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  • McCurdy and Rhodes 56 For Sale

    5 CommentsReading Time: 4 minutesFree

    The McCurdy and Rhodes 56 that we owned and loved for thirty years is for sale again.

    The asking price has recently been dropped to CAD$349,000 / ~US$259,000.

    This is a great boat at any price, but at this new price she represents a once in a very-long-while opportunity to buy an offshore-ready boat at about 15% of what it would cost to build her today.

    Heck, if you price the carbon mast (2005), new engine (2010) and spare parts, that’s the asking price close to accounted for, and you are getting the boat for near-free.

    If you are wondering why she is for sale again, I’m not at liberty to disclose that, but I do know the reasons and they have nothing to do with the boat.

    This is a boat that two knowledgeable owners (Phyllis and I) lavished 30 years of care and attention on. We detailed the boat from bow to stern to be simple, easy to use, and above all, reliable and easy to maintain.

    We left everything aboard: All our tools, carefully chosen to handle any repair or maintenance required, through to the custom linens and the fully equipped galley.

    She’s fast: We won our class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race, and yet she is easy to sail shorthanded—we were in the doublehanded class, and Phyllis and I never had trouble managing her by ourselves.

    In fact, I found her easier to singlehand, including a 1000-mile ocean passage and several coastal cruises, than the 45-foot boat I had before.

    And, like all Jim McCurdy boats, she has amazingly comfortable motion offshore. If you and/or your partner don’t like passages, this might be the boat that changes that for you.

    That said, she is not a beginner boat. While she is a small-big-boat, and rigged for ease of handling, she is also powerful enough to hurt the inexperienced.

    And, if you need a lot of automation to feel comfortable, she is not for you. That said, for those with the skills she is both safer and easier to sail, as well as a lot easier to maintain, than heavily automated boats.

    And, no, you don’t have to be a gorilla to sail her. I’m scrawny and far from some super-guy, even in my prime, and yet I was easily able to sail her by myself until we sold her just before I turned 70, and even then difficulty of sailing was not why we sold her.

    If you are already a competent offshore sailor, with emphasis on sailor, she just might be the boat for you.

    This is truly a boat that will take you anywhere you want to go, in safety and comfort:

    • Round the Horn?
    • Greenland?
    • Svalbard?
    • Baffin Island?
    • Trans-Atlantic?
    • The Caribbean?

    She has been there and done all of that, without problems or drama.

    Pretty Much All You Need to Know

    She is also one of the most written about boats for sale in the world, maybe the most:

    Learn more about her.

    And once you have joined this site, assuming you are not already a member, there are literally hundreds of articles about the boat explaining why she is set up the way she is and how to benefit from that.

    So Why Am I Writing This?

    I will get a few bucks when she sells (see Disclosure) but the overwhelming reason is that I still love the boat and want to see her get the owner she deserves, one who will take her back out there on blue water, where she belongs.

    Pass it On

    Even if she is not the boat for you, please pass this post on to others (outside paywall). This is a great opportunity for someone out there.

    Consulting With Me

    Obviously, there is no one who knows more about the boat than Phyllis and I do, so, although I don’t normally do one-on-one consulting, I will make an exception in the form of an up-to-one hour zoom call with anyone who is seriously interested.

    I can answer your questions and also discuss maintenance that will need doing in the future, so you have a clear idea of what your costs will be before making an offer—a near unique situation for a buyer to be in.

    That said, I don’t have the bandwidth to engage with every tire kicker who thinks it might be fun to chat boats, so I’m restricting this offer to AAC supporter members (US$120/year)—clearly, if you are not willing to invest that, you are not really interested in the boat.

    If you’re not already a member, you will need to join here, and if you are currently a member, but not a supporter, upgrade here.

    Once that’s done, send us an email and we will schedule the call.

    That said, if you want to discuss price, offers, and/or terms, call or email Jim Snair, the broker, not me.

    Disclaimer

    I have not seen the boat since the new owner sailed her away 18 months ago, but I’m told that she is in the same state she was then and that no equipment of gear has been removed.

    And anything I tell you in writing or verbally is, to the best of my knowledge true, but I make no warranty of the boat in any way. It’s up to you, and only you, to make sure she is safe and functional for your intended use and that the inventory and specifications are accurate.

    Disclosure

    In return for letting him use our photographs and video, the broker will pay AAC a small commission when she sells.

