too_tall

True zero loss hydraulic couplers are phenomenally expensive - and I have yet to see ones which don't start to weep after a while ( although I have not looked at the really expensive ones. I would seriously consider mounting the hydraulic pump on the ram somehow and having a high current power supply to the ram. The drive motor is not large at all, and you could use steel pipework then so it would look fairly tidy and be pretty compact. I am not sure if you could get SS housed pumps however. But where there is a will, there is a way!. The mounting points would have to be bloody strong!.

I have all cables other than the speed/depth on less than 6 meter droppers. Effectively ours is created as a star network with a central hub being a simnet connector block - as noted before, this was done for a reason. It is more complicated than maybe required, but if you have a clear understanding of it, when problem solving it becomes very much easier. The 6 meter "rule" appears to be a little arbitrary - I have seen many simnet cables run to the top of a mast and still work. Unless Simnet has a relaxed timing protocol over standard NMEA2000, I would expect that most situations could g

Having a full simrad/B&G suite we have actually installed a second bus block, so should the block fail, we would simply change all the terminations from one to the other. All our simnet cables run back to the same bus block. Changing over is very simple with the connector block used. As a bit of a redundant systems nut, I ran spare simnet cables to all vital "organs' of the system - there is a spare running to the AC42 computer, a spare AC42, 2 spares to the helm, 2 sets of wind gear etc. The depth/speed is not a vital, nor is the AIS connection. We also run a separate AP controller a

We had a simrad tiller pilot attached to our monitor wind vane. It did work I guess. But compared to a proper AP set up properly, it was a poor substitute and something I would not leave to sail whilst I had a kip if solo. That being said, I don't sail solo...... I found it "ponderous". Like an inexperienced helmsperson in a challenging sea...

I will agree that electronic systems do not allow for your rudder to have parted company with your vessel. I guess that this is somewhat dependent on the situation. Should ours manage to part company, then we would not require steering as the yacht would be rapidly descending.... A spade rudder could well be a different scenario. This being said, we removed the Monitor wind vane from our stern as it was never used, took ages to set up and made of a pain in the arse to use the boarding platform, The emergency rudder system was not overly large and I do wonder how effective it would be. Far mo

A well set up hydraulic ram direct to the quadrant is very hard to beat. Its very powerful, fairly quiet, operates as emergency steering should you break a cable/chain etc. Point and squirt with the simple press of a button, sail to wind, waypoints etc all possible with little more effort. Just make sure its a good brand, with service agents where you plan on going to ( eg, the only service agents for Navico in the south pacific are NZ, Aus or New Caledonia ). Learn how to use it and you would soon forget you ever wanted a wind vane steering system with all the associated clutter

From personal experience, the tracker/messenger units can be fickle in the delivery timing of messages - sometimes many hours pass between sending and receiving. Great for getting messages to people, maybe in getting instructions for assistance, but not at all a substitute for an EPIRB or PLB.

AIS uses the same frequencies so can use the same antenna. ( or close enough frequencies ). There are antenna splitters available I have seen online to enable passive AIS to use the same antenna as the VHF, so this will be one of those with a USB adapter. Not to good to be true

That myth will have come about as higher tensile strength can equal a lighter chain for the same given load / break capacity. I once used a brand spankers g40 maggi 12mm anchor chain to tow a stuck truck out. Was not a clever move as it broke and did considerable damage to the truck. Alongside giving us less than any confidence in the chains ability to hold our yacht afterwards. I did not think that an 8 T tractor on mud could pull that hard!. Now we only buy g80 chain on the farms. A bit safer.

Whilst wheels is correct in that the technical term for osmosis is not the generic blistering seen on hulls, but a specific type which follows a specific reaction and translocation of the liquid through a semi permeable layer created by differing concentration of solutes, normally only stopping at the point in which the solutes become balanced, although this process may take near infinite time to achieve Osmosis has become the common word to be used for any blistering on hulls. Be this the correct term or not, it has become the common term for this issue. I guess that leads to the question of

On our first offshore voyage we hired a skipper ( well experienced, recommended by yachting NZ ) As the boat owners we gave him responsibility and followed his instructions. We had an agreement that no one went up on deck without calling another up to the cockpit, 24 hours a day. Also that going up on deck meant a harness, inflatable lifejacket which had a strobe, PLB, handheld VHF and whistle etc attached. The "professional" refused to heed any of these "rules", never once put on a harness, never called for a watcher or assistant. Took about 30 seconds to kit up and the gear whilst a litt

I understand that side - but I wondered where legal obligation starts and ends with either. From your description it would be more or less the same with both. What scares me with a guarantee is that generally its a term used by used car salesmen. Or yacht brokers. And in my experience both are not much better than the used horse and snake oil salesmen they have evolved from.

Mike Menzies repairs are often better than the original finish on production yachts though. He actually cares about what he is doing. ( or was, being I believe he has not been doing this work for a few years now? ).

Having seen much younger than 5 year old production boats having big repair jobs on the hull, I guess the guarantee is to add a little confidence. 5 years is very short IMO though!. Just what is the difference between a warranty and a guarantee though? I read once that either Bene''s or Jeanneau's are fully built in 3 weeks. If so, maybe that is half the osmosis issue?

I hope that your correct Kevin. I don't tend to look at that end of the market, but I sure as hell would not like to be in a tent in this weather!.

$5K for a liveaboard? thats a tall ask unfortunately. With a liveaboard you want most systems relating to the accommodation to be working - fridge, water, electrical. And you still want it to float... Anyone got anything more useful for the OP?

Strait Shipping is owned by Jim Barker group I think, who also own Freightlines/Bulk lines/Regal/Te Kawhata transport if I remember correctly. And probably many other firms. I deal with them quite a lot for bulk transport - a very good company to deal with from my experiences. No doubt they have transferred the same ethos to their Strait shipping business and it appears to show.

Stainless. My cowsheds all have LOTS of stainless which gets heated to 85 degrees twice every day. The 40 year old one is still perfectly fine. Stainless comes in several flavors. I have never, ever had any stainless fail in a cowshed. I have many Peter Cocks ones, none have given any problem at all. If your water is a little aggressive, get Incaloy elements fitted. Thats what spa pools use and they are very durable.

Whilst I can't answer your question - I guess that the true question is "is it worth a life or several?"

Sealegs, that sounds about par for the course for that brokerage ( there really is only one which fits that description ). They have caused much frustration and disappointment for myself and others I know in the past. I struggle to understand how they appear to keep on trading. And IT and others discussing the upside down image - this is just plain weird. Works fine on my android tablet, my android phone, linux and windows PC's running chrome, but is upside down on my wifes macbook and ipad!.

Actually I did do something boat related - I spent a while rebuilding a holley 600 off ma jet boat. And then gave up because it is more than fiddly, and the boats not been used much anymore anyway!

Built a pair of subwoofer cabinets, twin 21" B&C 21SW152, massive massive cabinets, discovered that my crown plate amplifiers do not drive a 2 ohm load ( as they are supposed to... ) and then decided to tidy the garage up. Currently there is a huge amount of my garage contents out on the driveway, and I am too stuffed to bother continuing.