Bob F

Can one of you kind admin guys delete those 4 rouge Salt-X posts, please? cheers BF

...and after.

Before...

Performed a "before and after" test with Salt-X this week end. Used 3 reels. Reel #1 is a very old Penn 60 Long beach which has been left in my garage for years, unkept and upcleaned, and encrusted with salt. Reel #2 is a larger Penn 67 Longbeach which had the same trestment as reel #1. Reel #3 is a 2 year old Abu 7000LD which has been kept fairly clean but I'd forgot to clean it after it's last outing about 5 mths about and there were salt encrustasions in various places. I'd previously tried soaking the reels in water and "scapping" off the salt but to no real success. Just managed to scratch the reels. So, purchased a bottle of Salt-X from Jake via the website link and it was delivered in a couple of days. I put the 3 reels into a small plastic container and filled it with cold water until it just covered the reels. and noted the amount of water (4 litres in my case). Then added the recommended amount of Salt-X which was 15ml per litre. Gave the water a quick stir and left them to cook. Had a look after 2 hours and the green coloured salf on the reels had started to soften and could be wiped off in most areas on both Penn reels. There was still some stubbern areas, though, so left it to cook overnight. The white salt on the Abu reel had virtually all disappeared, but left that to cook also. Looked at the reels this morning a hey presto, no salt. Actually there was one or two spots with green salt but these wiped away easily. Excellent result I would say. The only downside was that with the salt removed its exposed the areas where the salt has corroded into the metal. Serves me right for not cleaning these reels regularly. There were a couple of small spots on the Abu reel where there was still some white deposits, but I think this is where the metal has oxidised rather than sea salt. Anyway, look for yourself. I've just shown the Penn 60 reel because the photos came out best. Photos to follow. BF

...and their web address is????

Oh well. We tried. Don't like not solving mysteries, though. BF

Reg, I'm a bit suspicious of the wiring names they give in the SX35 manual. Can you try connecting pin 4 from the SX to the GPS ground instead of pin 2 from the SX? I want to make sure we have a proper ground. They mark pin 4 as Ground/TX which is a bit confusing. Usually GND is shared between TX and RX, so maybe this is the gnd for RX aswell. The manual isn't very clear on which connections to use. BF

OK, so simulation works, which tell's us that the display part is working. Has to be a set up issue. I will be in Israel from 27th till 3rd March, so could be available on Sun 4th. cheers BF

Yep, it's called a compass and chart. Otherwise, take a look at the Lowrance or Eagle range. Go to the Lowrance web site and download one of their emulators and a manual and have a play with it. I'd suggest the Globalmap 3500C. Here's the emulator http://www.lowrance.com/Software/PCSoftwar...M3500C_demo.asp Here's the manuals page http://www.lowrance.com/Manuals/default.asp The Garmin range will be no different to your handheld in terms of complexity. BF

One more thing to check. Put the VHF into Simulator mode. This provides simulated GPS data for demonstration purposes, so we can check the the LAT/LONG are showing in demo mode. Transmitter and DSC functions are totally disabled. Press and hold the MENU key while turning power On. You should now be in Simulation mode and should be able to see a simulated LAT/LONG. BF

Reg, Forgot to reply about the lack of VHF antenna. This should not make a difference, BUT... MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT PRESS THE TRANSMIT BUTTON. Transmitting without an antenna or dummy load can damage your VHF. cheers BF

Hi Reg, Another thing to check. Make sure Manual Lat/Long (Manual LL) is turned off. LL POSITION should be ON. MANAUL LL should be OFF. Manual LL overides any signal coming from your GPS. Also, make sure the main date and time have been properly set (not in the Manual LL section). If this doesn't work, maybe I could drop by. Where do you live? Just give me your town, not the full address. cheers BF

Jack, you're a one of a kind.

