ShipStore.com Beacon: Epoxy vs. Calk, Marine Wax vs. Water Stains
Issue 67, February 7, 2006
http://www.ShipStore.com
Floating your boat since 1982 TM
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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~ WELCOME ABOARD: Greetings from the Editor
~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: Ask Captain Jim - Epoxy vs. Calk
~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: Ask Captain Jim - Marine Wax vs. Water Stains
~ CAPTAIN'S SPECIALS: Marine Wax and Marine Calk Specials
~ CAPTAIN'S CONTEST: "Win a Shopping Spree" Drawing
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~ WELCOME ABOARD: Greetings from the Editor
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Greetings from Squaw Valley, California!
The North Country hasn't offered up the most stellar ski conditions this winter, but I've found an amazing stash out West, and the conditions are perfect. Not only is Squaw Valley one of the most challenging destination ski resorts in the world, but it's still chock full of snow, sunny and warm enough to ski without a coat, and -- if this week is an accurate indication -- totally underutilized during the week. Once Sunday afternoon arrives, most skiers return to San Francisco or Sacramento, leaving this skier's paradise virtually empty!
In addition to attending a close friend's wedding and packing a season's worth of skiing into one week, I've undertaken a little snow tube reconnaissance. You see, like so many destination ski resorts, Squaw offers on-hill snow tubing. Sounds good so far, right? Well, based on the exploding popularity of our
Tube Pro Snow Tubes I wanted to ensure that they are renting the best quality commercial snow tubes available. They aren't! I was dismayed. Listen to my rant on Tuesday, February 7 in the
"Squaw Skiing Update and Truckee Dining" blog posting.
I could tell as soon as I approached the sledding chutes. Most of the tubes were swollen and distorted, the inner tubes bulging up in some areas and sagging in others. Stitching was coming loose where handles and hard bottoms were attached. In fact, many of the bottoms were broken or severely indented, and the sun bleached Cordura tops had lost their color and appeared drab brown with only hints of blue or red. I won't embarrass the manufacturer by disclosing the brand they ARE renting, but it reminded me why Tube Pro dominates the snow tubing market. We'll let Squaw know that we've got the perfect upgrade for their 2006/7 season. And if you've recently made a similar discover at your own favorite winter destination, let us know and we'll contact them too. We believe everyone should have access to the fastest, most comfortable and longest lasting snow tube available!
On Thursday I'm headed off to Benicia, California to spend a couple of days working with Mark Engelhardt, our web developer, and the rest of the ShipStore.com tech team. Mark asked me to remind all of our Beacon subscribers to weigh in on the new search box which he added to our website. If you haven't tried it yet, please visit ShipStore.com and compare the two search utilities available at the top left of every page. I'd really appreciate it if you would send me a quick email to editor@shipstore.com with any feedback that might help us decide how to improve our site search for you.
Before pulling on my ski boots and heading off to the slopes, I'd like to explain the two items below. Customers frequently contact us to inquire about the appropriate use of various marine supplies that we sell at ShipStore.com, and sometimes these questions and answers are worth passing along to you. Here are two recent kernels of wisdom from Captain Jim pertaining to fixing hull leaks and eliminating water marks. I hope that you'll find them helpful.
George Davis, Beacon Editor
editor@shipstore.com
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~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: Ask Captain Jim - Epoxy vs. Calk
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Customer: I just got a 12' long wooden sailboat, and the centerboard trunk leaks. While the person who sold me the boat says turn the boat over and pour some epoxy in it, a boater friends advised me to use a calk. They mentioned white and red. Polysulfide boat calk is available on your website. Is this good for what I need to do?
Captain Jim: Pouring epoxy on the trunk is a poor solution. You are just covering over the wood with a non-structural hard finish. If the wood is wet, you won't have any adhesion and you'll be sealing in any potential rot. It could actually be the kiss of death for the boat unless done very carefully. And you'd need to use fiberglass cloth to provide structure as well. Epoxy by itself has no strength and will just shatter when the boat flexes.
