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DrWatson

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Posts posted by DrWatson

  1. 19 hours ago, MartinRF said:

    Very cool!

    We have sleet here as a warm front moved in. Not cool at all.

    /Martin

    Bahaha, we had sleet last weekend. Today it was bright and sunny but I made the mistake of going outside in a t-shirt…. 

  2. On 9/11/2023 at 1:34 AM, Black Panther said:

    7 years without tv. Happy Happy. 

    19y. Don’t miss it a bit. Can’t understand why people still tune in. 
     

    radio? Haven’t listened to a radio station since probably last century. Inane drivel with advertising. Last station I can consciously remember tuning into was National radio to get the marine weather forecasts at 0530 in the morning sometime around 2000.

    • Upvote 2
  3. On 3/11/2023 at 9:47 PM, MartinRF said:

    Record breaking?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_storm_of_1703

    Daniel Defoe's compilation of the damage is fascinating stuff.

    /Martin

    Yes record breaking. Ie since records were kept, which was probably after the great storm. 
     

    “Highest winds ever recorded at pointe du Raz.”

    That equals exits breaking, or record setting. 
     

    No doubt there have been more vigorous storms in the earth’s/Europe’s/Brittany’s history but none with recorded wind speeds.

     

  4. On 6/11/2023 at 7:06 AM, K4309 said:

    What do you guys use all this hot water for?

    I've got a kettle. Goes on the stove. If we want instant hot water, we fill a thermos. If we want lots of hot water, we fill two thermos. Very handy if you want a cup of tea but can't be bothered turning the gas on etc. Always have hot water for washing the dishes. Zero faffing.

    Well, the primary reason in terms of litres of water used is washing dishes. But the most important reason is comfort, especially for my wife. The deal is simple. Hot water = happy wife = get to keep pogo. 
     

    Also having an element means we can plug it in when we’re in a marina, and run it off the inverter when the sun shines enough. We also run a zeolite dehumidifier (6.5kg draws 280watts) for an hour at night after bedtime, and again for an hour upon waking. Warm dry boat. No manky corners. All boats should have one. 
    Arrive at boat after 4 months away - warm dry non-mouldy boat and comfy feather duvet. Cheap luxury.

    • Like 2
    • Upvote 1
  5. 7 hours ago, LBD said:

    Pulled out the Gas Califont, in preparaition of installing a 25L engine heated hotwater cylinder. We always motor about an hour a day to and from anchorages and moorings... should be enough. Does anyone have experience they would like to  share?

    Firefly's hot water uses a calorifier like this. Only needs 10-15min running to get hot, and the engine also stores quite a bit of heat - so it seems that we get more than 25l hot water - don’t know how much of that residual engine heat is subsequently pulled into the hot water tho. It also has a 220v 700w element - which is nice because when you’re in the marina you can have hot water - we just run an extension cable - likely not a possibility in NZ. 
     

    works best in busy anchorages and marinas where you motor more. In isolated and less busy anchorages we tend to sail off and on the anchor - running the engine only for the 1-2min of raising the anchor unless we’re trying to keep the kids asleep in the aft cabins when we don’t start the motor at all and just let the Li work a bit harder. 

    • Like 1
  6. 15 hours ago, Frank said:

    Those figures are amazing ! do you ever get any case rattle or movement of the retractable keel ? and what are the polars when fully powered up, hard on the wind in a decent sea ?

     

    Never had the keel rattle.

     

    2 hours ago, darkside said:

    Heading out this evening Dr?

    A good breeze to check those polars

    Haha! Yes I suspect that could make the keel rattle a little… especially as one got thrown up onto the cliffs!

    A friend who lives nearby checked lines and fenders and toile the dodger of this morning. I’ll stay home… 

    Screenshot 2023-10-31 at 18.25.22.jpeg

    • Upvote 1
  7. Coupled to better weather forecasting is that you can more easily afford the time to sit out bad weather - catch up later. 

