Trailers

Are there any good sources for used trailers ?

We just got a quotation from the Cradle Shop for a new tandemtrailer for a Laser 28, complete with surge brakes - Total costC$3500.00 - This compares with a home built that we did a fewyears ago at about $2400.00
 

Maintenance

Dry Rot

I have a problem with dry rot in the cockpit floor core. Ihave a leak somewhere, I suspect from a bad seal around thecompanionway hatch, that has leaked water into the area betweenthe inner liner and the cockpit floor. This area has beensaturated with water probably for most of the season last year,and who know how many years before that. Anyway, as I see it Ihave 2 options: 1. remove damaged core and replace - either fromabove (mucho $) or below (not much space to work) 2. saturatewith epoxy resin Does anybody have any experience with doingeither of the above? Namely cutting through the inner liner (whatkind of power tool will be easiest), or using an off the shelfdry rot repair resin like GIT ROT? Or any advice in general?

#2, or GIT ROT is not really an option. We still have torepair the damage done by a previous owner overloading ourforward hatch with the latter and it STILL didn't help theoriginal problem. The hatch is so heavy that Pat can only barelylift the hatch!

1. 1: Get rid of the source of the problem. (A second option is to lead the water away from anything it'll damage and probably into the bilge. Most don't like it, but it IS an option.)
2. 2: If the cockpit floor is too soft , has cracks in it or similar evidence of a REAL problem, do the job from the top. Working from below is NOT going to be easy and probably won't work well. I'm surprised though: Our cockpit floor has no inner liner. Yours must be one of the new-fangled boats.

We did half of our deck this way:

Sounded out where the good wood was -- not much after 25 yearsof neglect.

Cut the skin out to the edge of the BAD wood with a Skil sawset to 1/2" or less. (Don't touch the inner glass betweenthe wood and inner liner.) If possible, make the cuts in thesmooth areas, not through non-skid.

Finish the corners with a Dremel and cutting blades.

Carefully pry the skin up in one piece and put to the side.

Pull out the ply. A floor removal chisel helped. It'llprobably come up in little pieces.

Around the edges (where the top skin still exists) rout outthe bad core. A 1/2" router bit, 6 or 12" drillextension & a 1/2" bearing mounted on a drill is LOTSeasier than chisels.

Clean and sand thoroughly.

Replace the core. I liked end-grain balsa. Next time I trythis, I'll get a thick enough balsa that I have a little extrathickness: I replaced 1/2" with 1/2". The ply hadswelled, making the actual thickness more like 5/8", andmatching thickness used much more filler than I liked. I'd preferto sand the balsa down at the edges rather than build the areaup.

I did not put balsa around any of the through-deck fittings orthe outside edge. I filled at least an inch around each fitting'shole with fortified epoxy. NO water will be coming in throughthose bolts!

Fit (carefully) and replace the top skin. Where screws orbolts go through the deck, pre-drill some holes so you can screwthe deck down at those spots while the epoxy sets. (Grease thescrews so they don't get stuck, of course!) It's particularlynice in the center of the panels, since no amount of weight seemsto do the job just right.

Tape and glass the edges and inch either side of the crack.Simply bedding the skin in epoxy isn't enough.

That said, if the deck isn't cracking or causing any realproblem: DON'T BOTHER WITH THE ABOVE! As I said at the top, I didHALF of our deck. The structural difference wasn't sufficient tobother with the mess again. If/when I have LOTS of time orstructural damage starts showing up, the rest of the deck getsdone.

Hull/Deck Joint

I had a serious leak problem at the hull/deck joint thatresulted in wet lockers. Many times the Tanzer newsletter advisedagainst removing the rub rail so I was reluctant to do thatvoluntarily. However, my rail was apparently under less tensionthan when new because it would sometimes slip off of the joint ina good wave. It could be slipped easily back over the joint. Withthis in mind I lifted the rail off of the joint, starting in themiddle, and worked it off towards both the bow and the stern, butI never unfastened it at the ends. This exposed most of the jointbut it avoided the problem of having to unfasten/fasten it, andpossible problems stretching it around the stern corners...thewarnings in the newsletter were still in my mind.

I found a thick mess of caulk upon caulk where the previousowner appeared to have been adding more and more in hopes ofcuring the leak. Of course, a thick glob of caulk on top of athin layer that is not properly sealed to the fiberglass isuseless. I stripped off most of the mess by hand or by cutting itwith a knife. I then used a wire brush in a right-angle powergrinder to remove the rest and scuff up the ends of the hull anddeck where they fold horizontal to form the joint. I also cleanedout the gap between the hull and deck where it was wide enough toget a knife into.

With all of the old caulk off I then cleaned the edges withacetone and applied a bead of polysulfide (Boat-Life I believe,it was a while ago) along the joint, trying to inject it into thegap where possible. In places where the gap was too small I justapplied the bead on the surface of the joint at the gap andsmoothed it over the deck/hull ends.

