ABS non fj related

[big r]

Just spent 6 hrs. working on the lights on my logging trailer. Had a dead short that would affect the brake lights and the signals. Completely rewired the back end of the trailer and could not get B/L to work. The frickin abs system had a short in it and was feeding back through the brake lights. Sometimes I really hate modern technology. If I would have known that was problem I could have had it done in 5 mins. Well it is time for a couple of rum and eggnogs. Everybody have a great Christmas and a happy New year. Big R

[FJmonkey]

Better than getting shipped off to to Mexico for 4 weeks to program a welding robot and seeing your job slip away... Good luck with your repairs.....

On the lighter side Ray, Merry Christmas and happy new year. Things will start looking up. 

[Capn Ron]

Chasing electrical gremlins and getting shipped off to Mexico is right up there with sanding the bottom paint off the sailboat on Christmas eve.  I hauled the boat out yesterday:



All the sanding is done...It's a brutal job where you basically run a sander overhead until complete muscle failure...then you realize there's still more to do:



my Christmas day is looking like masking, painting (first coat) and servicing the six thru-hulls.  Then more paint on Thursday...maybe resplash the boat on Friday.  Not my idea of a perfect Christmas week, but it's sunny and well into the 70's all week and I just couldn't pass it up!



Merry Christmas all!

Cap'n Ron. . .

[FJmonkey]

I remember those days when I would drive to the docks, find where my sail boat was parked, throw a wad of money at it, then drive home....

[Harvy]

Ron, lookin at that last pic, surely among all those masts you could have picked one that didn't need all that work........

Harvy

[Capn Ron]

Ron, lookin at that last pic, surely among all those masts you could have picked one that didn't need all that work........

Harvy

You'd think so!     I've had this boat (Catalina 30) for 16 years...turns out you need to do bottom paint pretty frequently as the boat is in salt water year-round.  Most suggest every season...well that's if you pay a boatyard to spread a 1/2 gallon of poor quality paint thinly over the boat for about $1,000 USD.  If you get a good boatyard, they'll use a whole gallon of the cheap stuff and you can get two...maybe three seasons out of it for around $1500.

I do things myself for a lot of control over the results (much like the FJ).  I use TWO full gallons of top-end ablative paint (Pettit SR-60 @ $250/gallon) and do all the prep work and painting myself.  I look for off-season boat yard specials on hauling and lay-days.  If I get on it, I can get back in the water, owing the yard around $650 for a total job cost of under $1,200 and easily get six years out of the paint.

Each time I do this, somewhere in the midst of grinding I swear I'll never do this again.  Six years go by and I seem to forget how tough a job it is and have at it!!

First gallon is done today!!!  I just have to apply the second gallon tomorrow and re-launch on Friday!   

Cap'n Ron. . .