Boat Builder Central

Always a bit of silicone in the track while re-hoisting.

I'll try to check in to see about the rigging. I like that stuff.
Spreader lights are cool but only for real emergencies. Otherwise, you just lose your night vision.
Keep us apprised of progress.

You could get a battery monitor but they're sort of pricey. Before I did that, I'd do what you suggest, spend a typical weekend on the boat, or whatever you feel the duration of an average trip will be, take a voltmeter and monitor the charge every so often. As to solar panels, you can get very inex...

4200 for the winches. You aren't holding them in with the sealant....I hope. It sounds like you have the electrical understood pretty well, but if it was me, I would wait until you get a clean bottom, when I think the engine will be much more to your liking, and then do as Jeff does or add a couple ...

Aesthetics count to most buyers...although not me.

What are we talking, money-wise? Sapele isn't that much more than starboard. If you want to avoid varnishing every year, you either cover it or you use Cetol. We looked into custom canvas for our 22 and it was just ridiculous, so we used a $10 tarp which lasted about five years, and held it down wit...

They have to be replaced, obviously. It's too bad that teak, the traditional solution, has gotten so expensive. Jeff's solution would work and is cheap but I couldn't personally bear it. Starboard would work OK or acrylic. Neither will break the bank. But how about sapele? It is a pleasure to come t...

Between dusk and dawn and in periods of reduced visibility (fog or heavy rain or smoke) when you are using your engine for propulsion, you show your red, green, and white nav lights plus the steaming light. This shows you are a powerboat for the rules of the road. This is true whether or not you hav...

If yer mast wiring is good, no problem. Somehow I was assuming it wasn't.
You don't use the steaming light while sailing so the jib can't be an issue for the steaming light...if I understood what you were referring to.

72 Colregs RULE 30: Anchored Vessels and Vessels Aground ............ (b) A vessel of less than 50 meters in length may exhibit an all-round white light where it can best be seen instead of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule. The anchor light doesn't need to be at the masthead, jus...