The rub rail went back on with no problem (remember I neverfully unfastened it). I solved the original problem of wavesshifting the rail by fastening it with two small (#6 SS sheetmetal) screws through the top of the rail, vertically into thedeck at the joint.

CleaningFoggy Ports

The final act of preparing ALLONS for sea was to try Brasso onour foggy ports. In the past I have tried a number of otherfixes, all did little to help; some even made the problem worse.

Port Repair

|I (actually a friend) removed all of the ports and theframes, removed and discarded the rotten rubber gasket. He thencarefully masked the ports with masking tape, ran a bead ofsilicon around each, and reinstalled them in the metal frame, andthen smoothed the residual silicon by hand. He effectivelymanufactured a new gasket in place out of silicon.

That was about 10 years ago and it still looks and works fine.--- The ports on my T22 , and I believe on most , consist of analuminum frame and a Plexiglas window , the whole assembly screwson from the outside with about a dozen half inch #6 self tappingscrews . The Plexiglas is held in place with strip of rubber,which is pushes in between the window and the frame like a wedgeand locks into place . The bedding for the Plexiglas is narrowstrip of weather-stripping with adhesives backing that sticks tothe frame .... I rebuilt the windows a few years ago and suggestthat the most important part of the job is to have all the partscompletely clean before reassembling. You will probably findcaulking in the most unusual places . In my case a former ownerhad tried to stop leaks by removing the inside vinyl trim andfilling the cavity with some type of sealant. The result wastrapped moisture and all the damage that goes with it .... To dothe job right in my view everything should come apart and theframe totally cleaned ... acetone or lacquer thinner withsteelwool works well.....the backing and rubber seal should bereplaced and are available from the T22 association people ...Also totally remove all traces of caulking from the fiberglasswith a razor scraper and acetone before reinstalling the windows... use lots of sikaflex and if the screws don't grip replace the#6 with #8 no larger than half inch..... This is not a small job.... Tom

Mast Wiring

I have to do some rewiring to the masthead this winter onmy Tanzer-27 and I was wondering if anyone would be able toadvise me on how to proceed. I have to re-run a cable to theinstruments at the masthead (wind speed and direction) and I'mnot sure how to proceed. I'm having the mast unstepped (itsbolted to the cabin top) and that will give me access at thebase, but I don't know if or how: 1) to gain access at the masthead, 2) pull the cable the length of the 38 foot mast and 3)deaden the sound of the cable (and while I'm at it the othercables inside) from banging against the mast. Any suggestions?Short-cuts? Preferred materials insulating material?

I had to deal with this quite a few years ago. Here is what Idid.

0) Remove the halyard sheaves at the top of the mast and mayberemove the casting at the bottom of the mast. If I remembercorrectly there is only a single bolt at the top holding thesheaves.

1) Buy a piece of utility 1/8" nylon line a little overtwice the mast height. You will leave this inside the mast forfuture use so don't use a borrowed piece.

2) If you have an electrician friend borrow a device known asa 'fish wire' or 'fish tape'. That is a stiff wire used to snakewires inside the walls of a house. If you can't fine one of thoseuse a stiff piece of wire long enough to pass through the mast. Ibelieve that I used some 1/8" steel wire I had around thehouse. I still may have some and will be glad to loan it to you(I live in Little Silver). A piece of Romex should also work.

3) Attach the 1/8" nylon to the front end of the fishwire. Push the fish wire and nylon up through the mast. When itreaches the top end create a loop in the nylon and pass it arounda screwdriver or bolt in the top of the mast. Then pull the fishwire with nylon attached back out, in the reverse direction ofthe way it went in. Tie the two loose ends of the nylon togetherat the bottom to form a continuous loop that extends a littlepast both the top and bottom of the mast.

4) Now you can attach the instrument cable to the nylon andpull it up, being careful to pull the nylon in a drive-beltfashion and not pull it out of the mast. It helps to have oneperson at each end or loop one end over the sheave bolt.

5) When your electrical work is complete fetch several spongesor pieces of soft foam, about the same size as the mast. Tie thefirst sponge/foam to the nylon and pull it part way up the mast,again in drive-belt fashion. Tie the next one on, and pull thenylon further along. Continue this until you have foam piecesdistributed along the inside of the mast. This will silence anywire slap.

6) Finally, attach a sponge/foam to the very top end of thenylon and push it down inside the mast a bit. The sponge/foamwill hold the line and prevent it from falling further downinside the mast. At the bottom just stuff the line inside. Youmay want to add one more sponge/foam here to keep the line fromgetting in the way when you raise the mast.

7) Now you will already have the rope inside the mast the nexttime you have to get a wire up the mast. The foam will probablyinterfere but it won't be too hard to remove it the reverse ofthe way you put it in, pull the wire up on the nylon line, andreinstall the foam.

