July 2008 - montgomery_boats - mailman.xmission.com

Varnish removal
by Tom Jenkins 14 Jul '08

14 Jul '08

Thanks to Tom and Joe (and others who might respond later) on the heat gun/varnish matter. I am now sold on heat vs. toxic solvents. Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla

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Re: M_Boats: M-17 cabin top thickness and halyard winch
by GILASAILR＠aol.com 14 Jul '08

14 Jul '08

Robin. Drill your holes for the fasteners on your deck organizer and stopper then you know the exact thickness. I buy my fasteners long (usually 1.5 inches for a thin fitting) - mount the piece -some have backing plates some do not (sheet stoppers on cabin house top do, winch does) then cut off excess screw with a Dremel and cut-off wheel, finish with a small fine file to prevent scalp and sail lacerations. Most people here on the list will then overdrill the diameters and fill with thickened epoxy, then redrill when cured, bed and mount the fitting. How is that for complicating a simple little thing?!?! LOL. It is a bit of work but it is a well found practice on a cored deck. Maybe we could get a diagram or photo essay up on the MSOG page as a visual aid. Unfortunately I am not drilling any holes in cored areas at this time. If I do, I will photograph the process. Most early model 17's did not have Main halyard winches, but a # 6 aluminum would be a great application, Be sure to offset the winch mount to your stopper fairlead or the line will chafe at the stopper exit. (drum will be mounted inboard of the stopper fairlead if you halyard is on the starboard side of the house). Take Care, Have Fun, Go Sailing GO M-17 # 316a LB/GF! Team Geezer Racing......Old and In the Way In a message dated 7/13/2008 6:34:42 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, robbin.roddewig(a)verizon.net writes: I have a deck organizer and line clamp to install on the cabin top of my M-17. Anyone have an estimate of the thickness of the balsa cored cabin top? Another question is about mounting a halyard winch on the cabin top for the main halyard. My 1975 seems to be the rare model that does not have this winch. Any advise on adding the winch? It looks to be the same size as the winches for the jib sheets. Thanks Robbin hull number 056 "My cousin saw a sign that said drink Canada Dry. So he went up there." _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats **************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

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Re: M_Boats: First couple of outings
by JAUICEO＠aol.com 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

