The Ships Logg

This is yet another story about a do-it-yourselfer and something that went wrong. I needed to replace the refrigerator in my 24 foot Wellcraft cruiser.   Let’s not talk about why the fridge needed replacement but let’s just say that removing ice from the freezer with a screwdriver is not a good idea.   I figured the job would be easy.   A few screws, power connections for AC and for DC and it would be all done.   I estimated that the whole job would be 1 hour max.   It was a warm August Tuesday morning and I had decided to play hooky from the office.   After the job was done, my plan was to spend some time cruising around the lake, enjoying the nice weather and a cold beer or two from the new fridge. The Bear's Den Sitting in her slip. The Bear’s Den sat in her slip and the new unit was on the dock finger next to the boat.   All I had to do was remove the old unit, get it out of the boat and then do the reverse to install the new on...

We often talk about all of the things you should keep on your boat for various purposes. Most of them such as life jackets, fire extinguishers and first aid kits etc. are related to safety, but there are some things that seemingly are not even related to boating that you also may want to keep aboard.   Here is a list of 12 things that fall into that category and why you should have them. 1.          Chapstick – Yes, I suppose you should have lip balm aboard to care for your lips since you will be spending time out in the sun, but there is another reason.   It makes a great lubricant for the zippers on your boat canvas.   Keep some on board and periodically run it across your zippers and they will be much easier to zip on and zip off.   Chapstick helps keep your canvas zippers in good condition. 2.        Denatured Alcohol – Here is another item that has dual purposes.   Many b...

If you have spent any amount of time hanging around recreational boat docks lately, like I do, you probably have noticed that there is a new trend in deck and floor coverings.   Many people have chosen synthetic teak for their decks and cabin floors over the traditional choices of carpet or real wood.   The market has recently exploded with many companies marketing their brand of faux teak, as it is sometimes called.   You may have heard names such as Seadek, Flexiteak and Plasdeck.   They are all just a few of the brands that market this new type of marine decking.   If you have ever gotten a quote from a dealer on what it would cost to redo the existing decking on your boat, you may know that it is not an inexpensive proposition. But . . . if you are a bit handy, don’t mind spending some time on your knees and have a bit of patience, there is a way that you can redo your boat flooring or decking yourself and save a lot of money.   This is wha...