CARVER
OWNERS CLUB
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CARVER
OWNERS CLUB
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December 2006
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Stories |
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Marine Services Update First, the bad news. I mentioned that Outstanding Marine had an excellent reputation. I heard a few comments about that. The summary is that Outstanding Marine may not be the best choice for gasoline engines. Several instances of poor diagnosis and improper service were reported, along with a less than responsive solution from Outstanding Marine when problems came up. And the good news:
Just a note on Anchor Bay Marina, Art is an Allstate Preferred Repair
Shop. Anyone with an Allstate Yacht Policy can save repair time with
him. Allstate lets him write the estimate and fix it (most times no
waiting for an adjuster). He has earned the trust. The new Allstate
rates are good and the coverage area is better than most.
Also, in the Crabs and Pots feature I put Fathom This in the wrong town. They are in Hertford, NC, not Edenton. I failed to mention Frank and Goldie at Shady Oaks Yacht Sales and Marina for their help in finding good service facilities on the ICW and their excellent responsiveness to someone who is not a customer. Thanks.
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Gasoline Fuel Tanks -
Empty or Full? An alert member sent me a copy of the Boat/US magazine article about storing gasoline fuel tanks full or empty. The Boat/US article included the same points about stabilizer not working on ethanol; separation problems with long storage of blended (ethanol/gasoline mixtures) gasoline (that is, the ethanol and the gasoline separate into two distinct layers with long storage); and the fact that ethanol attracts water. Then, the Boat/US magazine article recommends that the gasoline fuel tanks be filled to about 80% capacity for over winter storage. Sort of. Boat/US magazine says not to store the fuel tanks one half or one quarter full. The best solution is to completely empty the gasoline tanks and the engines of all fuel. I've only been able to do that once, by accident. Boat/US supports its recommendation with 10 years of research from mid-western marinas which sold the ethanol/gasoline mixtures.
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Carver Recall The US Coast Guard just issued a recall for some Carver boats. The affected boats are 350 and 360 Carver Mariners from 1997 to 2007. The isolation bulkhead is not properly sealed and needs to be repaired. The isolation bulkhead keeps gasoline fumes from entering the areas of the boat where specialized electrical equipment is not required. The specialized equipment is "ignition suppressed". If you own one of these 914 boats, contact your nearest Carver boat dealership for more information or go to the USCG web site at http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/recalls_detail.aspx?id=060049s
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Window Problems
It seems that the cold weather is making window problems more apparent. If your boat has frameless windows, that is windows that do not have an aluminum frame that can be unscrewed from the outside, check them to see if they have "popped" loose. The cause is use of a substandard adhesive or process and the leaks can be catastrophic. If anyone has a good approach to replacing the felt insulation around the standard windows, please pass that along.
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Here are the confirmed events planned for 2007
Here are the events we have tentatively planned for 2007
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| Accessories for Sale Now that you've cleaned out the dock box, boat, garage, basement, and cars for boating season, maybe now is a good time to put up some of your unneeded items for sale on the Accessories For Sale Web Site. We have excellent results from these listings. One of the more difficult things to do with this is to get the seller to respond in a timely way to inquiries. Dinghies sell especially well - electrical cords not so well. Photos help, as does a quick response to requests for information from prospective buyers.
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Robert's research and easy writing
style make his articles fun to read and easy to understand. This
month's article, "Why Is There Air?", is equally well researched and
easy to read. However, you may choose to read it in a secluded
setting. My outbursts of laughter from the images in the article
eventually got me thrown out of the Starbucks. As Robert says, if
you would like to write an article for the newsletter, it doesn't have
to be long or even funny, but send it along. Here's the link to
his article Why Is There Air? |
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Favorite Cruising Spot I need your help for an upcoming version of the newsletter. Send me a description of your favorite place to cruise or stay and why it is your favorite. For example, one of our favorites is Urbana Creek, in Virginia. Friendly people, good restaurants, good grocery within walking distance of the creek, reasonable anchorage, and great fishing for Patsy makes it fun.
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