karenandglen@erols.com writes: >Here's what I decided to do for a refrigerator. I bought a 5 cf >CHEST type >freezer for $179 at Circuit City. I got a freezer because they have >twice >the insulation of reefers. On my last post, I indicated that I was >going to >change the thermostat so that it could maintain temps above freezing >but >I've changed my mind and made it simpler. Just a word of warning: I used to be a refrigeration mechanic and found many household freezers with leaky inner liners. As long as they are used as freezers, this is not a problem. But if they are maintained above freezing (or shut off for some time), water will accumulate and leak into the insulation. Wet insulation is poor insulation and furthermore moisture between inner and outer shell of your freezer will cause rusting and eventually possible loss of refrigerant. My recommendation would be to really carefully inspect the seems at the inside bottom of your freezer and if in doubt or maybe just for good measure seal these seems with a liberal bead of Sikaflex before the first use. Otherwise I think your idea is very good and I might copy it to replace my totally inadequate icebox in my boat. Ciao - George (Liveaboard on a sloop, dreaming about a trawler).

Friends who travel the ICW quite a bit brought back the idea to use a "glug" of PINESOL every time you flush. Smells nice, cleans and has just the right amount of pine-oil in it for lubrication - they say... Have been using this method for three years without taking head apart - seems to work for me. George of Scaramouche in Lake Ontario, Canada (year-round liveaboard)

jgaquin@ici.net,Internet writes: >Ahoy all Listees........ >You'll notice, starting today, that TrawlerWorld messages show up in >your mail system with a slightly different appearance. Henceforth, >the subject line of all TrawlerWorld messages, as shown on your >screen >list, will contain a little prefix tag: TWL. > > This prefix is much appreciated. I subscribe to other lists as well and this will help identifying TWL messages from let's say "liveaboard list". Thanks - good thought! George

jkemp@alaska.net writes: >Last winter I installed a Toyo stove (a free standing, >#1 oil burner) for the cold winters, which puts out a lot of heat. I >believe this is causing the problem but heat is pretty important up >here >in Alaska! Are there any products/solutions anyone knows of that >could >help me out? I live on a plastic boat in Canada. Our winters are also very cold and the lake freezes for many months. However I don't have any condensation problems. Don't know what a "freestanding Toyo stove" looks like, but if it is not vented (a chimney to the outside) then that's your problem. When you burn #1 oil, combustion products are carbon dioxide and water vapour (lots of it). You got to vent those to the outside. Get a stove that has a chimney! George in Lake Ontario

johnegamble@email.msn.com writes: >Here is my question of the month, What is your thoughts and >experiences with >different hull colors. I know white is great topside but what about >other >colors for the hull? >Do all of you have white boats? Can my new boat have a different >color on >the hull and still be beautiful and sexy as a yacht should be? Let >me hear >your thoughts and experances, what have you seen around your marina? Some time ago I was involved with a small brokerage. Heard many times when prospective buyers looked a a coloured boat: " We can always paint it blue or red" (something other than what it was then). Never heard that comment over white boats. Moral: Coloured boats may be prettier, but white ones are easier to sell. My 2 cents worth... George on Scaramouche (white with thin green stripe) :-)

MessageTuesday, October From: plkruse@iu.net Subject: quarter beam buttock angle Paul, thanks muchly for your instruction on measuring the Quarter Beam Buttock Angle: >>>>Let your boat float naturally in the water on its own >waterline. Then don SCUBA tanks and take an inclinometer down with >you. >Set it on the keel of the boat in the fore-to-aft direction back >near the >transom. (If your keel runs the whole length of the boat, put it on >the... <<< Since our waters are a bit chilly right now and I'm somewhat SCUBA challenged, I thought of this modification: "Gain access to the quarter section hull bottom from the inside (there might be an engine or transmission in the way but a little room for an inclinometer can probably be found). Unless we are dealing with false double bottoms that change angles, one should be able to take measurements that way. I know, I can on my pretend trawler (still has rags and ropes for a main engine). And yes, there definitely is a pronounced angle, not only in the back and forth direction but also in the athwartship direction. Guess Scaramouche won't be doing any planing in the near future. :-) :-) Thanks again for your reply - much appreciated. George of Scaramouche (Lake Ontario)