8) Clean and lubricate the sheave bearings and sides beforeyou reinstall them. I would use a marine-grade grease on thebearing surfaces.

On the topic of electrical wiring on the mast...I was unhappywith the wires just passing out through a hole in the side of themast and into a hole in the deck. Water ran along the wires andinto the deck hole, and I was afraid I would snag something onthe wires and damage them. I found a couple of rail stanchionbases...stainless castings with a 3/4" (or so) through-holeand a flange on one end. I attached a 45 degree stanchion base,pointing down, over the wire hole on the mast and a 90 degreestanchion base over the wire hole on the deck. I then got a pieceof flexible hose that just fit over the stanchion bases, passedthe wires through the stanchion base on the mast, through thetubing, through the stanchion base on the deck, and then fit thetubing to both bases. It looks great. Unfortunately, the tubingdeteriorated in the sun after a few years so when I replaced it Ialso made a cover for the tubing from Sunbrella. No problemssince.

LooseningFrozen Joints

I have tried wd40, as well as two other rust looseners orremovers, as well as heat from a propane torch. Nothing hasallowed me to get them out of their holders. Any suggestions???

Let me offer a few. I have developed a bit of expertise atgetting frozen parts separated. Five years ago (11 Dec 92 to beexact) a Nor'easter flooded my basement and submerged twenty fiveyears of tool collecting in salt water. I was so disheartened bythe mess that I only recently had the ambition to tackle therestoration of the big power tools. Needless to say, many partswere frozen together. Here in rough order of application is whatI found worked.

1) I always start with penetrating oil as you have, apply andlet sit for some time.

2) Try to wiggle the part...just a little, then a little more,etc. This has been often successful.

3) Try to break the bond with hammering. If I have a shaftpassing through a hole in a casting, for example, I would hammeron the side of the casting, perpendicular to the shaft,supporting the casting on a massive anvil of some sort, perhaps areal anvil or block of iron. For this a steel hammer is suitable,I use a ball-peen hammer to concentrate the force.

In no case should you hammer on the end of the shaft with ametal hammer, that will only deform the shaft. Use wood orplastic on the end.

In the case of your spreaders, have a helper hold a heavymetal block on one side of the holder in which the spreader isstuck while you hammer on the opposite side. Work your way allaround the holder and then go back to step 2. I believe thisshould do the trick. You may have to hammer quite a while tobreak the bond. Gauge how hard to hammer by the damage you do tothe surface of the holder.

4) Apply major force. Here you have to be very careful, Isheared a lead screw on my lathe doing it. If you have a sense ofthe strength of the material you are using, and have a way toapply the force without damaging the surface, it can be veryeffective. In the case of your spreaders a pipe wrench will holdit but I would be very concerned about the teeth marks that itwill certainly produce. You also want to hold the spreader holderso you don't shear it from the mast.

5) Apply heat...I mean real heat from a oxy-acetylene torch,not a propane torch. When all else failed this was alwayssuccessful for me. A piece of red-hot steel expands enough thatmajor force then frees the piece. You have to consider what theheat will do, however. It can melt adjacent plastic, producesurface cosmetic blemishes, and damage paint.

In the case of your spreader you have to be very cautious ifall parts are aluminum. If the holders are stainless, they cantake a lot of heat.

6) Here is the single most important bit of advice I can give.Remember that sooner or later, you or someone else will want toget the thing apart again.

Apply anti-seize compound during assembly.

I keep one can of anti-seize in my auto tool box, another inmy rigging box and I use it on just about everything exposed toheat and salt and most other fasteners. It works so well that Iwas able to un-do a big shackle on my mooring that was under saltwater for ten years. (Just don't put it on the tapered jointbetween the flywheel and drive shaft of your outboard, believeme, I know.)

In summary: bang on the side of the holder, reassemble withanti-seize.

Compoundingthe Hull

I like to know if someone have some information on whichkind of polisher/compound?

Almost every year I compound and wax the hull of my T22. Ihave a device known as a power grinder (or right angle grinder).It consists of a hefty motor driving a shaft at a right angle tothe axis of the machine. The shaft can take a lot of differenttools: grinding wheel (hence the name of the machine), wirebrush, sanding disk, and in particular, a lamb's wool buffingwheel.

I've never really worried about the brand of compound I use,only the abrasive grade, typically light or heavy (fine orcoarse). I use heavy if I have a lot of chalking, for example, ifI missed a year, otherwise I use light. I've never had a problemkeeping from cutting through the gel-coat with the polishingsurface. I did have a problem when I hit the gel-coat with theedge of the wheel, which did not have a lamb's wool covering.This happened at some concave curves of the top-sides near therub-rail.

My T22 dates from 1974. With a good compounding it still comesup to a nice smooth surface. I can see absolutely no reason toconsider painting.

