K4309
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Posts posted by K4309
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On 27/08/2023 at 7:38 PM, Luigi Vercotti said:
Thanks for your replies. Seems like it's not as hard as they make it appear on the 'net.
If you just want the PVC clear material, the Canvas Company supply it. Shop For Quality Outdoor Fabrics NZ - The Canvas Company Would need to be couriered from Auckland.
If you have lots of time and patients, you could hand sew it on. Same gear as a sail repair kit. Or you could get an 'easy awl' that the Canvas Company supply, it has a bobbin in it to speed up the hand sewing loopy bit.
I'm mid way though replacing my clears and will try that. I've also been sewing the clears and sunbrella successfully. Rather than drop $1,500 on a pro sewing machine, I'm using a $200 plastic sewing machine and a $65 walking foot attachment. Sews fine. The machine might not last that long but I only have a sail cover to make and a few touch ups to the dodger.
The Canvas Co also supply the appropriate grade of thread you need (forget the name of it now) and in small quantities like 100m, not 3,000m like the professional stuff.
If you've not already found it, Sailrite: Sewing Supply Store, is a US based sewing supply outfit. They have extensive tutorial video's on how to sew any boat related stuff, including bimini's and dodger's. Their sewing machines are the gold standard for this work, but also come at the associated price. But Sailrite is an excellent source of info, such as the correct needle and thread to use (the needle needs to match the thread and the weight material you are sewing).
If you are interested in the cheapy sewing machine option, I can go and find the supplier link for the walking foot I got, and the list of compatible sewing machines. We already had our machine in the house, but the likes of Spotlight have plenty of $200 machines that will take a $65 walking foot. That will enable you to do a lot of boat sewing jobs, and will be substantially cheaper than paying someone to do anything more than minor alterations. Oh, and you can get a $600 heavy duty machine if you want something more robust than a $200 plastic jobby.
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8 hours ago, LBD said:
I did a good few years suction gold dredging and also work in heavy mining where we pump slurry for kilometers.
I cannot understand how this would work?... solids make up 5% to 10% of the slurry. They cannot return all that water to land surely? There must be some separation on the floating dredge with the water returning to the ocean, in which case how will the live spores/seeds/cuttings not make it back into the ocean to start again?
50 Hectares is a lot of land...50 x 10,000m2 x say 0.25m into the sea bed = 125,000 cubic meters of sand/mud... that is a lot. and if the intention is to pump it all to shore including all the water, then you are looking at sucking up and pumping about 1.5M tons of slurry to a holding/settling/sterilizing location on shore... that in itself will be a huge engineering undertaking.
The scale just seem too large.
You would need a separator / clarifier tank on the dredge, with a direct water return to the area you are dredging. The technical challenge would be the size and effectiveness of a separator.
You'd need to give up on this whole concept of avoiding any fragments going back in. The whole objective would be to reduce total biomass. Given that tide and waves are moving this around anyway, the whole concept that boat anchors are spreading it is a nonsense. Related to this is the re-growth rate of fragments. I think there has been a load of PR and scaremongering saying 1 fragment can grow into 2 rugby fields in two weeks (or what ever the stats were). For that to happen you need ideal growing conditions. I'd posit that was put about to get more funding from MPI, and to scare us a whole lot to get better compliance with their twaddlebollocks rules.
That is the whole premise of dredging, to reduce total biomass on the basis that growing conditions are not ideal. This give nature a chance of getting ontop of it naturally. The main premise about growing conditions are:
1) Natural growing conditions. We have changed from La Nina to El Nino. Water temps should be substantially different this summer, along with the incidence of blowey N'Easters and swell, which break up and spread the caulerpa. We should have a lot more SW and calm periods. Additionally, it is reported that caulerpa doesn't like direct sunlight. With all the rain, and blowey NE last summer, viz was constantly shithouse. With El Nino we should have good viz. If you are into spear fishing you will know exactly what I'm on about. The good viz lets the light down far deeper, and is of higher intensity shallower.
