TOTALLY RANDOM POST II

armedoldhippy · Jul 30, 2023

tobedetermined said:
I was think the same. And if the motor runs - and isn't too old - isn't it worth the $s on it's own?

it's a damn deal. i'd do it, sell the motor, and get a 35 hp or so and a couple ozs of "fishing supplies" myself...

moose eater · Jul 30, 2023

tobedetermined said:
I was think the same. And if the motor runs - and isn't too old - isn't it worth the $s on it's own?

Up here an old beater trailer that size, in good functional shape, would be worth $500 to $1,000.

An older 2-stroke motor with 70 horses and controls would be worth $650 to $1,200, maybe more, and the hull would be worth whatever someone was willing to pay for it.

If the McKee Craft hull is injection molded with flotation foam with limited access for ozone to do its destruction, making it nearly as unsinkable as a Boston Whaler, and the hull hasn't rotted, then it's worth at least $1,000 to $2,000 even if it's an early 1980s hull.

I discovered that McKee Craft indeed made boats into the 1990s.. maybe after that even as far as I know. Didn't seek out that information.

I have a 35-hp long-shaft 2-stroke vintage 1988 Mercury on a 1988 welded 15.5 aluminum (16-ft+ in reality) boat with deep sides and deep-v hull, and that scoots across relatively calm water like it's barely touching the surface on its way, though it's a bow-spray nightmare if one loads it too heavily in the bow; it prefers center and aft weight distribution.

I've had it out in white cap chop that folks with 50% greater length boats were headed for the landing much earlier.

Weight on the back of a boat is as much of an issue as the ponies being too great.

unclefishstick · Jul 30, 2023

worked on an island on katchemak bay for 10 years,spent a lot of time in the "company" skiff. like 23',aluminum hull,deep v...just a tough little boat,it did all sorts of things sane people don't do with boats...pushing a barge load of horses back and forth,hauling the supplies for the restaurant,that might be 1000lbs of food,a few kegs of beer plus cases of beer,wine,and booze,and a half dozen 70lb propane tanks...some of those trips were no fun....fully loaded skiff,big swells and some wind chop plus fighting against the tide...when you're in alaska you can expect some alaska shit is gonna happen at some point...
but also flat glassy calm nights on the bay running flat out on bar hopping trips,getting lost in the fog and having to anchor up for the night...
good skiff,it's back eventually broke

moose eater · Jul 30, 2023

unclefishstick said:
worked on an island on katchemak bay for 10 years,spent a lot of time in the "company" skiff. like 23',aluminum hull,deep v...just a tough little boat,it did all sorts of things sane people don't do with boats...pushing a barge load of horses back and forth,hauling the supplies for the restaurant,that might be 1000lbs of food,a few kegs of beer plus cases of beer,wine,and booze,and a half dozen 70lb propane tanks...some of those trips were no fun....fully loaded skiff,big swells and some wind chop plus fighting against the tide...when you're in alaska you can expect some alaska shit is gonna happen at some point...
but also flat glassy calm nights on the bay running flat out on bar hopping trips,getting lost in the fog and having to anchor up for the night...
good skiff,it's back eventually broke

Salt water's hard on aluminum. So is age and any sort of abrasion.

Last trip down the Alcan to the Yukon Territory earlier this month, my son was following me in his car, and I ran over some sort of debris as I was passing a slow-moving truck going down Christmas Creek hill on the north side, headed southeast. It entered under the front passenger side of the van's chassis, looked a bit like a concave arched fender of some sort, and exited the driver's side of the boat trailer, flying up into the air and landing some place on the NE shoulder, off in the tundra. We couldn't find it on our way home < a week later as we crawled up that hill, heading back north, and he had said that when it exited the area beneath the boat trailer's driver's side stern, it flew up like a huge sheet of plastic... like a kite.

I explained to him that in proper turbulence (like the vacuum and subsequent wind turbulence produced by a 65-mph van and boat) sheet metal can fly up like a paper kite. You won't know what it is unless you can examine it after the fact.

So, I'm headed out shortly, half-looped (having sampled the Irish coffee to make sure the coffee, Canadian whisky, and cream are all up to snuff; they are, indeed), to crawl under the boat and determine whether or not that impatient moment of passing on that down-side of that hill cost me a serious injury to a hull.

By the way, I knew folks in the later 1970s who lived across Kachemak Bay at Sadie Cove and Bear Cove before they were more refined as communities, and before the Homer Spit was 'touristized' with their little vendors' tourist shacks and cabins, back when it was still legal for the 'spit rats' to camp in their visqueen palaces so they could afford to work for slave wages at the canneries. Back when Homer had character and 3 health food stores in a community that was maybe 4,000 to 10,000 people, depending on how far out you went to assess population. They would hold a beer and chili feed out there each Fall to clean up the abandoned 'visqueen palaces' (often fairly elaborate driftwood and visqueen constructions, sometimes multi-room dwellings) and few bitched about it then. Commercialization and placating tourism ended that.