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    5 comments

  • Mono- or Multihull?

    6 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    As I have said many times before, I’m agnostic about the number of hulls a cruising boat should have. There are benefits and drawbacks to one, two, or three.

    That said, I do have a soft spot for some boats with three hulls, but that’s another post.

    Anyway, I came across this good article comparing the options that’s worth a read.

    I think the author does a very good job of pointing out that condo-cats are great for hanging out on, particularly in rolly anchorages, but if we want a cat or tri that sails well, we gotta keep her light, and if we are not willing to do that, the overloaded multi will have a hard time keeping up with a similarly loaded mono.

    That was certainly our experience over the years we sailed our McCurdy and Rhodes 56, and is also why our friends Steve and Linda Dashew turned away from cats (their first love) in favour of long thin monos.

    Real selection criteria to think about, instead of engaging in the silly which-is-best argument.

    Much more about how to cut through all the noise and blather to end up with the right boat for our needs.

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    6 comments

  • Servo-pendulum is Not Bullet Proof Either

    4 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    A few weeks ago I pondered the very high loads that auxiliary-rudder self-steering gears put on themselves and the parts of the boat they are bolted to, based on the failure of Simon Curwen’s Hydrovane gear while leading the GGR.

    Now we are getting reports that Abhilash Tomy is having a hell of a time keeping his Windpilot servo-pendulum gear operational.

    As I understand it, both Abhilash and Simon started having big time trouble with their gears when they got in really nasty weather west of Cape Horn and got broached repeatedly.

    Obviously, this is a small sample, but I think the takeaway might be that no vane gear is going to consistently stand up to broaches in big seas, no matter how well made. Seems logical.

    And, further, that the idea that a servo-pendulum gear will kick out of the water and unload before damage is done might not be true, at least in really big seas.

    And this in turn makes it even more important to have storm survival gear aboard, a strategy in place to prevent broaches, and the ability to get through really nasty storms without steering and with the vane gear safely out of the water.

    Of course, as I understand it, that last requirement is easy to execute with the Windpilot and Cape Horn, and very difficult with gears like the Hydrovane.

    On the other hand, the Hydrovanes seem to have done better than the Windpilot in this and the last GGR, aside from Curwen’s unfortunate experience.

    Again, nothing definitive here, but worth thinking about when we are selecting a vane gear.

    I think, on balance, I would select one that I could easily pivot out of the water.

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    4 comments

  • Invaluable Measurement Tools

    2 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I have a couple of tape measures (one metric, the other imperial) in my tool bag, and even have a really nice digital calliper for when dead-nuts measurement is required, but the two measurement tools in my kit that get the most use are a cheap pocket calliper (top photo) and an even cheaper metal rule (below) .

    Both are dual metric and imperial.

    I recommend both for every cruiser’s tool bag. Buy two of each…they don’t float.

    Lots more on maintaining a cruising boat.

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    2 comments

  • Inflatable Boat Maintenance Wisdom

    3 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
    Our old Avon back when it was a youngster (driver too) pushing a growler off a shorefast, East Coast of Greenland.
    Our old Avon back when it was a youngster (driver too) pushing a growler off a shorefast, East Coast of Greenland.
    Our old Avon back when it was a youngster (driver too) pushing a growler off a shorefast, East Coast of Greenland.

    I just got off the phone with a local guy who repairs inflatable boats.

    Seems like he really knows of what he speaks. I learned a few things:

    • Hypalon, the material our old Avon is made of, goes on pretty much forever, even when exposed to sun. He sees old Hypalon Avons still holding air after sixty, yes sixty, years.
    • Parts are still available for old Avon dinghies, even though the brand is out of business—bought by Zodiac and then trashed…but I’m not bitter.
    • He says he can fix pretty much anything that needs it on this old dinghy, and that when he gets done it will be functional for many more years.
    • If the floor is leaking on any flexible bottom inflatable:
      1. Wait for nightfall
      2. Take the boards out
      3. Flip the dinghy upside down
      4. Put a bright light under it
      5. Circle the little stars of light you see with chalk
      6. Flip over and patch the chalk circles

    He is going to rehab our nearly four-decade old Avon. If it goes another 20 years I’m thinking I might be done with it.

    Final tip from me: Hypalon may be a lot more expensive, but it’s worth every penny.

