Boat Forum / Building / September 2007

I've got a 1966 Hinckley Pilot with a 1978 Westerbeke 40 HP diesel
that is probably on its last legs.  Would much appreciate anyone's
wisdom/experience on choosing a replacement diesel.  My yard is
recommending another Westerbeke but all the sailors I talk to say

Can anyone tell me how to polish raw stainless steel to get the nice
shiny finish? I can get it up to a satin  "brushed finish" with a belt
sander, but I'd like to get it a bit nicer as its for my chainplates
and bolted for all to see on a bulkhead. They are  316L btw, if that

I am planning to build a hard dodger for my sailboat. I'm fairly
mechanically skilled, and accustomed to working with my hands, but
have never worked with fiberglass repair/construction.
So I'm planning to make a dinghy or kayak before I make the dodger, to

I have asked a few questions recently about replacing my rudder and tiller
on my Potter 15.
For the moment I have found a piece of oak where the grain has the same
curves as the old laminated/delaminated tiller.  Used it today; worked fine

I am milling 16' lengths of western red cedar into strips for a jollyboat.
This wood is fresh from the forest and is moist to touch.
Can I have some opinions on what the surface moisture shld be before I
epoxy and FG this stuff?

... While the GPS technology does not really need a lot of space, the
software that adds the functionalities expected by the consumer,
actually does. The software once created, gets improved by getting
smaller...

Does anyone know where to get 5x10 plywood panels?   In Houston?

I bought a complete Sunfish, fairly old one, and am looking for a book or
website that can help me upgrade the beast.  I know that there has been a
lot of Sunfish renewal going on--can someone point me in the direction of
the collected wisdom on this topic?

Please digital plan, pleeeeaaasssseeee!
Zoran,Croatia

I have an old Mastercraft inboard ski boat that I need some help with
fixing.  Where the shaft of the prop goes through the hull there is a
metal plate.  The edges around the plate were leaking and it was
sealed with silicon.  I cut out the gobs of silicon that were there

So I've reclaimed our family's old Lido 14, and I'm going to start the restoration process
on it.  The guy that had been "taking care" of it for the past few years let the poor boat
just sit and gather dirt.  He sanded the hull down (apparently intending to repaint it),
but never ...

I have a small (14 foot) grp boat which needs some repair work done to the
hull and cuddy.
My question is which type of resin should I use for the repair - epoxy or
polyester resin?

Hi, I have a large sportfisher that I want close up the salon
windshield with a solid fiberglass panel.  I was going to cover the
windows with plywood and then fiberglass over it.  I was going to use
epoxy & glass versus polyester & glass.  Can I connect the new epoxy

Couple of questions
   How do you handle the molded in non skid?
   What do you clean with prior to so you're sure all wax, etc is gone?
 Thanks

Does anyone know what is going on with Glenn Ashmore and his boat
building project?