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  1. l008com

    Coast Guard Plates

    Is there some rule/law against modifying the coast guard plate on a boat? "modifying" might not be the right word. But take mine for example: Seconds after taking that picture, I drilled a hole through it, right around the "X" in "MAXIMUM". Now there is a screw where the "XI" used to be. On...
  2. l008com

    Noise Cancelation

    So I started installing my stereo, but I haven't finished yet. The main unit is still not installed, but the two primary speakers are. Two 6.5's. So I'm driving around in my boat, not listening to tunes, instead listening to my loud outboard. After 3-4 hours of driving, you really start to get a...
  3. l008com

    Where Can You Ski Near Boston?

    I'm looking for some places to start skiing again near Boston. Freshwater only, I don't plan on skiing out in the ocean. The lower Mystic lake would be a perfect place to ski, damn massachusetts hippies! (looks in mirror, doh!). But where else? I know you can ski in Derry NH, which is about 35...
  4. l008com

    Warm Battery?

    Is it normal for my battery to get pretty warm after a few hours of boating? I have a 90hp Merc outboard. It starts pretty quick. As far as electronics, all I currently have are some LED nav lights, and a basic depth finder with a watch-style numeric LCD. All together, my accessory draw on the...
  5. l008com

    Cushion Insert Hardware

    My boat is a bow rider. Eventually I'm going to re-do the bow seats (maybe this winter). When I do this, I'm thinking I might make a third piece that would "fill in the whole", so the entire bow would be padded. In case I want to take a nap out at sea :D So I was thinking about how I could...
  6. l008com

    Velcro Battery Strap?

    http://www.iboats.com/Battery-Box-Strap/dm/*******.809334971--**********.446883576--view_id.49432 All of the battery straps I see on this site have those pain in the *** clips. They're pretty easy to tighten, and really hard to release. Anyone know where I can get a velcro strap?
  7. l008com

    Stalling After Rough Seas

    I've got a 1989 triple carbureted 3-cylender, 2-cycle Mercury. Generally, the motor runs awesome. But it has a very specific quirk. If I go out in the harbor and get bounced around, and then I idle my engine, it will die. It doesn't have to be right away though. I can be out getting bounced...
  8. l008com

    Small Boats & Hurricanes

    So it looks like Boston is going to get a hurricane in a few days. We haven't had one of those in quite a while. So my 15' boat lives on a trailer in my driveway. There aren't many trees around so it should be safe from that. Although the trailer itself could easily blow away. I figure I'll hook...
  9. l008com

    How To Pick LEDs?

    Eventually, I'd like to use two of the spare switches on my 8 switch panel, to wires up some LEDs in my boat. Not goofy blue LEDs for looks. I want to install some bright white LEDs around the engine, and underneath around the gas tank and battery, and a few other key places. Then on the other...
  10. l008com

    Upholstery How-To's?

    I'm thinking I'll try reupholstering my bow seats myself this fall or next season, before spending the money having them professionally done. I'll be starting from scratch, using the old rotted boards as a template on some fresh plywood. But I've never done anything like this before and will be...
  11. l008com

    I Need Magnets!!

    The more I think about it, the more I think using magnets to keep my bow seat cushions, and bow compartment kick panels in place, is the right idea. So I need magnets that are ideally made for this application. Magnets that come inside brackets of some kind. Brackets that have screw holes so I...
  12. l008com

    What's it called? [Update: Split Wire Loom]

    I need something for my boat but I don't know what it's called. It's basically a thin-walled plastic hose, available in different diameters. It has a slit down the length of the hose (so a cross section would be like a letter "C" but with the ends touching). You can slip this stuff around wires...
  13. l008com

    Listing Problem

    My boat has developed an odd behavior. It lists sharply to the left when I plane out. Which is weird because I would have thought that uneven weight would have caused the boat to tip more when you're going slow. And once you plane out, shouldn't the lean tend to go away, or at least diminish? So...
  14. l008com

    Battening Down the Hatches... (kinda, not really)

    I need some hardware. I'm not sure exactly what kind. Here's the problem I'm looking to solve: I have two front seats in my bow that originally hinged up to reveal storage compartments. And under the dashboard, my boat has a pair of kick-panels that form walls to those very same compartments...
  15. l008com

    S Clips for Docking

    The dock at my local public boat launch was rebuilt this spring. The new dock has no cleats. Instead it has this funny 5" high wooden railing around the edge. Which I really don't get. So I use pre spliced dock line and now I have noplace to hook on to. And most of the time, I'm launching my...
  16. l008com

    Boat Covers

    I'm thinking about getting a cover like this for my boat, for the winter. (the top one with the 7 year warranty). Is a cover like this good for the winter & snow? Is it waterproof? Occasionally I need to keep the boat dry after working on it. AND yes I will be supporting the cover when I wrap it...
  17. l008com

    Changing Gear Oil Details

    So I googled up the procedure for changing gear oil, and I found plenty of youtube videos showing me the process. It doesn't look so hard. And so the questions I have are: What kind of oil should I use to replace it? How much oil does it take? I have an '89 mercury 3cyl 90HP
  18. l008com

    Small Boat Steering Systems 101

    I need to learn about steering systems, steering systems for ~15' boats like mine. What kind of system do I have now? What other kinds of systems are available? What are the pros and cons of each? Are there any ways I can improve my steering system, and if not, is there a better system to...
  19. l008com

    Floor Grinding - I Need A Better Plan

    I'm grinding the paint off my old floor. I borrowed my uncles air compressor and air grinder tool. What I didn't realize at the time was that the air compressor is severely inadequate for constant use of the grinder tool. I originally planed on working on it all weekend long, and finishing the...
  20. l008com

    Seat Installation: Do Bolts Like This Exist?

    Does anything like this exist? This would be a perfect bolt to attach my pedestals to the floor. I'd push these bolts through a 2 x 12, cut shallow 1/8th inch holes in the wood to sink the heads so they were flush. Then glue the flush side down to the floor to just the spines were sticking up...
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