Meanwhile back at the 'stead

[Nearingsfault]

Just bought this Parker Hale replica at Auction. Would be good for fishing around here... Just waiting for permit and registration paperwork before I pick it up. Cant wait to shoot it!
Might have to make my own black powder now. Should definately start casting my own projectiles.
I believe these were extensively used by the South in your first civil war.

PARKER HALE 1861 ENFIELD PERCUSSION CARBINE: 577 CAL; 24" ROUND BARREL; G. BORE; STD SIGHTS & FITTINGS; LOCK MARKED WITH ROYAL CYPHER P-H ENFIELD 1861; PLEASING PATINA TO BRASS REGULATION FURNITURE; SHARP PROFILES & CLEAR MARKINGS; RETAINING A FULL BLUE FINISH TO THE BARREL, VIVID CASE COLOURS TO HAMMER & LOCK PLATE; VG STOCK WITH MINOR BRUISING; ALL COMPLETE WITH ROD, SNAP CAP & CHAIN & SWIVELS; GWO & VG+ COND. #1561 L/R

JOW

More fun to shoot than modern guns.....but more work. Nice piece. I read they were originally issued to British artillery and cavalry units......and the Confederacy imported them and also issued them to artillery....and cavalry. A short gun for its day.

If you make bullets.....and especially if you make black powder...I'd like to to hear (and see)  how you did it. The store-bought stuff you can get here is not REAL black powder, although it works well enough. I was having a lot of fun with my black powder pistols when I first got them.....haven't shot them in a while.

I just went through a disassembly and clean-up to see if I could fix a problem I was having with a replica pump gallery gun I bought years and years ago....a Rossi copy of a 1906 Winchester Model 62......It wasn't ejecting dependably.....it's a .22 Winchester magnum...I have a real model 62 in .22 long rifle which is a very sweet little shooter....but I like the  magnum version  as a light hunting rifle. I need to take it out to the stead and see if I fixed the issue. I suspect it was just getting a little grimy. The ejector looked okay when I inspected it. The copies are known for being more troublesome than the originals......

The modern company Kel-tec has an interesting .22 mag handgun called the PMR. It's a semi-auto that holds 30 rounds of  .22 mag in an innovative little double magazine. With very little if any recoil, it has the capability of  being a rather lethal weapon at short range. I had not heard of it until recently...I might see if I can find one of those....I'm not too into handguns.....but I like the idea of being able to use the same ammo in several different guns in my collection. In addition to the Rossi, I have a Ruger 10-22 magnum I built.....more fancy,.....carbon fiber barrel and Volkquartsen trigger and a molded stock and a scope.

Even now, with ammo almost impossible to get (because people are currently going bat-shit crazy buying both guns and ammo here) I can still get plenty of .22 mag. It isn't a round that many people shoot anymore.

One of my daughters BF told me at a dinner the other night that he'd bought an AR-15 clone.....and that he couldn't find ANY .223 caliber (5.56 NATO) to buy....crazy, as they make so much of it..You used to be able to buy mil-spec and reloaded rounds dirt cheap in bulk.....not right now though. I think I have a couple of thousand rounds in the gun closet. I used to shoot it a lot in my Mini-14 Ranch Rifles when I was hunting more a few years back.

No amunitions shortage in Oz, but black powder is hard to get compared to smokeless powder as its more dangerous to handle; very low flash point... Also $100 per Kg.
Have ordered Saltpeter on line, (Stump remover), and will buy some sulphur and charcoal from local hardware this week. I have some Isopropal alcohol from Aldi. Enough to make 4kg for about $60. If it works I will share it around a bit. If it does not work I will remove a stum in the front yard...
Recipe I am going to try is 75% Saltpeter, 15% sulphur, 10% charcoal. Got the recipe from an old book I have. Seems to be most common on net as well.
Will pinch the stone mortar and pestle from the better half when she is not looking to grind it up. I think I have a fine seive. Otherwise I know my father has a heap of fine stainless and brass mesh he used in filters. I will pinch some off him. I will make a small batch of a couple of different methods to test.

A few diferent method here:
https://www.thoughtco.com/make-black-powder-safely-4062684
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Black-Powder
https://www.outdoorrevival.com/instant-articles/making-your-own-black-powder.html

I might see if I can post a video of testing it once its made.

