GrantS

Thanks for the link martin. I will just see what else pops up on here, but will also pass the link on to him.

Hi, Don't know if anybody can help me with this, but i have a friend who has just bought a 2002 50hp Mariner 4 stroke engine. Can anyone tell me what the cubic capacity is on these engines. Also, are these carb or EFi ? He is telling me that it has 4 cylinders and that it has a cc of 2.0l. I told him, that if its a 50hp, its going to have a cc of around 800, not 2000. Unfortunatly, i am not able to see the engine, as it is located too far away and he hasn't sent any pics with the cowling off yet. If anybody knows of a link to a service manual, handbook, or can just fill me in with some specs, that would be great. Thanks.

Hi, Regarding the paint question, There is a tint spray on the market. Normally used for tinting rear light clusters on cars to make them look black. However, i wouldnt recomend it. Firstly, You would need to remove the glass / plastic window and then even if you did manage to get a good finish with it, it will scratch off too easily. Which means that you could never clean it without the risk of damaging it. There is also a glass paint on the market as well. I know they make red, green & blue which wouldnt look too great really. As for a dark tint, this will be just a matter of applying several coats. (but not with the red, green or blue) I have used this paint on bulbs before to change the colour and found them to work quite well. A window, im not so sure.

Now that's what i call quick.......... Mind you, with that sort of boat with a 300 Merc on the back im not surprised. Looking at the spray coming from the o/b, it looked like they had the engine sitting high, which is want you want for speed. Some boats like this have a hydraulic transom jack, so they can raise and lower the o/b height.

Hi Neil,

I was wondering how accurate the Hire Boat Speeds are anyway, as i understood that they just used their rev counters. So it would depend on what they were calibrated to in the first place. I Was also wondering why the speed topic always seems to pop up from time to time ? Not being funny, but it appears to be really bad thing if you are one or two miles an hour over the limit. with the measurement being radar checked, (over land speed) as already mentioned, a tidal river is going to have a big influence on your speed and also the amount of wash that you make. The wash is also a variable here, as this will depend on what type of boat / length you have and what chop is already on the river. Regarding creating a big wash when passing moored boats, thats a no brainer really and its just courteous to slow down for a bit or just make sure that you are not going to chuck their boat about when you are passing. I don't mind a bit of wash when i,m moored up, because i'm on a boat which is on water and i expect movement. However, i wouldn't want my boat to be violently chucked about to the point where things fall over and risk damaging my boat against the mooring. Unfortunately, not everyone does this and some will really rock you about, which we experience from time to time, but theres always the good old hand gesture to let them know you weren't happy about it. Lol. At the end of the day, rules are rules (as they are on the highway) but why do we have this obsession with speed on here, where its almost a dark sin if you accidently cross the line.

Check out the link......

I didn't know that you had your windows replaced. I did mine over the winter as well. Although, i didn't remove the whole lot to replace the sides on mine. I removed the top section that runs all the way around, then unscrewed the sides near the radar arch, then the sides just slid upwards. I had to make wooden supports for the front windows, mainly whilst the top part was off, as they rely on the that plus the sides to keep them up. Once the top part was back in, the supports wouldn't really be needed at the front until the sides went back in, although, i left them there anyway. But one each side was needed near the middle of where each side window was for supporting the top part. This was to support the canopy and frame weight that was on it, otherwise it would have bent slightly. I have fitted a slightly darker tint than what was originally there. Made a massive difference to the look of the boat. The old ones were scratched and had uv damage. (which was the same with the foredeck hatch as well, as i replaced that also) Did you change to clear, or did you stick with a tinted one. Not that we are in competition here, Lol, but i think we should really meet up and compare boats.

Hi Jim, On the Laptop now....... couldn't write much with the Desk Top PC. I think i need to format & start again with it. I know exactly what you mean regarding the dirty channel under the windows. To be honest, i haven't touched that area since ive owned our boat. However, the thought of cleaning it had crossed my mind, as we bought a really long pipe cleaning type brush to do the job a while back, its about 2 & half foot long and has stiff bristles, but just haven't used it yet. The other method that i was going to try, was to mask the area off with clear platic sheet & then make a curtain across the window section with the same stuff. Then, blast it with the pressure washer. I reckon that would shift most of it. The area could even be compounded & waxed afterwoods if you wanted, by attaching a pad to the end of a a long piece of wood & then changing it over for each application. Maybe i will get around to doing mine at some point. You never know...............

Hi Jim, been trying to post a reply, but the PC keeps crashing and then recovering and then i lose everthing i have typed. Will try on the laptop at some point.

I was flicking through some boat vids on you tube (as you do) and came across this. I don't think i have ever seen a boat launched on a road trailer in this way before. It doesn't look like a very safe way of doing it and i would be blowed if i would let somebody lower my boat into the water in this way. Epecially being inside it at the time. They're flippin mad. I bet there's a few H&S comments on this one. LOL

I think i'm starting to go off the idea already, especially seeing as mark has already tried this stuff and found it it be patchy with the colouration. That was something i was also afraid of myself, because if the cleaning process that is recommended before applying this stuff doesn't remove any previous waterproofing application fully, then it may not soak in properly. This could give you patchy results.... and once you have started it, its too late to stop. I have read some reveiws from people on the net (2 of then were on Amazon) and they highly rated the product. However, its better when you get a reveiw of a product from somebody you know has treid it. Mark, thanks for showing me around your new boat on saturday and it was great to see you. It was also nice to catch up with the gang again. Thanks Guys

Okay, thanks Alan. If go ahead with this stuff, i will let you know. One of the main problems will be the weather, as i have read that you can't get it wet until it has dried and that you shouldn't do it when its sunny , as it will dry too quickly. This bit concerns me, as it doesn't leave a lot to get the perfect day to do it.

Hi All, Once i have sorted my hot water out, i shall be giving the canopy a clean and then using the old Fabsil on it again to waterproof it. (I'm pretty sure mine is an Acrylic Canvas type.) Similar to Sunbrella ?? One of the things that i also would like to do this year, is to make the colour of the canopy a slightly darker blue than it is now. I think the sun, over the years has made it a lighter blue than it originally was. I have found this product on the net, but not sure if its suitable or not, as it just mentions Canvas. http://www.boatsheen.com/restore-boat-covers.html Has anybody used this or anything else to restore or change their canopy colour. Also, if you have, what were the results from doing it. Thanks

Not trying to be funny here Ian, but i assume you are referring to cleaning the Gel Coat. Yet the product is called Fibreglass Restorer (which is underneath)