Product Reviews

[KismetP362]

Pros:
This stuff is the best. I keep one on the boat, in the dingy, in the truck, in the garage, in the shed, and in the basement. My wife gets a couple bottles for my father and I each year for Christmas. Use on electronic contacts, trailer parts, squeaks that keep you up at night, Polish SS with it, uber-penetrant everything.

Cons:
$15 a bottle, the aerosol version runs out of aerosol before it runs out of liquid (avoid), Dust and dirt do get caught in it. Little goes a long way and I'm always putting on way to much.

I get mine at HamiltonMarine.com

[ereiss]

It works. Came back to boat, last year, to find that the cormorants had decided my spreaders were the "in place" for dining. Poop-off removed their leavings from the sailcover and dodger beautifully.

Doesn't get any better. Actually it does, new boat is Freedom which has no spreaders.

Can be found in pet supply stores and Amazon.com

[Gene T]

Duraglit or Never Dull. Same thing but it is very handy and works great for cleaning stainless.

[thekeip]

Just got a chance to use a product called "Spotless Stainless", introduced on Sailnet a few months ago, and am pleased to report that the stuff is every bit as good as the chap said it was. This is a product that is a creamy white gel one applies with a short bristle "acid brush" to the affected rust stain. Leave it on for 30 min and hose it off. I find I'm more comfortable using it than I am with FSR, also a gelled rust stain remover. I haven't used Spotless in general stain removal applications on gelcoat as I have with FSR, but as far as Stainless cleaning is concerned this stuff gets my whole hearted approval.
Howard Keiper
berkeley

[dougshipl]

I second Gene T's thoughts on the Pettit Trinidad SR bottom paint. We had a Irwin 34' sloop we kept in Richmond Bay Marina in SF and it lasted 3 years. Then we sold the boat when we relocated and used the product in combo with Interprotect 2000 as a barrier coat on a 46' we purchased in Fort Lauderdale and often sail in warm Bahama waters. When we hauled last Oct...after 2 years...it was in better shape then the Irwin hull. We had slime on the waterline on the sunny side of the hull while at dock but that was it.

[T37Chef]

Originally Posted by L124C

Wow! Your heeling at 30 degrees and eating (off plates no less)! Leave the galley, go up and release the traveller...It got windy!

LOL, yup, maybe I exaggerated a bit Ya think.

[LinekinBayCD]

I could not resist the sale at West Marine for the Gamin Oregon 400c handheld, $299 vs. a Garmin list of $499 and online prices at GPSCity.com of around $425 and $450 at TigerGPS.com. I got this as a backup to a fixed mount Garmin 3006c and Garmin GPSMap 478 (transportable but not a handheld). It is replacing a garmin GPSMap 76 (being retired because of the grey scale screen and my need for reading glasses. The big features for me with the Oregon 400c were the price, the fact that it is preloaded with all US coastal charts and the color screen.

In addition to the above units I have owned a Garmin GPS 12, a GPSMap 12 and a Nuvi 205 (still using). I'm obviously a big fan of Garmin products and put the order in as soon as I saw the sale price and compared some online vendors. This is a preliminary review as I have not used it on the water yet.

Pros

All US costal charts preloaded.

Excelent GPS reception. I'm getting 4 out of 5 bars inside a stone portion of my house.

Good color screen, in sunlight and in shade.

Battery usage appears to be very good. Use two AA's Alkaline, Lithium, rechargeable.

Contains tide tables and sun/moon phases

Update of unit software very easy.

Download of waypoints and routes from Garmin Mapsource program very easy.

Is a fair amount smaller than the Garmin GPS 72-76 series.

Accepts map data cards.



Cons.

Menu system not very intuitive. Different from any other Garmin unit I am familar with.

Software used appears to have been designed for hikeing and fitness use rather than marine use. Some typical marine functions not found such as "course to steer", "speed over ground". The software for the GPS 72-76 series better designed for marine use.

Instructions on calibrating touch screen difficule to find but at end of manual.


4/6/10

Still have not used it on the water yet but did have a problem with the software update installed as part of the online registration process. There is a glitch with the latest software version 3.7 which prevents the unity from being put into the "nautical" mode which changes the default screen colors making it easier to read the charts and with the display of spot sounding. Tech support at Garmin with providing a work around untill an updated version of the software is issued. They emailed an earllier version of the unit software to be installed (very easy) until the fix is made.


5/17/10

Finally tried it on the water as a back up to a Garmin 3006 and 478.

Pros

Found current stations in the preloaded software, a nice surprise.



Cons
Ther vertical (portrait) orentation of the screen doesn't work as well IMHO as the horizontal (lanscape) orentation of either the 3006 or 478.

The unit software does provide tide charts which can be adjusted for other than the current date but it does not provide an indicator line of the current time. You need to interpert where you are on the tide chart from high and low times.

[JimMcGee]

We've been gradually upgrading everything on our boat so the OEM plastic light fixtures had to go. Imtra makes some great looking pieces. I originally hesitated because of the price, but wanted something sharp for our new bulkhead light.

I ordered the St Maarten with a glass shade at the boat show and was really impressed when I received the light. Excellent build quality, high quality connectors and a really sharp looking piece.

After a year I noticed some slight pitting in the shade and called Imtra. They were aware of a problem with some lights and without question shipped me two additional glass shades. I'm VERY impressed with their products and customer service.

Jim

[SuzySailor]

Okay, just worked my way all the way through this very useful thread. Our contribution:

Harbor Freight Multi-Function Tool. We're getting to the end (thank the Gods) of a complete deck replacement, and use this tool fairly continuously, every day. We got two, eventually, and got the $5 extended warranty with each. With two we can both work at the same time, keep them set up with different blades, or with blades set up at different angles. Also if one croaks, you still have the other. They work great (though loud, I use ear plugs) and are about a tenth of the cost of the Fein Multi-Tool.

Another thing we love is the solar flashlights you used to be able to get at Costco. Not sure they're still there. Bright light, no friggin' batteries to change if you just keep them where they can get sunlight. VERY tough-- we melted one, and it's curved worse than a banana and still working...

Spotless Stainless is amazing in re-habbing corroded stainless steel.

[WanderingStar]

I installed one last fall to replace a dead PAR. I've read poor reviews of Jabsco pumps, but it was onboard, new in the box. I didn't try it until spring, when I refilled my tanks. It leaked. I tightened the fittings and clamps. It leaked. Tightened again, broke the outlet port. Bought a new port, reassembled, it leaked. Looking carefully, I see that the leak is from the pressure switch. Removed, tightened, reinstalled. It leaks. Removed, tightened the bottomplate screws. Reinstalled, no leak! I don't know how well the pump will last, but I'm not encouraged by the lax assembly procedure.