In a message dated 7/13/2008 11:05:56 P.M. Central Daylight Time, JAUICEO(a)aol.com writes: Andrei, Having been an M-15 owner in years gone by (1969); if you decide to take option 6 and sell the M-17; please let me know, I'm now retired and looking for a good M-17 that's had good TLC. John In a message dated 7/10/2008 10:50:35 P.M. Central Daylight Time, andreic(a)math.wisc.edu writes: Hello all, as I said earlier on, I acquired about 2 weeks ago "Hobbit", a 1982 M-17. After sailing her four times now, I would like some help in deciding on some things, and I would really appreciate people's opinion on the main question below. Sorry if this message is a bit longish. Until buying the M-17, I owned (and still own) a Compac 16. Originally I intended on selling the C-16, but now I have doubts. The trouble is that it seems that the C-16 fits for absolutely everything we need to do with it, while the M-17 is a bit more problematic (see below). But the C-16 doesn't sail well, and that is my biggest gripe with it... We are a family of four, myself, my wife, and two kids ages 6 and 4. As such, not too much time is available, and the kids are not the world's best example of patience (both of these may improve in the future). We sail mostly on the lakes in Madison, WI; they are inland lakes, the largest of which is about 5-6 miles across. I would hope that in the future we'll take some trips to the great lakes (Green Bay or Apostle Islands) but so far we haven't done this. With the Compac, the routine is fairly simple: the boat stays in a parking lot 1/4 mile from the launching ramp; I attach it to the car, drive to the ramp, rig by myself, launch. If the kids come with me, they play around while I rig. The whole routine takes about 25 minutes (so the kids don't get too bored). If this happens in the afternoon, all of us then sail for about 2-3 hours, and when we're done my wife takes the kids home and I de-rig by myself, another 25 minutes. If we start at 5pm, we're all home by around 9. With the Monty things are a bit more complicated. Admittedly I am not yet quite up to speed in rigging it, but today's example seems to be the norm. I arrived at the boat at 9:45am, rigged alone till 11, sailed until 2:15, derigged and put the boat away until 3:30. So I got 3 hours of sailing for two-and-a-half hours of rigging. Not a very good ratio in my opinion. The one time I took my wife and kids the rigging took just enough for the kids to get thoroughly bored and to start pestering us enough to get us angry :-( And the worst part of it is that after an hour of rigging, I am ready to go home and get in bed :-) I can see now a number of options to improve on this. Option one: keep the M-17 moored. Obviously that would reduce the rigging time to something very small. The cost of this is not negligible, though (I expect to pay around $800/summer for a mooring). However I have no experience with bottom paint, and the Monty's bottom has never been painted. (It is clean as it came from the factory.) How often does the bottom need painting? Every year, or can it be skipped a year or two? How big a hassle is this? Is it a pity to "dirty" the bottom of a clean Monty? Option two: keep the Monty with the mast up on the trailer, near a marina. This would be OK, except for the fact that the only marina that provides this service is on the other side of the lake, a 30 minute drive, and at the end of a long channel which takes 20 minuntes to motor through. And the cost is about the same, around $800-1000/ summer. Option three: create a fleet -- keep both boats. When in a hurry, sail the C-16, when time is not an issue or need more space, sail the Monty (space may or may not be so much of an issue on the C-16: we have sailed her with 4 adults, 5 kids, and a dog on board; we were a bit cramped, but we managed. The only time the Monty would be really better would be if I were to go camping with the kids; my wife swore that she would not sleep in any small sized boat.) Wife may not be too happy with this option Option four: sell both boats and get an M-15. The question is how much space there is on an M-15 versus the C-16? Would 4 adults sit comfortably in the cockpit of the M-15? It would really help if I could find someone with an M-15 somewhere in my general area (Madison, Wi), so I could look at it and perhaps sail together to get a feel for the boat. Option five: keep only the M-17, and hope to improve my rigging system. Right now I raise the mast with the system suggested on Bob's website (with a 4-part and a padeye on the mast support), which works great but still takes a lot of time. The rudder cannot stay on the boat (the rear mast support goes in its place), rolling the mast back is complicated by the spreaders, bending the mainsail on the boom is a pain, etc. Anyone has any special tricks to speed things up? Option six: keep only the C-16 (sad), and in a few years, when kids (and maybe wife?) are more patient, get another M-17. I am worried about the fact that I have read about quite a few people who after owning a Monty were never happy with anything else, so kept buying them. Since a good one is hard to find (and the one I have is good), I am not very inclined to become Monty-less. What do people who've seen more of all these kinds of boats think about all this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Andrei. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats **************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112) _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats **************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

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Re: M_Boats: First couple of outings
by JAUICEO＠aol.com 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