    More on dinghies (tenders).

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    3 comments

  • The Perfect Mallet

    2 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I pretty much never use a hard-headed hammer on a boat; in fact, I don’t even have one in my onboard tool kit on our new-to-us J/109.

    But I use a mallet often to move something stuck without damaging it, or drive a punch or chisel.

    This one from Lixie is just the right weight for most things around a boat, has replaceable plastic faces, and, best of all, it’s what’s called a “dead blow mallet”—the head is loaded with lead shot.

    It’s simply amazing how much better and more effective that last feature makes this mallet.

    I got mine from McMaster-Carr and it’s the aluminum-headed (no rust) 14 oz model.

    Highly recommended.

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    2 comments

  • Garmin Cut Vesper Users Loose

    23 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree

    RIP

    Although we had a lot of trouble with our first Vesper AIS, I have long been a fan of their products, with the exception of the Cortex, which tried to do too many things in one unit and had a lot of issues as a result.

    When Garmin bought Vesper I had a sense of impending doom—these acquisitions of small companies by big ones almost always go badly for us users.

    And I was right, Garmin has just announced that they will no longer sell any of the Vesper products except the Cortex, which, as I understand it, is still buggy.

    That’s bad news since these were still good products at a fair price.

    The Big Suck

    But far worse news is that Garmin will not maintain the WatchMate app, which means that at some point, probably sooner rather than later, those of us with Vesper products—particularly those with no screen, like the XB-8000—are truly screwed, since unmaintained apps tend to stop working when the device operating system is updated.

    In my view, this is totally unacceptable behaviour on the part of Garmin, particularly since the units that they are, in effect, trashing, were available for sale up until a few weeks ago, and some are still in the supply chain—our XB-8000 on our new-to-us J/109 is just 30 months old.

    To be clear, this likely means that someone who bought a XB-8000 a week ago will have a near-useless lump of plastic and components on their hands a couple of years from now, and maybe sooner.

    And even if it keeps working with some reduced functionality, a working app was what said buyer was sold, so they should get that for a reasonable period of time.

    Decent companies like, for example, Furuno make sure that their products are fully supported with parts and software for at least ten years after the last one is sold.

    I suggest we all write to Garmin pointing out their bad behaviour and informing them that we will not buy their products in the future because they clearly don’t give a damn about us—this is my letter to them.

    At the very least, Gamin should be maintaining the app on iTunes and Google Play for 10 years. That’s just basic, guys, and not that hard.

    I’m also disappointed in Panbo for not making more of a fuss about this. I get that they are advertising funded, and Garmin are probably a big part of that, but, even so, sometimes you have to stand up and be counted. Just telling us that we can buy a new fancy and expensive, and probably still buggy Cortex from Gamin is not good enough, guys.

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    23 comments

  • Lubricate Steering Chains and Cables

    3 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I mentioned in another tip that I have just finished a full maintenance on the steering gear on our new-to-us J/109 and that nothing was properly lubricated before I started and probably never had been.

    On that subject, I have long noticed that the chain and steering cables on many boats are bereft of any grease, even if the rest of the gear is well maintained.

    I think this is a mistake, particularly if we are putting on big-time miles, as Phyllis and I were for three decades on our McCurdy and Rhodes 56.

    So I always lubricate the chain where it goes over the sprocket, and the cables where they go over sheaves, with my favourite Lubriplate 130-AA grease.

    I just put a glove on and slather it on, although I guess a little brush would work too, but that way we don’t get it in our hair…a little dab’ll do ya—if you know what that was about, you are old, too.

    Once a year or every 10,000 miles seems to keep everything well and truly slippery.

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    3 comments

  • TZ iBoat Updated

    4 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I have used a bunch of iPad navigation software over the years, but TZ iBoat, by the same folks who have been doing navigation software on computers for some 30 years, is by far the best.

    Lots of reasons, but the most important is that it’s the only app that I can enter and edit a route on without being driven to distraction. No, not as easy as a computer with a mouse, but way better than a plotter.

