Fogg

Westhaven has never looked attractive to me (and I live 2 min drive away). But Gulf Harbour looks more appealing by the week...

These guys gave a superb dinghy - solid, rowable, sailable, dismantalable - you can see some of it in these 2 clips:

Agree it’s horrible and latest release got worse (quite a spectacular effort by CG) but mine isn’t every working now. What weather forecast do you see?

As at 0800hrs Sat 17th morning when I look at the CG App it’s still showing weather forecast for Auckland issued on Wed 14th morning. It’s been like this since Wed for me. Anyone else seeing the same thing?

Balmar 150a

I had a long running complex and baffling similar issue that took months and loooots of $$$s to suss involving replacing every component in the system. Ultimately the rogue component turned out to be nearly new alternator that had accumulated belt dust through the cooling vents resulting in shorting within the case - and spurious charging including voltage spikes (16+) which fried my batteries. Luckily all my electronics were new enough they had auto shut-off to avoid damage. We found this out by sending alternator away to a test specialist where problem was diagnosed and fixed - via disma

Sadly it is. The owner sold Aleana to me a couple of years ago.

How does a wind gust sink a boat on its berth?

This quote could be a cut & paste from my recent experience.

Agreed. Sadly stories like this are symptomatic of NZ service culture which in my opinion is trending worse not better in many sectors - marine included - leading to a culture of “Fleece your customers not service them.” A kiwi friend recently returned to NZ after several years overseas and he said to me “What’s happened to NZ? I don’t want to upset my Kiwi friends but I’m really shocked by the change since I’ve been away?” I’m a dual citizen Brit-Kiwi so he felt more comfortable raising it with me.

Harbour Master is one of the worst driven vessels I’ve ever seen both in terms of behaviour and attitude. They once tried to ticket me after a close encounter at 30+ kts when they failed to give way to me as stand-on vessel on converging courses. I had no option but to accelerate and pass ahead of them whereas they flagged me down and told me I should have dropped my speed right down, turned hard left and ducked under their stern. I told them they had stopped the wrong person because unlike most of their ‘victims’ I know the rules of the road and I pointed out: 1. I was stand-on vessel (on th

I had endless problems with my saildrive intake on my previous boat resulting in frequently blown cooling pump impellers. Until I replaced it with through hull fitting which made dramatic difference.

Haha! That just about sums up most of the threads here these days. To an outsider it must look like the ‘Wild West’ of boating with zero regard for etiquette, rules & regulations or self-discipline!

V interesting boat. Too small for me now but scaled up to 45ft+ would be quite compelling. https://youtu.be/TQ-S_uufnms

I can’t remember the last time I clicked or posted into Smalltalk. I wrote it off long ago as a toxic playground run by a bunch of opinionated bullies. But I am a grown adult and don’t need any ‘digital handholding’ to remind me to click here but not click there!

Not seen it in NZ but I have in other parts of the world where fish are scarcer and the local Cormorants sometime hunt in packs to be more productive.

Well done for the bold plan to try a different lifestyle. And for taking a considered approach to the various hurdles - yes there will be challenges both the standard liveaboard cruising ones plus some extras relating to your health. But from the limited info you’ve shared so far plus your obviously pragmatic approach, I think it’s do-able. Agree with the advice to start with a NZ cruising plan to build you skills and confidence and the if it all ‘feels right’ then consider graduating to offshore and everything that comes with that. Hauraki Gulf and further up into Northland are th

Crickets and prawns are almost identical nutritionally. We just need to get our heads around the idea.

Insects

But as you say erice it’s “probably”. Why don’t they label things 100% unambiguously?

So I'm trying to update my 406 registration and the online MRCC registration form is asking me for the following information (take a look at the photo I just took of the label and tell me which bit is which): 1. Hex ID: I reckon that is "400C665142FFBFF". Right? 2. Checksum "This 5 character code will be printed on the side of your beacon near the 15 character UIN code." Which one is that??? 3. Serial Number: So is that "Serial C/S204-10401" or "S/N: 250-26785". Either seem credible candidates? If registering with the correct information is so vitally important then why the hel

Holy sh*t I’ve just caught up with this - my CH app stopped loading so I deleted and reinstalled only to be confronted by a horror show screen that was obviously designed by a blind pre-pubescent intern who thought it was a competition to demonstrate “how not to build an App” and won it. Nearly. Please. Someone feed this shocking sh*t back to CG. And I want a refund for whatever $ I’ve just been scammed.

Yes an old Swiss engineer once told me change the oil of any engine 2x recommended frequency and enjoy good health...

Our current boat came with a 1800W pure sine wave thingy. It wasn't on our wish list of must-have accessories but we now love the convenience of being able to run some pretty useful gadgets to make family cruising easier e.g. toaster for the morning routine and even a small (1400W) hair-dryer. In my experience being able to provide the wife with option of a hot shower and blow-dry makes the cruising season that bit smoother...

Yes a great spot to visit +/-2hrs high tide. Just take care if it's blowing a fresh W then the dinghy ride back can be pretty lively as you exit the creak with a healthy wind-over-tide situation. A few weeks ago I ran into 2ft standing waves during some king tides and W20kts - luckily I was on my own but the family wouldn't have enjoyed it much.