Paul, Make sure the Lowrance is set up to "receive" signals from the FF. On the 3300C press Menu/Menu/System Setup/Communications Port Make sure the Baud Rate is 4800. Make sure NMEA 0183 Input AND Output is selected (a cross in the box). Select the Configure NMEA 0183 button, then make sure all the selections in the menu are selected. I'm a bit concerned that the Lowrance units do not accept NMEA 0183 SDWPL sentences, which means they may not accept the "Mark" data from the Garmin. For wires, blue from Garmin should be connected to Orange on the 3300. And black on Garmin connected to shield on the 3300. On the 250C I assume you already must have NMEA INPUT/OUTPUT set to On otherwise you would not be seeing Lat/Long on it. I'll check on the SDWPL sentences on the Lowrance. BF

Steve, Yes, that was my hope, to be able to cut out a 12" section and retain the orginal front moulding. The bunkers are emplty, no foam. Apparantly, the foam is all under the deck. The deck continues under the bunkers. Its even the same colour. A couple of matching seat boxes on either side should look ok. Do you have to order the boxes in? I'm sometimes up your way so could arrange to drop by. Paul, not sure about the reversable seats. The seat boxes sit very close to the gunnels, so I'm not sure there will be enough room for the swiveling arm. Also, I like the secured seating of a bucket seat which stops you sliding around. BF

The brave bit is ok, not sure about the skill bit, though. Might have to pick your brains, Pete. Are you building at the moment. Any chance of me dropping by for a chat? cheers BF

Reg, First make sure the Lat/Long is turned on on your SX35 - goto Menu/Data set/LLpostion, and select on. Check the cables connections. Pin 1 (brown) on the SX35 should be connected to Yellow (Transmit) from your 3500C (make sure you are using the NMEA 0183 cable and not the NMEA 2000 cables). Pin 2 (red) on the SX35 should be connected to the Shield Ground wire from the 3500C. On the 3500C press Menu/Menu/System Setup/Communications Port Make sure the Baud Rate is 4800. Make sure NMEA 0183 Output is selected (a cross in the box). Select the Configure NMEA 0183 button, then make sure all the selections in the menu are selected, especially RMC & RMB. You can now exit back to the main display. Next make sure your 3500C has actually acquired a signal and is showing it's Lat and Long. Double check that you are not in Simulator mode. It takes 30 secs or more for the VHF to initially receive the Lat and long from the GPS so make sure you give it enough time. Hopefully you will now see the Lat/Long on the SX35. If not, you could try setting the SX35 as follows: NMEA SET Allows NMEA sentences from navigation equipment manufactured to earlier versions of the NMEA standard to provide Lat/Lon position coordinates and UTC time. Press the MENU key. Menu topics appear in the display. Use the SELECT knob to position the cursor on the NMEA SET topic. Press the ENT key. The NMEA CHECKSUM menu appears in the display. Use the SELECT knob to select either ON or OFF. When your selection is complete, press the ENT key to store the setting and exit the menu. Let me know if you still have problems. Bob

,,,buy a new boat. Where would I buy a new seat box? Why shouldn't I bother with the bunk seat?

Ah, no I think I know what you mean. Cut out a section of the deck that follows the walls of the box?? About a 2 to 3 inch boarder would do I guess???? BF

Thanks Tom. Are you suggesting that I cut into the deck and cut out a square section which includes the seat?? Is the deck a layer that will come away in one piece with the pod? Might drop by this weekend. BF

Could even move it further forward.

And here's where I'd like to move it to. The idea is to cut out a 4 inch section of the end of the seat, and use it to reform the seat futher back by glassing it back in. The bench is in two parts. The seat bottom (walls) form one parts, and the seat forms a second part which is moulded into the sides of the boat. I'm not too worried about cutting out the bottom part, but the seat top is moulded into the side walls and this might to difficult to match in and rebuild the missing section??? Appreciate your thoughts, tips, hints, etc. cheers BF

Then the really adventureous bit is to sorten and move back the existing side bench so that I can fit a floor mounted pedestal seat. Here's the existing arrangement.

Then want to fit a swivel mount on top of the box and fit a pilot or bucket seat. I guess I will need to lower the height of the box to compensate for the increased height of the seat???

And this is roughly where I want to move it back to. The idea would be to cut the box as close the to deck as possible and then re-firbreglass it in. I plan to put some new non-slip matting on the deck afterwards, so I'm not too concerned about the deck finish.