1
H. WARREN TIMM
PO Box 66(130 NE 26th Av,Ap301)
Waretown, NJ (Boynton Beach, FL)
08758(33435)
609-693-4513(561-739-9100)
""
November5, 2001
Dear Mainshippers;
Can summertime last forever? Obviously (at least to those in the Jersey area and farther north), there comes a time when boats must be put to bed for the winter – and for many of us that time is here. Of course, with ice picks in hand, one can extend the season a tad further, but few are enthusiastic about doing so. Now that we’re no longer out there on local waters, it’s time once again that we start gathering on our usual third Saturday of the month for dinner at the Captain’s Inn on Lacey Road in Forked River. For those in Jersey, this month it will be on the 17th, and next month on the 15th. Come if you wish and meet some very interesting people. Of course, talking about our favorite subject is guaranteed!
FEBRUARY FLORIDA FLING FOR FROZEN FLOATING FOOLS FESTIVAL
There’s so much in a name, isn’t there. Dave Mathias and Tom Clare have put together a weekend for all who would like to take their minds off shoveling snow up here in the north. They have arranged for a Mainship weekend in St. Augustine (FL, of course) on February 22nd, the 23rd, and the 24th. We start with lunch on Friday noon, followed by a tour of the Mainship plant there, and dinner on our own in St. Augustine. We learn that there are a number of great restaurants near the hotel, so that should provide the occasion for a great evening indeed. On Saturday, we can either talk about our favorite subject (guess what that is?) at the motel or do some sightseeing in St. Augustine. Getting around there is simple – a tram system will bring you about the city for a mere $9.00 for a three day pass. And on Saturday evening, there will be a dinner get-together for all at O.C. Whites, a popular place to eat in Florida. There is also a marina nearby where those coming by boat can find a place to secure their vessels and join with us.
Alright he says – just what will this be costing me? The Friday lunch is being provided by Mainship, the Saturday dinner will cost us $20 per person for a 3 course dinner (fish, steak, chicken, or vegetarian) with non-alcoholic beverages (others will most assuredly be available), and we have a block of rooms reserved at thefollowing motel:
HowardJohnson Express Inn, Double room at $69.95 per night. (Mention you are with our group)
137 San Marco Ave., St. Augustine FL 32084.
Telephone is 1-800-575-5290, or their fax number is 904-824-4743.
Registrations must be made by January 22nd, 2002.
To help organize this affair, there will be a $5 per person registration charge. Please send a check to cover this to Ed Duer, 5109 Horton Road., Oriental NC 28571 (). Ed would like to have you list your boat name when sending in your registration fee.
Ofcourse, anything with a reputation such as our gatherings have must have an alias. Harry Seeger, a recent Florida convert suggests: “Feb-Frost-Up-Yer-Nose-MS-Thing”. I might suggest not referring to this title when making reservations, however. Looking forward to seeing all who can attend at this grand weekend!!!
Just can’t keep up with ‘em! Last issue I related that Herman Stabile in Point Pleasant NJ had a reconditioned turbo for a 200 Perkins, but the area code was wrong. His number is: 732-295-0400.
Never underestimate the value of sea trials when you have some repair work done on your engine. Last month, a group of Mainshippers in Florida organized a raftup at Pelican Cove on the west coast of Florida. As it turned out, the weather was miserable, but they had close to a dozen boats turn out. One owner who had some recent repairs done on his turbo left for the rendezvous, but suffered a breakdown on the way down. The professionals who had repaired his turbo on a 170 Yanmar had neglected to remove a small plug from the turbo before installing it – and they DIDN’T take it out for a sea trial. What happened was that oil could not drain from the turbo, and it exited through the seal on the intake side winding up in the air intake of the engine. The engine, delighted with so much burnable fuel (the lube oil), just went overspeed throwing a rod out of the engine, and presumably could not be shut down during this process. The owners of this boat, however, did get to the Florida raftup by taking their dinghy to Pelican Cove where they launched it and participated in the affair. Our hats off to them for what must surely have been the most devoted effort to attend a Mainship raftup! And a warning to us all – if repairs are done on your boat, be sure to have it “road-tested” before heading out on a trip.
That soft, squishy feeling underfoot may be very welcome, if it’s source is the shoes you are wearing. But when it’s a Mainship deck that’sthe culprit, well that’s another story. Simon Josowitz has had experience in dealing with this common task of many of our owners, and here is what he has found:
“The previous owner of my 81 Model I had some areas of the side decks repaired by a yard using polyester resin. Shortly after purchasing the Mainship, I heard crunching sounds as I walked upon these areas. Upon investigation, I found that thepolyester resin was losing its grip between the underside of the deck skin and the balsa core underneath, and was cracking. I repaired the area, drill and fill, with epoxy and the repair has held up for ten years. Epoxy has better adhesive strength and flexibility than polyester. The drill and fill repair is actually bonding the underside of the top deck skin to the balsa core and the top of the lower skin. When you walk on the decks, it moves slightly from your weight, and the resin/balsa/laminate has to also move. If it doesn’t, it will lose its grip or start cracking. Polyester is brittle, has low peel strength, and was never meant to be an adhesive. Try fiberglassing a layer of cloth with polyester resin to an old cured fiberglass surface. After it has cured, you can peel the cloth off easily with pliers. With epoxy, it will be difficult.
“The other advantage of epoxy is its slow cure rate and longer working time. When wetting out balsa by injecting resin through tiny holes with a syringe, polyester will start to jell too fast to really soak in. With epoxy and a slow hardener, you can heat the resin to make it more liquid to help penetration, inject it into the holes and the resin will penetrate the core thoroughly before starting to harden. The curing of polyester resin can be slowed down by mixing less hardner, but the resin may not cure fully. Drill your holes in the deck, then wait several days to a week for the core to dry. Inject the resin and then allow it to harden.”. . . . Sounds like that’s the time to invite the others over for a square dance on the flybridge!
How hot is hot??? Again, Simon has come up with some figures of surface temperatures of decks with various colors of paint on them. In an atmosphere with an ambient temperature of 70°F, here is the temperature with various colors:
White =110 degreesTan = 140 degreesBlack= 175 degrees
Lt. Blue = 120 degreesBrown = 170 degrees
It looks as if to keep your cool, you must keep to the lighter colors. Of course, melting snow from a light deck might be more difficult, but what the heck!
Our best wishes to all for a great winter! Looking forward to saying hello to everyone who will be with us in St. Augustine!