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PWC Warfare
We have a PWC Conflict Resolution Page (www.usps.org/pwc) that is directed at trying to provide means of resolving conflict without ending up in court. Obviously, you have one of the most unique methods of resolution. With your permission, I'd like to link to the AIM-9M method, with some sort of tongue-in-cheek reference. Hopefully you intend to leave the page up for some time. By the way, having had experience with the AIM-9 in various configurations, I think you made a great choice! Best regards, Carl Mahnken National Executive Officer United States Power Squadrons I am a rower on the Tennessee River. PWCs are a problem here too. I really appreciated your article on the air to air missle. Unfortunatly, a missle of that size would sink a single scull so I guess I'll have to find an alternative. sincerely, Marie Miesel As a swimmer/fisher/skier who has contemplated intalling a grenade launcher on the boat dock to deter PWCs, I thoroughly enjoyed this article. Nice to know someone else is as warped as I am *L*... ...Keep laughing, it drowns out the voices.... Connie Swords The grenade launcher would be nice, but is an unguided weapon providing limited effectiveness. If the AIM Sidewinder is out of your budget, try the ol' dependable 50 cal machine gun with tracers, as suggested in last month's letters section. Thanks for the note, and we wish you well with your weapons purchase. -ed. Touring in a Tropic Paradise I have to congratulate you on the Sept issue of On the Wire. Kim Miller's piece on the Austrailian catamaran tour of the two youths was fantastic. Very well done. Keep up the work. The e-rag is one of the best sailing resources on the net. I wish you well in advertising and t-shirt sales to keep up the financial side of things. Gary Willcox Putting a Name on Your Boat I read David Hendrick's article on putting names on boats and have a suggestion to pass on. Spray liberally on both the sticky side and boat with a mixture of 1/2 glass water and quite a few drops of dish detergent ( mild type ), using wife/crew's plant water sprayer, so as to provide a slippery surface to set letters on. Once satisfied with position remove water by means scraping top side with ruler, old credit card, etc... Attention! make sure you remove all water or after drying you'll have a bubble of air. A good helping hand/crew/wife is a must if you want any big size stickers. Pity it's too late for you, yet you did a great job anyway. By Brazilian Navy rules I must put on a code, a number, club name, town where registered ( at least 5 cm tall ) and boat name ( at least 10 cm tall ) on both sides. John Kennedy |
Somebody's Using this Stuff!
I've just completed a flurry of work on my Hobie 16, relying on guidance and inspiration from On The Wire contributors. I'm very excited with the results and thought it's about time to return the favor by offering a few tips from my experiences. The March 1997 article on "Repairing Hull Bottoms" is right on! Fiberglass Coatings, Inc. out of St. Petersburg, Florida (www.fgci.com or 1-800-272-7890) has all the supplies, and their laminating epoxy costs less than half of West Marine's! Also, their basic epoxy's mixture is 1:1 rather than West's 5:1, minimizing mixing problems which are the number one cause of failed cures. While I had the boat upside down for this job, I also epoxy coated the deck lip...silicone just won't hold up there. As mentioned in the OTW article, don't even think about doing this without a power sander! Finally, I'm a little concerned about long-term UV damage, but, the way I figured it, this finish rarely sees direct sun and it's going to eventually wear anyway, right? I also refinished my EPO rudders with epoxy and graphite powder (about 10% by volume) as described in the June 1997 '"EPO Rudder Refinshing" article, and they turned out great. The epoxy I used seemed very viscous so I skipped the silica additive...MISTAKE! Even though the mixture is thick, the silica is needed to prevent running and sagging because the tack-free time is very long and the epoxy is so self-leveling. I refinished the comp tip with this same mixture. I also had my boat name (October 1997 and September 1998 articles) and registration numbers put on very inexpensively, yet professionally. (Finally...her soul is complete!) They were vinyl sandwiched between a somewhat stiff backing paper and a flimsy wax "fronting" paper. The signmaker who cut mine offered to put them on for free, and I have tips from observing him. First, he recommended gasoline for removing wax, etc. from the application site as opposed to acetone; supposedly it leaves less residue. (Hey, he's the 26 year pro at this, not me!) This was followed by glass cleaner. Once the location is selected but before peeling the backing paper off, tape the entire bottom edge of the sticker assembly to the boat with masking tape. At this point it can be moved and retaped if it's not perfect. When it's taped just so, fold the whole thing upside down and remove the backing paper by peeling down from what is now one of the top corners. Meanwhile, the masking tape will hold the "fronting" paper (with the vinyl lettering still attached) in place. Now the "fronting" paper can be carefully folded back up and the lettering applied by firmly working back and forth with a squeegee (spelling?), slowly proceeding upwards from the bottom. Finally, the "fronting" paper can be peeled off and discarded with the masking tape. The masking tape trick holds the thing in place during the whole operation so that one can make good on this one chance deal (as it's accurately described in the September 1998 article). I hope you find something in all this worth passing on to your readers. I really enjoy the e.zine and appreciate the hard work. Jerome Vaughan Reservoir Sailing Association Jackson MS Hobie 16 #89445 "RATTLE 'N HUM" |
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