I have a 1990 Californian with 2" prop shafts. The packing nuts have bottomed out and I need to add some more packing. It's not a problem to add the packing in the water, IF I have the correct packing to add.
Can anyone tell me what size packing is used?

I'm a new owner of a 1990 Californian 45. As with most 26 year old boats, it needs some TLC to make it right. Previous owners put some cosmetic money into it, but very little maintenance money, We're snowbirds and are keeping the boat in Jacksonville for the summer. We plan on spending 4-5 months this winter cruising the Keys and perhaps Bahamas.
I'm looking forward to sharing stories with all the other owners here.

I bought a dirty '87 Carver Riviera that needs it's fiberglass cleaned and polished. It's on the dry. A friend has suggested Slimy Grimy powder mixed in a 1 gallon spray container to wash it with. I also have a small low powered electric power washer to rinse it off.

It's my understanding I should use something to clean and prep the fiberglass gel coat after washing. What product should be used to do this, and HOW do you do it?

Then I will polish it with my electric orbital polisher. What product should I use for polish?

Thanks! I would appreciate any advise you may have.
Mike L.

Not sure how to navigate this site. Could someone assist in helping me find a forum about 1994 Volvo Penta Stern drives?

I have a 1998 Carver Mariner 350 with two Crusader TBI fuel injected 454’s.
The motors have a little over 1400hrs on them.
I’m mechanically inclined, not a professional but in my experienced opinion they run fine to me.
Over the course of my 14 day San Juan trip I placed 40hrs on the motors. The 40hrs were a combination of doing 9mph to 26mph.
the starboard motor used a quart of oil while the port used about 4oz.
They don’t smoke

Question is, when does one consider doing a top end job or is it needed or should I wait until something really stands out to fix?

I have a '98 Mariner 350.
The cabinetry is a light oak.
There are water stains in the wood....anyone know where I can get stain to take care of those spots?

I have what I think is 3/8" anchor chain on my 42' trawler. Not sure whether it is the super hardened type or not. I want to purchase a quality pair of bolt cutters in case I have to cut the chain loose in a bad situation. Definitely looking for better quality than Harbor Freight. Any recommendations on where to buy them?

Good Morning Fellow Boaters

My neighbor (about 4 docks down) mentioned to me that he thought there was a "Gas Sheen" coming from my dock area. He noted a "small sheen" going past his dock (maybe 300-400 feet away). When I observe the water around my dock, to be honest I cant see anything obvious but maybe a few "streaks" that look like they could be a "gas sheen". The gas in water that I have seen in the past is pretty obvious. Glossy surface that often times has a multi colored sheen to it. In addition, my lake is not the cleanest and is very alge laden so not easy to distinguish things at times.

Assuming that there is/was a sheen (I am going to, because I tend to be pretty conservative about these types of issues and want to make sure they are addressed), any thoughts on what could cause that? A few facts that might be helpful:

* The boat had not been run for over 48 hours when he reported seeing the "sheen". Basically, if there is fuel getting in the water, it is doing so when the boat is not in any type of operation and the engines had been cold for two days.
* I have a starboard, port and auxiliary tank. Since I last fueled, I have been running off the port and starboard tanks and they are at about 2/3rds full. The Auxiliary is still completely full (btw - when I bought the boat, the previous owner told me to use the auxiliary tank first, which I am not doing after my last fill up...never understood why he suggested this..maybe related?)

I do have one theory, which is that the Auxiliary tank, being completely full has leaked some fuel through it's overflow valve? When I check the valve, it does not appear to have any fresh fuel around it, but it has been a very hot weekend here in MI and thought if the tank was topped off, maybe the valve was releasing.

Any thoughts would be great.

Thanks
Rich

It's been a bit more than a month since I brought home our (new to us) Riviera. There have been many little projects, some minor, some more pressing. Besides the requisite cleaning and scrubbing of the deck, here are the main ones.

1) The Starboard engine was running rough. It was clear that it was running rich, so a carb rebuild was in order. I got a kit and a new float, and went to work. Upon reassembly, I noticed that if you opened the choke plates on the secondaries all the way, the linkage would drop down and jam them fully open. This "air metering" mechanism moves the fuel metering rods in and out of the jets. My bet is that they were stuck full open. Fuel problem fixed. Oh oh, still not running up to par. Turns out the PO has changed the points, but didn't reset the timing. It was ten degrees retarded from spec, set at TDC instead of 10 BTDC. Running fine now
While I was in there I did a compression check and the lowest was 165 with the highest being 180. Respectable for an engine with 1400 hours on it.

2) Checked the Port engine. Points were badly worn and way out of adjustment. Timing was 5 degrees advanced from spec. New points, dwell and timing set correctly, and now both engines feel matched.

3) One of the things the mechanical inspection revealed was that the fresh water hoses to the manifolds were the wrong type and were collapsing at the bend radius. They are now replaced with the correct hoses with the embedded spiral wire support.

4) On the electrical side, I bought a Noco Genius 3 way charger, installed a new AC outlet at the charger location and got everything hooked up. I was hoping to bring back the badly discharges house batteries. They took 2 days to charge, but they are not holding like they should. The start battery is fine though. Off to get a couple of batteries I guess.

5) Discovered a small leak around one of the fresh water tanks. You have to disassemble the rear bunk to get the tank out. I could not believe the stench when I drained the tanks, whew! It turned out to be the fitting on the tank that was split, so a repair was required. The fine folks at The Chandlery in Ottawa spun a new fitting into the tank for me. It's all back together now and holding nicely. A good shocking with some bleach has sent Mr. Stinky packing.

6) While I was in there I decided to add a shore water fitting to the system. I cut a 3" hole in the stern near the water tank vent for the installation. This way it is nice and accessible inside the aft closet.

7) Sunday's project was to remove and scrub down the canvas. While it was off, I took the opportunity to buff the oxidation out of the radar bridge and oil the teak around the cabin frame.

And the list keeps growing.....

cheers

Anyone got any tips for loosening up quarter turn thru hull valves....seems both engines and genny were not exercised and are now stuck wide open. I haven't really applied any force yet as boat is still in and being used.....anyone ??