Andrei, Having been an M-15 owner in years gone by (1969); if you decide to take option 6 and sell the M-17; please let me know, I'm now retired and looking for a good M-17 that's had good TLC. John In a message dated 7/10/2008 10:50:35 P.M. Central Daylight Time, andreic(a)math.wisc.edu writes: Hello all, as I said earlier on, I acquired about 2 weeks ago "Hobbit", a 1982 M-17. After sailing her four times now, I would like some help in deciding on some things, and I would really appreciate people's opinion on the main question below. Sorry if this message is a bit longish. Until buying the M-17, I owned (and still own) a Compac 16. Originally I intended on selling the C-16, but now I have doubts. The trouble is that it seems that the C-16 fits for absolutely everything we need to do with it, while the M-17 is a bit more problematic (see below). But the C-16 doesn't sail well, and that is my biggest gripe with it... We are a family of four, myself, my wife, and two kids ages 6 and 4. As such, not too much time is available, and the kids are not the world's best example of patience (both of these may improve in the future). We sail mostly on the lakes in Madison, WI; they are inland lakes, the largest of which is about 5-6 miles across. I would hope that in the future we'll take some trips to the great lakes (Green Bay or Apostle Islands) but so far we haven't done this. With the Compac, the routine is fairly simple: the boat stays in a parking lot 1/4 mile from the launching ramp; I attach it to the car, drive to the ramp, rig by myself, launch. If the kids come with me, they play around while I rig. The whole routine takes about 25 minutes (so the kids don't get too bored). If this happens in the afternoon, all of us then sail for about 2-3 hours, and when we're done my wife takes the kids home and I de-rig by myself, another 25 minutes. If we start at 5pm, we're all home by around 9. With the Monty things are a bit more complicated. Admittedly I am not yet quite up to speed in rigging it, but today's example seems to be the norm. I arrived at the boat at 9:45am, rigged alone till 11, sailed until 2:15, derigged and put the boat away until 3:30. So I got 3 hours of sailing for two-and-a-half hours of rigging. Not a very good ratio in my opinion. The one time I took my wife and kids the rigging took just enough for the kids to get thoroughly bored and to start pestering us enough to get us angry :-( And the worst part of it is that after an hour of rigging, I am ready to go home and get in bed :-) I can see now a number of options to improve on this. Option one: keep the M-17 moored. Obviously that would reduce the rigging time to something very small. The cost of this is not negligible, though (I expect to pay around $800/summer for a mooring). However I have no experience with bottom paint, and the Monty's bottom has never been painted. (It is clean as it came from the factory.) How often does the bottom need painting? Every year, or can it be skipped a year or two? How big a hassle is this? Is it a pity to "dirty" the bottom of a clean Monty? Option two: keep the Monty with the mast up on the trailer, near a marina. This would be OK, except for the fact that the only marina that provides this service is on the other side of the lake, a 30 minute drive, and at the end of a long channel which takes 20 minuntes to motor through. And the cost is about the same, around $800-1000/ summer. Option three: create a fleet -- keep both boats. When in a hurry, sail the C-16, when time is not an issue or need more space, sail the Monty (space may or may not be so much of an issue on the C-16: we have sailed her with 4 adults, 5 kids, and a dog on board; we were a bit cramped, but we managed. The only time the Monty would be really better would be if I were to go camping with the kids; my wife swore that she would not sleep in any small sized boat.) Wife may not be too happy with this option Option four: sell both boats and get an M-15. The question is how much space there is on an M-15 versus the C-16? Would 4 adults sit comfortably in the cockpit of the M-15? It would really help if I could find someone with an M-15 somewhere in my general area (Madison, Wi), so I could look at it and perhaps sail together to get a feel for the boat. Option five: keep only the M-17, and hope to improve my rigging system. Right now I raise the mast with the system suggested on Bob's website (with a 4-part and a padeye on the mast support), which works great but still takes a lot of time. The rudder cannot stay on the boat (the rear mast support goes in its place), rolling the mast back is complicated by the spreaders, bending the mainsail on the boom is a pain, etc. Anyone has any special tricks to speed things up? Option six: keep only the C-16 (sad), and in a few years, when kids (and maybe wife?) are more patient, get another M-17. I am worried about the fact that I have read about quite a few people who after owning a Monty were never happy with anything else, so kept buying them. Since a good one is hard to find (and the one I have is good), I am not very inclined to become Monty-less. What do people who've seen more of all these kinds of boats think about all this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Andrei. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats **************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

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Re: M_Boats: First couple of outings
by GILASAILR＠aol.com 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

"Get off the boat. Release the bow winch line. Finally ready to back the boat in the water. What do you see here that could be improved?" Try raising the mast without the use of the Mainsheet - Mast is not that heavy and it just adds to the time and 'confusion' - it is also a potential for overloading the rig, bending t-bolts at the turnbuckles, bending mast step etc. Just walk it up - Maybe try raising the mast from the front of the step - easier to raise,- no need to step up over the companionway- a little more work to connect backstay is the only downside. For safety's sake and your boat - do not release the Bow Winch Line until you are ready to float the boat off of the trailer at waters edge - it really sucks to try and pick your boat up off the ramp and get it back on the trailer. Boat at water - winch strap off. Maybe involve the kids to help put the boat together - they may be more interested if they are a part of the process. Double check everything - eventually they will do the whole job for you! Good Luck, Have Fun, GO M-17 # 316a LB/GF! Team Geezer Racing..Old and In the Way PS Saw Leon Russell last night - I am going to rethink this Geezer thing - we were the youngest there! It was scary! Leon and band were great!! In a message dated 7/11/2008 9:01:05 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, andreic(a)math.wisc.edu writes: Get off the boat. Release the bow winch line. Finally ready to back the boat in the water. What do you see here that could be improved? **************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

