syohana

Looks like the hose going up from the tee might be an improvised anti-siphon device. It would have been added because the water pump is leaking. As long as the valve at the top is closed, the water pump will work OK but it will leak. If you open the valve at the top then it will let air into the top of the loop and that might stop water siphoning in and leaking out of the water pump, so it might stop it sinking the boat. It should never be opened when the engine is running. Just a guess. If the tee is below the waterline then either it isn't that, or it is that but it doesn't work.

So the water filter/strainer is missing altogether. That's not better!

[quote] 2 hours ago, waikiore said: I noticed that too and wondered what it was. Looked like a cockpit drain or something. Surely thats going to suck air into the system causing overheating. [/quote] Agreed. And the impeller appears to be on the wrong side of the water filter. The filter is supposed to protect the impeller but the impeller is connected directly to the seacock and what looks like a filter is on the outlet of the impeller.

Hey Axel, nothing wrong with boatpaint.co.nz, they sell genuine Hempel paint which is a good brand. They don't have fancy premises or advertising so you pay less. If you buy smaller amounts they buy big cans of genuine Hempel paint and decant them into unbranded small cans so you pay something closer to wholesale prices but you don't get a pretty logo or instructions on the can. Google has the instructions

Yes, a pod drive and seal everything up is the best solution and we can supply those too but.... A pod is two to four times more expensive for a bit less power. If you didn't already have a prop and shaft then a pod is certainly best but you can save a fortune by using what you've got. Stuffing box is fine as long as you remember to stuff it. Our oldest electric boat has one (35 years on electric power and still going strong). She goes out on hire every day, nothing wrong with a good old fashioned shaft drive but a pod is simpler, slightly more efficient and even quieter if it's a direct drive

We have some nice 5kw (replaces a 10hp diesel) electric motors going cheap ($3000) which would drop in to replace your existing diesel. Definitely the best option if you keep it in a marina where you can plug it in. On a mooring it depends how often you use it but solar panels can easily provide enough power unless you use it on consecutive cloudy days. An outboard will get dunked under water and/or the prop will come out of the water in big waves on a lee shore, just when you really need it to perform. Inboard of any kind is much, much better.

Juice panels are good quality and the price reflects that. Most so-called "flexible" panels are rubbish. Be aware that NO flexi panel is actually flexible. They need to be fixed to a hard, flat surface which can have a slight curve to it and must have continuous support underneath. The solar cells within the panel are not flexible, they are very brittle and any uneven pressure or vibration can crack them. for example, if you stick them down with sealant and there's a bubble in the sealant then when someone steps on the bubble, the solar cell will crack. As 2flit said, do not install PET f

We do need to go out of the entrance first so diamond A is useful. I was planning to depart with the ebb but having the diamond data means I can be a bit more precise about that. Good advice for brett too, thanks. Long time since I've been up this way. This boat has outboards and likes to pitch, I'll go wide to avoid dunking them under a wave!

Wow, 3 knots is definitely worth knowing about. Great info everyone and that's a huge help in passing our passage. Looks like the wind will change by Wednesday and we can get on the way. It's a real nuisance that they crop the data take for the diamonds off the digital charts, special thanks to those who posted it for both Brett and bream, just what I needed! Next time I'll remember to bring my paper charts!

Does anyone know how long before/ after high tide the stream turns north/south at cape brett, and spring/neap speed of the current? And bream head too? I can't seem to find this info anywhere online and I don't have an almanac handy on the boat I'm on, didn't think to bring it with me from mine. Maybe the info isn't available because there isn't much current to worry about, but I'd like to check as I have to take a slow boat around the cape and would rather be there at the optimum time. Normally I'd look for a diamond on the chart but only have digital charts on this boat, no paper (

C Did you call NZ fibreglass and ask? not everything is on their website. I expect if they can't supply it they will at least know who can.

NZ Fibreglass sell it: https://www.nzfibreglass.co.nz/2015/shopexd.asp?id=81

Anyone thinking about cutting corners on a gas install should read this. Anyone else who ever uses propane on a boat should read it too: http://www.boatmoves.com/LT_Story.htm and watch this: They used a tiny amount of gas for that explosion from a little camping cylinder from a portable stove. It could have been much worse! NZ regs and awareness of propane risks are really lax compared to the UK. I've seen some really terrifying stuff here like gas bottles in the bilge! Gas bottles and things like califonts must always be in a place where

This is exactly what a trolling motor isn't designed to do. People who are trolling for fish just want to move through the water at a low speed, they don't care if they are not moving over the ground or even going backwards with the tide against them. A trolling motor is designed for trolling slowly, not as propulsion to get you somewhere. The propellers have a very low pitch designed to move the boat very slowly and not overload the very low powered electric motor. Consequently, if you try to go against the tide you'll not really get anywhere. A trolling motor with the power and ran