Were the cattle you pushed barges full of, the property of the Jones family?

The Jones family had stories to tell unto themselves. Including the old man allegedly shooting the dinner date of his daughter over either the Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey with a rifle from the fireplace hearth when the fellow wouldn't stop talking about things that apparently offended old man Jones.

Green Squall · Jul 30, 2023

moose eater said:
Not personally specifically familiar with McKee Craft Boats, though I think there's a fellow down in Valdez at the moment selling something very similar on FB Alaska Boat Trader, or something like that.

It appears to be a lesser competitor to a Boston Whaler. Not sure if it has injected foam in the fiberglass. If so, then that's a plus, though my bet is that it's an early 1980s boat hull, and foam breaks down over time if ozone has any access at all, let alone UV.

70-hp is a LOT of ponies for a 14-ft. fiberglass boat, unless it's designed to be unsinkable, like a Whaler.

The fellow in Valdez with the similar design and vintage is asking $2,000, with a 40-hp OMC(?) newer deep-cycle battery, light-weight trailer with good rubber, 6-gallon boat tank, etc.

$500, if the fiberglass hull has been cared for and not stored for long periods in direct sunlight, and the motor is clean and minimally used, would be a steal, but will have limitations.

If the thing hasn't been started in 2 years or more, it's apt to have 'varnishing' in the carburetor, and need cleaned out. Also, if the fuel tank is metal, it'll need to be inspected for any flaking or internal rust. If it has any, it would either need to be refinished internally, or replaced. And these days, a cheapo-sleazo, typically Chinese-made plastic/polymer certified boat fuel tank (5-6-gallon) is apt to be pretty close to $100, plus any fuel line. A good fuel line compression bulb will often run you $30 to $40 for good quality. Just all depends on what care has been shown to the boat and accessories up until now.

Fiberglass can last decades or a decade, depending on the care it receives. BUT!! You don't typically need a welder or heavy rivetter to patch it or refinish it, either.

Look at it, see if it fires up, and go from there.

Bear in mind the old adage that 'boats are a hole in the water into which you throw money'. Any small engine-driven equipment that receives extremely limited use often ages more poorly from not being used than if it were used respectfully on a more routine basis. Sitting around doesn't help them.

Look for soft spots or notably discolored or weathered spots in the fiberglass, and flaking or chipping (rot, even) along the gunwales and the hull, as well. seats too. You might be getting a diamond in the rough, or the beginning of a long spending spree toward removing something from life support that might've been better off buried.

A 14-ft. boat of decent seaworthiness (sounds oxymoronic, I know) would be limited to lakes and inside bays on better days for most folks. A sunshine weather boat, depending on your level of self-destructive tendencies or desire for risk-taking.

Good luck with your boating and fishing.

Edit: Here's a link for a McKee Craft Boat from a couple years prior in another part of the country, and each part of the Country will often have its own boat market and varying values that sometimes defy the 'book values.' This one was asking $4,700 for a 1980, so either the guy's delusional, or they may retain their value like a Boston Whaler does.

https://www.2coolfishing.com/threads/1980-mckee-craft-14-ft-1994-johnson-48-spl-4-700-obo-houston.2708044/

Thanks for the insight and info, Moose. All valuable information and I'll be sure to ask questions about its build, age, hull, etc.

When I heard 70 hp, I was like "that can't be right," but apparently that's what they put on it. These people have two other boats, live right on the water, so I trust they know what they're doing. From what I've heard, the boat has been stored outside under a heavy tarp, so the weather may have gotten to it, but I won't know for sure until I check it out next week.

I've had worries this could turn into a money pit, but they're also old friends of my mom, so I'm sure they'll be straight about the condition and providing me with any necessary info.

I checked Craigslist and there a few for sale around here ranging from around 3k to 9k, but the latter is probably a Hail marry asking price. I keep seeing the saying, "McKee craft, the unsinkable skiff," so I hope this is pointing towards the company is known for making a quality boat with a lasting hull.

14ft can definitely be dicey for the ocean, though I see people often zooming around in similar sized boats and my buddy had a small whaler of similar size. We've got a large river cutting through the peninsula here and the harbor is the size of a small bay, so those are always options. All and all, the boats seem to have a good reputation from what I've read. To be honest, I've never even heard of them until recently. And yes, trailer is included. Fingers crossed this is a deal of a lifetime.

unclefishstick · Jul 30, 2023

moose eater said:
Salt water's hard on aluminum. So is age and any sort of abrasion.

