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I ran out and bought a cold heat soldering iron at Radio Shack based on this thread.

It's a nice looking unit and feels nice to the touch but it didn't hold up in it's first use.

I was using it to solder connectors for a serial cable I was making to connect my laptop at the table in the cabin to the GPS mounted at the pedestal.

It worked well to tin the wires. Just a few minutes to get the hang of arcing the spit tip to make the connection.

While I juggled the tiny connector ends and applied heat, the soldering tip shattered.

Got out the inverter and 15 year old iron to finish the job.

I'm really sorry it didn't work out. I really loved the concept and feel of it.

Having used the small butane torches and soldering irons for a while, I am going to have to go with my personal two favorites, that go with me anywhere I have anything electrical... (Thankyou xwife and kids for a truly useful gift) and has been probably the 2nd most used tool in the electronics toolbox. The radio shack adjustable output butane soldering Iron, Bright red, shaped like an oversized fountain pen, removable cap, literally fits in your pocket, and seems to have up to a 20 watt output, compared to my electric irons,

Note, in checking the Radio shack part number it looks like they have replaced it with a slightly larger unit 50 watts now and not quite as easy to carry, Your local store may still have a few of the older Pen style, and they were/are far more convenient.

and the other is the torch pencil #29440 from harbor freight this link will take you to a page where you can enter the item number manually... 28440

that little beast does everything from tinning and soldering 0 and 00 battery cables to tinning the 22 awg without blowing the solder away.

Second advantage of butane is light weight, more tip energy in the bottle than an equivalent battery setup ounce for ounce.

something like one of these is a godsend, and if I only had space to have one, it would be the little soldering iron.

Found a great strut for the front hatch on my '01 26X. This is HATCH ADJUSTER, West Marine 592040. This is the 11"-19" unit with the knob lock. This is a quality item, smooth action...and good lock. Fully extended, the hatch lid is roughly vertical.
First, I tried their chrome butterfly model, but it had a rough slide action and didn't reliably lock. I am thinking about fab-up of a metal slot that would allow disengagement on the hull-end fastener...to allow fully laying the hatch open. Another winter project.
Jack

Got a coupla pictures of how you mounted it? For the Mods Page?

Thanks,
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Moe

Tahoe Jack wrote:Found a great strut for the front hatch on my '01 26X. This is HATCH ADJUSTER, West Marine 592040. This is the 11"-19" unit with the knob lock. This is a quality item, smooth action...and good lock. Fully extended, the hatch lid is roughly vertical....

I used the same one, Jack - it works well and is easily mounted.

One word of caution - the first one I installed broke on the base where the pivot-pin connects to the attachment bracket. The pin necks-down considerably there, and it broke because when I mounted it I did so with the closed position being at ever-so slight an angle, causing force to be applied across axially to the shaft... it went "SNAP!" the first time I closed it. We$t Marine gave me a new one and I reamed the holes a bit to shift the mounting.

Don't know about this thing. It is an AM/FM radio with extra receiveability of VHF channels. However it does not have the capabilaty to transmit VHF messages. Prices are low, around 175 US dollars and you do not need a license for transmitting radio signals. So you can listen to all coastal stations, wheater stations and amusement stations, but if you run into serious problems you can not sent a distress out.


http://www.gme.net.au/marine/stereos/gr100.php

I purchased the same hatch adjuster from West Marine. The same day I installed it the end broke off just holding up the hatch. It looked like it was good quality until it broke and I saw why. I took it back and exchanged it for the model 199598. They gave me an extra $10.00 off on this one. No way this one will break.

Moe, haven't got time to do a formal mod right now, also, hoped to explore the detachable lower connection and include that as well. Re the breakage folks have experienced. These long slender struts, fastened to the comparatively large hatch covers, can be subject to some serious leverage damage if not installed right. First, with the hatch closed, select the ideal position, then drill one bolt hole for the lower fastener..to the hull, insert a loose bolt, then the second, and another loose bolt. Use a pencil or similar gage to measure space between strut shaft at fastener, and hull rim, slide this toward the front...this keeps it parallel....then mark and drill the holes in the hatch...same idea re loose bolts. I reversed the hatch cover bolts...leaving the head on the exterior, nuts inside. I agree that if the shaft isn't close to the same axis as the cover swing...you could break any model. I will take a couple pics that I can PM to anyone eager to work on this before I get time to do a mod. Jack

Thanks, Jack. I bought one of these from WM, it's stowed in the boat and I can't remember for sure, but I think it's the cheaper one.

Thanks for the installation tips. It'll probably be some time before I get around to installing it, so no hurry on the formal Mod.

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Moe

More cool stuff....

I have no relationship to the guy selling this laptop but I gotta say it's pretty cool. Follow the link in the listing to see more of their hardened computers.

Fair winds,
Kevin

More cool stuff... cross posted from another thread. Discussion was about matteresses and inflators used to make beds in the Mac... thought it might be good to file this here for future reference.

Photo stolen from Duane:


I've also used an air-bed on top of the dinette, Duane... it's really comfy! I use the Coleman mattress with the soft velour-like material on the top of it (very nice - see HERE), and I've got one of those inflator/deflators that has its own rechargable battery, or it can run off 120v or 12v as well (see HERE)... I can have the mattress up in about 2-3 minutes and down & packed in about the same.

BTW, that Sevylor air pump is the most compact and best-featured one I've ever used... the really nice thing is that it has it's own battery so it isn't a drain on the ship's batteries - just charge it up before you go and you're in good shape for a nice weekend. Comes with lots of different size adapters (that are all hooked together so they don't get lost!), so it's also great for inflating and deflating any inflatable boats or the kids watercraft as well.

How about the "Boat Blender"? See link. Its a blender attachment for your cordless drill.

http://www.boatblender.com/

Looks kinda fun. Sure beats lugging the ol' Kitchen-Aid on board. Lets face it, you have to have frozen concoctions to drink with Buffet and Marley songs!

For soldering I always carry a propane soldering iron made by Craftsman. It uses a standard propane bottle so I don't need to carry anything special. It works great, is adjustable and can put out a great deal of heat if needed.

Here's a photo.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/b ... ngiron.jpg

I just bought this Cobb BBQ, you can just put it on a table and start grilling, the outside remains cool. Check out this site. http://www.cobbq.com/

Pouw, that looks like a great solution for the grilling purists who use charcoal, as well as those who don't want to bring propane aboard. Let us know how it works out.

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Moe