Search options (Page 2 of 3)

Hi Chris Bell,
I bought a swing up mount from West Marine. It was rated for up to 20 hp and had the longest possible swing up and down. I hung a short shaft Evinrude 15 hp on there and got 7 knots of speed with motor only. The Contessa stern has extreme rake inward at the bottom and that is a problem. Raising the mount and rotating the Evinrude foot up still left the prop in the water when heeling under sail.
I installed a new Yanmar 1GM10 diesel but left the transom mount on. I can lift my 31/2 hp Nissan dingy motor off it's push pit mount and hang it on the swing mount if the Yanmar craps out.

I had to glass in new engine mounts when I replaced my Italian Aurona diesel with a new Yanmar 1GM10. This is a perfect size and power for my Contessa.
A water drip from my intake water hose rusted the oil line that passes under the Yanmar and dumped all my oil into the bilge. My partner was using the boat and the alarm had him shut the engine down in time. He was able to skull into the slip.
I was able to replace the oil line myself and double clamped all rubber lines in the engine room while I was at it.

I bought my Contessa with a full holding tank. I tied up at the pumpout station and nothing (very little) would come out. I opened a valve underneath and sea water came in the tank as the (you know what) came out. The holding tank was never vented. A friend installed a vent with a thru-hull vent high on the topside just forward of CO on the top stripe.
I installed a hand operated pump to replace a 12 volt macerator pump that kept tripping circuit breakers. As long as my left arm works I can empty the tank when far offshore. Pumpouts are no longer a problem.

I have a 1986 15hp Evinrude outboard on my fishing skiff that gets cranky when underused.
I got tired of pulling the start rope the other day and found a socket that fit the nut atop the fly wheel of the Evinrude. I found a spade bit (5/8) for a large electric drill that fit the square hole on top of the (7/8) socket. I could then turn the engine up to and above idle speed with the drill - running the flood and goober in the carberator out of it until it started hitting and ran.

I believe the topsides on my 1980 Contessa look o.k. for now. I plan to delay painting them for as long as possible. A scrubdown with "Hull Brite" and two coats of wax will have her looking her best and the wax seems to retard that yellow scum line (from heavy metals in the water) forming above her boot stripe.
I thought hull blisters were a result of warm water around here but now I hear that electrolysis can cause them as well.
I fixed 400 hull blisters eight years ago and 200 more four years later. I need to haul out and paint on two coats of "Trinidad" as well a change the zincs aft of the propeller and the ones inside the diesel.
Swam under the old girl today. Blisters not too bad this time.

I had an electrician at the boatyard install a ten amp, two - bank battery charger I ordered from West Marine. He suggested adding an on/off switch just for the battery charger so I could run the diesel when plugged in to shore power. So far no problem.
I used to tie a line from my forestay to trail in the water during lightning storms. My wife was greatly comforted by this until some wag told her that a huge bolt of lightning would fry her anyway - line or no line. I'm gonna get that boy!

I rigged a roller adjuster on my split backstay to flatten the main in high wind that seems to help. Weather helm is not any worse on a Contessa than any other boat I have sailed.
I'll never forget a sail with two overweight inlaws sitting on the bow of my 19 foot woodie. When my wife went forward to bring them drinks while we were broad reaching with a 15 knot wind, the rudder came out of the water and we rounded up fast. Had mucho weather helm that day.

My 8 hp Italian Aurona diesel was slinging oil everywhere so I found an outboard bracket with maximum height adjustment in West Marine Catalogue (rated for up to 20 hp) and hung it on the starboard side of my Contessa's stern. My 3 1/2 hp Nissan outboard dingy motor would push me 4 knots. My 15hp Evinrude off my fishing skiff would push it 7 knots but the short shaft would not clear the water due to the extreme rake in the stern.
I repowered in 2002 with a Yanmar 1-GM10 diesel inboard. I left the outboard motor bracket on because I may again use the dingy motor to push the mother ship in an emergency. The Nissan dingy motor hangs on a bracket high on top of the pushpit.

My 1980 Contessa had an Arona diesel. I could not depend on it so I repowered with a Yanmar 1GM10. A friend was interested in the Arona for a boat building project despite the fact that it was slinging oil all over the engine room. I couldn't accept the offered money because I could guarantee nothing, so I gave it to him.
It's still underneath his work bench.

I had a 19' wooden boat with a 7'5'' beam and bought a Contessa 26 with the same beam. My woody was mast-forward mainsail oriented. The Contessa with mast further aft needs her jib.
First thing I did was add a roller furler for the jib (120% genoa seems to be plenty). Jiffy reefing has the main sail size under control.
Men love to heel and almost put the mast tip in the water. Women find heeling to be alarming and control over sail size is the only way to get the boat back on her feet enough to get them to come back aboard again.
I found, when racing, that in a hard beat into 13 knots of wind or more a Contessa under full sail lays over so far that water pours over the cockpit coaming into the cockpit. That's when she puts on a burst of speed, skidding along on her side and out-pointing just about everybody that beats most non-racing boats under 40 feet. We won that race but my wife's bunk got wet and she took her gear off the boat never to return.

I made a new ash tiller for my wooden boat. We laminated it with resorcinol glue and varnished only twice in 10 years ( made a canvass cover for it).