Last trip down the Alcan to the Yukon Territory earlier this month, my son was following me in his car, and I ran over some sort of debris as I was passing a slow-moving truck going down Christmas Creek hill on the north side, headed southeast. It entered under the front passenger side of the van's chassis, looked a bit like a concave arched fender of some sort, and exited the driver's side of the boat trailer, flying up into the air and landing some place on the NE shoulder, off in the tundra. We couldn't find it on our way home < a week later as we crawled up that hill, heading back north, and he had said that when it exited the area beneath the boat trailer's driver's side stern, it flew up like a huge sheet of plastic... like a kite.

I explained to him that in proper turbulence (like the vacuum and subsequent wind turbulence produced by a 65-mph van and boat) sheet metal can fly up like a paper kite. You won't know what it is unless you can examine it after the fact.

So, I'm headed out shortly, half-looped (having sampled the Irish coffee to make sure the coffee, Canadian whisky, and cream are all up to snuff; they are, indeed), to crawl under the boat and determine whether or not that impatient moment of passing on that down-side of that hill cost me a serious injury to a hull.

By the way, I knew folks in the later 1970s who lived across Kachemak Bay at Sadie Cove and Bear Cove before they were more refined as communities, and before the Homer Spit was 'touristized' with their little vendors' tourist shacks and cabins, back when it was still legal for the 'spit rats' to camp in their visqueen palaces so they could afford to work for slave wages at the canneries. Back when Homer had character and 3 health food stores in a community that was maybe 4,000 to 10,000 people, depending on how far out you went to assess population. They would hold a beer and chili feed out there each Fall to clean up the abandoned 'visqueen palaces' (often fairly elaborate driftwood and visqueen constructions, sometimes multi-room dwellings) and few bitched about it then. Commercialization and placating tourism ended that.

Were the cattle you pushed barges full of, the property of the Jones family?

The Jones family had stories to tell unto themselves. Including the old man allegedly shooting the dinner date of his daughter over either the Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey with a rifle from the fireplace hearth when the fellow wouldn't stop talking about things that apparently offended old man Jones.

tillion...technically beck now,but clem's daughter

buzzmobile · Jul 31, 2023

What the pictures show is what I worked on yesterday. It's a ventless dryer that has a clogged heat evaporator that is inaccessible. The dryer has to be disassembled to get to the evaporator. The lint is cleared and I have a pile of parts to put back together. I have some fine mesh stainless steel screen to cut a piece in front of the existing screen to catch lint on this side of the screen.

Engineers had their hats on crooked with this design.

Thank you for the technical assistance, Ms. Internet.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sm-backend-production-attachments/Job+Aid+-+W10764068+-+Rev+A+(L-88).pdf

armedoldhippy · Jul 31, 2023

Green Squall said:
14ft can definitely be dicey for the ocean

rolling the dice on the weather. good weather, no sweat. wind comes up, or from the wrong direction ? oh fuck...

moose eater · Jul 31, 2023

armedoldhippy said:
rolling the dice on the weather. good weather, no sweat. wind comes up, or from the wrong direction ? oh fuck...

Depending on the body of water, some of those changes can take place in minutes, literally. That's where the increased ponies come in, providing the captain hasn't waited to skedaddle until the chop is severe enough that you're creeping up the waves' crests and decelerating into the troughs, listening to your pick-up tube on your water-cooling system suck air as it comes out of the water as you top each crest, descending into the trough. In which case all the ponies in the world might not get you back to the launch and cover in time.

That's why the Cosmos invented sheltered bays... and the corporate entities invented emergency flotation devices... like Mustang suits.

moose eater · Aug 2, 2023

Ca++ · Aug 2, 2023

buzzmobile said:
View attachment 18871911

View attachment 18871912

View attachment 18871913

View attachment 18871914

What the pictures show is what I worked on yesterday. It's a ventless dryer that has a clogged heat evaporator that is inaccessible. The dryer has to be disassembled to get to the evaporator. The lint is cleared and I have a pile of parts to put back together. I have some fine mesh stainless steel screen to cut a piece in front of the existing screen to catch lint on this side of the screen.

Engineers had their hats on crooked with this design.

Thank you for the technical assistance, Ms. Internet.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sm-backend-production-attachments/Job+Aid+-+W10764068+-+Rev+A+(L-88).pdf

Doesn't the original filter come out the front? It's got a nice big access panel, I'm guessing is just for hoovering it out then?

