Vinyl Flooring

[Pat Anderson]

Rob (and all), a little topic drift from vinyl flooring to cruising guides! Waterway Guides and Skipper Bob are both owned by...Waterway Guides! As of 2016, when we were seriously studying for our Great Loop, the then current editions of both had exactly the same text - what you got for the extra $$$ in Waterway Guides was...color photos and ads! Ted Stehle was the editor of Skipper Bob. Here is Ted's bio from "The Crew" page of the Waterway Guides website (just copied and pasted).

Ted Stehle
For Ted and his wife, Audrey, boating adventures began in the early 1970s on the lakes of Minnesota in a small aluminum fishing boat and a 16-foot ski boat. In the mid-70s they moved to the Chesapeake Bay where for 20 years they cruised the Chesapeake and the Atlantic Intracoastal waters on three different sailboats, a trawler and, finally, a motor yacht. After retirement and a move to Cincinnati, OH, cruising included The Great Loop, the inland rivers and wintering on the Florida Gulf Coast. Ted serves as a consultant to Waterway Guide and also is editor of the Skipper Bob series of cruising guides.

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Rob

After I posted I thought to myself "did I check the date of the original posting !"
An easy mistake to make. BTW, I think your boat is a great color!

Thanks for the kind reply with very good information. It will be helpful. I think North Carolina is very special. I hope to also try some areas above Boston, and the Maine coast.

The work you have done on your boat is inspiring.
When you cruise in salt water do you have any special maintenance routine for the motor?

Thanks, Greg

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Rob

After I posted I thought to myself "did I check the date of the original posting !"
An easy mistake to make. BTW, I think your boat is a great color!

Thanks for the kind reply with very good information. It will be helpful. I think North Carolina is very special. I hope to also try some areas above Boston, and the Maine coast.

The work you have done on your boat is inspiring.
When you cruise in salt water do you have any special maintenance routine for the motor?

Thanks, Greg

[RobMcClain]

Hey Pat, thanks for your update regarding the Skipper Bob series. When we bought in 2013 we received guides published many years earlier. I’d heard they had recently been redone and updated so very glad to know that as we hope to do more Loop cruising, probably still in segments as opposed to the full circuit like you guys did. We still fondly think of our experiences up the east coast and have a great photo on a table of our time (and boat) in St Michaels.

And Greg, as for our salt water routine I don’t do all that much. While in the water I will raise the motor while docked overnight, assuming the marina allows it. And once I pull the boat I run fresh water thru the engine and fully wash down the motor along with the entire boat.

One thing I didn’t mention to you, while cruising some of the more restricted flow waters, most especially thru the Dismal Swamp Canal, be aware that the lower area of your clean beautiful hull that touches water will quickly turn the color of Coca-Cola (or Pepsi...). It may look nice bubbling away in a glass but it’s not particularly beautiful on the cream colored hull. Once you pull the boat and wash it down the color will lessen over time and eventually fade away. The water color in the canal is very different and contains intense tannins that cause this. Well worth the price of cruising the canal though!

Rob

[ssobol]

[RobMcClain]

Lysol.... no kidding? So do you apply it full strength with a sponge or cloth and wipe it off, or dilute it with water before using? The tannin marked the bottom paint too and while I used soap on that area it didn’t clean well, nor did I work at it since I didn’t want to take off any paint. I’m guessing you would only use Lysol on unpainted areas of the hull and not on any bottom paint?

Rob

[thataway]

There are a number of products which will rid your boat of "Waterway smile". Snow Bowl, Toilet bowl cleaner is often very cheap at Dollar type stores. Some of these are fairly toxic, because of acids.

Oxalic Acid--which is the primary ingredient in may of the "boat stain removers" is very cheap for the crystals. Buy 10# and you have a lifetime supply. Dissolve to a saturated solution, and wipe on...Like magic. The boat I white again--no scrubbing or damage to gel coat.

[ssobol]