aardvarkash10

apropos given the very recent passing of Jet Black

In view of the price per item, I will now be making sure ALL the CEL hinges and equipment on SO are serviced and lubricated to minimise the risk of any further breakages...

More faffing about than it is worth, might have done it if a proper replacement wasn't available though.

Thanks all - kind offer alibaba but I need the long short version, and I have secured one now so all good! For future reference, its a Chatfield Engineering item, good NZ product from the North Shore. Chrome over bronze, solid af unless you don't lube the hinge...

2 X 50 litre flex tanks. A cap of unscented janola every complete fill. Water is roof collected, not town supply.

Anyone have any?

Revised setup in a bit more detail. The upper hand ascender and the chest ascender are both Xinda 22kn devices as are the blue carabiners. I've been practising on an 8mm double braid line, its the smallest diameter the devices are designed for. In use, it will be a 10mm (or maybe 12mm) line. The bosun's chair clips to the bottom of the chest ascender. A strop (yellow and black trace 6mm double braid) runs from the same carabiner to the top of the hand ascender. This means either or both ascenders can be used to hold the bosun's chair. This is required for the changeover to a des

It improves the experience, yes.

Splicing rope is kinda fun. Its technical (sort of) artistic (sort of) and useful (mostly) I've struggled splicing double braid until I discovered pull fids. They work well even on used lines which are typically too tight to successfully splice. These images are of an eye splice being constructed on unknown 8mm double braid that has been drifting around in the stern locker of SO for all the time we have owned her and probably a long time before. The pull fids are made out of champagne corks and 1.8mm stainless TIG wire. One is 125mm long the other is 250mm. The most expensive pa

I know nothing about that sort of sailing, but I would have thought that a trip of that distance (approx 20,000km or 10,800nm) would be difficult to estimate down to a one-week window... The math goes like this though - 10,800nm / 5kt average speed = 2160 hours = 90 days. So you have to sail 24/7 for it to be a 3-month voyage. Gear breakages, stopping for restocking of supplies, delays in the canals, weather etc are all variables that will add to the time, not subtract from it.

There is nothing like getting back to basics. Check the battery properly - if its open cell, check them all for level and balance. Check the open circuit voltage (after a decent rest period). Check the cranking current loaded voltage. Use a voltmeter and check the circuit voltage drop from the alternator to the VSR and then the VSR to the battery - live side and earth side, under load (20 A or better). Visual is fast, but voltage drop testing is accurate and relevant. Check the charging voltage and current to the engine battery. Check for a low-current draw off the battery w

It's arguably the better place to connect to.

this has been very useful - thanks everyone for the input. The ascending is not bad - I need a second foot loop instead of just one, but other than that it seems good. I will probably get a dedicated descender. I've used the old figure 8 style before, but will likely go with the knucklebone looking type for the reasons given in the video that Psyche posted. I'm not brave enough to think I can do it on a prussic alone.

Hey Riki - DBLRUM out of Bucklands is regularly looking for crew for day sailing on a 26-footer. He posts up on Facebook regularly as well as here.

marry an experienced blue water sailor.

Well, its six times the price of my rig and not as versatile (if I sell mine, it can go rock climbing, abseiling tree pruning etc). Outside of that, not a lot that I know of. People should make their own choices.

Sadly, our anchor winch is a vertical shaft type complete with gypsy and direct feed to the anchor locker. Also, Mrs A might feel herself inclined to leave me dangling for an afternoon or longer. Trust issues.

Set up a practise rig on the deck at home. Good thing. I got stuck at the top (only about 60cm off the ground) from a failure to think about how to go down. Sorted now, and Mrs A only chuckled a bit.

If you have a lot of different loads and/or different chemistries and/or large or complex battery and charging systems, knock yourself out with an all singing all dancing battery monitor. But for a simple lead acid same chem/same construction system, an ammeter and voltmeter should provide all the info you need. In both cases, knowing what you are looking at is more important than how much information it can deliver. IMO, YMMV

busy trying ot save a ski field atm. Good luck to those of you attending

that was the video that assured me it was do-able.

I'll be using a prussic as a safety,, but I wanted something that looks more positive for climbing! I watched a few videos of people using just prussics. My sphincter puckered.

Thanks Martin, your use is exactly what I had planned

I just tried climbing a tree in the back yard. I should really get to the gym more often...

I'm not intending to swim with it! I get your point Martin - It will mostly live off-boat and its easy to flush if by some very strange circumstance I find I have to use it in a howling gale and high sea state.