SO WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OR ON YOUR C-DORY TODAY??

Yesterday we puttered over to Ft McCree cove, hiked the deserted gulf-front beach for 2.5 hours, only 88 degrees and sunny, water up to 79 degrees.
Any CD-16 could have circumnavigaed the key between 7am and 11am via the Gulf; just look for predicted AM gentle (5-10K) winds from the North then.

Wet and dry storage slip (with water and power) is only 6 minutes from home.
Pretty good NAS PNS base security, with guys and gals who have Glocks on their hips and M-16's and tactical shotguns in the trunk, plus the training on how to best use them.

Life is Good.
Best to All,
John
 
While John and Eileen were playing, I have been working my tail off. Two C Dorys to clean and get ready...The "new" 25 needed a complete all out turn on the hose cleaning, with a lot of scrubbing. Admiral Marie cleaned all of the upholstery!
I have installed a second RayMarine MFD, glued the Starboard block to the transom. Pleasantly surprised to find that some previous owner had put epoxy plugs into the transom for the single transducer which is present. A second transducer will be installed into the Starboard Block. This time, I used a Fein tool 3/4" wide saw blade to make "Key" under cuts, about 1/4" wide and over 1/4" deep. The side cuts are angled out at 45* in both directions so there is a large surface which will allow the G Flex epoxy to give great adhesion to the transom.
There were also several pieces of teak "glued" to the galley counter with 5200. I used DeBond, and 7 strand leader (as a saw, with sinkers on both ends, to cut the 5200. Galley counter polished up like new. We are a two induction stove galley now. (Back up is a propane in the cockpit)

The "old" boat C Dory 22--with two bids on it--is also getting a spiffing up, so the new owner will not have to clean. Same thing--all out, scrub with cleaning solution and scrub brush. Then hose out, and mop dry.

The afternoon thunderstorms have cooled things off. But the Air temp inside the boats gets up over 100* as the day wears on. Our pool is also 79*, and feels great after the exertion of cleaning. Not the most fun stuff, but anything to do with C Dorys is a pleasure.
 
Put in Ikea floor in cockpit. The material is Ikea Runnen wood decking. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90234226/

The tiles are wood slats on a plastic carrier. The carrier has little legs so it the tiles stand off the cockpit floor a la Dri-Deck tiles. This lets water run under the tiles to the cockpit sump.

The notes with the decking says that if they wear or age you can revarnish them. Since these tiles are going to be fairly exposed, I varnished them up front before I put them in. Out of the box, the wood is stained, but does not appear to be sealed, so preemptive varnish is probably a good idea. The tiles are easy to trim using a bandsaw.

It took about 3.5 packs of the tiles and about 2/3 of a quart of varnish. All in it is about US$150.

We'll see how well the hold up. But it certainly looks better than the black utility mats we were using before.

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SoBelle, looks great!

Replaced all 5 Chinese trailer tires at 48 months from date of mfg with
Goodyear Endurance ST 235/80/16R Load Range E (12,000# total) Made in USA trailer tires for just under a Boat Unit. Eileen is much happier (since it took the two of us to man-handle the spare during our 3 blow-outs (more like 'exploding trailer tires'
experiences on I-10 and one nail puncture (saved by the TST alarms).
Installed a new 6-tire TST system (over 7 years old, expect sensor batteries to last 5 years) $279 all included.
Next up, replace the EOH trailer back-up breakaway battery at 4 years from mfg in (you guessed it) China.
Double tied all lines, and checked bilge pumps for TS Alberto (we like Rule Gold with 5 year no-hassle warranty for 20% more).
Gears up for our Chesapeake Adventure in 5 days!
Happy Boating!
John
 
I hauled out the Pocket Yacht, brought her into the yard and gave her a through pressure washing, inside and out. Laid the canvas out on a tarp in the driveway and gave it a through scrubbing, then I steel wooled the grunge line on the hull and finally pushed her off to the side for further mechanical maint. After that, I went in and sat down with 3 fingers of Scotch feeling everyone of my 78 years. :smilep
 
Capn Jack":qt7rzo4v said:
then I steel wooled the grunge line on the hull and finally pushed her off to the side for further mechanical maint.. :smilep
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I am wondering why you used steel wool? There are a number of products which will remove the material, and avoid leaving potential rust stains on the hull? There is bronze wool if you have to use something that abrasive. But in most cases the nylon pads in various grits do the job, and are much easier on the hull.
 
We hauled No Pressure out today for bottom paint and a long list of scheduled maintenance/minor repairs. We dived yesterday because it might be awhile before we're back in business.

I ran at 25 knots from Redondo Beach to Long Beach this morning, pounding the moderate chop all the way. With all of our dive gear out of the boat it felt like it was flying. I made 2.4 mpg during the hour plus run. We usually average 1.7 mpg.

