too_tall

I thought that the production yachts like the bene's etc were several tonne lighter - often as a result of a lighter but deeper keel. We are only 1.6m or thereabouts. Still bumps into the bottom as will anything else if you are pushing things a bit far but at least its not held on by bolts to break off... That being said, I have never really bothered to look at them much so I may well be a mile off the mark. We get good speed out of her, but there are most certainly faster. We are also definitely cruisers and will do all we can to make for a comfortable and safe passage as opposed to a fa

Thats a pretty standard clause with brokers. An unpleasant one, too. It takes some arguing to back away when you discover under sail that the thing is an absolute pig. Can be done, but the broker will fight you hard. Specially if they are from that nationwide ( and Fiji ) brokerage firm....

Danpat. If your being offered this chance by IT, I would strongly suggest you make a weekend of it and get up to Auckland to go for a sail on a properly set up yacht of a type your looking at. It will give you invaluable experience in deciding what you really want/need. Yes, it will cost to get there, but nothing like the cost of finding you didn't buy the boat type you really need. We have a moderately heavy displacement yacht - a Pearson weighing in at 9.5T for a 45'. So I guess midway in your range although a little larger. Its a ketch, which some frown upon ( although Sir Peter Blake l

I think that most of my batteries are either Enerloops, powerhaus or camelions. The first two are FAR better than the last one... I might have the same charger as you do KM, but I have never been brave enough to recharge a non rechargable. I believe it wont be long before people start using LiIon batteries almost exclusively. The energy density of those vrs a NiMH are significantly better. My Led Lenser H14.2r has a pair of 18650's in it and they burn a very long time. Compared to fitting 4 NiMH AA's ( I think its 4? Cant remember ) the burn time is about 10 times greater, and probably sti

I have been using NiMH rechargables for many many years now. I never bothered with NiCd as they were of insufficient capacity. What IT says about the voltage is true, however, and 1.2V is sometimes insufficient for particular devices. That being said, the NiMH sag far less than most cheaper dry cells under load. I have a couple of Led Lenser lights which do not operate at all well with NiMH batteries, but are brilliant with Duracel or Energizer alkalines batteries.

Looks like the rudder is still attached... Would not steer in the conditions... I wonder if that was simply a case of inexperience. Anyway, no one is dead, no one is lost, and no real majors apart from a bit of a pain for an insurance company. And who really cares if they have a bit of a pain to deal with? Its wise to wave the white flag before a different kind of flag gets waved against your choice.

Autorotation is building momentum in the blades and transmission that is useful in an emergency. Firstly, it allows for a controlled descent which is vital for the second part of the landing to be successful, where the energy that has been gained in the form of momentum ( rotational, in this instance ) can be utilized to arrest the downward velocity of the helicopter. I have been in an autorotation landing and it was as controlled and soft as a powered landing, although the ground did approach alarmingly rapidly. Timing is everything!.

To go sailing and enjoy it vrs to be seen sailing..... Is that the real question here?

Well, there have been some funny posts..... In several different places wanting to move yachts, never wanting to spend a cent, elusive as to income source. It paints a poor picture for someone such as myself who maybe is just a little old fashioned but I don't like to see such a muddled picture. I have been wrong before however, but Shane, how about you give a little more disclosure as to whats up please? I will happily change my opinion if the picture is put a little more in order and context is given to your posts.

I agree 100% Wheels. I guess there should have been a bit of a question asked as to which part of the CG organization we are actually discussing here. The "Head Office" The "Radio Room's" The "Guys who go out in some really terrible conditions to try and rescue someone who is in distress, self inflicted or not" When someone talks of the CG to me, I only ever think of the last group in that list - but I realize there are others. The VHF radio service I have never used and probably never will except to relay a Pan Pan at one point, and then to decide we were closer than anyone els

I am a CG member, but mostly for when I am out fishing, on a fizz boat with one motor and no backup. I have needed a tow once, when the ECU decided it was not longer computing things and telling other things when to squirt petrol or even more other things when to make a spark. They came out, gave us a tow back ( a bit faster than I would have towed, but we were fine and they took us right to the slip. I have never used them when sailing, never had to consider it ( but have towed about 12 other vessels back in ). What I do know is that they have rescued people who are headed int

Shane, if your using android, a laptop or maybe also iOS devices, download openCPN and also download the NZ charts. That will give you some pretty good electronic charts of NZ, probably better than any charts of plotters from what I have seen... http://opencpn.org/ocpn/chart_sources is a good place to go looking for charts. As far as accuracy go, these are the "official" kiwi charts - and I have yet to find any problem areas, but others may be able to correct me on this.

