D I Y tips

[jillR]

anyone got any handy boaty tips?

e.g.

Milliput- two pack epoxy putty that goes off under water in less than an hour.

sticks to virtualy anything. wood, metal, china, fiberglass etc.

for those emergancy repairs

available from model shops like kellers in norwich costs about £3.50 last time i looked

i got called out to a fishing boat in lowestoft that had been let down the slip too fast and strained a plank in

a very inaccessible place. the water was comming in so fast it washed the putty away so i wrapped the milliput

in some net curtaining to hold it together and wedged it in place. an hour later it was as hard as rock and no leak.

jill :

[Antares_9]

Best DIY tip I was ever given is always allow at least a day for that "hour or so" job

[Guest]

Best DIY tip I was ever given is always allow at least a day for that "hour or so" job

I don't think that's exclusive to boat DIY either!

[Guest]

Best tip I found this year was for stiff manual toilet pumps, (not my tip, I take no credit for it!) use Cooking oil/olive oil down your toilet, on pumpout only, put in about half a cup full and then gently work the pump up and down whilst turning the handle round, what a difference!

Most of us will use cooking oil but some who are feeling a little more flush will use olive oil!! Groan

JohnT

[jillR]

i use my didgy camera to get views of those places that are hard to get to.

jill

[jillR]

i use baby bottle sterilising tablets

i find it is easier and safer to store than the bottled version.

handy for washing up bowl sterilising etc.

jill

[gancanny]

the cooking oil down the loo does indeed work well, but if you have no oil,

washing-up liquid will do the job but does'nt last as long

alan

[Mowjo]

Alan! your right Washing up liquid does work, but a word of warning only use it as a last resort, the additives in washing up liquid can lead to premature breakdown of the seals, and the last thing you need on a boat is a leaky loo,, it only affects certain types of rubber and neoprene and I think new loos carry a manufacturers warning about using it, and other types of household cleaners, on my last boat I always carried a top up can of engine oil, if I had no cooking oil I'd use a teaspoon of that if things seized up a bit,,,

[gancanny]

point taken mowjo, i wasn't aware of that problem, although i must say i do use the cooking oil and

only the washing-up liquid as a last resort

alan

[Baz]

There's an old saying............Measure twice, and cut only once.Saves a lot of heartache, and tears.

Baz

[Antares_9]

If you have problems with damp and condensation in wardrobes / lockers, fitting vents can sometimes help but often gives little improvement. If you use a PSU cooling fan from a scrap computer or buy a new one for a few pounds and mount it on the top vent this can and does give a remarkable improvement due to the better air circulation. If you have shore power and leave your batteries on charge then it can be left running when you are not on board, they are quiet, the power consumption is miniscule and they are of course 12v.

Tools required: appropriate hole saw, basic tool kit and drill / bits.

Skills required: comon sense and basic 12v wiring knowlege.

[Antares_9]

No help from mme on that Pete, I've been looking for a reliable source for years.

Oh, and it also works in wardrobes and cupboards agaist a cold wall at home too, yours truly, Barry Bucknell.

[kfurbank]

One of the best tips I received was for removing the grime down by the waterline, use Harpic toilet cleaner. At first I was cautious, although the advice came from a boat builder. I tried everything to clean the hull and found a few things that worked fairly well, but just wouldn't touch the last couple of inches by the waterline. Even a light rubbing compound only did the trick with a lot of elbow grease. Finally I tried the Harpic, much cheaper than the other varoius potions I had tried and it simply wiped off. Common sense really as most of the grime is built up limescale, and most toilet cleaners are designed to remove limescale. Most are also suitable for plastic baths etc, so shouldn't have any detrimental effect on GRP.

[SteveO]

"One of the best tips I received was for removing the grime down by the waterline, use Harpic toilet cleaner. "

Thanks, I will certainly try this one. Do you use the liquid-type Harpic or the scouring powder?

