Joe,
FWIW I have used this heat exchanger since I put FWC on my A-4. They're
so cheap I consider it a throw-away. First one lasted about 10 years
and was still fine but the copper was getting a little green. I'm on 5
years of the second. Plenty of cooling capacity.
https://www.vevor.com/plate-heat-exchanger-c_10378/heat-exchanger-brazed-plate-heat-exchanger-30-plate-heat-exchanger-for-heating-p_010268730644
Neil Gallagher
Weatherly, 35-1
Glen Cove, NY
On 11/13/2025 10:58 AM, Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List wrote:
1. The PVC hawsepipe fix: When the previous owner back in 1973 or
maybe the factory cut the hole through the deck for the anchor
chain, whomever did it did NOT SEAL IT AT ALL. Believe it or not
the balsa sort of held up, apparently being open to air let it dry
back out mostly. I got some PVC pipe, maybe 3 inches, and cut the
deck hole a bit bigger so the pipe fit a little loosely but not
much. I cut the pipe to stick through the deck below about ½” or
maybe a bit less. I sealed around the bottom with butyl and then
poured epoxy around the pipe from the top to fill in the tiny gap
and seal the balsa. This was a few years ago and has worked
perfectly 😊 I was afraid the epoxy would not stick to the pipe,
but it did and the pipe keeps the chain from eating away at the
deck and compromising the seal.
2. Using liquid rubber to seal my forward hatch: This I would rate
so-so. My hatches are totally original from 73 and tend to leak
around the screw holes and sela between the glass and the frame. A
combination of liquid rubber and some Creeping Crack Cure makes
them watertight, but it does not last. Adding a touch more is a
yearly thing now. It is still a cheap cure vs. a new hatch, but it
is not a one-and-done. I still can’t complain too much, no 52
year-old Lewmar hatch will even be intact. If I ever do get new
hatches, I will be avoiding the low-end Lewmars, they seem to leak
starting at age 2 or 3 from all I read online. The higher-end
versions seem well worth it.
3. AGM Batteries: No one seems to make lead-acid cells of any version
whatsoever that are as good as the gel batteries I could get
around 1990. My 2 year-old Odyssey thin-plate is doing OK, but not
nearly as good as my gel from back in the day was at age 7. I am
going lithium, the savings on chiropractor bills alone will be
worth it!
4. Fresh Water Cooling – I decided my old engine didn’t need it, the
extra heat and hoses all over did not seem worth it. Joke was on
me, last December the salt water ate through and the engine was no
more. Now I have a new (to me) engine with a Moyer rebuild and
sleeved cylinders I will be adding FWC. The engine will probably
outlive me, but I do need to hunt down a bigger heat exchanger.
5. Solar: I have had a 50 watt panel for many years. It has literally
paid for itself in gas not used to charge batteries. For a long
time I would be at anchor for 2 weeks straight while the kids were
at sailing camp, so there was no reason to run the engine except
charging. It was not enough to keep up totally, but I went from
daily charging to once every 3 days or so. I plan to fix up more
panels.
*/Joe Della Barba/*
Coquina
C&C 35 MK I
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November is the time of the year when my Internet bills come in. It's also the
time when you can show your appreciation of this list and the C&C Photo Album.
Please help by making a small contribution using PayPal at:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/stumurray All contributions are greatly
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