. Even so encapsulation is terribly important, particularly at fastening holes and at ding-...

Quetzalsailor

Boy! If ever one needed a reminder about 'permanent' installations, this is a good one! I'll bet the thing sat on something and then was foamed in. You'll find those blocks or whatever, and probably at inopportune moments. It'll be interesting to hear how your removal goes. I think the sawzall blade...

Quetzalsailor

OK, I bite; what's a trotter box? I even googled for it, so as to not appear so stupid. Perhaps a place to store a pigs' trotters?

Quetzalsailor

We still have ours, a Barient bronze beast but otherwise the same. I never knew what the separate place on the drum was for; I'll have to look at it more carefully. I therefore, of course, have never used it. I understand that these winches were standard equipment on many boats. (Our Morgan 27 had a...

Quetzalsailor

Yes to the puller, the swatting, and the penetrating oil. To that add time and patience. Say, a couple weeks with the penetrating oil. I've left a puller, under load, on my propeller/shaft and it came off several days later. Be sure you understand the mechanics of your application. Be sure you're pu...

Quetzalsailor

Sounds like Dick and dad depended upon the duplicate doohickey.

Quetzalsailor

I doubt I'll be able to find pictures of the rig I had on the Morgan 27. It had interior outhaul and jiffy reef, both rigged with gun tackles; additionally, it had outside mounted slab reefing. All lines finished outside on the bottom of the boom. A gun tackle is a line dead ended within the boom, r...

Quetzalsailor

Indeed, that's a gorgeous boat. S&S design. 7'-3" draft with a fin keel and a trim tag. They're a little squirrelly; be sure this one has the S&S-designed fix to the rudder. They're quite dark below with that perfect sheer and a teeny bubble house; it's like sailing a cave. Friend of mi...

Quetzalsailor

Symmetrical in plan, and longitudinal elevation, not in section.

http://www.thecheappages.com/proa/alden ... _proa.html

Quetzalsailor

I have not managed to find time to watch the AC since about 1991, the last of the 12 meters. I too, do not like regattas sailed in courtrooms by rich lawyers.

This is my idea of an appropriate use of SF Bay. This is Flying Dutchman US1, 'Anger Management'.

Quetzalsailor

Your panel is looking very good! Yup, that's correct. An Amp is an Amp. So says the electrical engineer who owns the Chris Craft 37 in our marina. Our panel has a bunch of identical 10 and 15 amp breakers; some are used on 12v circuits and some on 110v. (I don't understand this stuff either; that's ...

Quetzalsailor

It's symmetrical like a proa. The best orientation of the pad with respect to the tool has everything to do with the work, the comfort of your hands, and visibility, and less to do with symmetry. I often rotate the pad to suit the problem, which is a pain since you have to remove the paper to access...

Quetzalsailor

Those of you who have Fein Multimasters or one of the knockoffs may have found that the normal triangular pad is too big to get into places and that the little finger is too easily damaged to be of much use. Working on a new storm door this weekend, I found that the depressed area on the panel was t...

Quetzalsailor

I have a nice new Gusher, plastic, manual pump, thanks to internal corrosion of the previous new-looking aluminum Gusher. But for everyday comfort, I have a Rule 2000 enclosed automatic in our 38 footer. It has some sort of switch within the case that senses depth of water by magic. That range of de...

Quetzalsailor

I hasten to add that you could do no better than Tim's cut down Triton (was it?). Gorgeous boat.

Quetzalsailor

A little bilge water, please, and presumably in my face. I'd want a Soling, or one of its sister racing keelboats designed to knock the Star out of the Olympics; Etchells is one, can't remember the other. Maybe even a Star, 110, or 210. There's a lovely CD Typhoon on the next mooring from us. Sailed...

Quetzalsailor

Varnish would be good enough, no need for epoxy. Plenty of older electrical equipment is/was made with wood parts. Jeeze, you did such a neat job on everything only to have that tear-out at the upper right! That stuff drives me crazy when I do it. Years ago, I made a Walnut instrument panel for my V...

Quetzalsailor

I don't believe a word of it but some folks say that that sort of similarity is due to the fractals that govern all sorts of natural geometries.

Quetzalsailor

Are you content that it's not caused by a packing requiring snugging or replacement? If there's no packing and there is a fiberglass tube extending up to the cockpit or higher then the above is a bad guess. Get it dry and clean - clean and dry - and glass it. Don't bother with the 5200. It'll just b...

Quetzalsailor

Happy New Year, too!

I don't recall whether I shared this in the past. (Note the Creche; unfortunately, that's tea in the flutes.)

I won't opine whether we both have slipped over to the dark side.

Doug

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