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Boat Cover Pattern for an M-15
by Mark Delin 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

Hi, We'd like to make a Sunbrella cover for mast-up storage of our Montgomery 15. Does anyone know of a pattern available? Or of a commercially available cover? Thanks! Mark

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Re: M_Boats: First couple of outings
by JAUICEO＠aol.com 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

If you decide to sell your M-17, Let me Know, John - SA, Tx. In a message dated 7/12/2008 11:03:21 A.M. Central Daylight Time, chbenneck(a)sbcglobal.net writes: Hi Andrei, As a former big boat owner (29 foot), who went trrailerable with a Bolger MICRO, let me give you my $.02 worth of experience... The MICRO at 15 feet was a great sailer.... Loads of interior room in the cabin (it's a square box), and we thoroughly enjoyed such an unorthodox ship as a cat yawl. ....but, stepping a free-standing 21 foot long mast in the bow well by holding it at about an 85 degree angle became more than I could handle. So, boat size was right; mast stepping problem had to be surmounted. That's when I found a derelict ComPac 16: aluminum mast; shrouds;.... easy mast stepping, .... and bought it. After overhauling it totally, and then sailing it, as an old spoiled sailor what I found and objected to were: - No sail lockers.... Where do you put all the things that are needed on a boat? The mooring lines, fenders, fender board; second anchor and rode; cleaning materials; sails.... etc. - Berths under the cockpit seats? My wife and I were used to a luxurious wide double berth in our big boat. - What do you do with the whole forward area? - Worst of all it turned out to be a very poor sail boat. So, having learned that a ComPac 16 was not our cup of tea, I went searching for a replacement which turned out to be a Montgomery 15. That made us blissfully happy again. Good berths; good sail lockers; excellent sailing characteristics. The only reason for selling the M15 - which we loved - was encroaching old age and increasing lack of agility. My recommendation to you: Keep the M17, it will sail happily with four people aboard. The M15 is great for two, and maybe a small third, but it certainly is not a boat for two adults and two teenagers. The first few times you rig the boat are the hardest and take the longest time. You are at the start of the Learning Curve. After making one mistake after another, and then correcting them the next time you raise a mast, the job gets easier and easier....... You finally become a mast raising professional. Enjoy your M17. It's a great boat. Connie ex M15 #400 Andrei Caldararu wrote: > Hello all, > > as I said earlier on, I acquired about 2 weeks ago "Hobbit", a 1982 > M-17. After sailing her four times now, I would like some help in > deciding on some things, and I would really appreciate people's > opinion on the main question below. Sorry if this message is a bit > longish. > > Until buying the M-17, I owned (and still own) a Compac 16. Originally > I intended on selling the C-16, but now I have doubts. The trouble is > that it seems that the C-16 fits for absolutely everything we need to > do with it, while the M-17 is a bit more problematic (see below). But > the C-16 doesn't sail well, and that is my biggest gripe with it... > > We are a family of four, myself, my wife, and two kids ages 6 and 4. > As such, not too much time is available, and the kids are not the > world's best example of patience (both of these may improve in the > future). We sail mostly on the lakes in Madison, WI; they are inland > lakes, the largest of which is about 5-6 miles across. I would hope > that in the future we'll take some trips to the great lakes (Green Bay > or Apostle Islands) but so far we haven't done this. > > With the Compac, the routine is fairly simple: the boat stays in a > parking lot 1/4 mile from the launching ramp; I attach it to the car, > drive to the