I notice the bldc/ec compressor I'm looking for. It's nice to see a model that may give me one soon

Dyson had us changing filters every week before they claimed our dust was too fine. In the hospital.
It was filling the motors up. This was in new accommodation blocks, which were carpet over concrete.
HEPA grade? I think they may be having a laugh.

Edit: In checking our market for them, I saw another fix. A guy cut away a couple of plastic strips, to get the metal mesh out in a complete, flat, replaceable condition. As was obvious from your post, they didn't let you remove the part complete, without moving the drum. He then had to use cleaning spray on the evaporator, which I have used, and it's surprisingly effective. Then he put the mesh back.
Untimately, he doesn't solve the excessive maintenance issue, but does get it done.
I wonder if an extra filter might actually effect airflow, before it actually stops fine dust. Given the well thought out design, the fan could be underwhelming. If lower airflow means the evaporator freezes over and goes into defrost cycles, she may not be happy.
If it's not too late, have a look at the original part, and see what he did to get just the metal part to come away. Then if your extra filter is too much for the machine, you already have a Plan B in place

buzzmobile · Aug 2, 2023

Ca++ said:
Doesn't the original filter come out the front? It's got a nice big access panel, I'm guessing is just for hoovering it out then?

There are two filters. The bottom filter is the one that requires a servicing every two years.

When the 'cassette' filter housing is installed as illustrated it meets and seats at a screen inside the dryer in front of the evaporator. This is what requires a tear down of the machine to service the lint build up.

While searching for a fix I found that several people had installed a finer mesh screen over the existing piece. I cut a piece of 120 mesh stainless steel screen and siliconed it over the existing screen. Catching lint before it reaches the evaporator behind the screen is what I am trying to do.

Bosch has a self cleaning cycle on their ventless dryers.

armedoldhippy · Aug 2, 2023

buzzmobile said:
Bosch has a self cleaning cycle on their ventless dryers.

my wife/kids are utterly unfazed by the fact that NOT cleaning the filter puts the house (and us) at risk of a fire. WTF? i've checked it before and pulled the shit out thick enough to use when quilting...

Ca++ · Aug 6, 2023

Regarding tank automation. Dosing to be exact. The go-to answer to low flow rates of feed, is the peristaltic pump. I keep having a crazy idea, that I could use a dripper. I figure the flow rates are fine, but the dripped would have to be in the water, to stop salting. Then, right at the dripper, a 1way valve, of the sprung type. Thus, water can't get to my feed bottle, and feed can't get to the tank, without the pump running to overcome the spring. Which needs to be a good spring, to resist erosion. That seems to be the only stumbling block, to a very cheap controllable slow dosing system.

My goal here, is tank automation, with remote app control and reading, for $100
Believe me... I'm very close.

So... why can I never find this thread. Even knowing what it's called. I really don't feel that stupid, but obviously the stupidest person in the room, is the one who doesn't know who's the stupidest. And I'm not sure...

armedoldhippy · Aug 6, 2023

Ca++ said:
is the one who doesn't know who's the stupidest.

it's like playing poker. if you are sitting at the table and can't figure out who the target is, guess what ?

Ca++ · Aug 6, 2023

buzzmobile said:
There are two filters. The bottom filter is the one that requires a servicing every two years.
View attachment 18872611
View attachment 18872612

When the 'cassette' filter housing is installed as illustrated it meets and seats at a screen inside the dryer in front of the evaporator. This is what requires a tear down of the machine to service the lint build up.
View attachment 18872613

While searching for a fix I found that several people had installed a finer mesh screen over the existing piece. I cut a piece of 120 mesh stainless steel screen and siliconed it over the existing screen. Catching lint before it reaches the evaporator behind the screen is what I am trying to do.

Bosch has a self cleaning cycle on their ventless dryers.

That evaporator has quite tightly packed fins, which doesn't help. With little fear of it freezing, they have really packed them in.

It's interesting to look at. How they use two condensers, to put back the heat the evaporator takes, but not gain again. I imagine there are hidden valves, to cut off the second one, when you do need to gain some heat.

buzzmobile · Aug 7, 2023

Ca++ said:
I imagine there are hidden valves, to cut off the second one, when you do need to gain some heat.

All of those things are above my pay grade. I just turn screws and stack the pieces.

The toothbrush the dentist sends me home after each visit came in handy for the fin cleaning.

Would a version of a ram pump be feasible in your tank automation idea?

tobedetermined · Aug 7, 2023

big315smooth · Aug 8, 2023

droppd a couple hits yesterday was bored then watched it rain. spent most of the night staring at the wood grain on the walls come to life. fun time and i was jammin out

buzzmobile · Aug 9, 2023

TOTALLY RANDOM POST II

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mama tried

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