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  1. LaqueRatt

    Steering Wheel for Tiller Boat?

    As some of you know I have a small alum fishing boat. An older 14' MirroCraft. With all the weight in the back when I'm running solo it doesn't like to plane at low speed. Was thinking if I was sitting further forward it would perform better for me. Is it feasible to install a steering wheel...
  2. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    OK, I get it Jim, but why do I have this feeling that if I go into the local hdw they'll look at me like I'm nuts if I ask for aluminum bows? Is there another name for them? I know the local hardwares pretty well, but don't recall seeing much of any kind of aluminum stock.
  3. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    Thanks Jim. I'll get the heavier brackets, but may cheap out and go with wood bows since I should be able to make them easily and pretty much for free. If my efforts fail, then I'll seek out something sturdier. A few years, actually more than a few years ago, I had a shortbed Chevy with a soft...
  4. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    Ended up using a combination of roscoe's neighbor and dingbat's ideas for the Mirro. It'll do for now. Flipping the AlumaCraft took me about 10 minutes. Why the flip was I so flipping worried about flipping that flipping boat?!
  5. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    QFT = Quality Fun Time? He's becoming a good first mate as we both learn how to live with a boat in the family. Lacking side bunks he mans the winch while Papa keeps the boat from getting too squirrelly. I'll be flipping the smaller boat today with an 8' 2x handy just in case I have problems...
  6. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    Actually the 2x4 lever idea had just come to mind, but I was thinking maybe I could attach it to the transom handles. Think Scott's idea is mo' bettah. Gonna give it a try tomorrow. Imminent rain threat went poof, but still want to get the boats ready for a 3-4 mo. nap. Maybe I'm overthinking...
  7. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    Damn you guys are good! A couple quick questions. Aren't the corners of 2x4s tough on the cover in the wind? How do you keep the PVC from falling over or do you cinch the cover up so tight they can't move? Any thoughts on equally easy methods of flipping a 14' 175 lb boat upside down without...
  8. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    Thanks for all the ideas gentlemen. Lots of food for thought, I'd have never though of most of this stuff on my own. I just don't want to ruin the cover and so far the weather has cooperated with no real snow to speak of yet. I'm just a bit worried what an inch or more of rain we are supposed to...
  9. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    OK, cool. At least now I know what stuff is called. What's good to cut the bows out of? I suppose plywood could work, but strips of pine might be better? I can rip them to size. Is there a standard size? I'll look here on iboats and see what they got. How many do you guys think I need? 3 maybe?
  10. LaqueRatt

    Boat Cover Ribs/Braces

    Not sure what you would call them, but looking for a simple idea to keep the cover on my 14' Mirrocraft from caving in from rain and snow. Have bucket underneath it now to raise the center, but it's less than ideal. Been thinking of using some 1/2" PVC for bows in 3 places, but can't figure out...
  11. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    Would you say these are better than the X shaped ones in the link Scott posted? Just finishing up getting ready for winter. Hoping to get this motor back on the stand next week for some minor tweaking. Dug up the missing reverse lockout lever which I need to install. Hopefully the days of the...
  12. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    Yes, the gasket I removed was flat. Not sure if original but it was made of cork and promptly turned into a potato chip after it started to dry out. I bought some gasket material that was as close as I could find and cut a new one. Worked great at first, but ever since I took that fuel bowl off...
  13. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    Have to say I agree with you. It's a bit of a odd mix on this forum and noobs sometimes aren't too well tolerated. Good bunch of guys though and amazingly helpful......most of the time! Thanks to you all. I learn something here every time I log in.
  14. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    Wow, cool. Thanks for the link. The only experience I've had with larger O rings is for oil filters. Guess you boat guys use them a lot more than car guys. Oh wow, looks like I just advanced in rank! Shouldn't I also get a bump in my pay scale? LOL
  15. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    How do you make them? Seems like you'd have to fuse the ends together somehow or it would leak where the ends meet. I also tried unsuccessfully to make a rubber gasket out of inner tube.
  16. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    Why would it not be hard to find? I don't have an old one to match up you know. The original was cork. The local hardware carries O rings, but this is bigger than your typical O ring. I have a couple assortments but they are the size of a nickel and smaller. The bowl is about the size of half of...
  17. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    I guess that's an option, but I'm thinking an O ring of the correct size may be hard to find. The bowl is about 2" across. I had a paper gasket for a Chevy water pump that was the perfect size. Didn't work. Cut one from some standard, but thick paper gasket material. It leaked like crazy too...
  18. LaqueRatt

    McCulloch Leaking Filter Bowl

    My 14 HP McCulloch seems to like to leak around the gasket. Replaced it earlier this year with one I cut from cork/rubber stock from the auto parts. Worked like a charm. For awhile. Then it started leaking again. So I cut another gasket and doubled up. Worked fine for the rest of the season...
  19. LaqueRatt

    Old I/Os = Money Pits?

    Respirator? What's a respirator? Just kidding. I gotta confess though that in my younger days when I was doing most of my glass work, snowmobiles mainly, I never even wore a dust mask. Generally I wasn't doing a tremendous amount of grinding though. I do wear a proper respirator when doing paint...
  20. LaqueRatt

    Old I/Os = Money Pits?

    You guys have addressed most of my concerns and I thank you all for that. I just knew something was fishy (pun intended!) seeing fairly decent looking boats for almost free. Most that supposedly still ran. I'm still not real clear on how to find the rare gem that I can just spiff up a bit and...
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