ramp, rig by myself, launch. If the kids come with me, > they play around while I rig. The whole routine takes about 25 minutes > (so the kids don't get too bored). If this happens in the afternoon, > all of us then sail for about 2-3 hours, and when we're done my wife > takes the kids home and I de-rig by myself, another 25 minutes. If we > start at 5pm, we're all home by around 9. > > With the Monty things are a bit more complicated. Admittedly I am not > yet quite up to speed in rigging it, but today's example seems to be > the norm. I arrived at the boat at 9:45am, rigged alone till 11, > sailed until 2:15, derigged and put the boat away until 3:30. So I got > 3 hours of sailing for two-and-a-half hours of rigging. Not a very > good ratio in my opinion. The one time I took my wife and kids the > rigging took just enough for the kids to get thoroughly bored and to > start pestering us enough to get us angry :-( And the worst part of it > is that after an hour of rigging, I am ready to go home and get in > bed :-) > > I can see now a number of options to improve on this. > > Option one: keep the M-17 moored. Obviously that would reduce the > rigging time to something very small. The cost of this is not > negligible, though (I expect to pay around $800/summer for a mooring). > However I have no experience with bottom paint, and the Monty's bottom > has never been painted. (It is clean as it came from the factory.) How > often does the bottom need painting? Every year, or can it be skipped > a year or two? How big a hassle is this? Is it a pity to "dirty" the > bottom of a clean Monty? > > Option two: keep the Monty with the mast up on the trailer, near a > marina. This would be OK, except for the fact that the only marina > that provides this service is on the other side of the lake, a 30 > minute drive, and at the end of a long channel which takes 20 minuntes > to motor through. And the cost is about the same, around $800-1000/ > summer. > > Option three: create a fleet -- keep both boats. When in a hurry, sail > the C-16, when time is not an issue or need more space, sail the Monty > (space may or may not be so much of an issue on the C-16: we have > sailed her with 4 adults, 5 kids, and a dog on board; we were a bit > cramped, but we managed. The only time the Monty would be really > better would be if I were to go camping with the kids; my wife swore > that she would not sleep in any small sized boat.) Wife may not be too > happy with this option > > Option four: sell both boats and get an M-15. The question is how much > space there is on an M-15 versus the C-16? Would 4 adults sit > comfortably in the cockpit of the M-15? It would really help if I > could find someone with an M-15 somewhere in my general area (Madison, > Wi), so I could look at it and perhaps sail together to get a feel for > the boat. > > Option five: keep only the M-17, and hope to improve my rigging > system. Right now I raise the mast with the system suggested on Bob's > website (with a 4-part and a padeye on the mast support), which works > great but still takes a lot of time. The rudder cannot stay on the > boat (the rear mast support goes in its place), rolling the mast back > is complicated by the spreaders, bending the mainsail on the boom is a > pain, etc. Anyone has any special tricks to speed things up? > > Option six: keep only the C-16 (sad), and in a few years, when kids > (and maybe wife?) are more patient, get another M-17. I am worried > about the fact that I have read about quite a few people who after > owning a Monty were never happy with anything else, so kept buying > them. Since a good one is hard to find (and the one I have is good), I > am not very inclined to become Monty-less. > > What do people who've seen more of all these kinds of boats think > about all this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > > Andrei. > > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats **************Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

