Posted: September 25 2006 at 08:06 | IP Logged

What did I do, chase everyone away.

Well I removed the head to get at the back bulkhead behind it. It was not as bad as I thought, just the vinyl and the top layer of the ply was delaminated making for an easy fix. I didn’t get a chance to take her out to burn up more of the bad gas, I only have 30 gal to go.

I received a sample of the Flxiteek, this may look good on the aft deck, going to do a drawing and send it in for a price. Went out and priced the real stuff, not too bad, just a lot of work I think.

The stove, what to do about the stove, I know that LP is a bad thing, but why do they make and sell lp stove for the cabin. When one is cooking one should stay with the stove shouldn’t one! So than why wouldn’t a small portable lp stove be ok to use.

Posted: September 25 2006 at 19:20 | IP Logged

LOL, no, I don't think you scared anyone away.

I have used a small portable "Camp-Stove" for a few years for raft-ups, etc...It works great!

Propane is bad because the fumes are heavier than air, and thus can accumulate in the bilge.

So, if you don't store your propane in the bilge, and it has access to fresh-air, it should be fine.

WARNING! If you do use a small propane camp grill, once you start to use the cylinders (the small disposable types), they can leak. Meaning, once you "tap" it, store it somewhere safe in case it leaks.

I have seen SEVERAL over the years that have leaked. Usually it is the off-brand ones. Try using the Coleman branded ones if that is the route you decide to take, they seem to work better than the K-Mart brand ones. (I am an avid camper, well I WAS until I bought the boat, LOL...)

Some people would tell you that it is crazy, or just unsafe to try to use one on a boat.

Well, like you said, if you're cooking, you should probably be standing there, or at least keeping an eye on it. I like to cook on the front deck, personally.

To those people I say, don't be stupid, and it will work great! (And is a HELL of a lot cheaper than any alternative.)

Plus, you can haul it up onto the beach, take it to the picnic table, etc...heck, you could even take it camping!

Buy a Coleman one, they're pretty good! Just take the half-used containers with you when you leave for the weekend (or use the whole thing up!)

Posted: September 26 2006 at 08:24 | IP Logged

My thoughts are the same.

That Leakey cylinder is the worry I have, I too have seen the cylinder dump gas out when removed from a stove or lantern and yes it was a cheap one. I have the alcohol stove that came with the boat it doesn’t look like it was ever used. I some what have a problem with flooding a cup under the burner lighting that on fire to heat the burner than light the stove again. Besides, If I remove that stove, I can install a Microwave in its spot with that thin LP stove under it.

I looked at the idea of using a Butane stove, however, what good is a single burner stove. I cant use a drop in unit the refrigerator is directly under that spot . Now I could remove the fridge however were pray tell will I keep the beer cold . All the pro, and con of this lead me back to what direction to take, eat or don’t eat, explode or burn, Now I could install a gen pack and use an electric stove but that fridge gets in the way again

Posted: September 26 2006 at 09:16 | IP Logged

I saw a couple of years ago a mesh bag meant to store the small propane canisters suspended from your bow rail (or stern rail).

West Marine sold them. They were overpriced, but a good idea.

For what it's worth, I'm a firm believer that the propane solution is less dangerous than those alcohol stoves! Now THOSE are a mess to work with.

As long as you're not thinking of retrofitting a propane stove with one of those big grill tanks and storing it in the bilge, I don't think you'll have a problem.

You could make a "propane locker" and store the stuff on the back deck. Just make sure it is vented to the outside of the boat, not just to the deck.

My stovetop in the boat is AC only, so I either use it at the dock, with the generator (which is currently not working), or do without.

The propane stove works great when out on the hook! Just be smart with the bottle storage.

Posted: September 26 2006 at 10:26 | IP Logged

I think I am going to go with the small LP stove using only the small cylinders. It is clean with no mess, like with anything that is dangerous ,you need to take precautions during operation and storing. I think I would store the cylinders on the swim deck in something . The mesh bag sounds good but I think it could still dump lp in the boat depending on the breeze .Installing an explosion monitor in the bilge , and absolutely running the blower properly like everyone does would be a + LOL

Still have that 30 gal of bad gas to burn out of the tank, going to do that Wednesday. Boy does that smell. She looks 1000% better than the day it was shoved in the water and I had to bring her to the marina I am at. I just love working on it and planing all the things I will be doing. Hey what do you recommend to clean out the bilge, I don’t think this was ever cleaned, the white is king of like a greasy black.

Posted: September 27 2006 at 18:10 | IP Logged

I've had good luck with Simple Green. You're probably going to have to scrub the bilge with a brush, though...

At least the Simple Green smells good.

Posted: September 29 2006 at 08:03 | IP Logged

Simple Green is what I think I well use. I am going to use a sprayer with a solution mix and spray the whole inside and let it sit. Than I am going to try using a small ecco pressure washer to clean the area, not sure I can get at everything with a brush.

I brought the (That Seventy’s Show) cushions to have them re-upholstered OUCH

and I still have to do the sides my-self. It will look great with all the Teak which I have cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned to get the black out of it. Not sure what I will do on the floor, I do know that I do not like gray deck paint.

The teak swim platform is all apart for replacing the bad wood and re-finishing, OMG lots and lots of screws. It will look brand new when finished, which brings out a question of upkeep. What is the best thing to do, Oil or Varnish ?

Posted: October 02 2006 at 12:49 | IP Logged

Will I took her out to burn up the 30 gal of bad gas this weekend, twas not good. Every thing was going smoothly till about 7 miles from port (up river) all of a sudden she shuddered , spit and quit. Boy does she stop fast when the power is removed like a lead bathtub. Turned the key she would start right back up, put her up to around 1500 rpm she would go for a few minuets and puff quit again. My first thoughts were that I stirred up a lot of crap in the fuel tank when I replaced the sending unit and fouled up the filter in the carburetor .Turn the key she would start up and run like no problem, needless to say, I had to limber back to the marina no faster than Idle ( I did say that I wanted to stay out for a wile LOL).

Back at the dock I removed the fuel line from the carburetor to my surprise the line had no pressure in it. Is this something that should happen?? , and the filter was very clean. I started the engine again and noticed that the tack was not reading properly at idle. So i cleaned the points and the tack worked proper. Huuuum, not quit sure what the heck was wrong, just going to replace the points, rotter, cap and coil to be all new anyway for a tune up.

Now, as I have been saying, the gas is over two years old, when I run the engine and look at the exhaust it is a little smokey and leaves like fuel marks in the water. This I assume is un-burnt fuel. Now this engine is tight, you have all you can do to turn it over by hand. When I checked the oil it was black and smelled like the old gas, now I know what you are going to say, the fuel pump is leaking. This could be true however, when an engine is burning an old gas that can’t burn properly would it condense in the cylinder and be pressed past the rings. I would think that if the pump leaked enough to stop the engine than the block would be filling up.

Any thoughts?

Doesn't look like many people like to respond, do you know of another sight that has active people