Exterior Wood Finishes

[ebb]

That ugh in the last post doesn't work. So get on their site and punch the Q & A bar. E. is very much a traditional varnish with all the curtaining and bubbling problems spar varnish has. Varnish is probably formulated for grizzled chain smoking professionals who've spent their life breathing solvent fumes and learning how to barely control the syrup they spread on wood. It's a conspiracy in providing employment for yard workers.

You can check on how good the guy is by running your fingers along the underside of a rail to feel for any bumps there.

[willie]

Wasn't too hard to remove them, but i did have to crawl in under the cockpit to reach the fwd. bolts. Kinda felt like winney the poo stuck in rabbits hole. Thought i might be there till i lost about 40 lbs.! Thought about calling the xo on the cell to come and fetch me out, but it was out of reach in the cabin! All the time, the wind was howling about 35 knots, and biggest waves i've observed on the river. Figured out why they put in all the dams--keeps the water from blowing back up the river to Lewiston! Good day to stay in port and work on her.

Also removed my monster winch pads, with all the hardware/winches. Never had a winch apart, but am about to. So what are the recommendations for servicing Barlow winches? I've seen something somewhere about dismantling winches and greasing them up.

So now with the wood removed, sure looks like a good time for some deck painting. It never ends!!! Will have to wait for spring and warmer weather for that project. Might take that long to get it ready.

Hey, and while i'm on here, Christmas is just around the corner, and i still have a bunch of Ariel t-shirts.....

[commanderpete]

Here's something on Barlow winches. The company is out of business.

http://www.arco-winches.com/barient.html

There is probably a schematic for your winch somewhere on the internet.

You don't need a "winch service kit" they sell. You probably already have the proper grease and oil, and an old toothbrush. Go easy on the grease.

You ordinarily want to replace the pawl springs, but you can re-use them if they happen to be an unusual size.

It's a simple procedure to service them, but its easy to forget how they go back together. Its better to do one at a time for that reason, so you have the other as a guide.

Say willie, somebody once told me you can tell the wind direction by looking at birds and cows. Birds stand facing the wind and cows stand with their butts in the wind. Any truth to the cow part? Only cows around here are in the grocery store.

[willie]

Went down to the boat today, with plans of taking off the stern railing (pushpit? is that what it's called?). It was just tooooooo nice to stay tied up.
After about half an hour of standing on my head in the laz (i can't spill either) decided it was time to get creative and figure out how to rig something up to take the place of the winches, as they were sitting at home with the coamings! It was really a 150 day, with wind about 10 knots, but decided that by using the smaller jib, i could route the sheets to the inside blocks, and use the genoa track eyes to put some friction on the sheets, then take a couple round turns and half hitch around the stanchion (can't spell that one either!) on either side, as all the cleats were at home also. Worked ok, wouldn't want to do it all the time though. Ended up holding jib and main sheets and tiller working my way back into the slip, which was fun. Didn't have to row, so that helped! So, after i got that out of my system, the railing removal went great. It has one foot that's busted loose from the leg, so need to get it welded up. I haven't decided if it's stainless or just chromed something?? Have to take to in to the expert and find out.

Oh, cmdr. Pete.... our cows usually point toward the hay truck in the winter! If it isn't around, then they do point away from a fresh winter breeze. Horses too. And thanks for the great info., on winches, etc. I have to figure out something to hold the shaft, as all i have is a locking handle. Shouldn't be too tough to do, just haven't really thought about it much. Too busy sailing!!

[Bill]

Hey Bill,

FYI - West Marine stores usually have a library of schematics of every modern winch and will give you a photo copy of the one you need. Of course they carry repair kits, too.