One word of caution. While I have had no safety incidents withthe grinder, I do remember one at Atlantic Highland's Boatyardmany years ago. Somehow the buffing wheel snagged or caught onthe hull or a fixture and the buffer kicked up to the operatorsface. A little common sense is in order: wear safety goggles,keep long hair tied up and under-hat, no loose clothing, and payattention to the rotation of the disk in relation to the kickdirection of the machine (away from you) and potential snags.

The grinder I use is not too expensive, probably $125 to $150(US), plus a little more for the buffing wheel. It is a mightyhandy tool to own if you are into boating and I'm sure you wouldfind other uses for it besides compounding. I used a grindingwheel on mine for some keel work. ---

The Eastwood Company in Malvern, PA (800) 345-1178 sells aproduct called Corroless that was developed to stop BRITISH CARSFROM RUSTING, and it seemed to work well on the three MGs my sonand I restored, and has held up well on my trailer for the 16'Tanzer that I reconditioned about 3-4 years ago..... I plan touse it on my 22 keel after sandblasting, and will know after afew years whether it worked as expected.... Eastwood says it canbe painted on over (non-scaling) rust, if you're not tooconcerned about a smooth finish. The nice part is that it doesn'tsay "boat" on the can, so it's much cheaper than mostmarine stuff. If anyone else has any experience with this, let meknow....

Cleaning theKeel

After my first or second season with my T22 I realized I had alot of rust. I started grinding it with a right-angle powergrinder, a hefty tool that spins a grinding wheel at 4500 rpm orso. I got a lot of sparks and metal flying but I wasn't makingmuch headway. I had a lot of heavy rust scale that appeared tohave considerable metalic iron in it along with the rust. Thegrinder could cut it but it was taking forever to get down to thesolid keel.

Realizing that the scale was brittle and the keel beneath itwas hard I tried hitting it with a hammer...success...the scalebroke off, but it would still take far to long to do it by hand.What was needed was some kind of power hammer.

I tried an air-powered hammer and it did the job just fine. Ittook about an hour-and-a-half to chip all of scale from each sideof the keel, taking it down to solid cast iron. I then used thepower grinder to touch up any remaining spots but there were verylittle. The air hammer has the look of a gun with a tip that isheld in place by a coil spring. The tip vibrates in-and-outseveral thousand times a minute, banging on anything in front ofit. The tips come in several shapes from point to chisel and onefor cutting sheet metal. I found the point worked fine, probablybecause it produces the greatest pressure at the point of impact.

With the keel clean I applied a coat or two of a primer andseveral coats of epoxy. With a little touch up every couple ofseasons it has held up well for nine or ten years. --- 1) grindback to bright metal (more or less) 2) 2 coats Pettit Rust-Lok(seems to be very effective) 3) 3-4 coats Interprotect 2000 (didthe whole hull below waterline) 4) recoat with VC-17

So far the bottom looks great (second year) Hope it stays thatway, don't want to do that again!

after grinding and before painting, the hull was cleaned withfour solvents: soapy water, acetone, alcohol, and water again. Sofar adhesion has been good.

Keel Bolts

I am replacing all the 14 original keelbolt backing plates(1-1/2" square washers) with stainless steel ones of thesame. I can't believe Tanzer used regular carbon steel washersand stainless keel bolts! Anyway, because my T26 #412 doescollect enough water in the bilge at times to cover these boltscreating a brown, rusty mess. Is anyone aware of the propertorque spec for tightening these keelbolts? Failing a spec, itwill likely be just lean on em' till you gasp for air a couple oftimes.

A few years ago I had Johann Tanzer aboard my boat (T22) andhe said the keel bolts should be torqued to 100 lbs.

Outboards

Mounting Shaft

How do I loosen my outboard motor's mounting shaft?

1. Try to pump in fresh grease. If you can get any in at all you will probably then be able to get it moving.
2. Try a penetrating solvent. I generally prefer CRC over WD-40 for general use but try either. Apply it to any access points like the top/bottom of the shaft. Once a day, give a little squirt. Be patient. The solvent has to make its way along the shaft, dissolving dry grease as it goes. It will be a big help if you can get any motion at all.
3. If you have an extra grease gun, especially one of the little ones that you can pack yourself, try putting light oil or kerosene in the gun and pump it into the grease fitting. That will get it in faster than capillary action alone.
4. Drive out the shaft with force. But remember, never hit a shaft with anything metallic...always use a plastic hammer, or put a block of wood or a wooden dowel on the shaft and hit the block or dowel.

I wouldn't use acetone. It will take time for any solvent topenetrate and acetone will evaporate too fast.

Once you do get it loose you should disassemble the mount,remove the shaft, clean it thoroughly, and reassemble it withfresh grease. You can use acetone here if you must but I preferkerosene.

And to avoid the problem in the future, give it a couple ofsquirts of grease every year...even better give it enough greaseto see fresh grease coming out the ends.

Motors

What type of motor is recommended?

