Boat Maintenance

On my 40’ wood boat Daybreak I had a stuffing box problem. The gland leaked worse and worse, especially when motoring. It is very inaccessible, and could not be further tightened. The stuffing box needed to be repacked, but this couldn’t be done without major effort because of insufficient space between the gland and the shaft coupling at the transmission. The Lasdrop shaft seal looked like it might solve several problems at the same time.

On most trailerable boats, when the mast is stowed for travel it is lashed to the bow pulpit and stern rail with no support at all in the middle.

While permeation of waste gases through flexible sanitation hose is a major source of odors in the head, it is not the only one. This article looks at the possible sources one by one.

Winterizing an inboard engine installation means a lot more than filling the cooling system with antifreeze and stuffing a rag in the exhaust outlet. It means taking care of the exhaust system, the fuel system, the engine controls, and other components of the drive train, such as the shaft and prop. If you want to do these things yourself none of them is difficult, only time consuming plan on a long day of work, or perhaps a leisurely weekend.

The largest fasteners in any sailboat with outside ballast are likely to be the bolts holding the ballast keel to the hull. As a rule, designers specify keelbolts by a tremendous factor, on the order of ten to one or more. Nevertheless, this safety margin does not guarantee eternal life for keelbolts. Corrosion takes its toll, sometimes more quickly than you might think.

For the last decade or so, the majority of all production boats built in the U.S. have been trimmed above and belowdecks with teak. Teak makes abundant sense on deck. With resistance to weathering as its primary virtue, however, teak makes less sense for use as trim below.

Due to the litigious environment in today’s society, I feel compelled to advise that fuel tanks used in boats-especially those used to store gasoline or alcohol-based fuels-be built by persons or firms specializing in the manufacture of marine tanks.

Alot of water has gone over the dam since the days when boats were caulked with cotton, and storm windows were snugged up with putty.

Deck joints don’t leak as much as they used to. Most builders have switched to less leak-prone types of joints, and most are more conscientious about fastening and sealing them.

In July 1990 we bought a 1975 C & C 33 to function as a test platform for Practical Sailor. We chose it above others for several reasons: The design seemed typical of many modern sailboats, with a fin keel and spade rudder and moderate displacement; C & C had a good reputation; and the price was right.