Altamira is a Marine Trader double cabin trawler, 38 feet LOA, built in Taiwan ROC in 1988. We bought the boat from the original owner in 2007. The boat has some window and deck rain water leaks that I consider typical for her age and construction, but generally, quality is good, construction is suitable, and […]
Author Archives: Joe Wharton
Clean the Paintbrush – Clear the Air
Oil based paints, including the one-part polyurethanes, and associated thinners and reducers, correctly used, emit modest amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the air. Best practices for application of these paints will minimize but cannot eliminate these emissions – simply put, the VOC content dissipates to the atmosphere as the paint dries. One way […]
Measure and Mix Paint With a Digital Food Scale
Small quantities of liquids can be measured using graduated cups and flasks – for liquids like paints and epoxies, measuring by weight is more accurate, wastes less material, and is way less messy. An inexpensive digital food/kitchen scale and a bit of math are all that’s needed. A five pound capacity is adequate, the scale […]
Tasty New England Style Clam Chowder
Quality canned clam chowders are pretty tasty – here’s a fast and easy way to improve the result. One pot to wash. Go easy on the added salt, needs pepper. About two hearty servings. Ingredients: One 18.8 ounce can Campbell’s Chunky New England Style Clam Chowder, two 6.5 ounce cans Snow’s Bumblebee Minced Clams, one […]
Brush Apply Oil Based Paint to Wood and Fiberglass
Preparation of any surface to be painted is up to 75 percent of the painting task – here’s my way to complete the last 25 percent using oil based polyurethane paint, on a first project, and for many to follow. Alas, I cannot and do not guarantee results. I will tell you how to get […]
This Waypoint on the Journey
Here’s a brief description of the process that delivered me to this place in the Weblog universe. I retired from Jacobs Engineering Group at the end of 2013. I spent the next year or so completing the reconditioning of the 1988 Marine Trader trawler we bought in 2007. In 2015, I started a marine sales […]