The real fun was watching the tow company maneuver the boat into the ten foot door at SOS Marine. The boat made it in the shop without a scrape.

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The rest of the photo series is at
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php
 
Yesterday, (With great effort) :smilep
I lifted the 6 hp Evinrude off of Pocket Yacht's transom and took it into my garage for some much needed work. I hadn't used it in two years, other than to see if it would run and the tilt pivot was frozen up. :sad

After several hours of heat and penetrating fluids I was able to free it up. I then added a couple of more grease fittings to strategic places and re installed the motor. :wink
 
I finally got tired of not hearing radio transmissions, and installed an external VHF speaker today. Neither radio had a jack, so I had to hardwire it in.

The trailer got four new ST 205/75 R14 Goodyear Endurance (Made in USA) load range D tires this morning. Max pressure 65 PSI, for a load of 2040 pounds per tire.
 
I spent my 82 birthday in the trailer shop--getting to the point of letting someone who knows what they are dong do the work....Oh yes?? Last night the shop called and said the installation of electric over hydraulic was done...I had wanted to use the build in brake controller on our Yukon XL. Well, they worked for 2 more hours and could not get it to work. Something about not enough voltage.

So, I did a little research--and found that there was a relay for the 40 amp 12 volt controlling circuit--and if that relay was not hooked up, or working--no power to the trailer brakes. The trailer shop didn't know that--so this morning they found the relay, wired all properly.

We took the boat to the ramp--I had lowered the target bunks, and put slicks on them, as well the first 4 feet of the main bunks--with a little liquid rollers. This time I backed the trailer right along side the pier, we walked the boat to where the bow was starting on the target bunks, and then I attached the strap, and winched her right up all of the way--no more power loading!!!

To top the day off, I scraped 2" of small muscles (invasive species???) off the two depth sounder transducers (gong to paint them with anti fouling tomorrow!, and pressure washed the lower hull and bottom--Tomorrow I will "Rejex" The rest of the hull--the cabin is already done, and we will finish loading for the River Adventures of 2018!

How blessed we are! I am feeling better than I have in many years, I have a wonderful soulmate of over 40 years and a faithful poodle--plus many wonderful friends--including the C brats! Thank you all!
 
Finally got a new smartcraft gauge in Midnight Flyer. My Tach was on the fritz, and I've been thinking for several years to find a way to hook up my Mercury 115hp EFI 4-Stroke to work on my Garmin GPSMAP 840 Guage page. Gave up on that idea when I found a better priced SC1000 gauge. Removed the old tach, made a spacer, and placed the new gauge in that spot. Now I can see digital readings of my RPMs, Fuel flow and fuel used, along with a few other specs in the same place. The harness that comes with the new gauge is only 3 feet long, so I had to order a longer harness to reach from the engine. Even it wasn't long enough, but I was able to splice two harnesses together. All works great, at least on the muffs. We'll see how it works on the water next week at Alton.
Also replaced two of the trailer tires (on one axle, the other is still good for another year). Stayed with the Carlisles (Radial Trail HT)as they have worked well for me.
Also replaced all 4 tires on my F150 tow vehicle. Stayed with the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT's, as they too have been working well.
Lastly, I noticed my electric brakes brake away battery was not charging during my last tow. Remembering I had pinched the tow harness a while back moving the boat & trailer with my little tractor, I untaped the harness and found a broken wire. Fixed that, retaped, and back in business. Colby
 
Another great summer traveling on the boat. Tonight as I sit here at a cute little campground on my way home from my last boating trip of the season, I did some figuring. Since March of this year I have put 15,000 miles on the boat trailer! Since May 10th I’ve only been home about 4 weeks all summer! (Usually only a few days to a week at a time!) That’s 31000 miles with the boat in the last two years! Colby
 
Flushed out the water tank and flooded it with the Pink RV antifreeze. Set up the dehumidifiers and the BatterMinder's for storage for a while to bring every thing to dry and charged. Have some cleaning to finish and get it pretty again.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Yesterday went with two friends (both experienced boaters) and we went through Rich Passage, then around Vashon Island. We hit an unexpected fog bank, and it actually was kind of useful. I had never traveled in fog, and there was hardly any traffic. So got practice using radar and charts, AIS, and smart phones (show what the ferries are doing). Only puzzle was a small anchored fishing skiff did not register on the radar, and we were as close as 100 feet. Otherwise an unusually warm sunny day.
 
Only puzzle was a small anchored fishing skiff did not register on the radar, and we were as close as 100 feet. Otherwise an unusually warm sunny day.
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Not too surprising. Many small boats do not have material or flat surfaces to give good radar returns. The new digital radars seem better for these targets.

We found that in heavy fog and dark conditions, we kept radar on short range- and turned gain up. Often "auto" does not give the best picture. If I saw several blips, even if not consistent, there usually was a small boat there--went very slow, with lookout on the bow (Larger boats).
 
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