    Anyway, TZ iBoat has just been upgraded with three new features, two useful, and one that should be avoided like the plague:

    • Autopilot Output: TZ iBoat is now able to send information to your Autopilot (NMEA0183 sentences via TCP) when a route is activated. Make sure to check out their user guide for more information under the “Help” section.
    • Bluetooth Mouse support: Many of our power users on iPad wanted a way to control TZ iBoat with a mouse. This is now possible.
      • This is a wonderful upgrade. A finger is just too blunt an instrument for entering waypoints and routes, and a mouse (or track ball) is best.
    • Instruments Damping and Offset: TZ iBoat offers new settings to offset and damp instruments (course, speed, wind…). Speed damping can be especially useful in some cases to stabilize the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA).
      • Probably useful, depending on setup.

    Further Reading

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    4 comments

  • A Good Hacksaw

    4 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    Since I let all my old tools go when we sold our last boat, I have been upping my standards as I buy new tools for our new-to-us J/109.

    One of my best acquisitions has been this premium hacksaw from CK Tools.

    It’s quite amazing how much easier this saw is to use with its stiff frame, padded handles, and cool high-leverage blade-tightening mechanism that gets the blade ringing-rigid (it’s an engineering term if you didn’t know), without bursting a blood vessel turning a butterfly nut like on cheap hardware store saws.

    I got mine from McMaster-Carr and chose the one that’s a little longer to get a blade storage compartment.

    Highly recommended.

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    4 comments

  • Are Auxiliary Rudder Self-Steering Gears Strong Enough?

    20 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I was really saddened to hear that Golden Globe Race leader Simon Curwen is probably out of the race due to a catastrophic failure of his auxiliary rudder self-steering gear in a broach.

    I have long wondered if these gears that actually steer the boat with a separate rudder, rather than control the main rudder as servo pendulum gears like the Windpilot and Cape Horn do, are a good idea.

    After all, the rudder and its attachment are one of the most strongly engineered parts of a good offshore boat. So does it really make sense to try and steer the boat with a comparatively flimsy rudder bolted onto the transom?

    The other worry is that, even if the gear is up to the job, huge loads are being transferred to the transom, which was probably not engineered by the original naval architect, or builder, to take them.

    There is even a suggestion, albeit by a source with an axe to grind, that it was exactly this problem that caused a sudden break up and sinking of another boat in the same race.

    And, finally, auxiliary steering gears can’t pivot out of the water and thereby unload in a knock down the way some servo pendulum gears can.

    Nothing definitive in all of the above, but definitely something to think about when selecting a vane gear.

    Thanks to AAC European Correspondent Colin Speedie for the head’s up and some of the above thoughts.

    Much more on self-steering, both vane gear and autopilots.

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    20 comments

  • When Did Your Steering Last Feel The Love?

    0 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I’m just about finished rebuilding the steering gear, less the rudder since we did that last year, on our new to-us J/109.

    When I pulled it apart half the bearings fell out and there was not a drop of grease or oil on any of it…except the brake pad, where we don’t want it!

    I’m guessing Tillotson Pearson assembled it dry 18 years ago when they built the boat and it has not been looked at since.

    A steering failure looking for a place to happen.

    1. So even if your boat is brand new, it’s worth checking that the steering gear was greased by the builder.
    2. And, in my view, the steering gear should be fully disassembled and checked over every five years or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first.

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  • Installing a Propane Detector

    13 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree

    i just finished installing a propane gas detector with two sensors, one near the stove and the other just aft of the engine where gas would pool prior to kaboom, on our new-to-us J/109.

    I settled on the above-pictured unit from BEP Marine. So far it seems like a well-thought-out piece of safety gear.

    One of the things I like most about it is that it has no off-on switch, unlike many other detectors, including both of the ones I have owned in the past. Just way too easy to forget to turn it back on.

    This is a sensor that should be on at all times when anyone is aboard, so, despite there being a breaker for a gas detector on the panel, I wired it through a fuse and directly to the main positive buss so it comes on the instant the boat is powered up with the battery master switch.

    I guess one could argue that it should be on even when the master switch is off, but that would be a significant parasitic drain on the batteries and you gotta stop somewhere.

    Also, as soon as the sniffer is off, the gas is off in the locker, too, since this model includes the solenoid control switch.

    Further Reading

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    13 comments

  • Q & A: Iridium Go! or Go Exec

    5 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree

    Question

    The new Predict Wind Iridium Go Exec device does indeed have a subscription plan that limits data according to how much one pays, i.e: $159.95/month buys you only 50MB of data. That includes all data transfer including tracking data.

    Do you happen to have a clue how much data you found that you used, on the average, per month with the original Iridium Go device?