Casting projectiles will be next step. Have a heap of old lead flashing. My mate uses wheel weights as they are harder than lead flashing, but he is loading 303 with smokeless powder so needs a harder projectile. I want it really sort so it deforms and engages rifling. Should be able to buy minnie ball in the interim from a local gun shop. If the lad and I get real keen I will buy a die from Lee. (Probably get it online from US). Local die guys down here have a very good reputation but also very expensive. https://www.castbulletengineering.com.au/

Also, after seeing your pictures Eddie a few years back of your custom 22 magnum I think, (It had a laminated stock?), I did a custom job on my old Anshutz 22mag I inherited from dad. Fitted scope, bipod and pained very poor condition stock black so it looks like a polimer stock... Looks excellent. Still cant hit a fucking barn door with it! My youngest son is better shot than me I am horified to admit... I was a crack shot in the military 30 years ago... 50mm group at 300m with SLR. (Topped the class). They were an excellent rifle. Never been able to shoot that well since! Might take up trap shooting so at least I can hit something. I will post a pic of it next time I get it out. Will hit the range once lockdowns lift.

JOW


JOW

uhg... I lugged around the same FN beast in my time. Here it got replaced with an m16 variation in my last year in. I was overjoyed to trade it in. My understanding is many of them ended up in friendly nations in Africa. Unkillable rifle.

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[John of Wallan]

[/quote]
uhg... I lugged around the same FN beast in my time. Here it got replaced with an m16 variation in my last year in. I was overjoyed to trade it in. My understanding is many of them ended up in friendly nations in Africa. Unkillable rifle.
[/quote]

We had SLRs in the platoon, and scouts and officers had M16. M16 shot fairly well, with flatter trajectory out to 400m, but I just did not like it. We broke 2 in training doing fire and movement when we fell on them.... Does not fill you with confidence... Could never group as well with M16 as I did with SLR which is strange with its milder recoil. SLR kicked like a mule compared to M16, and was heavy, but it sure was solid and reliable. I must have shot 5000 rounds through mine, and had zero malfunctions. Pretty well every time we took an M16 out to the range we had at least one jam or fail to feed. Also had M60 as section automatic weapon. That was a beast too! Heavy, but we found them reliable, despite what is written about them.

I will stick to my bolt actions and muzzle loader now. Dont want to contemplate ever having to use my training again.

JOW

JOW

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[Phil Rumpole]

Just bought this Parker Hale replica at Auction. Would be good for fishing around here... Just waiting for permit and registration paperwork before I pick it up. Cant wait to shoot it!
Might have to make my own black powder now. Should definately start casting my own projectiles.
I believe these were extensively used by the South in your first civil war.

PARKER HALE 1861 ENFIELD PERCUSSION CARBINE: 577 CAL; 24" ROUND BARREL; G. BORE; STD SIGHTS & FITTINGS; LOCK MARKED WITH ROYAL CYPHER P-H ENFIELD 1861; PLEASING PATINA TO BRASS REGULATION FURNITURE; SHARP PROFILES & CLEAR MARKINGS; RETAINING A FULL BLUE FINISH TO THE BARREL, VIVID CASE COLOURS TO HAMMER & LOCK PLATE; VG STOCK WITH MINOR BRUISING; ALL COMPLETE WITH ROD, SNAP CAP & CHAIN & SWIVELS; GWO & VG+ COND. #1561 L/R

JOW

More fun to shoot than modern guns.....but more work. Nice piece. I read they were originally issued to British artillery and cavalry units......and the Confederacy imported them and also issued them to artillery....and cavalry. A short gun for its day.

If you make bullets.....and especially if you make black powder...I'd like to to hear (and see)  how you did it. The store-bought stuff you can get here is not REAL black powder, although it works well enough. I was having a lot of fun with my black powder pistols when I first got them.....haven't shot them in a while.

I just went through a disassembly and clean-up to see if I could fix a problem I was having with a replica pump gallery gun I bought years and years ago....a Rossi copy of a 1906 Winchester Model 62......It wasn't ejecting dependably.....it's a .22 Winchester magnum...I have a real model 62 in .22 long rifle which is a very sweet little shooter....but I like the  magnum version  as a light hunting rifle. I need to take it out to the stead and see if I fixed the issue. I suspect it was just getting a little grimy. The ejector looked okay when I inspected it. The copies are known for being more troublesome than the originals......

