Recent content by Home Cookin'

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    LED trailer light malfunction

    I have 6 year old LED lights on the trailer--they have about a dozen small lights in the circle of the lens, license light and side light. One quit working but I found a bad connection upstream. The other, only one of the dozen lights lights up. It's getting power, although it seems weak, the...
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    Best boating experience ever

    So I saw this ad on Craig's list that seemed too good to be true, but everything was accurate: I was able to buy a 25 year old Bayliner bowrider 16' for $600 in perfect condition, even though it had been left outside in the rain uncovered all its life. it hadn't been run in 6 years (owner had...
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    Boat and dock bumper (rail) idea

    I saw an interesting idea in the form of a craigslist ad--the seller worked on escalators, and he had long pieces of used escalator handrails from ones he had renovated. he put his ad in the boat section, for use on piers and docks, and he said they were non-marring. Install with SS screws...
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    simple custom boat cover frame

    I've dealt with sags, tried well-placed planks, straps on poles, etc. and then came up with this easy one. Get the metal saw-horse kits--you supply the 2x4 legs that slide into the joint. Cut them low so when they stand in the boat the top is the right height for your cover. the legs go toward...
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    I/O vs outboard

    Re: I/O vs outboard Girl--outboard--pole in hand--fish on--and no "sundeck" in the way! Dr. Julie Ball, one of the top fishers of the mid Atlantic/Chesapeake Bay:
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    general outboard repair section

    you have a "general outboard (no repair)" forum but that is where many repiar questions are posted. Then you have the brand-specific forums for repairs but they aren't used much. For that reason, a question about fuel, lower units, batteries, performance, lower units, go into the general...
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    Can LU oil leak out with no water getting in?

    I checked my LU this weekend after some funky sounds going on and found that it drained out a half quart although it holds a little more than a quart. The oil was very black and stinky, but no evidence of water (not milky, not white, not streaked. Drained w/in an hour of running it.) So the...
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    prop nut failure and prevention

    my prop came off when I was finally able to get a restoration project in the water! Luckily it was at the pier, and at high tide, and later a diver retrieved the prop, but I still lost the nuts, bushings, etc. and had to put the boat away another 2 weeks. When shopping online for the parts...
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    Repair a Lenco actuator?

    Anyone open up and repair a Lenco actuator? mine still makes noise--not good noise--but doesn't raise/lower, and it has been hanging up before it quit. Already spoke with lenco; too old for help. But he did advise against backing hard while the tabs are down... Anyway I thought I might...
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    removing rust from inside metal 6 gal tank?

    I have an old 6 gal OMC tank that hasn't been used for 20 years; looks great on the outside and I want to use it in my old whaler, but the bottom (inside) has a coat of rust. What's the best method to remove it?
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    small fixes for big problems

    I find outboards interesting--and frustrating--in that they can fail for small problems yet power through big ones, and despite the beatings they take, are vulnerable to seemingly minor issues. Last Sunday evening I was headed out and my neighbor was lowering his lift; I joked that I hadn't run...
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    heat alarm at high RPM

    I think I know the answer but thought I'd throw it out there: this weekend my boat suddenly sounded the heat alarm; we stopped immediately. it would sound when you turned the key without starting; this continued about 5-10 minutes after the first time. Towed it to the house. It just had a new...
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    repairing a broken radio antenna

    I stupidly broke my radio antenna going under a low bridge. I'm thinking I'll just slide a piece of PVC over the break and fiberglass it. Anyone else fixed one? You don't have to admit you broke yours; just say it was "a friend."
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    operation dry water this weekend

    Warning from Virginia VDGIF website: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/outdoor...tion-dry-water Virginia boaters, take note that June 28th-30th, Conservation Police Officers with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) will be patrolling Virginia's waterways looking for boat...
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    removing stickers with a heat gun--careful!

    Yesterday I was removing numbers and stickers from a whaler I am fixing up and used the iBoats recommended method of a heat gun. The letters (maybe 48 years old?) came off fine, but the registration sticker was tougher. Got down to about 1988 when they got stubborn, I got impatient, and then...
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