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I just spent 3 weeks in the yard. Multiple different jobs were performed. Never once was I asked to sign anything like a HH.

If you plan to keep the boat in fresh water it’s a real non issue. Bottom paint does nothing in fresh water. Just keep blasting off the paint each time you haul out. If you plan to move the boat to saltwater it’s a bit more of an issue as you will be doing touch up bottom paint every time...

If the locker is outside then the bottles are considered out side, the only concern is opening windows beneath propane bottles. Inside is inside and only a sealed locker with an outside vent will be approved by ABYC.

Some where, a layer of bottom paint was poorly prepped. It is now flaking off. What you see is only the beginning of a continuing issue. Every time you pressure wash the bottom more paint will flake off. There are two solutions. Just roll on more paint every time you haul out and not...

What you need to know about gas. The bottles must be either stored outside the boat or in a special locker that vents out side the boat. You will need to pass a 1" gas line from the bottle to the stove, make sure you have a path way that can handle this. You will need to install a safety kit...

My cruising grounds are primarily Seattle to Alaska.

Here is a proper explanation SmartGauge Electronics - Interconnecting multiple batteries to form one larger bank

The spare I carry are kind of irrelevant to the next person. They are very specific to my boat and the condition my boat is in. My starters are 35 years old. Therefore I now carry a spare starter. My raw water pumps are 7 years old so I only carry a rebuild kit. Due to the age of my...

If you buy bags of 25 off of Amazon they are very inexpensive. 25 of each 3/4, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 4, and 6 adds up very quickly.

I can tell you the two hot ones are not the problem. They are the ones doing all the work. Still it doesn’t really matter, the whole bank now needs replacing as there are now a combination of dead cells and damaged cells. Why this happened? Possibly bad luck with a defective cell from the...

A friend put zipwakes on his 32’ Bayliner and was impressed which is saying something since he both owns a boat dealership and a service yard.

I use my site tubes before every trip. Allows me to run a 200 gallon tank down to 5 gallons. I don’t know how you would add valves to an existing tank. It’s not a Case of drilling a hole and tapping. Typically, the aluminum is 1/4 or 3/8 thick. Usually, a 1/2 block is welded to the tank and...

Be very careful on your tape selection. Preservation tape is designed to seal to fiberglass and to release with minimum residual glue remaining. What does remain is designed to be easily cleaned up with alcohol. Not all tape is designed to release 6 months later. It is not cheap but it’s...

All marina’s are increasing their fees. Port of Seattle increased 10% last year and rumor has it there is another 10% coming this year. The good news, their wait lists all dropped to less than a month. Even the liveaboard waitlist is down from 8 years to 6 months.

I find windscreen material other than coated polycarbonate to be unacceptable. Vinyl, even coated vinyl looses clarity so quickly you will be unable to drive with the windows in place. Uncoated polycarbonate has about a 3 year window before it turns yellow. I have had good success with Makrolon.

Everything is possible with leaks but it is more likely just wishful thinking. Tracing window leaks is not easy. Often the exit is far from the entrance. My advice, invest in some clear vinyl and a big roll of preservation tape. Completely cover the window and wait for the next rain storm...

I can’t imagine how a crusader rebuild could come close to the cost of purchasing and installing the Yanmar. Yes I would prefer the Yanmar over a big block gasser. Crusaders are the best of the gassers but in the end it’s chest a Chevy.

I would attach to the existing venturi screen. There will come a day when you will not have the windows in place and you will want the wind deflected by the Venturi screen. By removing the Venturi screen you will create a seal issue between the canvas and the boat.

I spent a few moments with the installation manual. There are a lot of warnings associated with the coupling unit. Just reading the manual scared me enough to never consider this unit. I believe the coupling unit is an excessively weak point in the system but that is only my opinion based off...

Don’t know who you talked to. I just inspected a Grand Alaskan (a woody) that Haven Boat Works just painted with Interlux Toplac. I wouldn’t have believed it wasn’t sprayed if I hadn’t seen them roll it on the day before.

I just had the opportunity to spend some time with the painters in my favorite yard. We had a long discussion about interlux’s Toplac paint. This is a one part paint that has replaced their two part product formally known as Perfection. I asked why the change, they felt it was a response to...

I won't go so far as to say it's common to survey multiple boats before finding the one. It is however not uncommon to survey and walk from the first boat.

This is the first thing I would check. It is so easy to accidentally get the shunt turned backwards. Add to that most don’t realize the shunt has a specific direction.

I do not have any experience with this model. In the end it is a gas oven. Gas ovens only heat from the bottom. Toaster ovens either heat from the top or have elements on the top and bottom. It’s going. To work differently than a toaster oven which may or may not be an issue for you. I...

You are right. The fill numbers don’t make sense until they do. Now it’s possible that starboard is using twice the fuel as port but this would require one of two very unlikely things. Either you are running twice the RPMs on strbd or you have a different pitch on strbd. Both unlikely but...