You gotta have more than one boat!!!

You have to have more than one boat! I probably don’t need to explain that comment. Or do I?
 
Some people I know actually try to get by with only one boat! Crazy, right? I’ve kept my little 16’ Glastron for about 20 years. It was inexpensive, it runs great, and I’ve not had to fix it much, so there has been no real reason to get rid of it. But after almost drowning my adult children trying to get back to the launch in heavy head-winds, I decided to pick up a used 19-1/2’ “Cuddy” cabin, which is a lot better in rough water. But years later, I THOUGHT it would be cool to have a little cabin that we can sleep in, so I found an ‘88 Cabin cruiser with low hours. It was small enough to keep and transport on a trailer. I tried to sell the 195 (really I did!) but couldn’t get my price. However, having three very different boats has not been completely crazy, though most people think it is.
 
Sometimes I take the 16’ Glastron because it’s easy to tow and cheap to run, but as I said this boat is terrible in rough water. So I might take the Four Winns with the cuddy cabin. It’s taller and warmer and cuts through the waves much better. But sometimes you want to spend the night on the boat! They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
 
Many times, customers are frustrated because they would really like to do all their applications with one gasket material. That would certainly make life simple, and eliminate any mis-application of gaskets. Inventory becomes pretty simple as well. But no gasket is the right gasket for all applications. Just like with boats. There are so many variations in application parameters, including temperature, internal pressure, fluids sealed, and flange type (which means variations in available compressive load).
 
Using one gasket for everything means you are often not using the best gasket for each service. There are many light weight flanges where a rubber gasket is the best option, since rubber is about the easiest gasket to seal. Other products are likely to leak in some flanges. A universal gasket will almost always cost more than rubber. Utility services in raised face (RF) flanges are best served using a fiber gasket. Rubber is NOT recommended in RF flanges; over-compression in RF flanges is the number one cause for failure of rubber gaskets. High temperature applications will often use metal and graphite, and food, drug and chemical applications use a PTFE-based gasket.
 
Use the right equipment for the job: as long as there is enough room for storage, make sure you have a variety of boats (or gaskets) for the variety of applications you encounter!
Send me your bigger, better boat stories! (Or “one gasket fits all” stories if you like)