The modern company Kel-tec has an interesting .22 mag handgun called the PMR. It's a semi-auto that holds 30 rounds of  .22 mag in an innovative little double magazine. With very little if any recoil, it has the capability of  being a rather lethal weapon at short range. I had not heard of it until recently...I might see if I can find one of those....I'm not too into handguns.....but I like the idea of being able to use the same ammo in several different guns in my collection. In addition to the Rossi, I have a Ruger 10-22 magnum I built.....more fancy,.....carbon fiber barrel and Volkquartsen trigger and a molded stock and a scope.

Even now, with ammo almost impossible to get (because people are currently going bat-shit crazy buying both guns and ammo here) I can still get plenty of .22 mag. It isn't a round that many people shoot anymore.

One of my daughters BF told me at a dinner the other night that he'd bought an AR-15 clone.....and that he couldn't find ANY .223 caliber (5.56 NATO) to buy....crazy, as they make so much of it..You used to be able to buy mil-spec and reloaded rounds dirt cheap in bulk.....not right now though. I think I have a couple of thousand rounds in the gun closet. I used to shoot it a lot in my Mini-14 Ranch Rifles when I was hunting more a few years back.

No amunitions shortage in Oz, but black powder is hard to get compared to smokeless powder as its more dangerous to handle; very low flash point... Also $100 per Kg.
Have ordered Saltpeter on line, (Stump remover), and will buy some sulphur and charcoal from local hardware this week. I have some Isopropal alcohol from Aldi. Enough to make 4kg for about $60. If it works I will share it around a bit. If it does not work I will remove a stum in the front yard...
Recipe I am going to try is 75% Saltpeter, 15% sulphur, 10% charcoal. Got the recipe from an old book I have. Seems to be most common on net as well.
Will pinch the stone mortar and pestle from the better half when she is not looking to grind it up. I think I have a fine seive. Otherwise I know my father has a heap of fine stainless and brass mesh he used in filters. I will pinch some off him. I will make a small batch of a couple of different methods to test.

A few diferent method here:
https://www.thoughtco.com/make-black-powder-safely-4062684
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Black-Powder
https://www.outdoorrevival.com/instant-articles/making-your-own-black-powder.html

I might see if I can post a video of testing it once its made.

Casting projectiles will be next step. Have a heap of old lead flashing. My mate uses wheel weights as they are harder than lead flashing, but he is loading 303 with smokeless powder so needs a harder projectile. I want it really sort so it deforms and engages rifling. Should be able to buy minnie ball in the interim from a local gun shop. If the lad and I get real keen I will buy a die from Lee. (Probably get it online from US). Local die guys down here have a very good reputation but also very expensive. https://www.castbulletengineering.com.au/

Also, after seeing your pictures Eddie a few years back of your custom 22 magnum I think, (It had a laminated stock?), I did a custom job on my old Anshutz 22mag I inherited from dad. Fitted scope, bipod and pained very poor condition stock black so it looks like a polimer stock... Looks excellent. Still cant hit a fucking barn door with it! My youngest son is better shot than me I am horified to admit... I was a crack shot in the military 30 years ago... 50mm group at 300m with SLR. (Topped the class). They were an excellent rifle. Never been able to shoot that well since! Might take up trap shooting so at least I can hit something. I will post a pic of it next time I get it out. Will hit the range once lockdowns lift.

JOW


JOW

uhg... I lugged around the same FN beast in my time. Here it got replaced with an m16 variation in my last year in. I was overjoyed to trade it in. My understanding is many of them ended up in friendly nations in Africa. Unkillable rifle.

That would be why in Kenya the police and every 'askari' (security guard) sitting at a mall, bank, or jewelry store entrance has an SLR. Pity I never got to try one.  They were phased out of Norforce some time in the 80s and by the early 90s when I joined, there was only the plastic toy Steyr. I know they had some M16s in the 80s as well but how many I don't know, they were all gone by the 90s.

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[Eddie]

Caught three nice channel catfish last night on my first real night of lake fishing off my pier. Using minnows on bobbers......just off the bottom. One got off the stringer overnight. Got two new reels....both Zebcos...an Omega Pro and a Bullet. Best spincast reels I’ve ever used. Both on Ugly Stick rods. Think I like the Omega better than the more expensive and highly touted Bullet....for this kind of fishing anyway. Both are nice, super easy to cast reels, with decent construction.

