[nccouple]

Multi part question here. I'm sitting here hove to so I could scrub my head sail. We're on our first spring sail. Rolled out the sail and had about half a gallon of nuts hit the deck. Not that big of a deal, I see no damage to the sail but it's covered in mold now. So what's the best way to get rid of this mold. Just scrubed it with Clorox and it barly touched it. See attached photo.

Second part. I'm having tight steering issues. We come down one weekend over the winter and all of a sudden the steering got tight. The boat got pulled about 3 weeks ago, had the rudder straightened and the problem went away. It was bent and rubbing the boat. Now 3 weeks later it's tight again. Haven't hit anything it just happens while sitting in the slip. Anybody have any ideas what's going on here.

 

[Markwesti]

Bummer , that's nasty. When you say Clorox , do you mean straight bleach ? Sorry can't help with the rudder .

 

[nccouple]

Bummer , that's nasty. When you say Clorox , do you mean straight bleach ? Sorry can't help with the rudder .

No not straight Clorox but the clorox spay cleaner. Got my bucket, brush and the spray. Does anybody know if I spray it on my sail and let it soak, come back later and wash it, if that will damage my sail?

 

[desert rat]

Data please. Tiller or wheel? Bent rudder post?

 

[nccouple]

Data please. Tiller or wheel? Bent rudder post?

Wheel steering. I was told that I must have hit something but I haven't. It happens when at the slip. I am in a shallow slip but it's mud and my keel is deeper that my rudder. Also I pull in bow first and it's nothing but soft mud. I will have a diver inspect it soon but I'm baffled. There's no reason for this to happen while at the slip.

 

[desert rat]

ET to fellow. You looked at cables, tension, pulleys, and lubrication so I will have to continue thinking. Sorry no idea either.

 

[tdw]

We had similar problem with our steering last year. In our case it was the Stave (aka Cutless) bearing.

 

[travlin-easy]

I suspect your rudder post is bent from the boat sitting on bottom during extremely low tides. There are some smaller boats that have thin, shim washers to hold the rudder down and keep it from rubbing the hull. Those washers were made of nylon and can compress, especially if the boat is sitting hard on the bottom and resting on the rudder. Worth a look.

Now, the best way I know of to get rid of those stains is to go to the Dollar Store and purchase a can of LA Absolutely Awesome cleaner. Spray it on the stain, let it sit for about a minute, scrub it off and rinse thoroughly. This stuff is like the name says - Absolutely Awesome.

Good Luck,

Gary

 

[Skipper Jer]

I second Gary's suggestion on the Absolutely Awesome cleaner. I've used on the deck, its magic.

 

[bblument]

I second Gary's suggestion on the Absolutely Awesome cleaner. I've used on the deck, its magic.

Are you guys sure you don't mean "Totally Awesome?" That's what I use.. great stuff. Have they upgraded it to "ABSOLUTELY Awesome" now?!?! If so... I'm ticked!! I don't have any!!! Gotta git me some!! :laugher

Barry

 

[tdw]

Are you guys sure you don't mean "Totally Awesome?" That's what I use.. great stuff. Have they upgraded it to "ABSOLUTELY Awesome" now?!?! If so... I'm ticked!! I don't have any!!! Gotta git me some!! :laugher

Barry

nah .... they just discovered alliteration.

 

[travlin-easy]

My mistake on the name. It's LA Totally Awesome Cleaner - but it is absolutely awesome in the way it performs.

Gary

 

[RichH]

Clorox on dacron polyester .... DO NOT long term SOAK
ref.: Polyester - Chemical Resistance

Mold/mildew can be easily removed from woven polyester (dacron) by spraying on a caustic such as a Sodium Silicate based detergent (Such as Tuff'eNuff or Roll-On), scrubbing with a soft brush, let soak, brush again, then thoroughly rinse several times.
The caustic dissolves the mildew/mold cells.
Then, to remove any 'shadows' (residual tannins or iron staining) use full strength oxalic acid, then thoroughly rinse.

 

[lancelot9898]

I'll address your steering issue. I took delivery of a brand new boat back in 1985 and used it without much problems for a couple of years then one day we went out and the steering was very difficult. I could barely turn the wheel so I inserted the emergency tiller and it was still difficult. Making it back to the dock, I looked at the cable steering and all seemed fine, but after exploring the issue a little deeper I determined that the stiffness was in the pedestal. It was an Edson knock off and at the forward end of the pedestal where the wheel axle seated against the pedestal was the problem. A zirc fitting was installed and grease inserted and the problem was solved. That was more than 25 years ago and the problem never did happen again even though it's been many years since I've put more grease into it. Maybe I'll be doing that this spring.