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  1. The Mad Hatter

    West System vs ?

    I have been playing around building boats for over 30yrs. I have used a number of different resins over that time including but not limited to West, System3 , Bote coat, Gurit. While I have used many hundreds of litres of West , these days I find Bote coat is best when fairing and Gurit is best...
  2. The Mad Hatter

    Why is it getting so hard to get insurance (at least for a multihull)???

    I have a friend with a timber home built 29ft cruising cat that has just been dropped by CGU after 20yrs. He is in the process of insuring with YOUI but had to get a survey first. Now waiting on the survey report to pass on. Apart from out of date EPIRB and old life jackets believe all Ok.
  3. The Mad Hatter

    Why is it getting so hard to get insurance (at least for a multihull)???

    I could not get insurance for my F85SR with NRMA. There were a couple reasons from memory I think the mooring and carbon mast may have been the problem, possibly also insured value. So I insured with YOUI.
  4. The Mad Hatter

    Question on diy mast head - sheave placement

    My topping lift adjustment is back at the boom end so it just needs an attachment point at the top of the mast. But that may not work depending on boat.
  5. The Mad Hatter

    Wooden dinghy boat building tips

    Build a wood box big enough to store epoxy and put a light globe of at least 25w. That will keep the epoxy at a workable temp. I have used fan heaters and plastic sheeting to warm jobs before . You can adjust temp with venting to give a constant temp. I always monitor temp with  a thermometer ...
  6. The Mad Hatter

    Goodman Fielder Wattie Bicentennial Round Australia Yacht Race 1988

    I'm starting to think that my memory is playing tricks on me. I will keep looking . It would be good just to find an entry list.
  7. The Mad Hatter

    Goodman Fielder Wattie Bicentennial Round Australia Yacht Race 1988

    If my memory serves me right I don't think it got far. May of even dropped out on the first leg. 
  8. The Mad Hatter

    Goodman Fielder Wattie Bicentennial Round Australia Yacht Race 1988

    I remember there was a boat in this race with a bi-plane rig but can't remember its name or designer.  I have not been able to find anything out searching the net so putting it out there.......  Can anyone help me out with this or just have a list of entries as that may nudge my memory. I...
  9. The Mad Hatter

    Shelf life of resin / hardner

    I've had 20kg drums go solid. Got onto the supplier and was advised I needed to heat to 50deg C to remove all the crystals and return resin to normal without loss of properties. Good quality resins will do this if exposed to cold temps even well within their shelf life.  I've done this 3...
  10. The Mad Hatter

    How to Keep Tools From Rusting Onboard?

    My old man swore by two stroke oil. He used to wipe his tools down with it and said it stuck to them better than anything else. I can see how a wood box would work if the wood was impregnated with oil. I think I may give that a try.
  11. The Mad Hatter

    Panel held in by wood screws, but the threads in the wood are stripped

    Over size the hole, at least 1.5 times the current dia. Micofibre and epoxy mixed and use a syringe to inject into the hole. It is best you don't drill out the other side to minimise the chance of the mix passing out the bottom , but if you do no biggy just tape over it .  If there is a small...
  12. The Mad Hatter

    The "I built my own boat, or mostly built my own boat" thread

    I probably should of thought it through a little more over 40yrs ago before we were married. Her not liking sailing should of been  a dead give away.  I did raise that concern with my father-in-law , his advice was "don't worry women and boats are best kept apart."  but the jury is still out...
  13. The Mad Hatter

    The "I built my own boat, or mostly built my own boat" thread

    I got my first job at the age of 13 because I wanted to build my own boat. Since then I have built from ply , cedar strip and foam sandwich.   It became a compulsion , learning with each build and knowing with what I had learnt I could still do better. 50yrs on,  Mad Hatter was my last build...
  14. The Mad Hatter

    New on the water: The proa "Proasis"

    Well done! Yellow looks great but is such a hard colour to use. 
  15. The Mad Hatter

    Improving connection for stanchion base

    Put a nut on the bolt after you coat the bolt in vaseline. Glue the lot in. Once cured the bolt will undo leaving the nut so you can fit the stanchion, or have the bolt on the stanchion to help position it correctly , but undone sufficiently to make sure the nut is as deep as possible in the...
  16. The Mad Hatter

    Tramp Fabric

    "What is a good modern material for making a new one?" Chicopee mesh
  17. The Mad Hatter

    What filler will hide thin gaps

    If you are going to vanish and don"t want to use sawdust to make up the filler and you don"t want white bits from using Q cells  you may be able to us microballoons to give a darker brown or the west microlite to give a very pale brown or fawn colour.  Having said all that nothing is ideal.
  18. The Mad Hatter

    New winner - boom height/LOA ratio

    Saws are not that expensive.
  19. The Mad Hatter

    Oops

    Anyone know the boat? 
  20. The Mad Hatter

    looking for info/tutorials on diy fishnet trampoline

    The nets on my tri are dyneema SK75 netting for the main nets and fishing net for the fwd nets as they are just there to stop sails from falling in the water. On the main nets that take crew weight I just looped the netting over some 8mm rope and just weaved a couple rows of  3mm cord through...


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