Gonna get a fish basket....the stringer was an afterthought when I was picking up the minimal gear I bought. Can’t find any of my gear from the old days....starting over in the tackle department.

I released these two....but next time I start earlier in the weekend......and maybe catch enough to fry some fish.

Details IMG 2867

IMG 2867

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[RE]

I released these two....but next time I start earlier in the weekend......and maybe catch enough to fry some fish.

Details IMG 2867

IMG 2867

Take a pic of the fish after you cook'em!

Sauteed in Garlic Butter is great also.

RE

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[Nearingsfault]

Caught three nice channel catfish last night on my first real night of lake fishing off my pier. Using minnows on bobbers......just off the bottom. One got off the stringer overnight. Got two new reels....both Zebcos...an Omega Pro and a Bullet. Best spincast reels I’ve ever used. Both on Ugly Stick rods. Think I like the Omega better than the more expensive and highly touted Bullet....for this kind of fishing anyway. Both are nice, super easy to cast reels, with decent construction.

Gonna get a fish basket....the stringer was an afterthought when I was picking up the minimal gear I bought. Can’t find any of my gear from the old days....starting over in the tackle department.

I released these two....but next time I start earlier in the weekend......and maybe catch enough to fry some fish.

Details IMG 2867

IMG 2867

I do love catfish.

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[Eddie]

Caught three nice channel catfish last night on my first real night of lake fishing off my pier. Using minnows on bobbers......just off the bottom. One got off the stringer overnight. Got two new reels....both Zebcos...an Omega Pro and a Bullet. Best spincast reels I’ve ever used. Both on Ugly Stick rods. Think I like the Omega better than the more expensive and highly touted Bullet....for this kind of fishing anyway. Both are nice, super easy to cast reels, with decent construction.

Gonna get a fish basket....the stringer was an afterthought when I was picking up the minimal gear I bought. Can’t find any of my gear from the old days....starting over in the tackle department.

I released these two....but next time I start earlier in the weekend......and maybe catch enough to fry some fish.

Details IMG 2867

IMG 2867

I do love catfish.

My father considered channel catfish to be the best eating of all the common East Texas species of catfish. I was  surprised to catch them.....I was led to believe the lake was full of flatheads....but it is a river....two rivers really. We are just below the confluence of the Llano and the Colorado.. No lakes upstream on the Llano arm...

Full disclosure...I was chumming with protein pellets, but I just started.....didin’t expect that to work the first weekend. I plan to keep doing that...and maybe I can keep a lot of fish in the area.. I might sink my Christmas tree near the dock to make crappie habitat. They like brush..Crappie season starts in February.

Lots of bass on the surface at night...maybe 20-30 yards out. Not sure what to use to go after those.....I might see if I can find a cheap fly rod and work on my fly casting....never was good at that. lol.

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[Eddie]

Just got back to Austin after spending five nights out at the lake. We had a few people over out there for Thanksgiving Dinner, but it was all people I get exposed to anyway....my two local kids, their significant others, one roommate, a couple of folks who baby-sit Adventurer Daughter’s BF’s son....

We ate outside, and I social distanced amap.....if it’d been up to me, it’d have been even smaller. The COVID spike curved back down here over the holiday...but travelers might set it off again.....we’re still around 20 cases per 100K population.....which is 3X higher than our summer low...but better than a lot of places these days.

After TG, everybody went home, and it turned off cold and wet for the rest of the weekend and I didn’t even fish....mostly sat around and ate left-overs and watched it rain. Binge watched Blacklist....mediocre but I’m watching it anyway.....currently out of great shows.

Tonight is set to be one of the coldest nights of the year, probably. Down to 24 degrees F at the lake. I have heat lamps in the engine compartments of the boats. First time to have a boat on the lift in that kind of weather. I hope one heat lamp is enough. I have it shining on one of the exhaust manifolds so hopefully it will get the whole engine warm enough so the off-side manifold won’t freeze. There is a cover over the boat too, and the engine compartment is closed. I think it’ll do.....

Turned off the water and drained down the upstairs taps. Covered the outside faucet. Hopefully no broken pipes this time. I have a mixed track record on broken pipes.

