Broom Saturn - boater's lot not a happy one
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:27 pm
Although I have received very helpful advice from other members on these matters by PMs, I have been asked to post them anyway for benefit of other readers.
I am the not-entirely-proud owner of a Broom Saturn, which I bought about 6 months ago. My children and I have had quite a lot of fun with it (well, to be honest probably me more than them) until it sank on the Thames a couple of weeks ago (my fault - moored alongside slipway in Greenwich and a tide miscalculation on my part). I have since recovered boat (which ended up inverted on the slipway) and a marine mechanic in Norfolk managed to get the 70hp Evinrude VRO outboard going again, but I now need to fix a few things. First, I need a new windscreen and I have been quoted a price to outrageous that I can't bring myself to put it in writing - I think someone has written that they made one from lexan and so I would like a little advice on that. Second, I have managed to lose the lower drain plug (which was a steel bolt). It is presumably an imperial thread - any idea of thread and more importantly, why is there a lower drain hole at all and do you have any idea why it now lets out water after use (we have used the boat since recovering it from sinking and before I lost the bolt) whereas before it was always dry when I opening that drain previpusly (is there, by any chance, a bouyancy tank back there)?. Third, the manual teleflex steering has stiffened up significantly since the boat sank and the marine machanic was supposed to have checked it for me when getting the outboard working again, but obviously did not do so. I am unsure whether to change the morse cable or just lubricate it in some way, can anyone advise? Fourth, the rubbing strake along the sides of the hull is hopelessly damaged and needs to be replaced - any ideas? Lastly, has anyone used the opportunity to replace the windscreen to improve on it - it was rather ugly - I had in mind something that folds out of the way or perhaps more of a hard canopy than merely a screen, because this country is hardly California.
I suppose I could also use this opportunity to ask if there are any handimen, mechanics, boat builders etc. who like these boats enough to work on them at reasonable cost, because it could certainly do with some cosmetic work and a new gel coat etc.
Laurence
I am the not-entirely-proud owner of a Broom Saturn, which I bought about 6 months ago. My children and I have had quite a lot of fun with it (well, to be honest probably me more than them) until it sank on the Thames a couple of weeks ago (my fault - moored alongside slipway in Greenwich and a tide miscalculation on my part). I have since recovered boat (which ended up inverted on the slipway) and a marine mechanic in Norfolk managed to get the 70hp Evinrude VRO outboard going again, but I now need to fix a few things. First, I need a new windscreen and I have been quoted a price to outrageous that I can't bring myself to put it in writing - I think someone has written that they made one from lexan and so I would like a little advice on that. Second, I have managed to lose the lower drain plug (which was a steel bolt). It is presumably an imperial thread - any idea of thread and more importantly, why is there a lower drain hole at all and do you have any idea why it now lets out water after use (we have used the boat since recovering it from sinking and before I lost the bolt) whereas before it was always dry when I opening that drain previpusly (is there, by any chance, a bouyancy tank back there)?. Third, the manual teleflex steering has stiffened up significantly since the boat sank and the marine machanic was supposed to have checked it for me when getting the outboard working again, but obviously did not do so. I am unsure whether to change the morse cable or just lubricate it in some way, can anyone advise? Fourth, the rubbing strake along the sides of the hull is hopelessly damaged and needs to be replaced - any ideas? Lastly, has anyone used the opportunity to replace the windscreen to improve on it - it was rather ugly - I had in mind something that folds out of the way or perhaps more of a hard canopy than merely a screen, because this country is hardly California.
I suppose I could also use this opportunity to ask if there are any handimen, mechanics, boat builders etc. who like these boats enough to work on them at reasonable cost, because it could certainly do with some cosmetic work and a new gel coat etc.
Laurence