2) Knocking the biomass back with dredging. Changing weather cycles buy itself might just be enough to slow the caulerpa. With an aggressive suction dredge process knocking the biomass on the head, it might just be enough to get rid of it. All based on natural cycles in weather and climate making adverse growing conditions for it. The only issue is the window of opportunity is right now, right on the change in weather cycles. All we need is a large and cumbersome bureaucracy to move quickly...
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15 hours ago, Psyche said:
Thats game over? At this point suction dredging seems pathetic unless its a very tiny outbreak, cleaning ground tackle and raising awareness is probably the best action to take.
In my view there are two separate issues here.
The anchoring ban is futile. With 50 Ha of it banning fishing and anchoring is a nonsense. Mind you, it's a nonsense if there are only small patches of it as well. Anyway, lets not go over old ground.
If there is 50Ha of it, there is an arguement that suction dredging is very much worth doing. Two premise explain this:
1) Suction dredging needs scale to make it both effective and cost effective. If there is loads of it, you can just hover it up all day.
2) We are told the issue with caulerpa is smothering everything and kill off the existing benthic habitat. If you do wide spread suction dredging, you are giving relief to the existing benthic habitat. Basically you pull the caulerpa off everything so it doesn't die / can rejuvenate. Sure, it may grow back, but this is so new we don't know how fast. With the change from La nina to El nino, we are likely to get reduced sea temps, and definately shouldn't get the non stop N'Easters and associated ocean currents and wave action. This is a reasonable possibility that growing conditions will change so it doesn't favour caulerpa and it either dies off or doesn't spread much more. Doing wide spread suction dredging at the same time would help nature along.
This is a similar approach they are doing with kauri die back. Try and stop everything dieing and wait for something to change. Either natural weather systems or tech / research to create a silver bullet (cough).
That, and in my view the cost of all the talky talk, beuacrates and cultural consultation is so much, you could just pay for a suction dredge to rotate through all the hotspots and mitigate the impact for a similar cost to all the mucking around they are doing now. More so if you add in the social and cultural costs of banning fishing and boating...
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Spot on raz88, there are so many more elements to making a boat go than just motor size. All you need is a couple of barnacles on the prop and it will go like a sack of sh*t. That is assuming the prop is a well matched size and pitch for your motor and gearbox. The gearbox being relevant as your shaft speed is what makes the prop work, which is completely different to engine rpm.
Given the cost of propellers, esp fancy ones like the super-doper folding ones, how many people have put on a new fancy prop (folder) and found either the pitch or size wasn't quiet right, but sucked it up, or never got around to doing another haul out, getting the engineer / supplier down or paying the coin to change the prop to the correct pitch? esp when you've already had the prop hub machined to match the shaft taper and can't return it?
Not to mention just having a dirty bum on the boat. So yeah, there are loads of reasons a boat may not be able to motor off sea wall in a blow. I'd bet a bottle of whisky that the engine being too small accounts for only 10% of incidence. Poorly matched prop, dirty prop (barnacles) dirty bum would account for the rest I reckon.
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27 minutes ago, Fern Gosling said:
I'm trying to find information on a yacht I believe is a Beau Birdsall design called The Huntress
Approx. 44ft loa.
Was in Whangarei. Now in a damaged state further north.
Can anyone help?
Fern Gosling.
Was this boat on trademe a while ago (maybe a year or two, perhaps 3) and a fairly rudimentary boat? predating the other Birdsalls like Focal Point, Pterodactyle, Charlatan and midnight express?
I see the YNZ boat search has a sail number of 52, but no other info. That would indicate it is fairly old. I'm sure I've seen TM ads for it in the past, which would give a lot of info if you could work out how to pull up an old listing. I got the impression the boat was lacking maintenance back then and would need a full refit to be of much use. Given the age and elements of the design I would have put it in the 'not bother' or right it off area. It didn't appear to have some of the classic design elements of Beau's later designs like Rhubarb.
