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 Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums
 General Sailing Forum
 cheap knockoffs		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Initially Posted - 11/30/2006 :  15:02:27  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
A couple of weeks ago I got a Weems & Plath Large Yacht Lamp with the gimbal mount. I have wanted one for years but fretted over the $100 on such a luxury. It came and I am very impressed with its quality and functionality. However, the gimbal makes the entire thing just too big for the boat, so I decided that I will simply hang it with a hook from a single loop teak handrail I have installed in the cabin, (under the Starboard cabin top winch). So I though well I guess I will mount the gimbal inside the house on the rock chimney, but how stupid is a gimbal screwed to a rock wall? So I thought the simple Weems & Plath wall mount would make a lot more sense. About that time I found a knock off lamp on ebay, $40, less than half! I bought it, (symmetry is always a good thing). So I ordered two wall mounts and mounted the lamps to either side of the fireplace and the lamps look spectacular, only the cheap one was soldered rather than screwed and it fell apart. It was burning with an appropriate flame and after about 45 minutes it crashed to the hearth. It lay there in a puddle of paraffin fuel burning merrily. This was a bad thing.


In the few days prior to the flammage my wife and I decided that the Weems & Plath flower vase would look nice in the gimbal, even on a rock wall. She is excited. The knock off dies, and she says that I must get another real one because they looked so nice... and we have the all mounts! So now I have another real Weemms & Plath Large Yacht Lamp coming tomorrow, a gimbal that is still not mounted, and a vase that now seems unobtainable financially.
Do the simplest things sometimes take on a life of their own?
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Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  15:46:55  Show Profile  Visit Turk's Homepage
I've got 4 large Weems & Plath Yacht lamps. I've bought 7 or eight so far and gave a few as gifts. The secret is Ebay. I've paid as little as $27, but no more than $45. The inexpensive ones look almost rusted in their pictures, but with lots of elbow grease they all end up as shiny as the day they were sold.

The new ones come coated with a clear enamel to stop the oxidation of the metal. That will last about 6 months and you will notice it darkening. By far the best brass polish to use is from a company called Maas. MAAS polishing cream comes in a tube and goes a long way. $10-12 bucks. I use a polishing wheel on the grinder for the more "difficult" lamps. Completely disassemble to do it right. If you can find a Chrome version buy it! They do not tarnish and look as nice or nicer than the brass version. I have one of these also.

Look for 99.9% parrifin lamp oil to burn in these things. No smell - no smoke. Do not buy wheems & plath oil - not necessary.

I also take one on the boat. Hanging from the boom in the cockpit, the "amber" color will not attract insects. They burn for over 30 hours on a filling and are very safe for your home or boat.

They are a nice touch to my living area also. I light one or two every night.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  16:09:27  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
There was one used one on ebay last week, the bell looked burned and it went north of $45 so I bailed. I am sure I will now need a third when I take one to the lake next summer and break the symmetry. I will keep watching ebay. It is fun to watch for Weems & Plath items there.
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  17:20:26  Show Profile
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Turk</i>
<br />...They burn for over 30 hours on a filling and are very safe for your home or boat...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
...as long as the solder doesn't give out...
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  17:34:12  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Dave, the real ones are screwed together, on the knock off the screws were fake. Weems & Plath is good stuff.
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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  17:37:44  Show Profile
Let me take a wild guesse here

The cheap knock off which quickly fell apart was made in China.
Am I right?
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  18:10:42  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
I think India owns the cheap brass market.
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Bubba
Admiral

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USA
542 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  18:26:13  Show Profile
I too have lingered over those Weems and Plath lamps. If I bought one, it would be the strongest thing on my boat!
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  19:08:55  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Well. I discovered that you only need to get the lamp, it comes with a nice hook that you can work with in your boat. That saves the $35 from the gimbal. The cheapest I have found the new units is at Defender for $89.
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dblitz
Navigator

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240 Posts
Response Posted - 11/30/2006 :  21:52:35  Show Profile
Maybe the Chinese stuff is not so good today, but in a couple of years Weems & Plath factories will probably all be in China. It wasn't that long ago that the Japanese didn't make quality stuff either. Now their cars are the best in the world and automotive jobs in the Japanese automakers' factories in the south are THE jobs to have (maybe the last secure manufacturing jobs left in this country). I'll take a job in a Toyota factory over working for Walmart any day. In 10 years, maybe the factory will be called Cherry or some other Chinese brand, but we'll be loving our $ 10,000.- cars. Are they making boats yet??
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Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts
Response Posted - 12/01/2006 :  08:29:18  Show Profile  Visit Turk's Homepage
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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts
Response Posted - 12/01/2006 :  13:27:19  Show Profile
Walmart--your source for cheap chinese crap
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 12/01/2006 :  16:27:45  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Yea verily; symmetry hath been restored!
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Bubba
Admiral

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USA
542 Posts
Response Posted - 12/01/2006 :  16:32:42  Show Profile
Wow! That's beautiful, Frank!
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 12/01/2006 :  19:47:11  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Thank you, that is kind of you to say.
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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts
Response Posted - 12/02/2006 :  08:17:23  Show Profile
Hey Frank
You have the same color panelling that I have in my den.
I'm going to have to look into getting some of those lamps to put onto the brick around my fireplace too.
I also have some antique wooden snow skis and snowshoes to decorate my fireplace. My den mixes "ski lodge" and "sailing" design elements. Martha Stewart I am not.
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.