Regards

Steve

[kfurbank]

Steve,

Only the liquid Harpic, I wouldn't use a scourer on he gel coat. I actually used the new thick extra strong gel, that has just come out, although it worked so well, I'm sure the normal strength Harpic would do, or any limescale remover.

Keith

[Guest]

Best thing I found for removing lime scale was "the wife".

Another thing that you can actually buy is BSR - Bird Sh*t Remover.

Spray it on near the waterline, leave for a while then chug up the river. Works for the wife !

Failing that if you are on the Nth rivers, take a few days out over Braydon and the Sth rivers.

The salt water and the sand in Braydon really does work well.

Mine came back very clean after a few day there..

[jillR]

http://www.friend.ly.net/~dadadata/boat ... #Horn%20II

jill

[jillR]

hi peeps

with the possibility of a hard freeze coming up-

if you have a wooden boat and get caught out in the ice, gently rock the boat so the ice does not get between the planks.

you can lay battens in the river round the boat, connected to each other by rope or chain to stop the ice forming right up to

the hull.

jill

[Gordon]

I totally agree with MOJO with regards the caveats with regards washing up liquid, as well as being savage to certain materials, including steel, sometimes contains salt and can cause corrosion. By its nature it is a wetting agent and can cause leaks eg in window seals. Thetford, the cassette loo people sell an aerosol of seal lubricant, not only is this good for loo seals its good for lubricating sliding windows and I also use it to lubricate the caravan awning track, its half the price of the stuff sold fpor that job and is the same stuff

[Drewby]

On 15 October 2007 at 4:02 PM, jillR said:

anyone got any handy boaty tips?

 

e.g.

 

Milliput- two pack epoxy putty that goes off under water in less than an hour.

sticks to virtualy anything. wood, metal, china, fiberglass etc.

 

for those emergancy repairs

available from model shops like kellers in norwich costs about £3.50 last time i looked

 

i got called out to a fishing boat in lowestoft that had been let down the slip too fast and strained a plank in

a very inaccessible place. the water was comming in so fast it washed the putty away so i wrapped the milliput

in some net curtaining to hold it together and wedged it in place. an hour later it was as hard as rock and no leak.

 

jill :

Sounds really good stuff 

andy

[Poppy]

If it doesn't move, and it should, use WD40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct (duck) tape.

 

[ranworthbreeze]

HI Andy.

I always have some Milliput in my boat kit, it is good for various jobs, it can be moulded, drilled, we tend to use it for any screws that are loose in the gelcoat such as canopy fixing studs etc. Just take out the screw, mix a small amount of the two part putty and plug the hole, this can be left to dry, drill a pilot hole and refit, or the screw can be put straight in so it can gain its full strength when dry.

Milliput comes in a few colours.

Regards

Alan  

[grendel]

Milliput also does not shrink as it cures, unlike a lot of other 2 part epoxy puttys, so is good for plugging holes. 

[stumpy]

If you're doing overhead work (e.g. dashboard wiring on a Bounty/Elysian) and you're of an age to wear varifocal or bifocal specs put them on upside down! It took me half an hour of cursing to work that out!

[Simonboatshift]

Regarding the waterline marks, lidl do a bottled descaler which works pretty well, or brick cleaner from the builders merchants.  If you find yourselves in France, pop into any supermarket and buy a couple of bottles of hydrochloric acid.  About €1.50 for a 1l. bottle.  This is best for when the boats out of the water, Drill a small hole in the lid and dribble it along the hull so it trickles down over the scum line.  With rubber gloves on, run a sponge over it to completely cover the scum and simply wash it off, or better, pressure washer.  Also works brilliantly on stern drives and all stern gear, removing all scale etc right back to clean fresh metal without any scraping or scrubbing meaning you don't spend hours under there and that nothing gets damaged.  Give everything a good wash off with water after to neutralise the acid.  Most boatyards in the med use this when boats are lifted out.