Deep Purple 519 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/other-yachts/listing/4894313330 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waikiore 439 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 Whangarei seems to have a few, remember the air prop powered cat 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 723 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 12 hours ago, waikiore said: Whangarei seems to have a few, remember the air prop powered cat Jim Bates, here's his obit and some of us have had the pleasure of spinning his winches Adventurer, inventor, engineer and well-known Whangarei man Jim Bates led a colourful and exciting life. He was, until he died last week, New Zealand's last surviving link to Sir Edmund Hillary's "famous five" - the group of five New Zealanders who drove to the South Pole in 1958 on Ferguson (later Massey Ferguson) tractors. Mr Bates, a developmental engineer and prolific inventor who patented numerous inventions that were used in the dairy and marine industries, died peacefully at his home in Kamo at the age of 86. As part of the 18 month Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Mr Bates was the lead mechanic for Hillary's group of five who managed to beat the British explorer Vivian Fuchs to the South Pole. Mr Bates' work on converting the tractors to use caterpillar tracks has been credited with getting the team to the pole. At one point in the trip, Mr Bates was inside a tent fixing one of the tractors with a welder when he noticed the other men had collapsed due to carbon monoxide poisoning. He managed to get out of the tent and raise the alarm. The men were all revived with oxygen but suffered from terrible headaches. According to his daughter, Diann, this was just one of many times her father narrowly dodged death. In his later years, Mr Bates described about 17 major "close calls" to Diann, including one in 1984 where he was shipwrecked for three days on the Hen and Chicken Islands. Diann said she remembers her father working in his workshop, surrounded by "reams of paper" on which he developed his ideas and designed his plans. An inspiration to many, Mr Bates is the favourite uncle of the world-renowned bungy jumper AJ Hackett, who consulted with him regarding the mechanics of his bungy operation. He was perhaps best known to the people of Whangarei as the inventor of the "windmill yacht" - an ambitious project that replaced the traditional sails of a catamaran with a wind turbine. Mr Bates worked on perfecting his propeller-powered turbine yacht for almost a decade but was unable to secure government funding or private investment. Many of his other inventions carried worldwide patents, including the casein manufacturing plant, advanced fluid bed drying plant and counter flow washing equipment that he developed during his time with Practical Dairy Developments. He was also well known to many in the boat building industry for the exceptionally hard wearing bronze winches that he developed through his company Whangarei Castings. A returned serviceman, Mr Bates served in the 16th Reinforcements of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Egypt, Italy and Japan during World War II. He is survived by his second wife Eufemia, eight children and 20 grandchildren. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 221 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 20 hours ago, Deep Purple said: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/boats-marine/yachts/other-yachts/listing/4894313330 Wow, that is revolutionary! Will the double wing sail produce twice the power and speed? 100 million dollars seems a bit pricy though... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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