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On 25/08/2023 at 4:32 PM, Adrianp said:
And so the restrictions on our cruising begins. Rahui now in place for anchoring within 1nm of the Waiheke finding of Caulerpa. I think this is a good idea if they plan to get rid of it but I'm worried if it's just a wait and see approach.
https://www.ngatipaoaiwi.co.nz/media-release-2.html
This map is my guess at what that 1nm area covers.
You are under no obligation to observe a rahui.
Just saying.
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Beta engines also use Kubota basis. I've found no problems finding references for spares via various Beta websites via google. Also the local Beta agent, The Engineroom, is very good.
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The government is forging ahead with support for ongoing bottom trawling despite widespread public outrage at the damage it is causing to the marine environment.Two decisions within days of each other confirm the government is committed to allowing bottom trawling, dredging and seining in inshore waters. Both decisions are contrary to the government’s vision for healthy and productive oceans.Off the back of an extremely unremarkable Industry Transformation Plan that manages to offer virtually zero actual transformation, the government today unveiled their alarmingly limp Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Fisheries Plan, which will allow trawling in vast swathes while closing other areas to fishing in a selection of new marine protected areas. Both ideas just as ineffective as the next.We all know fish and other sea life aren’t bound by the confines of marine reserves, and instead, these boundaries become hotspots for people to cash out on that which spills over the sides. We also know that trawling has a myriad of consequences to our marine habitats and ecosystems.Where is the real foresight? Where’s the pride that should come with caring for our biggest marine park? Certainly not with this government. Ineffective and money-driven decision-making shouldn’t have a place in these decisions. It’s time for Kiwis to speak up with their votes.
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2 hours ago, Black Panther said:
What are you trying to say by posting that BP?
Whilst the bill will be introduced to Parliament, it wont be passed before the election. That means it is a big waste of time. Hot air. All talk.
On the area protected, of the 17 areas, only 5 are seafloor protection areas. The specific area of those 5 seafloor protection areas aren't given. Two areas are just tweaking of existing marine reserves. That, and protecting 18% of the Gulf means there is 82% available for bottom trawling.
Maybe I should be thankful something is happening? 1) Nothing is happening, cause it wont be passed into law before the election. This is just another 'good intention, like building 10,000 houses and fixing child poverty.
2) We had an opportunity to ban bottom contact fishing from the whole gulf. The other 82%. Nope. Don't have the will to do it. Missed opportunity.
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3 hours ago, ex Elly said:
Bottom trawling restrictions in Hauraki Gulf and tripling of marine protection areas
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed this morning the Government will restrict bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf and nearly triple the area under protection.
Triple of nothing is still nothing.
There needs to be a complete ban on bottom trawling across the Gulf. That, and this is just an announcement. Wont be passed into Law before the election.
We are commercially catching bait fish, in the order of hundreds thousands of tonnes, and exporting it to the Ivory Coast. At $2.30/kg. But no-one can work out why our snapper are starving (the milky white flesh issue).
The only reason they can say dredging and bottom trawling doesn't damage anything, is because they have already destroyed everything. But it ain't going to grow back if they keep on doing it.
1. There has been a 100% reduction in wild mussels. It’s well documented that 500 km2 of mussel beds were destroyed in the 1960s by commercial dredging. The only remaining wild mussels are found in the intertidal zone.
2. The commercial harvest of blue mackerel has increased by 470% since the park was established in 2000. Between 2016-19 the commercial industry extracted a staggering 9,000 tonnes of blue and jack mackerel from the Park.
3. There has been a 57% reduction in the population of jack mackerel and a 32% reduction in other small pelagic species.
4. And, 376 tonnes of pilchards are harvested annually from the park.
Individually, each of these statistics is alarming. But the real concern is the fact that these species are the food sources for seabirds, mammals, john dory, kingfish, kahawai and, of course, snapper. Without these keystone species, the ecosystem will be dramatically different, or species will cease to exist altogether.
So, what do we do with the vast amount of mackerel that is bulk harvested every year? We export it frozen and unprocessed to Ivory Coast, Philippines and China for an average price of $2.30 per kilo. Is it worth starving our snapper for $2.30?
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These two caulerpas are found naturally in Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, central and western Pacific including Tonga, and in Australia.