Most outboards for Tanzer 22's range from 5 to 10 horsepower.Things to consider when purchasing a motor are:

2 stroke vs. 4 stroke:
Engine weight: May want to keep this down if you race or have problems lifting heavy objects. Reliability: How easy is it to start?
Power
Generator
Electric start

The Honda 7.5 is a good 4 stroke engine. Very easy starter andplenty of push . 

Accessories

Anchors

With good anchorages getting ever more popular, I find thereoften isn't room to let out enough scope and still avoid swinginground into my "neighbour's" gelcoat when the windshifts at sunset. The little Danforth (and 4 ft chain) that wasstock on the T22 seems pretty small to me if I can only have 3:1scope (!). "Upgrading" to a more serious anchor leadsto stowage problems, as nothing much bigger will fit in the T22bow compartment. I thought about anchoring only around remoteBahamian keys, but, really, it does make for a long sail backhome. Do folks generally use the original anchor? Would adding alonger length of chain - say 8 ft - be practical?

Here's an anchoring tip that may be applicable to your Tanzer22 (if it is equipped with a bow eye). It's from the Ottawa RiverSailing Page (one of my web sites).

Increasing Your Scope

Trailerable boats and other vessel with a bow eye have anadvantage in a crowded anchorages where there isn't much room toswing on a long anchor rode. By tying their anchor rode to thebow eye, they can enjoy the extra holding power that comes withas much as a 30% increase in scope. This is because the bow eyeis often 3 to 4 feet lower than the top of the bow. A boatanchored in 10 feet of water with a 50 foot rode tied to top ofits bow will have a scope of a little more than 3.5 to 1. Bysimply tying to the rode to the bow eye, scope increases tonearly 5 to 1. (Note: ensure that the rode can be releasedquickly from the bow eye in case it becomes necessary to leavethe anchorage in a hurry.)

An illustration which accompanies this tip can be found at:http://www.magma.ca/~mcsail/ott/tips.htm

The following tip is from the FAQs of a boating discussiongroup in the Ottawa area. It was posted by Greg Dargavel(as457@freenet.carleton.ca), who sails a Tanzer 7.5, and is amember of this list.

Using a Kellett by Greg Dargavel:

Another handy trick to reduce scope in a tight anchorage orwhen it blows like stink is a kellett. I use an old cast ironcounter weight from double hung windows but anything small anddense will do (crew excepted!). While you can use snatchblocks toreduce the chafing all I do is loop a line through the kellet, doa big loop bowline around the anchor line and then using the restof the line ease the loop and kellett down the anchor line til itis well below the waterline. Again scope is reduced and holdingpower increased. As with the anchor, be sure to secure the end ofthe line with the kellett aboard. When departing bring thekellett aboard and the raise anchor as usual.

And finally, you can find a general article about AnchoringBasics on the Ottawa Sailing Page. However, it may only be ofmarginal interest since it is aimed at first time cruisers, andfocuses on anchoring conditions associated with the Ottawa River.The URL: http://www.magma.ca/~mcsail/ott/anchor5.htm ---Definitely upgrade the anchor size and add more chain if you'rein a tight anchorage! If not for your protection then for mine.

Another old trick to increase holding power on short scope isto add a kellet on your anchor line. A kellet is simply a weightwhich you slide down the anchor line (on the end of a light lineso you can retrieve it). The kellet lowers the angle of youranchor line to the bottom and thus increases holding power. l usean old cast iron 10 lb. weight from an old window sash. Its acylinder about a foot long and a couple of inches in diameter. Isimply do a big bowline around the anchor line and through a holein the kellet after I've set the anchor . I then pay out the lineand the bowline and kellet slip down the rode usually about 2/3of the way to the bottom. While you can buy fancy kellets with ablock cast right in, I find this system works under the KISSprinciple and does not seem to chafe the rode. --- A Danforth 8Sfits in the T-22 anchor well along with 10' of 1/4" chainand 100' of 3/8" nylon rope. The cockpit locker has aDanforth 12H with its 30' of 5/16" chain and 250' of1/2" nylon rope in a milk crate. There is a lso a half sizemilk crate with 250' of 3/8 nylon to use with the 8S in deeperwater. Under the aft cockpit cover with the gas tank is a 4 lbDanforth with a little bit of chain and 150' of 5/16 braidednylon stored on an extension cord reel. The little Danforth getsthe most use. It is small enough to throw it into the bushes orover a log on the shore either alone or with one of the otheranchors set in deeper water. --- Two comments on anchors: 1. An 8lb. danforth with about 6' chain and 200 feet of 1/2" nylonrode seems to fit our T-22 anchor locker fine with carefulcoiling. We also carry a 2nd anchor (8 lb.also) in the starboardlazarette. For overnight stops, we always put out 2 anchors 180degrees apart, to reducethe likelihood that shifting currents orwinds will unseat the anchor. I've never felt the need for abigger anchor, as the circumstances which usually cause dragging(such as poor holding ground or change of pulling direction)don't seem related to anchor weight. 2. Beware of pulpit-mountedanchor brackets!! I now have a larger boat (Newport 28) with anabysmally designed anchor locker that will not hold the anchorand rode. I installed the anchor on pulpit brackets, which werefine for a while. However, I came back to the moored boat after a2 week absence to discover the anchor had worked out of thebracket during some heavy weather and carved some verydisagreeable patterns in the bow. Lesson learned--never leaveyour anchor in pulpit brackets when you are not on the boat. ---Anchored like that in the Chesapeak Bay, I had a a much largerboat spend 30 minutes setting and resetting his hook only tofinish 50' upwind of me. He asked, "Do you think I am alittle too close ? Do you think I might drag into you tonight?" I answered, "My board is up. I am in 3' of water.There is no way you can hit me." He was gone in ten minutes.--