Next weekend I’m going to see if I can bundle up and fish some more. I’ve been researching better rigs for catfishing since they are the fish that are biting. We got a couple of little ones on worms the night before Thanksgiving.....but my minnows weren’t working. Part of that is the rig......

I’m going to give the bobbers a rest and try some bottom-fishing rigs that have a float to hold the hooks up off the bottom.....gonna try a couple of variations of that.....I hit the sporting goods store when I got back to town. I also bought some store-bought catfish bait of various kinds including some vacuum packed shad that I know is gonna really stink...but that might be a good thing.

I saw a local article about a guy who caught a big record catfish...40 some-odd pounds.......in the creek that runs into the lake in my neighborhood. He was fishing at one of the HOA parks....I might give that spot a try. Not as convenient as fishing off my dock.......and they have a curfew...not sure how late or early you can fish...but it might be fun to try it out.

For my birthday, which was last Tuesday, I bought myself a new bait-casting reel, a nice Abu Garcia, all aluminum and carbon fiber, with eleven bearings and a fancy drag. It was Cabela’s loss leader for Black Friday...of course I got a rod for it too. It probably won’t arrive before the weekend, but the spin-cast reels are working just fine.....much easier to use, but I thought I’d get in some casting practice with the old-school bait-caster. We’l see. I used to always make them backlash when I was a kid.......maybe watching some Utube videos will help.

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[Nearingsfault]

Just got back to Austin after spending five nights out at the lake. We had a few people over out there for Thanksgiving Dinner, but it was all people I get exposed to anyway....my two local kids, their significant others, one roommate, a couple of folks who baby-sit Adventurer Daughter’s BF’s son....

We ate outside, and I social distanced amap.....if it’d been up to me, it’d have been even smaller. The COVID spike curved back down here over the holiday...but travelers might set it off again.....we’re still around 20 cases per 100K population.....which is 3X higher than our summer low...but better than a lot of places these days.

After TG, everybody went home, and it turned off cold and wet for the rest of the weekend and I didn’t even fish....mostly sat around and ate left-overs and watched it rain. Binge watched Blacklist....mediocre but I’m watching it anyway.....currently out of great shows.

Tonight is set to be one of the coldest nights of the year, probably. Down to 24 degrees F at the lake. I have heat lamps in the engine compartments of the boats. First time to have a boat on the lift in that kind of weather. I hope one heat lamp is enough. I have it shining on one of the exhaust manifolds so hopefully it will get the whole engine warm enough so the off-side manifold won’t freeze. There is a cover over the boat too, and the engine compartment is closed. I think it’ll do.....

Turned off the water and drained down the upstairs taps. Covered the outside faucet. Hopefully no broken pipes this time. I have a mixed track record on broken pipes.

Next weekend I’m going to see if I can bundle up and fish some more. I’ve been researching better rigs for catfishing since they are the fish that are biting. We got a couple of little ones on worms the night before Thanksgiving.....but my minnows weren’t working. Part of that is the rig......

I’m going to give the bobbers a rest and try some bottom-fishing rigs that have a float to hold the hooks up off the bottom.....gonna try a couple of variations of that.....I hit the sporting goods store when I got back to town. I also bought some store-bought catfish bait of various kinds including some vacuum packed shad that I know is gonna really stink...but that might be a good thing.

I saw a local article about a guy who caught a big record catfish...40 some-odd pounds.......in the creek that runs into the lake in my neighborhood. He was fishing at one of the HOA parks....I might give that spot a try. Not as convenient as fishing off my dock.......and they have a curfew...not sure how late or early you can fish...but it might be fun to try it out.

For my birthday, which was last Tuesday, I bought myself a new bait-casting reel, a nice Abu Garcia, all aluminum and carbon fiber, with eleven bearings and a fancy drag. It was Cabela’s loss leader for Black Friday...of course I got a rod for it too. It probably won’t arrive before the weekend, but the spin-cast reels are working just fine.....much easier to use, but I thought I’d get in some casting practice with the old-school bait-caster. We’l see. I used to always make them backlash when I was a kid.......maybe watching some Utube videos will help.

sounds like a good small local thanksguving. What does the 20 per 100000 represent? Total since start or active cases?

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[Eddie]

Rate of new infections. It got down to around 7/100K at the low. Because so many counties are rural here, and their populations low, I find it a better metric than the raw numbers when I’m comparing.

