http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog A boaters oddessy with Plastics. Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:04:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   This project does not involve any materials or services from PlasticWorks but it does deal with fiberglass. The rear deck of my boat has 2 large hatches. Inset at the edge of each hatch is a gutter or trough that handles any rain or wash water. In the gutter of each ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=24   I wrote earlier about the fold down table made for the rear deck area. The table works fine, always available and out of the way when not in use. However it is not very big. Thus when Patricia does a full meal there is not enough room for everything on ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=22   Rear View Camera   Pretty hard to make a case for this indulgence. Call it redundancy, always a good strategy where boats are concerned.   When steering from below, which I do frequently, as soon as it gets a bit rough, I cannot see behind the boat from where I sit to steer. The ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=21   Winter Cover Supports   I have a full winter cover for my boat. The high point is at the helmsman seat on the upper deck and from there it slopes down to the rear rail and then down to a cinching strap at the level of the swim grid.   The problem is right ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=20 Based on last summers cruising, which I did alone, I felt an autopilot would be a handy addition to Morning Star. I will spare you all the planning – where to locate the flux gate compass, how to tie the rudder sensor to the rudder arm, and all the work of ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=19 Propane Box Warning: What follows is a description of what I did. It is not a recommendation, has never been inspected, may not be legal or meet any required codes. This was an early project, but one of the most involved. Morning Star has a propane stove. The tank was located under the ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=18 Note Holder I always used to think of solving problems using wood (my dad was a carpenter). Then when I went into the roofing business I discovered sheet metal, and a lot of the problems wood could not handle sheet metal could. Now in the plastics business I think I have ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=17 There are 3 Novus products: Novus 1 is a straight cleaner and anti static preparation for acrylic. It is not a scratch remover. Novus 2 is used to remove fine scratches or hazing. Novus 3 is a much more aggressive scratch remover than Novus 2 and can be used for deeper scratches. ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=15 Book shelves are always needed on a boat, but where do you put them? My solution was to put them on a valance at the head of the V berth. The shelf is made of ¼” acrylic with a low lip in front and a larger up stand at the ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=14          Let me digress. This summer I went cruising for a month. Let me tell you a bit about it. I have done a lot of single handed boating, mostly sail, but this was my first extended cruise alone, my wife having given up on boating. From Vancouver I headed north toward ... http://plasticworks.ca/DennisBlog/?p=13