1 0

First couple of outings
by Andrei Caldararu 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

Hello all, as I said earlier on, I acquired about 2 weeks ago "Hobbit", a 1982 M-17. After sailing her four times now, I would like some help in deciding on some things, and I would really appreciate people's opinion on the main question below. Sorry if this message is a bit longish. Until buying the M-17, I owned (and still own) a Compac 16. Originally I intended on selling the C-16, but now I have doubts. The trouble is that it seems that the C-16 fits for absolutely everything we need to do with it, while the M-17 is a bit more problematic (see below). But the C-16 doesn't sail well, and that is my biggest gripe with it... We are a family of four, myself, my wife, and two kids ages 6 and 4. As such, not too much time is available, and the kids are not the world's best example of patience (both of these may improve in the future). We sail mostly on the lakes in Madison, WI; they are inland lakes, the largest of which is about 5-6 miles across. I would hope that in the future we'll take some trips to the great lakes (Green Bay or Apostle Islands) but so far we haven't done this. With the Compac, the routine is fairly simple: the boat stays in a parking lot 1/4 mile from the launching ramp; I attach it to the car, drive to the ramp, rig by myself, launch. If the kids come with me, they play around while I rig. The whole routine takes about 25 minutes (so the kids don't get too bored). If this happens in the afternoon, all of us then sail for about 2-3 hours, and when we're done my wife takes the kids home and I de-rig by myself, another 25 minutes. If we start at 5pm, we're all home by around 9. With the Monty things are a bit more complicated. Admittedly I am not yet quite up to speed in rigging it, but today's example seems to be the norm. I arrived at the boat at 9:45am, rigged alone till 11, sailed until 2:15, derigged and put the boat away until 3:30. So I got 3 hours of sailing for two-and-a-half hours of rigging. Not a very good ratio in my opinion. The one time I took my wife and kids the rigging took just enough for the kids to get thoroughly bored and to start pestering us enough to get us angry :-( And the worst part of it is that after an hour of rigging, I am ready to go home and get in bed :-) I can see now a number of options to improve on this. Option one: keep the M-17 moored. Obviously that would reduce the rigging time to something very small. The cost of this is not negligible, though (I expect to pay around $800/summer for a mooring). However I have no experience with bottom paint, and the Monty's bottom has never been painted. (It is clean as it came from the factory.) How often does the bottom need painting? Every year, or can it be skipped a year or two? How big a hassle is this? Is it a pity to "dirty" the bottom of a clean Monty? Option two: keep the Monty with the mast up on the trailer, near a marina. This would be OK, except for the fact that the only marina that provides this service is on the other side of the lake, a 30 minute drive, and at the end of a long channel which takes 20 minuntes to motor through. And the cost is about the same, around $800-1000/ summer. Option three: create a fleet -- keep both boats. When in a hurry, sail the C-16, when time is not an issue or need more space, sail the Monty (space may or may not be so much of an issue on the C-16: we have sailed her with 4 adults, 5 kids, and a dog on board; we were a bit cramped, but we managed. The only time the Monty would be really better would be if I were to go camping with the kids; my wife swore that she would not sleep in any small sized boat.) Wife may not be too happy with this option Option four: sell both boats and get an M-15. The question is how much space there is on an M-15 versus the C-16? Would 4 adults sit comfortably in the cockpit of the M-15? It would really help if I could find someone with an M-15 somewhere in my general area (Madison, Wi), so I could look at it and perhaps sail together to get a feel for the boat. Option five: keep only the M-17, and hope to improve my rigging system. Right now I raise the mast with the system suggested on Bob's website (with a 4-part and a padeye on the mast support), which works great but still takes a lot of time. The rudder cannot stay on the boat (the rear mast support goes in its place), rolling the mast back is complicated by the spreaders, bending the mainsail on the boom is a pain, etc. Anyone has any special tricks to speed things up? Option six: keep only the C-16 (sad), and in a few years, when kids (and maybe wife?) are more patient, get another M-17. I am worried about the fact that I have read about quite a few people who after owning a Monty were never happy with anything else, so kept buying them. Since a good one is hard to find (and the one I have is good), I am not very inclined to become Monty-less. What do people who've seen more of all these kinds of boats think about all this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Andrei.

8 16

removing decals
by Jay Townley 13 Jul '08

13 Jul '08

I have used successfully a hairdryer and scraper/razor blade type. You don't need a lot of heat; I use it on low and they have peeled right off, using the scraper behind the heat.

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Re: M_Boats: Outboard question
by Paint4Real＠aol.com 11 Jul '08

11 Jul '08

The typical arrangement in an outboard the size you have consists of two access screws on the side of the shaft, one at about the level of the centerline of the prop, the other a few inches higher. There's no "dipstick" check. You'd usually pull the top screw (with the motor in its operating position) and see if any fluid appeared -- it's right at the upper level of the reservoir, so any that came out would be minimal. If there's fluid up to that level, you're good as far as quantity goes. However, since I suspect you're unsure how long it's been since it's been changed, I'd just change it. You don't want to grind any dirt or metal contaminants around in the gears, and that's all sitting down in the bottom right now. Easiest job in the world, costs next to nothing. You can get marine gearcase lubricant anywhere that sells marine products. You don't need much -- it comes in tubes about the size of a super-size toothpaste tube. The method is to first remove both screws (again, the motor is upright, as it would be if hanging on the transom). The lubricant tube will have a tapered cap to use as a filler. Stick the filler into the lower opening snugly and squeeze the tube slowly, until the level of the fluid rises to the level of the second, upper opening. (It will start pouring out, which is why you squeeze slowly.) DON'T REMOVE THE TUBE. Screw in the UPPER screw and secure it. Now you can remove the tube from the lower hole. The oil won't run out, because to do so a vacuum would have to be created in the space above it, and as the physics guys taught us, nature abhors a vacuum. Now replace the lower screw. Make sure they're both secure, and you're good to go for a very long time. The image at this link shows the kind of product you'll be looking for: http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|296536|314204&id=181894 ************** Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com! (http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)

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