    If and when you get caught out, you can turn and run more safely, and you can still heave-to, should you need to. 
    If you’re running from bad weather - sitting on 15knots for six hours will move you a fair way from where you were - hopefully to a better spot on the ocean. Firefly easily sits on 15-18kts with 30 behind, reaching more than 20 in the gusts with a bit if surfing, with reefed main and stays’l - an easy sail plan. The bow has not threatened to dig in at any point (yet). The unofficial record for a pogo 36, so I’ve heard, is just under 25kt, set by a factory crew delivering hull No 1 to the La Rochelle boat show - just two weeks after launch. I believe the A2 was outside it’s recommended range..

    Sure you need sea room - but we’re talking about offshore, yeah?

    But for sure beating into even 22kt from Quiberon to Lorient for a few hours made the majority of the (inexperienced) crew reconsider their choice to book non-refundable non- changeable tickets for the next morning -  Safe, but uncomfortable. 

    • Upvote 1
  8. 22 hours ago, ex Elly said:

    ASF36-4428

    Beneteau First 36

     

    Consider the actual water plane surface area of the boat pictured in this angle of heel.

    My experience in rough sea in Firefly, which weighs 20% less and is 20cm wider than the first 36, is limited to the very short nasty wave sets that kick up around Ushant and some larger stuff during one crossing of the English Chanel. I’ve found the motion to certainly be more violent  than in a large displacement vessel, but even beating into 27th in very large swells with a rough sea on top it didn’t kill us. We did have a couple big bangs that made us cast an eye below, though. 
     

    when hard on the wind it’s not comfortable- but what is? 
    when tight reaching it’s bloody fast and you are jumping off things. The bow sections in the pogo at least are quite broad - it stays on top of the water. If the waves are from behind or quartering you just accelerate away from them - the wave starts to lift the stern and as it does the boat slides away  accelerating. 

     

    • Upvote 1
  9. 6 hours ago, K4309 said:

    That said, if there are fast commuter trains from Papakura, why does Te Huia need to go into the city? I understand there is already track capacity issues?

    This.

  10. I read both the maritime Nz “guideline” and the actual rules. This really seems to be a storm in teacup. 
    The rule includes the words “appropriate for the circumstances “ and appears  not at all to undermine the captain’s authority to determine what’s an appropriate circumstance. 
     

    Does anyone here have any degree of actual legal experience? Has an actual lawyer at YNZ looked over this?

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 2
  11. 9 hours ago, Enlightenment said:

    I Parked My 20ft Trailer Sailer at Whangaroa at my friends orchard on Saturday morning then drove to Auckland and said farewell to family, on Sunday I parked My Camper in Albany then flew from Auckland to Shanghai overnight, then took the fast train arriving at Guangzhou midnight Monday and got home 1am on Tuesday. Fresh as can be today haha. 

    Wait, so you bought a 20ft trailer sailer? Did I miss this?

  12. Exceptionally quick in the light. We held off a pogo44 (yellow spi) for most of this race  after passing them on the long upwind leg - 6-9kts breeze. 

    38A348C9-635E-469C-99D1-9DAA9113332B.jpeg

    E5E9DA03-1CFF-4110-BDA6-D32FAC0D7B97.jpeg

    F0403A5C-2CA5-4718-B721-693B167C1332.jpeg

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    7E084DC7-B338-4A7A-A9CF-711FB0F2E057.jpeg

  13. On 6/05/2023 at 5:33 AM, Steve Pope said:

    Who flys the anchor shape, when at anchor? who actually has one?

    Me and everyone I see in Brittany. Also day shapes for motor sailing. Rule compliance is very high here abouts.

  14. "French Embassy Breaks Silence..." is a bit of a misleading headline. But of course the Herald (and most papers) trying to spin something into something it's not. 
     

    How about "French Embassy highlights how unobservant Aucklanders are" 

    • Haha 2
    • Upvote 2
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