Recent content by JohnnyAlpha

Another option for the standing water problem is to buy or build a dry bilge pump system. Basically they are small self priming diaphragm pumps hooked to a pickup with sponge. Here’s one example https://www.westmarine.com/buy/seaflo-marine--dry-bilge-system-12v--19797125 I’m finishing up making...

My 2004 270 sundeck was missing the same part. I was able to track down the original manufacture and they made me a new one for $173 shipped. It came in white abs so I gel coated it with color matched gel and it looks perfect. Hopefully they made yours as well and still have the mold. Formco...

Temperature would have an effect on the amount of catalyst you would need though 40° is awfully cold to be working with this stuff. You still would need to block oxygen in order for the gel to fully cure. Thicker applications can cure internally but the surface generally won’t achieve a full...

This is the only nickel vinyl that Bristol upholstery has now, the color is similar but the texture is much different. Your vinyl looks more of a platinum to me but it’s hard to tell from pictures. I had ordered a few yards of the flat nickel vinyl from them to make a missing cushion but it...

Polyester resin and polyester gelcoat needs to be in the absence of oxygen to fully cure. There are a few ways this is usually accomplished the simplest is to use a wax additive or buy waxed gelcoat. During the curing process the wax additive will float to the top cutting off the oxygen. The...

I’ve had a NOCO GB150 for quite a few years now and it’s served me well. Recently I picked up a new new lithium jump box so I could leave the NOCO in the boat. Based on a friends recommendation and a good review by Project Farm on YouTube I bought a GOOLOO 4000 and so far I would definitely...

I had one extremely stubborn one it snapped a few times. I soaked it for a week a ton of pb blaster with no luck. I ended up heating the housing with map gas, welding a nut on the end of the stud, quickly cooling just the stud with a can of upside down canned air then I hit it with the impact...

Check the length of the studs on your housing. I believe two of the studs on my alpha gen 1 were shorter than the rest

SeaFlo sells a few pumps with built in float switches and ton of no name Chinese versions on Amazon too. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my boat in the water unattended without a backup bilge pump. These small pumps are all pretty failure prone and especially the float switches...

yes I understand that the primary reason the vents are there are for moisture but they are rearward facing scoop vents nonetheless. They will allow any pressure differential to transfer and like you mentioned their design may potentially pull a vacuum inside the cover. Like Arminius my cover is...

Yes, I’ve been followed by a friend with no reported problems. My Westland Sunbrella cover has two sewn in vents just aft of the windshield.

I have the Westland Sunbrella cover for my 270 Sundeck. This spring I trailed it total over 1000 miles with just the straps pulled tight. I haven’t installed the vented support pole yet and didn’t experience any billowing or flapping of the cover. If you put a twist in the straps it should keep...

If you suspect an area to be wet I would definitely start with a very small hole. You can probe the area to verify its foam filled and if it’s wet or not. This way if it’s dry you can just seal it up with some 3m marine sealant. If you find wet foam you won’t be able to vacuum all the water out...

I would also inspect the transom assembly for “bravoitis” and if the boat is used where marine growth is an issue inspect the water pickup passage in the out drive for growth.

When many types of foam are exposed to water for extended period of time they will actually absorb water and become very heavy. Water only needs time and a way in such as a leaking screw hole to slowly saturate the foam. If the area that’s waterlogged is large enough to add significant weight to...