Search results

  1. tpenfield

    Water System Enhancements

    As I gain experience with my 'new-to-me' boat, I seem to continually come up with ideas on how to make things a bit better. This weekend was the water system . . . it has a fairly large water tank in the bow and a pressure pump. There is a deck fitting up by the anchor locker. However, as I...
  2. tpenfield

    Boating Accident at the Tappan Zee Bridge . . Fatalities and Serious injuries

    Just saw this on CNN . . . a Stingray bowrider hit a barge at the Tappan Zee Bridge (Hudson River, NY) last night . . . Boating accident leaves 1 dead, 1 missing from wedding party - CNN.com The people involved were to be married in a couple of weeks. Tragic. . .
  3. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    I've been wanting to get an outboard motor for the dinghy that I made a while ago. Today I picked up an engine . . . Mercury 7.5 HP, twin cylinder Looks to be a 1970's vintage motor. When my brother was about 16 years old, he bought one of these brand new. Looks just like it. :thumb: I...
  4. tpenfield

    Bravo Trim Cylinder Maximum Extension Length Question . . .

    Hi Folks: I am doing a little bit of design work for a D-I-Y "mechanical trim indicator system", and in the process I am trying to find any published specification to the Bravo Trim cylinders. (FWIW - I am tired of the inaccuracies of the regular trim/tilt gauge so I want to go with a...
  5. tpenfield

    Great White Sharks Visit Cape Cod . . . (again)

    Shark Sightings Rattle Nerves Along Cape Cod Coast - ABC News Years and years ago, shark sightings around Cape Cod seemed to be rare. . . but now we are getting an annual pilgrimage of sharks, mostly to the Chatham & outer Cape area, where there are seal populations. IIRC, scientists have...
  6. tpenfield

    Swim Ladder Down !!!

    Yea, so this weekend I forgot to raise the swim ladder before starting the engines and proceeding away from where we were anchored. Once I gave the steering wheel a turn the oversight became audibly obvious as the prop struck the ladder in a rapid grinding fashion . . . :facepalm: No harm...
  7. tpenfield

    Got into a sailboat race yesterday . . .

    Of course not my my sailboat . . . instead with my 33 foot powerboat :eek: We happened to be heading out of the harbor yesterday morning and as we came up the channel, I noticed the local yacht club was having a sailboat race (12 foot sailboats). The sailboats usually race in the harbor and...
  8. tpenfield

    Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

    Yea, so I did some searching here and found a few threads, but nothing definitive. I refueled my boat (or should I say added a bit of fuel) this weekend on the water at its mooring with 20 gallons using 5 gallon cans. I have done it in the past on my other boat, and was remembering what a PITA...
  9. tpenfield

    Sanitation (waste) system design/alteration question

    I have a fairly complete sanitation system on my 'new' boat, similar to the design illustration below . . . the system appears to be designed to take in sea water as its water source for the toilet, and then I have it set to discharge into the holding tank (not over board). I would like to...
  10. tpenfield

    Bilge water on a seasonally moored boat . . .

    I did a bit of search for discussions on this sort of topic, but did not come up with much. So, I figured that I would pose the question . . . here is my boat on its mooring for the season With the significant rains that we've been having over the past couple of weeks, a fair amount of rain...
  11. tpenfield

    Wind & Wave Forecast site . . .

    I recently found a web site that gives pretty good wind and wave forecasts. It is mostly intended for kite boarders and wind surfers, but I have found it useful for planning boating activities too . . . Just wanted to share and see if anyone else uses this site or something like it. BTW -...
  12. tpenfield

    Honoring those that have served in the military

    and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Take a moment (or two) to reflect on this Memorial Day weekend. :usa2: Everybody be safe in your travels and activities.
  13. tpenfield

    Converting a Cuddy into a Bowrider

    I came accross this article about a man who converted a 1987 Formula 23 foot cuddy into a bowrider. Buying and Restoring Used Boats | Boating Magazine Just wanted to share for those who may not have seen it. The end result looks pretty impressive. Totally factory looking. :thumb: Seeing...
  14. tpenfield

    Trim System Issue / Bravo 3 outdrive won't stay up

    As I'm getting the boat ready for splash day in about 2 weeks, I have noticed that the Port Outdrive does not want to stay up . . . slowly lowering itself over the course of a day or 2 :facepalm: I did some measuring over time yesterday, and it looks like the trim cylinders collaspe at about...
  15. tpenfield

    New Wheel Bearings for the Ford Explorer

    My 2004 Ford Explorer has gone through a major round of brake, tire and suspension work recently. I have a local repair shop that does a pretty good job at a decent price. I usually bring the car to him for the stuff that I'd rather not do, or just don't have the proper equipment/tools to do . ...
  16. tpenfield

    Eisenglass General Cleaning Product(s)

    My 'new' boat came with a full camper enclosure with all the associated 'eisenglass' (a.k.a. clear plastic). I managed to put the thing up this weekend . . . that only took about 1 hour !?!? :rolleyes: The Previous Owner (PO) told me that he never used the 'glass' panels and enclosure, he...
  17. tpenfield

    Heavy Lifting - of 33 foot boat for bottom painting

    Hi Folks - This weekend I was sanding the hull of my 'new-to-me' boat (Formula 33 foot) in order to get ready for painting of a Barrier coat and then an Anti-fouling paint. The boat is currently on blocks and stands, the thing weighs approximately 9,000 lbs . . . So, there are 2 areas, fore...
  18. tpenfield

    I Found a Crack in My Seat

    . . . boat seat that is . . . As I was cleaning and bleaching the cockpit and compartments yesterday, I looked under the rear seat and noticed a crack in the fiberglass base of one of the rear seats. This particular seat is a cantilever base and is part of the rear "U" shape seating. Here is...
  19. tpenfield

    Relocated the Bilge Pump

    Since I have been going through my 'new-to-me' boat and getting everything ready for launching in May, I decided to relocate the bilge pump. The thing about bilge pumps is that they are typically located at the furthest point from where the water is . . . which in a power boat is near the...
  20. tpenfield

    New Exhaust Shutters

    Well, i found the backing plates for the exhaust shutters in the exhaust ducts of one of the outdrives when I took them off last fall. So, I am assuming that the shutters are vaporized and should be replaced . . . probably both engines. It seems that the Mercruiser part is 807166A1 (replaced...
Top