    I am just trying to figure out what size plan would be needed in order to not have to worry about constantly hitting the ceiling towards the end of the month. I believe you & I would have similar usage (that is forecasts & basic emails).

    Answer

    The exact amount of data we used varied a lot, so I don’t think that’s the way to make the decision.

    Rather, what I can say is that we never had a problem getting all the weather information I needed, and I download a lot more than most people, as well as being able to handle all of our email, which, again, is a heavier load than most people, because of running AAC.

    Sure, sometimes the GO! took as much as an hour to deal with all that, but so what? With good software you don’t need to sit around and watch it, and if there’s a drop-out it reconnects automatically and continues on until done.

    So if it were me, I would stick with GO! to get the unlimited plan, given that I just don’t want the stress and aggravation of worrying about a hard data limit and the huge charges if that gets inadvertently breached.

    I also would not want to have to figure out how to buy more data if I ran out while at sea.

    So given that GO Exec is not fast enough to surf the internet, and does not have an unlimited data plan, I just don’t see the point of it against the original GO! with an unlimited plan.

    That said, as I have said before, being able to make calls without the kluge of a connected smart phone is a nice upgrade, but not enough to push me into Exec. Rather I would recommend buying a secondhand Iridium handset for the emergency call function.

    More on exactly how to use G0! For both strategic and tactical weather forecasting.

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    5 comments

  • Good Wire Cutters

    1 CommentReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    Normally I’m reasonably good at keeping track of my tools, but there is an exception: Every few years I lose my wire (diagonal) cutters—I’m not talking misplaced, but rather gone forever.

    How this happens, particularly on a small boat like our new-to-us J/109, is beyond me, but nonetheless it’s true.

    In the past I have tended to replace them with a cheap tool. But these days I’m enjoying my high-quality tools so much that I decided, when the wire cutter demon spirited away my last pair, to go up in quality and spring for a Knipex Vanadin-Super.

    Highly recommended. Super-sharp high-quality steel blades, plenty of leverage for most jobs around a boat, other than battery cables, and a comfortable contoured handle. And maybe the bright red colour will help me keep track of them!

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    1 comment

  • Updated: Our Tips On Using Tablets For Navigation

    2 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    Updated

    We just updated our 11 tips to make navigating with a tablet easier and safer chapter based on our experience of doing just that on our new-to-us J/109.

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    2 comments

  • The Rolls Royce of iPad Waterproof Covers

    5 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    While I’m not a fan of relying on tablets exclusively for navigation, on smaller boats like our new-to-us J/109 they can be a good option, at least in conjunction with a plotter.

    However, the big problem can be how to charge a tablet and still keep it waterproof. The product pictured above solves that problem.

    I’m planning to order one for next season.

    On the same subject, here are:

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    5 comments

  • Dive Weights Are Useful In The Workshop

    2 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    It’s amazing how often I use the stack of dive weights I needed to get neutral when wearing my Arctic-level dry suit, (bought when we were cruising the high latitudes) to hold stuff down or together while glue is kicking off.

    In the photo above the weights were invaluable while I was splatting¹ new TreadMaster on our companionway top step.

    The heft and curved surface of dive weights works great for this function.

    Worth having a few around in the workshop even if we aren’t divers.

    ¹A technical term Phyllis and I developed while spending three months covering the deck of our McCurdy and Rhodes 56 with TreadMaster.

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    2 comments

  • Winch-Cleaning Solvent

    5 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    I have always cleaned winches with kerosene, but I hate the smell and I’m guessing that breathing the vapours for hours is not good for us.

    So last winter I tried this water-based degreaser from WD-40, even though I don’t like or use their spray lubricant.

    The stuff really works. After a good soak the old grease came right off. No smell, and probably better for the environment, although we did take the used stuff to a hazardous waste drop-off.

    Is it the best water-based degreaser? Who knows…or cares. It was available at the local hardware store and solved (ouch) my problem.

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    5 comments

  • Check For Correct Winch Pawl Springs

    4 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    We have to check everything on a new-to-us boat.

    The top spring is for Lewmar, the bottom for Harken. All of our Harken winches had a mix of both. Trust no one, least of all boatyards who will often use whatever is to hand.

    Would the wrong spring cause the winch to slip? Probably not, but this is important stuff and should be done right.

