Recent content by Hooked on Powell

Lake Powell C-Brats ! I had hoped to be on the lake at this point to meet up with some of you. Missed you last year and the year before that, too. There is a chance that I could get up there at the end of the week but it depends on other stuff. We are both finally out of the office and...

Haven't been watching the site very closely, so missed your windy visit post until now. One of these days I'll meet you two on the lake! We've had what has been undoubtably the most blustery spring in memory at Powell and most of northern Arizona. I was lucky enough to spend the three...

Amanda, All good advice from folks who are undoubtably more experienced than me. One thing for Lake Powell I would stress is to really keep your eye out for underwater hazards (rocks!) that are always changing with lake levels. Also, if you watch the shape of the bottom on your depth finder...

Jack in Alaska, We bought Frequent Sea from Bob & Marie Austin in July, 2009. It is the 2003 CD-25 that Dr. Bob refers to with the repair photos in his Thataway album. One other thing you might want to check out is the swim step. The two outboard attachments are through bolted in solid glass...

Greg & Roger, Thanks for your help. I know I'm not the brightest bulb on the string when it comes to mechanical/electrical so your patience is much appreciated. You guys are the best! Looks like changing out the water heater is on my list of boat projects now. Greg, if you do come across...

Roger, thanks for the electric equations. Now I remember some of this stuff from physics classes a loooong time ago. I looked at the GE site and found this water heater. It comes as a 110v unit requiring just under 1500w. So, following your equations I think I now understand why Greg said...

Greg on Aurelia, Your smaller water heater looks very interesting. Sure does free up a lot of space. What do you mean when you say you changed the heating element to 240? And you also mentioned that the unit has a 110 plug for power. I'm clueless when it comes to electric, so this really...

Miles & Miles, We run at displacement speed on Lake Powell more than on plane with a CD-25 powered by a 130 Honda. At about 6 mph we do 4 to 5 mpg. At about 5 mph we do 5.5 to 6 mpg. Saves a lot of money and since we're not usually in much of a hurry the slow pace is not a trade-off. It's...

Amanda, Haven't been looking at the site much the last week or so. I'm supposed to be retired but have been retained to complete some contract negotiations on a "part time basis" that is proving to be indistinguishable from pre-"retirement." Soon to embark on full-time retirement however...

It's best to completely remove the canvas. For example, a bimini cover wrapped up and in its boot on the frame can still sustain damage from wind and vibration. Zipper and zipper pulls rubbing on the canvas caused wear that varied from abrasions spots to holes in the canvas on our current...

Bob & Marie, We will keep you in our thoughts and pray for the best. New set of pipes and you'll be good for another few decades! Dalton

David, Sorry to hear you have the water in the core problem. Check Dr. Bob Austin's "Thataway" album. Within the album there are a group of pics documenting repair of similar problems with "Frequent Sea" (25 cruiser). Both transom and cockpit sole required attention. Dalton

Thanks for the "noodle" suggestion! That sounds like it would work very well. We roll them up in sheets to keep the plastic protected, but will give the fleece blankets a try, too. For storage a large duffel bag works well, makes it easier to tie down on top, store in the dock box, v-berth...

Just my 2 cents worth, worth less I know. Since you've been waiting patiently (or not) to get out on the water with your Tom Cat, why not wait a little longer for the boat name until you have a chance to get to know her and spend some time with it.. maybe that will help find a new name...

Frequent Sea (CD-25/Honda 130) received a new impeller (and more... much more) this spring after 3 years and over 500 hours. The old impeller looked new. The downside of this story is that the gear plate behind the prop was so corroded from electrolysis that it actually appeared to be welded...