Autohelm

I purchased both an Autohelm 1000 and a Signet windspeed/direction unit around 1986/1987. This was the first yearthe 1000 was sold and Signet had just been purchased by the firmowning Autohelm. In fact, Autohelm had just announced a 'followthe wind' feature to link the two devices. I used 'standard'Autohelm parts to mount the unit. A 3" dia by 3/8"thick disk was through bolted to the cockpit seat about 18"forward of the tiller/rudder pin. When in use, a 1" dia by3" high post screws into it and the pin on the bottom of theAutohelm fits into the top of that. Autohelm sells a varity ofbrackets which bolt to the bottom of the tiller and provide adrop of some number of inches. I think I used the 5" unit.The wire to attach to the wind machine interface is coiled andheld in place under the gas tank cover. The unit has worked likea champ all of these years.

Must say that most of the usage was on Lake George whilemotoring long distances. At that time, I was single and unlessracing was normally single handing. I also used the Autohelmwhile raising/lowering sails, changing foresails, gettingfood/beer, paying beer rent etc. I rarely used the 'follow thewind' feature. Among other things, it was a bother to setup andthe wind was too shifty. Probably should not have spent the moneyon that option. Today, I will not leave the dock without the unitready to go. Even though I now have a new wife with me, theAutohelm usage is for the same things only less often since shedoes a lot of the other work. We also have better wind and not sofar to travel so there is not as much motoring. I feel much saferknowing I can drop the unit onto the pin, push a button and willstay on the same course while I deal with a "disaster'"

Cockpit Table

I am currently thinking about building a cockpit table for ournext dinner

I designed an approach for a cockpit table for a T22. The T22is not a T26 but the design may give you some other options toconsider.

Two thoughts drove the design. 1) I already had a galleytable; and 2) storing anything on the boat is problematic.

Thus, I decided to use the existing galley table in thecockpit as well. The table is attached in the galley by a coupleof stainless brackets at one end, and a supported at the other bya folding leg. I was able to find another pair of the SS bracketsat a local boat shop. I fashioned a small piece of wood to gointo the hatch, resting on the lower fallboard, and attached thebracket member that mates with the one on the table to the wood.

I then found a small strip of brass, drilled and tapped it toaccept a 1/4-20 nylon bolt, and attached it to the cockpit soleso that the table peg can be screwed down when the table is inuse.

It works great and we have had some of our most memorablemeals in quiet coves on the boat eating in the cockpit.

Dinette Table

We have a 1981 t22 which we sail with the table in the downposition. My problem is that when the boat heels overexcessively, the table slides out from under the cushions.

I wonder if anybody knows where I might find a length of thetrack used to keep the table in the upright position. I wouldlike to attach a small piece between the seats of the dinette.--- I used two dead bolts on the underside of the table anddrilled to holes into the side wood. --- I solved this problem onmy Tanzer by attaching an elastic line under the table on theoutside edge. The line catches the fwd edge of the folded tableleg. No problems with the table sliding out since the line wasinstalled 4 years ago. The elastic is easily removed when youwant to set up the table. --- To keep my tabletop from slidingoff the wood supports when it is in the down position, I screwedtwo wood screws into the wood supports, cut their heads off, anddrilled two corresponding holes in the bottom of the table top.The wood screws form two pins which engage in the table top whenit is down and keep it from sliding to starboard. The holes areslightly countersunk to help guide the pins into the holes. Thescrews are short enough and outboard enough to keep them frompoking someone in the leg when sitting at the table.

Ice Box

What is wrong with 'T-ing' the ice box drain into the sinkdrain (down near the floor so it's below the bottom of the box)and getting rid of that plastic bottle?

It comes down to reliablilty and separation of systems. On agood day it would work fine. But if you forgot to open your sinkdrain, or if your sink drain through-hull got plugged, then sinkwaste will back up into your ice box.

Water Tank

For some time I was bugged by my 1975 T22's pronounced list tostarboard. Then I realized the problem: the water tank.