In Indonesia and the Philippines they are also farmed and harvested.
"It seems that the conditions are getting more suitable for some of these subtropical species (such as caulerpa)," Inglis said.
Caulerpa likes sea temperatures averaging above 15 degrees.
On the other hand, the warm water East Auckland current that sweeps down Northland's east coast at certain times of the year brought many tropical fish with it. Then they disappear as the current retreats.
"Maybe caulerpa will disappear in the same way," Inglis said.
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11 minutes ago, eruptn said:
When the second line of the article says this:
New Zealand's first mainland infestation of the exotic pest was found at Omākiwi, Te Rawhiti in the Bay of Islands on 3 May. It is still the only known confirmed mainland infestation.
You really have to wonder about the accuracy of the rest of the article. Or do they not count Kawau and Waiheke as mainland?
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NZL20 is being moved.
Is being towed by a jetski. In the general direction of Mahurangi at the moment, assuming it isn't going to be scuttled, which is probably not that bad an option.
PS, using a telescope to see what is going on, so phone photos are somewhat pointless.
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8 hours ago, darkside said:
No I don't, that's way too simplistic and not helpful.
I want to advance the conversation to the science behind modern farming and to where the answer will probably lie. Find a better way to kill it. Breed something we already have to eat more of it. Introduce something to eat it. GM something we already have to eat more of it. Find some value in it so it's worth harvesting.
Much the same as controlling noxious land weeds. Its ongoing work, each weed has a different solution and yep, hand harvesting of the whole plant or at least immature seed head is often the only practical way.
But with the spread so far, full eradication seems unlikely now for sure.
We are possibly talking at cross purposes. I agree with your points above around trying / investigating biological controls etc.
What I am mocking when referencing people thinking they can control nature is the tides and currents, the wave action and the ability for this weed to spread by natural means. That is in direct response to this ongoing narrative that it is only spread by irresponsible and selfish boaties on their anchors and fishing gear. Noting that the Waiheke people appear to be the first to acknowledge the tides and currents are responsible for spreading this (along with, in their words, anchors and fishing gear).
I rather suspect that controlling this will be similar to how we control kina barrens. There will be a lot of talk and angst, and very little action. Occasionally some well meaning community group will get an initiative going. Supported by 2 dozen different stakeholders. Or some uni will initiate some studies, and there will be great fanfare at the outset, then everything will go quite, and after 2 years they'll say everything is inconclusive, can we please have some more funding?
Noting that kina, even in barrens, are a tonga species and there is a load of rules around just going and smashing them. As there will be a load of rules around just going and clearing caulerpa to give the seabed a break, bringing home a trailer load or two and spreading it on the garden.
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So, despite Caulerpa being at Barrier for 5 years, and known about by the govt agencies for 2 years, there is no obvious impact from it, based on this Niwa report. No mass die-off's. No collapse of the ecosystem. Just the need for further monitoring. Kina's gonads are different colours all the time, that is the whole issue with harvesting kina. Scolly's are struggling, which is why they closed the entire Gulf scolly fishery, remember?
Report into impacts of exotic caulerpa on native species at Aotea
As part of our research programme, NIWA is monitoring 18 permanent sites in the affected areas at Aotea – Blind Bay, Whangaparapara Harbour and Tryphena Harbour – for information on the impacts of exotic caulerpa on the marine ecosystem and native species.
An interim report of the first stage of this research has just been released but contains preliminary results only. Further sample collection and analysis is still required.
The report says that the exotic caulerpa may be negatively impacting some species. For example, the colour of the reproductive organs of kina appears to differ from what is usual for the time of year that sampling took place. However, because no control samples of kina were taken from areas outside of where exotic caulerpa is present, no definitive conclusions about impact can be made.
There also appears to be higher than usual scallop deaths in the areas of high caulerpa cover, however other events such as extreme weather and disease can’t be ruled out as potential causes of these deaths.
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1 hour ago, darkside said:
And of course you can. Farming springs to mind which is controlling nature all day long.
