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  1. skipjack27

    Does a bow thruster make up for having only one engine?

    Where I live (Perth, Western Australia) river currents and local winds can making docking in pens difficult. In buying a new boat (motor cruiser in the range of 35-39'), I'm torn between two engines (twice as expensive to maintain, but much more maneuverable), and one engine (cheaper, but hard...
  2. skipjack27

    Are 15-amp circuit breakers adequate?

    I'm in the process of replacing my old fuse panel with a new circuit breaker panel. This panel controls 6 items of equipment (e.g., radio, bilge pump, wipers, sounder, etc). The original panel featured fuses varying from 5 to 15 amps, depending on the particular item. The new panel, however, has...
  3. skipjack27

    Sea Ray and balsa core bottoms

    A friend has recently (in unseemly haste, I fear) bought a 40ft Sea Ray 400 Sedan Bridge (built in 2002) - which, as I understand it, are the models that suffered serious problems of rot in their balsa core bottom. He got it extremely cheaply: $60k, when very similar boats retail in my area for...
  4. skipjack27

    How to get that diesel out of the boat

    I'm very interested in a powerboat around 35-37 feet in length that has a roomy aft cabin with double bed and ensuite. There are a number of models around that fill the bill here, and they are mostly variants of one kind or another of the general "Grand Banks" clipper design. The problem with...
  5. skipjack27

    Towing an inflatable

    I have a 27' flybridge cruiser with a 200hp Volvo AQD41A engine and Duoprop 290 leg. I'd like to buy an inflatable boat to use as a tender - something that could carry around 4 adults, and be somewhere in the range of 2.5-3.0 m in length. My cruiser is already underpowered (2 engines is more...
  6. skipjack27

    How to fix freshwater system problem

    I have a 27' flybridge cruiser with a freshwater tank and pump that reticulates to 8 hot and cold water taps (sink, washbasin, and 2 showers) on board. It has quite suddenly refused to turn off after being turned on and pumping up to pressure. It happily supplies water to all outlets, but will...
  7. skipjack27

    BBQs on the boat: what's the deal?

    I'm a bit confused about how to safely go about having bbqs on my boat. I've got a 27' fiberglass motor cruiser. Special purpose boat bbqs that sit on the edge of the deck are expensive and difficult to use. Is there any real reason for not having a standard portable gas bbq on a table on the...
  8. skipjack27

    Volvo duoprop 290: how to tell what size?

    I have a 27 ft flybridge cabin cruiser weighing about 3 tons unloaded. Engine Volvo AQAD41A with duoprop 290 leg with an A2 props. Had the engine rebuilt recently and the mechanic remarked that the turbocharger was barely cutting in WOT. He thought the boat was underpropped and suggested...
  9. skipjack27

    Serious overheating puzzle

    I have a Volvo 200hp 1987 model AQAD41A diesel, with a DP290 leg. I am being plagued by a serious overheating problem in which the engine temperature alarms go off and the gauge shows the temperature seriously over the limit. This has happened on 4 separate occasions so far, and there are now...
  10. skipjack27

    Clever ideas for simple watertank level indicatior?

    Does anyone have some off-the-wall ideas, tricks, techniques, ideas, simple devices for telling how much water is left in a boat's freshwater tank? My boat has a 75 gallon galvanised iron tank which is (very roughly) 5 x 1 x 1.5 feet in size. I'm not keen on elaborate sensor/electronic...
  11. skipjack27

    Headset walkie-talkie for on-deck communication

    Here's one of those problems that you feel certain the internet will solve for you in a trice- but, as it turns out, no amount of investigation has brought up a satisfactory answer: I have a relatively small boat (27 ft), but communicating with deck crew (my wife) by shouting from the flybridge...
  12. skipjack27

    How to look after a "new" diesel

    Some on this forum will recall providing me with useful and interesting advice in relation to overheating, oil breather discharges, etc, for my Volvo Penta 200HP AQAD41A diesel (DP290 leg). The prevailing view was that in the long run there were no satisfactory "fixes" for these problems, and...
  13. skipjack27

    Painting props

    My props (Volvo Duoprop 290 leg - contrarotating) are heavily subject to electrolytic corrosion - for complex reasons I won't bore anyone with. One of the best defences against this, I have been advised, is a really solid antifoul/paint coating that stays on. Does anyone have any advice as to...
  14. skipjack27

    Antifoul stains on gelcoat

    I posted a query on this last year, but didn't get replies from anyone who definitely knew what to do - although there were some interesting and useful suggestions. I've still to get a satisfactory answer, though, and the same problem has arisen this year on slipping my boat. I have some...
  15. skipjack27

    Oil additives for blowby problem?

    I'd much appreciate opinions and experience re the use of oil additives to ameliorate blowby problems in my Volvo Penta AQAD41A (1987 model). I've previously recounted on this forum my problem with oil squirting out of the crankcase breather at high revs, and received a great deal of very...
  16. skipjack27

    Rampant overheating after starting, then perfect

    I think this must be a thermostat problem, but would love to hear other opinions: 200hp Volvo AQAD41A driving a duoprop 290 leg, with a problem that has emerged recently. I start the engine and move off at a low cruising speed (usually around 2000rpm or so). The engine begins to overheat...
  17. skipjack27

    Why doesn't my engine act its age?

    I have a major puzzle that I'd love someone to throw some light on. The puzzle was actually broached in an earlier thread on a crankcase breather problem, but I'm reluctant to pursue it further there. I received much invaluable advice in that thread and I'm reluctant to impose further on those...
  18. skipjack27

    Crankcase breather squirting oil

    I'd be interested to know if anyone has any bright ideas on how to deal with this problem. I have a 200 HP Volvo AQAD41A driving a Duoprop 290 leg. The boat is a 27' fibreglass flybridge launch, weighing around 3 tons. The engine is 23 years old and has around 1400 hours on the clock. As far...
  19. skipjack27

    Disassembling saloon table

    Hi All See attach pic. I want to remove the table top from the lower pedestal (without wrestling with almost unmoveable screws). Loosening the gripper allows the top shaft supporting the table to slide up and down, so that table height can be adjusted. The top shaft cannot be removed from...
  20. skipjack27

    How to remove an antifoul stain on gelcoat

    My boat has a white fibreglass hull. When last slipped, it appears that some drops of black antifoul paint from a painting exercise on an adjacent boat splashed onto the sides of my hull. How can I remove the resulting stains without damaging the gelcoat? I've tried polishing with quite...
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