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    4 comments

  • Credit Where It’s Due: McMaster-Carr

    3 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    Phyllis and I have been buying tools, fastenings, and half a hundred other things from McMaster Carr for decades, and are such fans that I often say that if the company goes out of business I’m selling our boat and taking up golf…and I hate golf.

    Over all those years, and hundreds of orders, I can only remember McMaster-Carr making a mistake twice.

    The second time was two weeks ago when I ordered a 5mm tap and got a 1/2″ drill bit.

    I emailed them with the photo above and in less than half an hour they replied:

    I apologize we delivered the incorrect item. We will issue a replacement for the material you didn’t receive. We will deliver a replacement on Thursday between 2- 4pm.

    There is no need to return the drill bit to us. Feel free to keep or discard as you see fit.

    And two days after that, I had the tap in hand. No fuss, no excuses, no requirement to return, no RMA bureaucracy, no customs clearance hassles (they always deal with all that), and zero cost to us.

    All companies make mistakes, what differentiates good companies from bad ones is how they handle their mistakes. It don’t get no better than McMaster-Carr.

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    3 comments

  • Navigation Where It Belongs

    14 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree

    I don’t care how much butchery it takes, we are having a plotter/radar at the forward end of the cockpit where it belongs, to supplement and backup the iPad we use for navigation.

    The plotter below-decks is useless when shorthanded and we don’t like plotters on the binnacle, either.

    The new on-deck plotter will act as an autopilot control head as well as show strategic information like laylines, should I have a rush of blood to the head and go racing.

    The new plotter is much smaller than I would like, but compromises are required on any boat, and the smaller the boat gets, the bigger the compromises.

    More on making the most of these small-boat navigation compromises.

    Mock-up of the fascia that I just made to assist the composite technician who is going to fix my butchery and make it look nice.

    Yes, I could do the glasswork, but it would take me three times as long and look half as nice—know your limitations.

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    14 comments

  • Gel Batteries a Winner?

    18 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    While researching for an upcoming article I noticed something interesting:

    Victron rate their Long Life Gel batteries at 2500 50% cycles, as against their AGM Super Cycle Battery at 1000 cycles, and not a lot less than their much more expensive lithium batteries at 3000 cycles.

    Could it be that the pivot away from gel cells toward AGM that occurred in the sailing community some 20 years ago was a giant mistake?

    I do know that both members Dick and Ginger Stevenson, and Phyllis and I, had very good service from Prevailer Gel batteries back in the day.

    Now before we get too excited it’s important to note that gels have one Achilles’ heel: they can’t be conditioned to get rid of sulphation from being left in a partial state of charge, as is common on cruising boats.

    Hit ’em with any more than 14.2 volts and they are toast in very short order.

    Whereas AGMs from both Victron (14.9V) and LifeLine (15.5V) can be charged at higher voltages to blow off that nasty battery wrecking stuff.

    Still, these days, with cost effective and efficient solar, fully charging a lead-acid battery regularly without shore power is a lot less of a problem than it once was.

    Should those who want to avoid the expense and complications of lithium be thinking of poor old neglected gels?

    Don’t know, but it’s worth thinking about.

    Anyone out there using gels?

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    18 comments

  • Sealing a Paint Can

    8 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
    Pounding a paint lid down in the centre with a hammer is an all-too-frequently seen practice that will ruin the remaining paint in short order since the distorted lid will not seal properly.
    Pounding a paint lid down in the centre with a hammer is an all-too-frequently seen practice that will ruin the remaining paint in short order since the distorted lid will not seal properly.
    Pounding a paint lid down in the centre with a hammer is an all-too-frequently seen practice that will ruin the remaining paint in short order since the distorted lid will not seal properly.

    In this case there is $250 worth of my paint in this can that will likely be ruined by next season.

    I have brought this to the attention of the yard in question. All yards make mistakes, but if we want things to get better we need to bring it up when they do, but in a non-confrontational way—more yard management tips here.

    As I’m sure most of you know, the right way to seal a paint can is to first press the lid down firmly with our hands and then gently and progressively, while working around the can, tap the rim into place with a wood or rubber mallet.

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    8 comments

  • Good Rivet Gun

    2 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree

    If you need to pull 1/4” stainless steel rivets you need a good gun. This one has worked well for me.

    Available from the good people at McMaster-Carr.

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