Dreaming to be farming and milking cows is currently a bad dream. Or a nightmare, if you understand just how much it costs to milk cows and how little we are getting paid!. But like any dream, if you stick at it, you will get there. But please do not go outside the gulf until you know what your up to. As Wheels said, help might be literally just over the horizon, but might as well be on the moon. Even Helicopters, pilot vessels and the coast guard have their limits, and they will not risk themselves or their gear. They have an opps and there is no one left to rescue them, and you.

Is wet chemical not a product that reacts with the fat and forms some form of non flammable surface to the fat? I have first hand experience of a DP extinguisher on a fat fire - it sure worked, but then the bastard decided to reignite as the powder dispersed on the surface. CO2 has a similar effect and water is just plain dangerous as mentioned above. Whats best is a Wife who does not forget she turned a pan of oil on 30 minutes ago and then went outside!. The outcome was ok though, the DP extinguisher quenched the flames that were starting to get into the wood behind the stove and now we

Indeed, I feel that Wheels has really spoken what quite a few of us here have been feeling. When things are heading wrong, you need to have experience and knowledge as well as the vessel being fit for purpose. This means the vessel not only needs to be sound but you need to have the right safety gear, emergency gear and know how to use is. When the poo hits the fan, you also want everything to be reliable. Not just your motor, but your winches, sheets, rigging , steering gear etc. Most people can deal with one issue - but compound that with 3 or 4 problems and even the most experienced and ski

You can get foam extinguishers with automatic activation for engine rooms. But better still I believe would be the non flammable gas flood types such as helium, CO2 etc. They will stop an engine dead in its tracks as no O2 to combust the fuel with, but the gas types will not do any damage per say. They are, in an enclosed space, a very effective solution. The foam types would potentially get into the air intakes and suck foam through the engine. I am not sure if this would result in actual damage or just a pain in the arse situation to clean up after. Foam hoses off effectively but I don't see

Sponge blasting? I know that it removes most things. Epoxy of course is rather hard. But it may pay to contact a couple of people who provide that service. I don't know who provides this service in NZ sorry!.

Indeed, I suspect that media are so inaccurate that we really dont have a good idea as to whats happening other than something floating got into a bit of grief. It had around two hulls, but maybe one, maybe three, and it was 18 meters long. Or was that feet? Sounds like no one is injured or lost, so the outcome is positive. That's the only thing that is important. In all seriousness, the skipper may have realized their mistake in getting to where they did, understood that the skill set they possess is insufficient to confidently return given the quantity of fuel they felt they had an

Of the wrong oil type, or mixture. Use good quality oil, and mix it as per the engine manufacturers instructions. Some call for different strength mixtures than others.

I had not seen those personal AIS devices before. Any idea of the cost before I go looking? MarkMT, our reasoning behind the VHF is that it is more likely the person in the water will be able to see the masthead lights etc of the yacht and be able to direct the yacht back to their position as opposed to being able to contact other parties for assistance. Being that the yachts VHF antenna is about 18 meters higher than the vhf inthe water, I hope that a good signal could be had for several hundred meters if not further. That being said, hand held VHF's are more useful for receiving than tr

There is actually a small PLB attached to the harness also, I had totally forgotten about that!. Its quite a small one but apparently works as long as its clipped somewhere not under water when your wanting it to work. I think its only got 24 hour transmission but that should be more than enough for someone in the water. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on if someone finds them in time.

We have a policy of anyone up on deck in fading light, or after dark, must carry both a waterproof VHF and a waterproof torch, attached to their life jacket. No exceptions. I don't know if the VHF would assist immensely, being its microphone would no doubt be full of water and being only cm out of the water, but the torch should be able to assist considerably. But anyone who has had someone go overboard even in bright daylight, in rough seas, will know just how hard it can be to spot someone. By the time you have come into the wind to arrest your speed, you could have traveled a hundred m

If you want something that size on the bum of ya boat, buy a Macgregor... Otherwise look at a 7.5-10hp long shaft motor and potter along very economically.

Yes, good call. I was referring to "traditional" batteries. I really should have stated that sorry. Going right back to the start of this thread - I am not interested in changing the entire system. Hence whilst the thread has moved toward discussing Lithium variants, I was still in the mindset of FLA, Gel or AGM. Incidentally, I managed to source a pair of new 12 v 150Ah c10 Sonnenschein industrial batteries for a very compelling price - $1.40 per Ah. Very comfortable with that although being industrial they are a difficult shape.

No jet washer will get into the insides of the RHS that most trailers are made out of. Remember that to hot dip a trailer frame, holes are drilled or cut to allow the process to coat both the outside and the inside of the RHS and the outside. The salt water would flood in just fine, but good luck getting it washed out through a 10mm hole or similar. Also, consider the wheel bearings, brakes, suspension, and if fitted control systems, hydraulics etc. No way can you get them all pressure washed as the salt water will have reached places inaccessable to a water jet. Anyone who put my tand