wrbart@att.net writes: >I agree with the use of Sikkens. I have an '86 Bayliner 32 MY with >all >kinds of teak on the aft end. I bought it in May 1986 and the teak >looked >fine. By August it was grey and I was looking for something to do >with it. > A friend suggested Sikkens and I looked at his boat, which looked >great, >and decided to try it. I assume you mean Cetol or Armada (almost identical stuff). Sikkens is the name of a large paint manufacturer with many products. FWIW: I have used Cetol / Armada over the last 5 years on many boats (had a boat rental agency). I only used the matte version, initially 3 coats and then once a year after a light rub-down with a "Brillo Pad" one new coat of Cetol / Armada matte. Never used the gloss version as I've seen and heard of slight flaking when using gloss. I don't miss the glossy appearance of my outside teak or mahogany and had many positive comments from other boaters. Ciao - George on Lake Ontario (year-round) P.s: I should add this comment: Cetol / Armada is NOT a Varnish, it is a wood preservative similar to Skandinavian Teak oil that furniture makers used for decades. It preserves the material but doesn't plug the pores, thus allowing the wood to breathe. At least that what I've been told and it makes sense - after all: wood is ALIVE!

seafred@home.com writes: >Don't know how valuable at sea, but I use plastic garbage pails as >brewing vats when making my own 15% alcohol beer! I awaited with trepidation this development. Some time ago on another list (liveaboard) this subject of beer on board got a lengthy and often quite informative / humorous treatment. Cheers - George

I had so many requests for the article, that I think it appropriate to send it to the whole list. Please understand it is not by me, it is a reprint from another list. I have no other info - George of Scaramouche. Reprinted as requested from another list: Here's an update on Armada experiences. First, West Marine has bought a major chunk of Armada's production and is selling it as 'Wood Pro' - both the satin and glossy version are available for roughly $25/quart. After a year with the Armada Satin finish, there is no detectable wear or sunburn on our foredeck, the colors remain consistent, there are no cracks in the coating, and no thin spots. This summer we hired a fellow who lives on the next dock to help us to burn off the old varnish and sand down the side decks - it's embarrassing how much better someone who does finishes for a living is than us amateurs. Working with a heat gun, scraper, 6" orbital, and a Fein detail sander, Sam got the side decks almost perfectly fair - no cupping, no divots, no bulging Polysulphide seam compound. He then attacked the Armada, and worked out an interesting application process which created a finish which looks very much like a boiled linseed oil treatment, deep, rich, but not a bit glossy. With his permission, here are Sam's tips for putting Armada on decks: "Don't over-prepare - it's easy to go nuts with the sanding, but you're better off just using an 80/100/150 grit sequence and then spend the rest of your time chasing down dirt and dust. Armada wants a soft, open surface to penetrate into and finer grits close up the wood too much." "Keep a heatgun handy, and just before you sand, run it lightly over the seams - just enough to soften them, but not enough to make the compound real gummy. Then, as you go over them, the sander will heat them up enough to form a new seal between the sealer and the wood." "Treat this stuff like stubborn varnish - it is thick, but flows out OK if you keep working it with the brush. Slather it on however you like, but brush it out in one direction only, and use a stupid number of strokes to thin it out. Pay attention to feathering in behind and to your wet edge. A capful of Japan Drier per coat seems to make it flow better and helps it set up faster if the temperature is below 70 degrees." "Forget what the can says, let this stuff dry at least 24 - 48 hours between coats. Also, wipe down with a rag saturated in acetone between coats - Armada just oozes off some sort of weird residue, which you don't want to leave - it looks ugly and keeps the fresh stuff from drying." "Four coats is enough, six coats is best - but remember, the more coats you put down, the longer it takes for the whole deck to dry and cure. Allow a week to ten days for four coats and probably a month for six coats before you go tromping around on it in dirty shoes." There you have it, we learned quite a bit, and the decks look lovely. by: jimmitch@jetcity.com

hpollock@massmed.org writes: >3) The crystalline matrix itself is solely composed of H2O, the NaCl >remains >dissolved in a brine solution. > >Thats why icebergs are fresh water and freezing can produce fresh >water >commercially. I'm surprised that no-one has brought on the subject of freezing alcohol-water mixtures (i.e. wine). If you substitute the Na-Cl in the statements above with C2-H5-OH, you get an ever increasing concentration of alcohol. Easy and cheap way of operating a still in your freezer. :-) Cheers - George