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Ex Machina

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Posts posted by Ex Machina

    America’s Cup Saves Local Economy

    in MarineTalk

    Posted

    The headline is way over the top but having worked on one and and knowing someone who owns a smaller one it is staggering what they spend in a day to day basis when they are in port and it goes well beyond the marine industry but far from saving the economy .

    Sailors rescued from life raft after yacht sinks near Whitianga

    in MarineTalk

    Posted

    Anyone know what happened to the boat ?

     

    Asking because I have a very good view from home from the needles right through to poor knights and there has been what looks like a yacht with half a mast sitting/drifting about 10 miles out from kauri mountain all morning .

     

    It’s not a great day for fishing and where it’s at is not a great fishing spot and wind is 15-20 NE

    Auckland to Tauranga

    in RaceTalk

    Posted

    How about changing the format and combining it with the legends regatta in the mercs. A fleet from Tauranga and one from Auckland then combining together for the regatta?

    Winner idea this one

    On board inverter, how small is too small?

    in TechTalk

    Posted

    Dunno if you are planning on having a microwave or a 240v fridge or a genset but I guess not if it’s a pogo !

     

    IT mentioned power tools , we live off grid and have a substantial solar system now but while we were building I only had a single 80w panel and a marine deep cycle battery in the shed . This charged the batteries for all my makita power tools for two years and tablets phones etc through a 1500w inverter . Makita fast charger draws 65w and takes about an hour to charge a 4amp battery . I reckon IT is on the money don’t go huge and use it wisely when the sun is out or the engine is running

    Correct shroud setup on GBE catamaran

    in TechTalk

    Posted

    I use to sail one with similar setup to that but the braid went through a double purchase block with cleat very similar to what is on some trapeze wires .

     

    We would only tension the windward one when flying assymetrics and just enough to take slack out of the shroud . The block was tied off to the chain plate and from memory it was at about eye level when sitting in cockpit so forward crew could reach it easily.

     

    That boat was from the very far north too where I think yours was based ? So was probably set up the same

    little baby 4strokes

    in TechTalk

    Posted

    Got a Honda 4 stroke brushcutter , very quiet and heaps of grunt in low revs . oil change is only 100 Mls of oil . Biggest bonus is not having make up 2T mix if missus or kids want to use it

    antifoul research

    in MarineTalk

    Posted

    This one has me scratching my head too. A German fella at Norsand was going to try to import Selektope which uses ivermectin to drive the barnies larva crazy so they cant stick, 10 years service life!! He said he was told it would need to be submitted for testing and approval in NZ even though Europe has done all the testing! Ivermectin is a stock remedy and restricted medicine so he seems to think that's their concern. Rediculous. It should be here now!

    Ha that’s my neighbour

    antifoul research

    in MarineTalk

    Posted

    I have been looking into antifouling chemicals for some time and have concluded that Selektope is our best bet for an effective additive that may be acceptable to our regulators, supposedly very effective against Barnacles and Tube worms. 

    A number of currently used additives are no longer approved for inclusion in a couple of years, quite a few are already banned.

    Maybe 10 or 15 years ago I saw two posters on a yacht club notice board, one government agency announcing their desire to remove all toxic chemicals from the marine antifouling market, another government agency announcing their concern about the spread of foreign marine organisms. They obviously weren't working together.

    I have had some correspondence with Hempel, I used two different paints as a side by side experiment this season, one was a Hempel product. Hempel have a product that includes it but are not planning on bringing it in, short sighted I feel as I think they could corner the market if it was available:

    "Yes, Hempel does use Selektope as an additive in Globic 9500. This product is not available in NZ currently."[/size]

    see https://selektope.com/ for some interesting reading.

    The additive has been through a number of approval processes world wide and should be relatively easily introduced here.

    My neighbour contacted altex coatings about Selektope and I have a copy of the email I will quote a paragraph here .

     

    “We have been aware of Selektope for some years and have carried out some research with varying results . This additive is still under investigation as a consequence to more recent international and does have potential. However , and this is a Hazchem problem , Selektope is not registered for use in Australia or New Zealand at present and there is little likelihood of registration in the near future .”

     

    So what the feck is the issue ? Are the paint companies waiting for a competitor to pay for registration and all the pokery jiggery to get it approved ? .

    Common Sense Prevails - Liferafts Dropped

    in MarineTalk

    Posted

    yeh - youy can't win no matter what you do. Just went back through our NoR's and SI's for the last few years post the bank's sponsorship.

    2012: if you didn't finish prior to 1200hrs you were scored DNF (IIRC I posted some later times that year)

    2013: if you didn't finish prior to 1400hrs you were scored DNF

    2014: If you didn't finish prior to 1400hrs you were entitled to radio in your position and be awarded a finish place etc etc etc per this year's NoR.

    We have people who then have to bust their arse in a short space of time to finalise results prior to prizegiving at 1900hrs

    We've now been able to work with YNZ to justify the removal of one of the single most costly items required under the safety regulations.

     

    The weather pattern that the Dr. Watson describes is pretty unusual. The wind is not going to "dead maggot" you round the course and at worst something like a minimum of 15% of the course will be at reach or better (rather than tight reach or dead maggot). It is a yacht race in October when the SW trades typical of the shoulder seasons are, well, typical. We could allow the smaller boats 40hrs (or any other number you want Dr. W) but that would mean starting them at midnight the night before.

     

    Yes occaisonally some yachts might struggle to make the 30hr cut off but to not race because of that risk would be like saying don't watch a football match - the team you support might loose!

    Nicely said Scottie

     

    We hope for that SWer next year and it’s that hope of a SW screamer that will keep bringing us back to do the race . Hey I have a suggestion about the bow stickers , in the N hemisphere many regattas are changing to sponsor flags instead of hull stickers .

     

    It’s hard not to notice in the Pre-start the already loose and flappy stickers and there must be a fair whack that fall off going up the coast too and end up advertising PIC on the beach .

     

    A small flag flown from the caps or back stay would be better I reckon and they can be used again . One per boat would be possibly cheaper than two massive stickers per boat especially if they are used more than once .

    Common Sense Prevails - Liferafts Dropped

    in MarineTalk

    Posted

    But if it drops out, and it often does before the small boats get close, you get 30 small boats dnf. It’s kind of a FU to the folk with smaller boats - “yeah sure you can enter the race, but if it’s less than 15knt and At all forward of the beam don’t expect to finish...

     

    If your upwind speed is 5.5 knots and it’s a dead beat all the way, you have to sail 1.414 times the distance assuming 90 degree tacks and no leeway or set. So that’s near on 170 miles of sailing meaning you need to average 5.65knt to finish in 30h.

    If it gets light at any point, you’re screwed.

     

    I know everyone wants to go to the party, but at least let the smaller boats self report a finish time, with some kind of evidence. Eg a selfie with the duke in the background sent to race hq or something.

    We Were the last boat to pull out I think ? After 26.5 hours , 6.5 of them spent sitting at piercy island we were over it by then which is kind of my point about the time limit , more of an endurance issue from a small boat sailor perspective .

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