I never used the water tank on my T22 and removed thefaucet/pump. Since our use of the boat is almost exclusively daysailing I don't need eight gallons of water. Instead I bring aGott insulated water jug along. I attached a couple of teakstrips on the bulkhead adjacent to the sink and fashioned acouple of nylon straps with Fastex buckles to retain the jug. Thespigot is over the sink which catches drips and provides a spacefor glasses under the spigot while filling them. The problems offilling and hygiene of the built-in tank are eliminated.

I thought of removing the original tank for storage room butnever did get around to it. Your thought of cutting an accesshole from above is good.

Wooden Doors

Has anybody fitted sliding wood doors in place of thecurtain between the v-berth and the cabin? How'd you do it? doyou like it?

For the T22 there was an article in the Tanzer Newsletter manyyears ago about using hinged doors there.

Sunbrella

I would also appreciate any comments from experience withthe "Sunbrella" brand fabric regarding appearance,durability and water resistance.

My experience, and that of most people I know, is thatSunbrella is the fabric of choice for marine applications. Thedark blue color is most often seen. I have a distant recollectionthat that color may hold up best under the stress of UV. I havehad a Sunbrella main cover for ten years, out in the sun foreight summers. While the stitching needed some attention thefabric shows no fading.

Swimming Ladder

I've just purchaced a stainless steel swim ladder (used3-step Rig-it) and I need some advice on mounting: - do I need toadd a mounting plate to the inside of the transom to distributethe load? - if so, do I need a steel plate, or would a chunk ofwood be OK?

Reinforcement is necessary. I used hardwood blocks but metalplates don't rot. ---- I found replacement track (Barton, samecross section, same length, same mounting holes) at a rigger,being sold as a deck track and sliding fairlead combo for adingy. The old lugs were welded to the stainless screws, so Iimprovised with aluminum sail stop lugs of the same diameter(recommended by a J-24 racer I chatted up in the store). Worksperfectly (so far) for around $60 Cdn, with left over bits -anyone interested in a sliding fairlead?

Miscellaneous

_{Making a Mooring}

I have been told to make a pyramid shaped cement"anchor" with re-bar in it to which I attach a shackle,then chain (3/8 ??), then a swivel shackle (??) then a"float" with a pendant shackled to the swivel.

I can tell you what I did and that it has worked fine for overten years. The previous owner of my home told me I could have hismooring. Foolishly, I did not raise it for inspection but justattached my T22 to it as he had done with a similar sized boatfor years. That worked fine for a little over a year until I wasawoken by my son (after a good blast of wind the previous night)informing me that "the sailboat is gone". Fortunately,the mooring chain had parted at the mooring and provided asufficient drag to keep the boat from drifting too far in thewind, and it held it in place not far from my home once the windstopped. The boat wasn't damaged but I needed a new mooring.

Being a tight-wad I wasn't up to buy a new 200# or so mushroomas well as all of the tackle so I decided to make my own. I foundsome rebar and a galvanized steel rod about 1" in diameterwith an eye at one end. I fashioned a cage from the rebar, weldedit all together, and welded the rod to the cage in the middle. Isuspect that the rod originally was used to anchor a guy for autility pole.

I then put the cage into a cardboard box lined with plasticsheeting. The box that I used was a shipping box for a computermonitor and was about 20" on a side (not sure exactly, itwas over ten years ago). I moved the box to my dock float, put inthe rebar cage, and started pouring concrete. It is important todo the pouring on the dock since it will be very difficult tomove once filled.

I chose the box to get a weight of about 500# out of thewater. Concrete is remarkably bouyant and it takes a lot to getan effective weight under water. If I remember correctly, thedensity of concrete is about 1.6. That means a 20" cube willweigh 500# but displace 312# of water (at 62.4 #/cubic-foot),yielding an effective weight under water of about 200#.

After the concrete set and the tackle was rigged, I moved thedock and mooring to position and (with great care and a bigsplash) pushed it overboard. Pipes as rollers under the boxhelped.

A couple of tips:

1) Take a sighting on a couple of objects on land with sightlines 90 degrees apart and make a note of the observations. Thismay come in handy if you ever separate the chain from the floatand need to recover it.

2) Use anti-seize compound on all underwater threads. You'llappreciate it later when you try to open rusty shackles.

Just last year I finally raised my mooring for inspection andfound it to be in fine shape. Neither the lower chain nor theshackle showed any appreciable deterioration. Because I followedtip 2 above I was able to open the shackle. I replaced the upperchain, near the surface and oxygen, several years ago due tothinning in the top two feet or so.

I used a auto engine chain-fall hoist attached to one end ofmy dock to raise it. I rigged a roller from a boat trailer at theother end for the mooring chain to pass over. Worked fine.

