Steve Sipe writes: >I used some inexpensive silicone tub sealant to help with assembly of >the SeaLand hoses, it provided some lubrication to aid assembly, plus >I've learned that it also aids in removing them for service, etc. at the >same time providing an additional sealer. A trick I learned from a professional installer is to use KY Jelly. It is sli ppery when you use it, but then hardens up (glycerine is a sugar). Best of al l it's easy to get apart. Scott Welch Product Manager, Open Text Collaboration and Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

"Ken Ongemach" writes: >If U insist on specifying your own equipment, at least go down to the local >commercial docks, talk to fishing boat Captains or others who make their >livings on a boat & find out what equipment they use.. If their equipment >fails...they don't eat... What he said. Every fish boat I've ever seen uses Square D household-style br eaker panels for AC, and that's exactly what I put in Island Eagle. May not l ook "nautical", but on the other hand the panels cost $22 and the breakers we re under $10. Performance has been flawless. Scott Welch Product Manager, Open Text Collaboration and Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

"Jim Healy" writes: >The NEC states that the neutral and ground in an AC distribution system >should be connected together at the "source" for end use attachments; never >at sub-panels or other points in the system. For shore power, the "source" >is defined to be a specific point on-shore in the marina's electrical >infrastructure. Not quite. If you run an isolation transformer, the "source" is defined as th e secondary of the transformer. Scott Welch Product Manager, Open Text Collaboration and Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

"Jim Healy" writes: >I'm not where I can get at my standards, so I can't check this out right >now. I do not believe it's a correct interpretation, since transformers can >and do short internally, and they are located in the end attachment part of >the distribution system, where by definition, there can't be two sources. Remember, an isolation transformer is a "load" to shore power (the primary wi nding) and a "source" to the boat (the secondary winding). Hence the AC neutr al should be bonded to the AC ground on the secondary side of the isolation t ransformer. Scott Welch Product Manager, Open Text Collaboration and Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

JHWardJr@aol.com writes: >A dedicated starter battery located close to the windlass is considered by >some to be the best setup, but my boat came with it wired to the house >bank. Works fine, but I might change it during a reconfigure in the works. > I'll add my two cents: First, ditto on the Ideal windlass suggestion. They are expensive, they are heavy, and they last forever. I had no problem getting parts for mine, and it's 46 years old. Well, I had no problem, but my Visa card sure did :-) Still, it's cheaper than a whole new windlass. Second, for what it's worth, I recently switched my windlass to operate off the start bank instead of the house bank. Here's why: I realized that I'm typically hauling the anchor in the morning, and that's when the house bank is at its lowest voltage and the alternator is working hardest. Adding the windlass load does not help. The start bank, on the other hand, is always fully charged, and the alternator is loafing along. Running on 27 volts instead of 24 is 10% less current and 10% less voltage drop. Plus, more or less by definition you will never be pulling up the anchor without the engine running so you don't need to worry about running down the start bank. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

Randy Sysol writes: >My Californian LRC has stainless bow railings screwed into a wood >caprail. These have pulled out over time and need to be refastened. > >What >would be the best approach to this? I've thought of refilling the current >openings with a wood filler and then rescrewing and sealing the area. Any >better thoughts? Two simple solutions: 1) Drill 3 new holes, and use those (leave the old screws in). 2) Install 3/4" teak pads, glued and screwed. Then fasten the rails to those. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

"Mark G. Ketcham" writes: >I installed a 200 AMP Ample Power (Bus) alternator on a Volvo TMD40 >instead of putting a Generator on our Kha Shing 36. The Volvo has a >3 Groove Pulley for 3/8" Belts but used only 2 Belts. The Alternator >came with a 2 Groove, 1/2" belt Pulley that I used for 2 seasons with >the 3/8" Belts but had to Short the Alternator Temperature leads on >the Balmar 612 Regulator to limit output to 100 AMPS to keep the >belts from self-destructing. I have been unable to find a 3 Groove >Pulley for a 5/8" Shaft and 3/8" Belts of about 3 to 4" O.D. in the >usual places. Any suggestions? Yep. Just head down to your local machine shop, they will make one to your exact specs out of billett alumuminum. Make sure you know the profile of the drive pulley, the best bet is to just give them one of the existing belts and they can use that as a guide. Also, you can also use this opportunity to match the RPMs exactly, size the driven pulley so that redline on the engine exactly corresponds with the alternator max rpm. I used this method on Island Eagle to make a custom drive pulley with four grooves, two for each of my 125 amp alternators. Works like a charm. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

Rob Zanussi writes: >I have no idea how long I have been a member of this list and this is the >first time I have heard any reference to VTS as well. Only certain areas have VTS in force. However if you look at ANY chart of the Straight of Juan de Fuca, you will see the VTS highlighted (in purple I believe), with clear directions as to which vessels must participate and what the procedures are. Smaller vessels are typically exempt, but it is IMPERITIVE that you know and understand where the ships will be, so you can navigate around them safely. Note that the VTS can also override other rules of the road, so for example in the one off Vancouver there are clear lanes for inbound and outbound ship traffic. I don't have my COLREGS in front of me, but I am pretty damn sure that the vessels participating in the VTS are considered to be constrained in their ability to navigate and hence you must give way to them even if you are the stand-on vessel. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

jtones@shaw.ca writes: > At the forward end there >is a special casting (bronze) which acts as the thru-hull for both in >and out coolant pipes as well as splitting the cooling tubes into two >runs each way (fore and aft). The aft end also has a "custom" casting >that allows the tubes to again be parallel in regards to the flow. These >castings I am certain were locally made as most of the systems I have >seen seem to use identical castings so they probably came from one >foundry in this area. A couple of comments here: 1) Are you SURE that the pipes are copper? I too assumed that they were, but when I bought the Walter cooler for my genset I discovered that the pipes wer e actually bronze. Also, modern coolers have ridged pipes, which increases th e cooling substantially. 2) I am guessing that the castings are actually from one of the standard mari ne foundries (e.g. Perko, Wilcox-Crittenden, Walter, Buck Algonquin). First, those castings are actually pretty complex. Second, I collect old marine cata logs, plans and magazines, and even plans for fishboats 50 and 60 years ago s pecified Walter keel-cooling fittings. From the description you give, I would bet dollars to donuts that you have a Walter keel cooler. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

sealubber7@aol.com writes: >with the necessary amount of surface area (length of the ten tubes or >multiples of) to transfer some unknown amount of heat generated to produce 10 >5 >HP at some unknown temp.at some unknown transfer rate, into ambient water at >possibly 95 degree temp.( might go to Ft. Lauderdale in the summer), So, give >n >these unknowns, can some engineer out there fill in the blanks to figure out >the dia. and length and quantity of tubing? You need to do two things: 1) Find out how much waste heat the engine generates. You should be able to f ind this online, usually specified as "Heat rejection to coolant" and express ed in BTU per minute. For example take a look at the Lugger specs: http://www .lugger.com/PDFs/brochure_pdfs/L1066_series.pdf 2) Then use that to size the keel cooler. Here's the form from Walter: http://www.waltergear.com/kcdata.htm Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden