2001-#2 COLUMNS PROJECTS Oil Quick Change Hose; Small Boat Storage; Porthole Hanger; Universal LPG Tank Holder; Easy Mast Hoist. SHOPTALK Finishing Touches: Here’s how to repair varnish dings and scratches UPGRADE to produce a perfect finish. By Wayne Redditt COMPASS POINTS ELECTRICAL A professional compass adjuster pilots you on a course of compass selec- Power Reckoning: Install a sys- tion, installation, adjustment and calibration including readability, oscillation tem monitor to effectively make and and magnetic dips, avoiding magnetic errors, devising a deviation table manage your boat’s onboard and adjusting the BICs. electrical power supply. By Robert Hempstead By Kevin Jeffrey REFIT ENGINES Of Sealants, Thread Lockers & Adhesives: How to select the right BACK TO BASICS gasket sealant, thread locker and Doing-it-yourself demands that you plan for the inevitable by securing the adhesive for your marine engine. parts, learning about installation and troubleshooting and improvising when By Robert Hess necessary. Here are some lessons learned from two veteran cruisers. By David and Zora Aiken DOCKSIDE Some new products, some old favorites and some solutions to a RIGGING few maintenance matters. DRIVING FORCE POWERBOAT RIGGING Hydraulic steering systems are easy to maintain provided you heed the A Smarter Way To Better Handling: warning signs. Read on for details about how hydraulic systems are config- This simple device improves boat- ured, and how to troubleshoot and maintain them. performance and handling By Nick Bailey GOOD BOATKEEPING Light by solar; Easy to make board- MAINTENANCE ing plank. By David & Zora Aiken GO BARE Departments A well-built scrubbed teak deck can be maintained with a minimum of elbow Currents grease. Here’s how from two veteran circumnavigators. Talkback Q&A Used Boat By Lin and Larry Pardey Blister Beware; Outdoor-Proof AC Outlets; Bonding Bronze; Outboard MID-SEASON CHECKUP Trim Refilling; A Hole in One; A stem to stern seasonal maintenance checklist. Grounding Effects; Formula for Deck Cracking; Soak It Up, Y’all! Tech Tips A collection of boat- tested hints and tricks. Currents E-Edition Queries load the current issue plus the three aged.) My new motto? Check your most recent back issues. To preview wiring and connections before you the EZINE, go to DIY ONLINE at call the repair shop. www.diy-boat.com and click on Bruce Colman, “Solaro,” Ottawa, “Free Preview.” Ont. How do I download the whole issue Customer Service at once to make printing easier? Wanting Glenn Noonan, Rochester, New York I clicked into your site when looking for information to resolve a problem Currently you can only download a with my Suzuki outboard. The great- page at a time. Since each issue I have been buying your magazine est statement I discovered in one of averages a 5mg file size, this was off the newsstands, and, since I your articles was something to the done to facilitate downloading. For effect of, “An engine will last for- move around a lot, will continue to high-speed users, we’ll be adding a ever, as long as it is maintained do so. Can I get an online only sub- link to download an entire issue. properly.” The connotation was that scription? I don’t want the magazine Reefer it doesn’t necessarily have to die sent to an address. and be buried. I had just spent an Troubleshooting Bob Ulland via email afternoon talking to three Suzuki I had a problem with my boat’s 12- dealer technical reps between The DIY EZINE is an exact copy of volt refrigeration compressor. It Miami, Florida, and Marathon in the printed version. As an EZINE would power up, cycle briefly, then the Florida Keys. Two reps said my subscriber you can view, print or shut down. This would go on contin- engine problem was “old age.” download the current issue plus uously, and after a few minutes I’d (That’s what they said, honest!) The three most recent back issues. The give up, shut off the compressor, cost is US$15/CDN$22. To sub- and head out to buy more ice. I scribe or preview a trial issue, click decided to call the repair people. IS IT AC OR DC? on DIY EZINE at www.diy-boat.com. Later, while rewiring the autopilot I You can order directly online and came across an unrelated wiring Q. What is the best way to check if a receive your user name and pass- connection that was poorly spliced circuit on board is AC or DC powered? word. If you prefer, call us toll-free at using a pigtail-style household con- A: Trace the wiring back to its power 1-888-658-BOAT (2628). nector. I traced the circuit and dis- source or to the electrical appliance covered that it powered the fridge I have a subscription to DIY. Does it’s feeding. If the wires terminate at this automatically make me a mem- compressor. After crimping and insu- the DC electrical panel or a DC appli- ber of DIY EZINE? If so, how do I lating the connection heat shrink tub- ance, it’s a DC circuit, and likewise log in? ing, the fridge cycled properly. The for a 110V AC circuit. Be extremely David L. Snyder, Chapmansboro, prior connection was adequate to careful in tracking wires to loads and Tennessee deliver the full 13.5 volts to the com- pressor when it was idle, but when supply circuits, especially when you You need to subscribe to the EZINE, it powered up, the load and resis- see aftermarket wiring and equip- but as you’re a subscriber to the tance from the faulty connector ment installations. AC circuits are print edition, the cost for the E-ver- increased. This caused the voltage dangerous, so I don’t recommend sion is 1/2 price (US$7.50/ to drop to a level where the com- anyone attempt to take a reading CDN$11). This offer is not online, pressor’s battery saver circuit kicked with a multimeter across a set of in to shut down the compressor. (DC so to order and receive your user ID wires without knowing if they are and password, call us toll-free at 1- refrigeration systems have a feature part of an AC or DC circuit. 888-658-BOAT (2628). With DIY that saves the batteries from being — Kevin Jeffrey EZINE you can read, print or down- discharged and permanently dam- system failure.” It would appear to me that if you have KNOTTY KNOW HOW an engine that is stalling and you change the method supplying the fuel (different tank and direct hookup to Flaking Down the engine), and this change results in the engine not stalling, the problem is somewhere in the original fuel It’s better to flake an anchor, dock, tow or any long line supply system. If the stalling continued, then the fuel sys- rather than coil it to prevent it becoming a tangled mass. tem is eliminated as the problem. A loop of coiled line often picks up another loop as it’s Jim Adams, Executive Officer, Georgian Trent District, running out. Flaking involves laying the line in a series Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, Orillia, Ontario of figure eights so it pays out freely. To flake a line, follow the lay of the rope and make You’re absolutely correct. a large loop by twisting the line counterclockwise, then twist the end of the loop clockwise to form the eight. Floor Repair: Another Way Repeat, forming as many figure eights as desired or to I enjoyed the article “Floor Saver” in Shop Talk, DIY the end of the line. Take care to keep all turns the same length. third gave a more rational explanation. He said it was either from water in the fuel or clogged carburetor jets. I’ve suspected for many years that some marine engine “experts” are not technically qualified to service an out- board engine or diagnose symptoms. I think it’s because they either work for a dealership that believes in solving problems by selling new engines, or they don’t under- stand engine diagnostics, or maybe it’s a combination of the two. Unfortunately, for me, competent marine mechanics in the Keys are as rare as…. A past issue had a letter from a boat owner in Puerto Rico that was stranded at sea for four hours because a mechanic said his problem was corrected. I am begin- ning to suspect that there are many boat owners experi- encing the same level of service. After all, if all were hon- key-dory, why would people read your magazine? Louis Orosz, Hollywood, Florida A Fuel Miss I have been a subscriber since DIY was launched (1995) and enjoy reading your articles and making use of the hints and information. The article in your 2000-#3 book titled, “A User’s Guide To Outboard Maintenance,” page 27 under the heading “Troubleshooting: Fuel,” states in the last paragraph: “As a final check on boats with inboard fuel tanks, attach a portable tank directly to the engine. If the engine doesn’t stall, this eliminates the fuel How to Contact us moisture with complete fiberglass Publisher & Editor encapsulation of the wooden Jan Mundy stringers. VP Sales & Marketing Mail: Steve Kalman Allen Hansen, Decatur, Illinois P. O. Box 22473 Contributors David & Zora Aiken, Nick Bailey, Susan Alexandria, VA 22304 Winners of DIY Draw Canfield, Robert Hess, Robert Winners of DIY’s Product Information Hempstead, Charles Husick, Kevin Jeffrey, Wayne Redditt, Paul & Sheryl Phone: 1-888-658-2628 Card Giveaway who received a Shard Clymer Engine Maintenance and Designer & Webmaster E-mail: [email protected] Repair Manual from the 2000-#4 Guy Drinkwalter issue are: Ron D’Agostino, L’Anse, Circulation Michigan; Andy Mead, St.