We used Cook islands flag when we were doing commercial charter and passenger work. The big advantage is Cook islands accept the same commercial surveys as MaritimeNZ, whereas if you go with UK or Jersey flag then the commercial survey requirements are not compatible with MaritimeNZ and you'd need two different surveys by two different surveyors (NZ commercial and flag state commercial), with conflicting requirements! Cook islands is very expensive though, lots of paperwork and a short renewal term, I would not recommend it unless you are commercial and operating in NZ waters. When w

Ex charter boat from Thailand. Not sure how she ended up in Marlborough. Story goes something like this... She broke loose from a mooring there and was grounded, rudders broken off and lost, serious damage to the hulls around the rudders, damage to prop shafts and supports. At least one engine has been under water and they were both already due for replacement before the wreck. She was dragged up the nearest beach and very roughly patched up enough to make her watertight, then dragged back into the sea, towed to the marina and hauled out. Then sat in yard for quite a few years untouched, repo

Sean (the developer of pypilot) is usually helpful and responsive unless he's out at sea so you'll be fine. Coding shouldn't be necessary but you might have to edit config files manually and use the linux command line (mostly just copying and pasting commands). There's enough documentation around to overcome most problems but it's not very organised, a combination of very rudimentary instructions with a lot of useful info in forum posts on the pypilot forum but it takes a while to hunt down an answer. Getting all the wifi and network connections set up was the tricky bit for us. The config too

Check out pypilot, the brain is a Raspberry Pi zero and it is developed by one of the core OpenCPN developers. He also builds the hardware (motor controller etc.) very cheaply to order if you don't fancy DIY. It has built in control from a custom OpenCPN plugin and it can be connected to your existing autopilot pump or motor. It should work very well with openplotter. Keep your expensive proprietary autopilot as a spare or sell it before it becomes obsolete and buy 10 spare pypilots as back up! The pypilot uses all cheap, mass produced components so they might be more susceptible to

Hi Fogg, Unfortunately there are a lot of middle men in the Torqeedo supply chain. Despite the apparently high price we have much tighter margins on Torqeedo than the brands we can import direct from the manufacturer and distribute ourselves. Please email sales AT electricboat.co.nz and we'll see what is the best we can do for you. We'll certainly beat any other NZ price though. Lithium batteries of that size require special and expensive shipping. Airfrieght is pretty much impossible. Then there's import duty, fumigation, GST, MPI costs on top and a ton of paperwork. I'm afraid impo

The 2kw Torqeedo (5hp equivalent) motor is 15kg. The Combi is a bit heavier. You can use any suitable 24v battery. Lead acid batteries are cheap but heavy. Any size available. A Torqeedo 3.5kwh lithium battery is 25kg. A 5kwh Juice lithium battery made in NZ is 53kg.

We've got a Torqeedo Cruise 2kw you can try out on the water here in Kerikeri, also a few other electric boats. You can see the power consumption of the Cruise on the display. Run it at 1.1kw and you'll get an idea of the power of the Travel 1103c. You'll be surprised how little power you use as long as you keep a knot or two below hull speed. Range depends on the shape and size of boat and factors like headwinds can make a big difference. Above all, you'll use way more power if you're in a hurry! Please tell us a bit more about your boat and how you use it, then I'll take a guess at

Do you really need 3kw? that would be adequate for a 3 tonne displacement boat. For the Cruise 2 and larger motors you use a separate 24v or 48v battery(s) inside the boat, then you can just use a regular solar panel and charger. Our 4m catamarans have a 320w solar panel and a 1.1kw motor. We don't need to plug them in unless we get multiple bookings on the same day or consecutive cloudy days. Our 1.1 tonne English river launch has 640w of solar and we've never had to plug her in. With a 6m waterline she'll cruise at 5 knots on 1kw of power or 6 knots on 2kw. We limit her to about 75

Yes, spare batteries are available and very easy to swap on and off at sea. Hold off and try it out before buying a spare battery though - if you're gentle with the throttle then the 1103c battery lasts a couple of hours at normal speeds and all day at low speeds (depending on size of boat). It has a maximum power of 1.1kw which is enough to push a 1.5tonne boat at about 1 knot below hull speed or a 1 tonne boat at full hull speed. That means it'll push a little dinghy around all day long as long as you resist that temptation to make more waves at hull speed without going any faster.

We (electric boat co) can arrange for you to view and/or pick up a Torqeedo 1103c at the distribution warehouse in Auckland after lockdown ends. We have two units of our stock down there and no Torqeedos left in Kerikeri at the moment, just a Combi 2.5kw H-Thruster left up here and 5kw inboards. Anything else we can order in from overseas. Not sure when new stock is coming in yet. We'll give you a better price than anyone in Auckland. Shipping is expensive due to the lithium battery so Auckland pick up is a good idea if you can.

Thanks for the mention Deep Purple. It's not listed on our website yet but we can now offer the Torqeedo 603 which is a de-rated version of the 1103 with reduced battery capacity. It saves you about $1000 and saves some weight too. Perfect if you just need to go out to a mooring and back. The 1103 has several hours running time at moderate speed, which is more than most people need. The standard 1103 is only 8kg and the battery is only 8kg too, really light weight and you are perfectly balanced with one in each hand. You put them on the boat one at a time so you never have to li