I think caulking it is the better solution. A polysulfide sealant like Life Calk will work well. It can be applied to damp wood and will stay seaworthy for years. It does take a few days to cure fully, but can actually be applied underwater in emergency situations, which makes it a wonderful product.
The second option is to use a polyurethane sealant for below waterline use. It will cure faster. The PU sealants were designed for fiberglass, but work very well on all surfaces. Nevertheless, I would still recommend using the polysulfide.
Color has nothing to do with the quality or effectiveness of a sealant. It is just a coloring agent for finished appearance. Choose the color that is least visible.
Captain Jim
captjim@shipstore.com
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~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: Ask Captain Jim - Marine Wax vs. Water Stains
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Customer: I manage a fleet of 100 fiberglass golf carts that are washed daily with "hard" water that, if not toweled off completely, leaves a dirty, spotty residue. Will applying marine wax eliminate or reduce the hard water stains?
Captain Jim: I haven't been able to get any good answers on the best treatment for hard water. All the marine waxes are designed to control beading on the fiberglass hulls. I don't think any will eliminate the spots.
Generally speaking, the higher the carnauba content, the harder the finish, but it also makes it harder to apply.
We have used 303 on our boats as a way to reduce fingerprints and spots when they are taken to boat shows. It is a water based polymer coating with UV protection that behaves a lot like ArmorAll or RainX. It wipes on as a thin layer after you've waxed. It might be worth trying.
As I was typing, RainX came up; it might be worth trying as well. The car wash I use now has RainX as part of the rinse process. It works well enough that I didn't need my wipers on the way home during a rain/sleet storm after running my car through earlier in the day. The car wash charges $2 as a value added service for the spray, so it must be fairly cheap.
One of our factory reps told me that the best way to keep a boat looking nice is to put on a good hard carnauba wax, complete with elbow grease and hard work. After the once-a-year application of the really good wax, he said to use a spray wax that just makes things look pretty to maintain and provide a sacrificial layer until the next season when you perform another "good hard wax". I don't know if this would work for you or not.
Captain Jim
captjim@shipstore.com
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~ CAPTAIN'S SPECIALS: Marine Wax and Marine Calk Specials
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BTL LIFECALK Life Calk Sealant in Tubes and CartridgesBTL LIFECALK Life Calk Tube, White BTL LIFECALK Life Calk Tube, Black BTL LIFECALK Life Calk Tube, Mahogony BTL LIFECALK Life Calk Cartridge, WhiteBTL LIFECALK Life Calk Cartridge, BlackBTL LIFECALK Life Calk Cartridge, MahogonyBTL LIFECALK Life Calk Cartridge, TeakBTL LIFECALK Life Calk Tube, TeakARMADA Wash & Wax With Carnauba, QuartARMADA T-Wax Sealant 1 GallonMEGUIARS Boat/RV Pure Wax 16oz.MEGUIARS Flagship Premium Marine WaxWOODY WAX Carnauba Creme Wax 16oz.WOODY WAX Carnauba Glass Coat 10oz.WOODY WAX Carnauba Glass Coat 16oz.BOATLIFE-LIFE Life Wax 9oz.MARYKATE Trewax Boat Wax 12oz. =============================================================
~ CAPTAIN'S CONTEST: "Win a Shopping Spree!" Drawing
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Win a $100.00 credit at ShipStore.com. To be eligible for future "Win a Shopping Spree!" drawings all you have to do is subscribe to the Beacon. All current subscribers are eligible for the random drawing. If you're not already subscribed, then visit http://www.shipstore.com and click the "Win a Shopping Spree!" link along the top of your screen.
Once you subscrive you'll be sent a confirmation email which you must respond to in order to activate your subscription and be added to our mailing list. This double opt-in procedure enables us to prevent accidental subscriptions and spam. As soon as your confirmation is confirmed, you will be entered into the "Win a Shopping Spree!" drawing for a $100.00 free merchandise from ShipStore.com. Good luck.
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ShipStore.com
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