In 10 feet of water, how much chain? What size of float,what kind of float? And the questions go on and on and on

I'm afraid that I not sure of the specifics of the chain sizethat I used. I believe that it 20' of 1/2 followed by 10' of 3/8.After that I have a swivel and a float. The float is hard (notinflatable) and about 12" in diameter. I attached two 20'pendants attached to the swivel under the float (so the integrityof the system is not dependent on the float) but above the swiveljoint. I have anti-chafe gear on each pendant where it passesthrough the bow chocks. Rope is cheap and two pendants is goodinsurance. The water depth varies roughly between three and sixfeet so this system is a bit over-engineered. But, I haveexposure to the east, sheltered from the ocean only by a stripbarrier land two miles away, so I welcome the extra protection innor'easters or hurricanes.

Let me bring up one point for further comment by members, thatof a swivel at the mooring (on the bottom, not at the float).When I first dropped the mooring it landed upside down so thatthe rod and chain were in the mud. No tangles. But, when I put itin last year after inspection, the rod was sticking up (because Ilowered it down gently instead of dropping it) and it only took acouple of weeks for the chain to tangle around the rod. I solvedthe problem by fastening the shackle around the rod, using theeye as a stopper, instead of fastening the shackle through theeye. A better solution would have been to use a shorter rod soonly the eye sticks up above the concrete. Do others have aswivel at the bottom? I don't like the idea because the swiveljoint wears much faster than chain and I have already replacedmine several years ago. But without it does your chain wrap onthe mooring shank? Or, does your mushroom lay on its side or buryin the mud?

Removing the Mast Base

I am thinking about installing a steaming light on thefront of the mast just above the spreaders - my mast seems tohave a solid, riveted on base to it - any one ever taken that off(and how)

I have a casting at the bottom of the mast but it is notsolid. Instead, the casting is more of a ring with an oval (if Iremember correctly) hole in the middle, about 2" x 3"or so in dia.

Remove it by drilling out the rivets or filing/grinding theirheads off. It is usually sufficient to drill the head with adrill bit larger than the rivet shank diameter, but drill justenough to remove the head and not enlarge the hole. Sometimes therivet spins in the hole and can't be drilled. That's when a filemay be needed. You may have to drive the rivets through with apin punch once you have removed their heads.

Refasten with new rivets, self-taping screws, or tap the holesand use machine screws. (Don't forget anti-seize compound. Neverforget anti-seize compound!) Since the mast and bottom castingare under compression once installed the fasteners only realpurpose is to retain the casting when the mast is off of the boator while it is in transit.

Humour

Suggestions for the ex-sailor who misses the "good olddays" (geared to the "surface squid")...

1. Sleep on the shelf in your closet.
2. Replace the closet door with a curtain.
3. Six hours after you go to sleep, have your wife whip open the curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and mumble "Sorry, wrong rack", or "Your watch!".
4. Renovate your bathroom. Build a wall across the middle of your bathtub and move the shower head down to chest level.
5. When you take showers, make sure you shut off the water while soaping.
6. Every time there's a thunderstorm, go sit in a wobbly rocking chair and rock as hard as you can until you're nauseous.
7. Put lube oil in your humidifier instead of water and set it to "High".
8. Don't watch TV except movies in the middle of the night. Also, have your family vote on which movie to watch, then show a different one.
9. (Mandatory for ex-engineering types) Leave lawnmower running in your living room 24 hours a day for proper noise level.
10. Have the paperboy give you a haircut.
11. Once a week blow compressed air up through your chimney, making sure the wind carries the soot across and onto your neighbor's house. Laugh at him when he curses you.
12. Buy a trash compactor and only use it once a week. Store up garbage in the other side of your bathtub.
13. Wake up at midnight and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on stale bread. (Optional: cold canned ravioli or soup).
14. Make up your family menu a week ahead of time without looking in your food cabinets or refrigerator.
15. Set your alarm clock to go off at random times during the night. When it goes off, jump out of bed and get dressed as fast as you can, then run out into your yard and break out the garden hose.
16. Once a month take every major appliance completely apart and then put them back together.
17. Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for 5 or 6 hours before drinking.
18. Invite at least 85 people you don't really like to come and visit for a couple of months.
19. Have a fluorescent lamp installed on the bottom of your coffee table and lie under it to read books.
20. Raise the thresholds and lower the top sills on your front and back doors so that you either trip over the threshold or hit your head on the sill every time you pass through one of them.
21. Lockwire the lugnuts on your car.
22. When making cakes, prop up one side of the pan while it is baking. Then spread icing really thick on one side to level off the top.
23. Every so often, throw your cat into the swimming pool, shout "Man overboard, ship recovery!", run into the kitchen and sweep all the pots/pans/dishes off of the counter onto the floor, then yell at your wife for not having the place "stowed for sea".
24. Put on the headphones from your stereo (don't plug them in). Go and stand in front of your stove. Say (to nobody in particular) "Stove manned and ready". Stand there for 3 or 4 hours. Say (once again to nobody in particular) "Stove secured". Roll up the headphone cord and put them away.

Last updated: Jan 12, 2002