2002-01-15

Happy New Year!

May you all have just as good a sailing season as the one I am wishing for my self!  Here during winter time the boats stands quietly and idle on the hard. One may be undertakes some of the changes and repairs aboard, which wasn’t done during the season, but otherwise one of course for the sake of domestic piece, has to set to work on all the things at home, which one’s wife means all too long needs repairing or renewing.

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman

Together with other investors, Chapman in July 1971 took over the Moonraker and had great influence in the design changes, which made the sales boom in the 1970’ies. This is common knowledge to most Moonraker owners, but others do not know! If you search Chapman on the Net, you get many results on Lotus racers and himself, but nowhere is his connection with the Moonraker mentioned, beside of course our own web site. 

We as Society naturally are interested in that as many as possible know the Moonraker, so we therefore have set up a site on the Net with the headline “Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman”, where we mention that he also was involved in making the Moonraker, and with a link to our web site. If you on AltaVista search for Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman you get over 7000 answers, and in December our web site was in top being number one!

Our expectancy is not, all to rush to our web site, but if just the information about the Moonraker is put into the back of the mind of the people searching on their passion, Lotus racers, then potential boat buyers amongst them might be interested in a boat, a beautiful one, which involves their idol?

2002-04-22

So, take care of your Moonrakers, they are worth a lot, especially if you keep them in good repair!  

Fresh water.

The freshwater tank ought to be cleaned at the start of the season. Physically cleaning of the tank is quite difficult, but the manhole over the tank can be unscrewed and a high pressure cleaner can be used through the hole. However it is impossible to reach the entire tank due to some bulkheads mounted inside. Disinfection should be carried out by pouring 1L of 15% sodiumhypochlorine into the tank and filling up with fresh water. Make sure that the tubes also gets the blend by tapping until the smell of chlorine comes from the tap. Let it be for at least 24 hours and then empty the tank. Clean the tank by filling up with fresh water once or twice and empty it. The smell of chlorine pass away shortly.  

If you want to check the water quality, you can make a "sugar test". Fill up a glass with water from the tank, add a tablespoon of sugar and keep it 24 hours at room temperature, after that the water should not be cloudy.

2002-08-26

Web-site

The Service / Solutions site has been broadened, and is the place to look, if you have a special problem. Here is listed suggestions to solve a variety of problems, e.g. build number - where to locate it, a "cheap" tent for respraying the freeboard, how to deal with leaky windows, and much more, and intentionally we along the road will fill up with new subjects.

If you have experienced other subjects which might interest Moonraker owners, then describe it and mail us!

2002-11-06

Moonraker Owners.

That was a long time ago Moonraker had its great period, a time where every potential motorboat buyer knew the Moonraker. The picture today is another, and an important issue for the Society is therefore of course to maintain, and preferably extend people's knowledge of the Moonraker, so the demand increases the market value. Here we all can contribute, as this newsletter is enclosed a specimen of our streamer, to be placed in the cars rear window or inside the cockpit window, drawing people's attention to our web site. 

Moonraker decorations.

The yard used a very special and for the purpose made fount, when the vessels should be fitted out with the Moonraker logo. For that reason, many wanting to refresh the script have met the discouraging message, that such one was not deliverable. In many occasions “Brush Script” has been used instead of, which is a wimpish and quite bad replacement!

Here is a way, which is used after respraying the boat Rimfaxe, which can be seen on our web site.

With a roll of sandwich paper you copy the decorations you want from another Moonraker. (Just tape sandwich paper over the decoration and then with a pencil copy the contour of the letters and lines). Then you buy some self adhesive plastic which is to be bought in rolls approximate 40 cm wide, upon this you put the sandwich paper, tape it so it doesn't get displaced, and then with a sharp knife, e.g. a Gillette surgery scalpel, cut out along the pencil line. 

Now loosen a bit of the protective paper on the backside and then carefully place it on the vessel piece by piece. It is a hell of a job, but when it all is finished the boat looks like a million!

Make sure you get a good quality plastic and that it is put on a clean and smooth surface. The self adhesive plastic used is named Alkor, and it also is used on the waterline stripes, and it still after 8 years holds!