For instance out in Llano County where the lakehouse is, the new infection rate has spiked to 33/100K, but they still have only a modest numberr of people sick.

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[Nearingsfault]

Rate of new infections. It got down to around 7/100K at the low. Because so many counties are rural here, and their populations low, I find it a better metric than the raw numbers when I’m comparing.

For instance out in Llano County where the lakehouse is, the new infection rate has spiked to 33/100K, but they still have only a modest numberr of people sick.

the problem with that metric here would be the uneven rate of testing. I have found for my neck of the woods deaths are the only accurate number. Number are spiking here; nothing like what you guys are facing but still the trend is rising. The cities are hard hit. Here... well we are in a forgotten corner of the province.  Stay safe

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[Phil Rumpole]

What's the problem if your boat engine gets cold?

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[Eddie]

What's the problem if your boat engine gets cold?

Inboard engines (in fresh water) have raw water coolant in the exhaust manifolds....and coolant water in the engine block...and sometimes in the mufflers if the boat has mufflers...they don’t have a closed system for cooling like a car.......there is a water pump that sucks water in....and it gets ported though the engine and the exhaust manifold and finally runs out the exhaust pipes.

In cold climates the engines are usually drained at the end of the season so ice won’t crack the engine blocks or the manifolds, etc.......but here we only have intermittent cold weather..so I don’t usually do that...I plan to use the boat all winter when the weather is nice. Some kind of heat in the engine compartment is necessary.....but not much. I use heat lamp bulbs, being careful to place them where they don’t heat up the fuel lines....poor man’s boat heater....I also do that for the well pump at the stead.....we almost never have power outages, fortunately

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[Nearingsfault]

What's the problem if your boat engine gets cold?

Inboard engines (in fresh water) have raw water coolant in the exhaust manifolds....and coolant water in the engine block...and sometimes in the mufflers if the boat has mufflers...they don’t have a closed system for cooling like a car.......there is a water pump that sucks water in....and it gets ported though the engine and the exhaust manifold and finally runs out the exhaust pipes.

In cold climates the engines are usually drained at the end of the season so ice won’t crack the engine blocks or the manifolds, etc.......but here we only have intermittent cold weather..so I don’t usually do that...I plan to use the boat all winter when the weather is nice. Some kind of heat in the engine compartment is necessary.....but not much. I use heat lamp bulbs, being careful to place them where they don’t heat up the fuel lines....poor man’s boat heater....I also do that for the well pump at the stead.....we almost never have power outages, fortunately

Have you thought of adding a thermocube plug? I used them for crawl space plumbing for late fall cottagers...https://www.amazon.ca/HEATIT-Freeze-Thermostatically-Controlled-Heating/dp/B074HVYDV1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=thermo+cube&qid=1606947654&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExS01aU1NSVDE1WE5QJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjU4MDg2M0FNN0hMWjZUMFlNUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTE3ODU2UUxUV1FKQTJVUVVXJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

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[Eddie]

What's the problem if your boat engine gets cold?

Inboard engines (in fresh water) have raw water coolant in the exhaust manifolds....and coolant water in the engine block...and sometimes in the mufflers if the boat has mufflers...they don’t have a closed system for cooling like a car.......there is a water pump that sucks water in....and it gets ported though the engine and the exhaust manifold and finally runs out the exhaust pipes.

In cold climates the engines are usually drained at the end of the season so ice won’t crack the engine blocks or the manifolds, etc.......but here we only have intermittent cold weather..so I don’t usually do that...I plan to use the boat all winter when the weather is nice. Some kind of heat in the engine compartment is necessary.....but not much. I use heat lamp bulbs, being careful to place them where they don’t heat up the fuel lines....poor man’s boat heater....I also do that for the well pump at the stead.....we almost never have power outages, fortunately

Have you thought of adding a thermocube plug? I used them for crawl space plumbing for late fall cottagers...https://www.amazon.ca/HEATIT-Freeze-Thermostatically-Controlled-Heating/dp/B074HVYDV1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=thermo+cube&qid=1606947654&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExS01aU1NSVDE1WE5QJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjU4MDg2M0FNN0hMWjZUMFlNUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTE3ODU2UUxUV1FKQTJVUVVXJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Never used one...thanks NF. I will be buying a few of those.

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