A number of Maxi 95 owners have had to replace their cabin windows and various ideas have emerged on suitable materials. One such material is “Lexan”, a high impact polycarbonate sheet. Another Maxi sourced some material from “Talking Plastics” in Havant.
More recently, Ken Johnson suggests that “GE (GENERAL ELECTRIC) MARGUARD a polycarbonate with anti scratch and chemical resistant coating is available from a supplier in Hull (look on Ebay for address) for around £100 for one boat. Easily cut and drilled, don’t use acrylic, as it’s not strong enough.”
We adopted an alternative solution on our Maxi 1100. We’ve strapped a cheap B&Q domestic dehumidifier to a backing sheet which is mounted under the starboard flap of the saloon table. It’s mounted a couple of inches above the floor so you don’t lose too much space for feet, and a permanent drain is made very neatly via plastic tubing into the bilge by the float switch. It’s run via a time clock every few days when we’re not on board. When we are, we can always run overnight to help keep the inside sweet and dry.
Obviously you can’t lower the flap with it in place but it can be quickly and easily removed with just two small neat screws underneath the table.
We wouldn’t recommend running it when stored ashore as I prefer to keep the bilge dry in case it freezes. In fact, what we do is to lash it over the sink so that the condensate can drain directly out – but be sure to leave the sink seacock open. Even cheap dehumidifiers can be bought that have a frost setting that ensures there is no ice build-up.
Vouvray
Sometimes the hob burners won’t stay lit when the knob is released:
Solution: Hold the knob in, light the gas and after waiting 5 seconds for the flame sensor to heat up, let the knob out about 1 mm (1/16″) and then press the knob back in sharply, then release the knob.
The oven and grill won’t stay lit when the knob is released.
If you have a cooker with metal knobs the oven/grill knob may be fixed too far in on the shaft preventing the flame detection mechanism from engaging. Solution is to loosen the knob retaining screw (using an allen key) and move the knob back on the shaft, then tighten the screw. You should have the same or slightly larger gap between the knob and cooker as that for the burner knobs.
Taranaki
I have fitted a fused mini siren with an on/off switch to the + & – wiring of my automatic bilge pump. To my thoughts, the auto bilge should not normally run under normal circumstances. And if it does while sailing or motoring, it probably won’t be heard. With the siren wired in, it will give you an early warning of water being where it shouldn’t be.
Barry Powling ‘Khamsin’
Since we sailed our Maxi 38+ to the Algarve & left it there over the winter, we will need it to be antifouled before proceeding to The Med next year. I therefore contacted the chandlers/marine paint shop to check prices & found that a 2.5 litre tin cost 51% more than in the UK. So I started enquiries with the manufacturer in the Southampton area & they have sent emails to & fro Denmark/Portugal/Spain & I think I now have the price down to UK levels BUT that was not the main problem!
In the UK, antifoul is called by a trade descriptive name whether it be eroding or hard & it also has a code number. In other countries the paint is also given descriptive names with a code number,
e.g. “Hard Racing” but that term does mean the same as “Hard Racing” in UK!! So whatever antifoul paint one uses in the UK, it has a code number & that number has to be used if one wishes to continue using a compatible paint when purchasing it in another country.
I was confused when informed that I should use “Hard Racing” over my existing eroding paint & this confusion was at first also experienced by the UK subsidiary manufacturer/supplier.
Hugh Rowan