Stopping nature is also possible if you have the will and the money. Plenty of predator free islands to visit in New Zealand. Everyone said they had no chance with m.bovis but the end seems to be in sight.
Caulerpa will be much harder for sure.
Of course. If you want to define 'controlling nature' as getting a bull to shag a cow at the time of year of your choosing. And I'm sure you can stop the tide, as the Dutch built dykes.
But in the context of banning all forms of boating - which is what the rules entail - compared to stopping the spread of caulerpa on the tide and currents, I think you're being a bit optimistic in thinking you can control nature.
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5 hours ago, Psyche said:
What is our political managerial class going to do now? I suspect there is going to be a lot of arm waving, reports written, articles in the press and vain attempts at doing something but in the end you cannot stop nature and you cannot prevent people from using boats and anchors in vast sections of coastline adjacent to heavily populated areas.
I strongly suspect that the more you look the more you will find Caulerpa, I am happy to observe no anchoring zones, clean my gear etc but I am not sure everyone else will for all time moving forwards
This concept of being able to stop or control nature fascinates me. A lot of people, including our govt, believe you can control nature.
At least with Waiheke the locals have stated ”We believe currents are one of the biggest vectors, along with boats and fishing gear.”
While it wouldn't surprise me to see someone from a govt department pass a law banning currents and tides, I think (hope) there is a wider acceptance that we can't control currents.
I can't see how fishing gear really spreads this. Fishing gear in this context being line fishing, lures, softbaits, livebaits, straylines etc. Nets and bottom trawling absolutely. There has been a substantial lobby to ban commercial bottom contact fishing in the Gulf, maybe this is enough to achieve that?
'Fishing' is a very wide category of activities. It occurred to me I twice fished in the no fishing zone north of Rangi this weekend. I was towing a trolling lure as I putted out to Woody Bay. Did it matter? I wasn't anchored in the cable zone, had nothing contacting the bottom, so what?
As for the anchoring ban, if there was clear logic and reason, and it was finite, more people would support and observe it. If it is just a knee jerk reaction cause there is no one else to cast laws onto (like trying to ban currents), then many more would ignore it, including myself. If they wanted to hit an area with an eradication project and need boaties to stay out of the way for a year, then yes. If they are going to close the east coast of Barrier and half the BoI indefinitely, then no.
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1 hour ago, Vivaldi said:
Auckland is surrounded by water which is essentially free transport infrastructure - future transport planning needs to factor this in and look toward developing a comprehensive ferry service from a range of points around the city. Replacing a ferry service by building a new road (pen link) is just dopey.
They aren't building Penlink just so they can cancel the ferry service. To think so is naïve.
I think you will find that AT can't handle the ferry operator. But there are loads of bus operators so they are easier to push around. Hence AT want buses.
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From that first link "You had to stop importing and manufacturing paints containing diuron, octhilinone and ziram in 2017".
So I suspect these are the changes they made 6 years ago that stopped all of our regular brand AF's from working. I doubt if you purchased anything this week it would have any of these ingredients, as the actual ban on making or importing them came into effect 6 years ago.
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12 hours ago, DrWatson said:
The elephant in the room is that we insist on suburban sprawl, and we insist on commuting silly distances to work.
There are better ways.
Our current approach is simply unsustainable.
This is a common refrain from people who already have warm, dry homes.
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1 hour ago, Island Time said:
Sorry, but the AT data is fundamentally flawed.
Sounds like you don't trust the govt with statements like that IT. Surely AT would use accurate numbers?
I would be interested in the data / numbers from the presentation.
There will be a lot more development and densification in the area than just the ones you mention. And Whanga Rd will only get more congested. I wonder if this is more to do with a squable between AT and Fullers over the Waiheke service and some internal leverage?
AT certainly look like they are working an angle, rather than putting up a straight question for consultation.
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Proposing electric buses going every 7.5 minutes (peak) or 15 min off peak.
New bus station in Whangarapaoa.
Cheaper service $7.18 compared to $11.60
Services start earlier and stop later in the day. So you can go for dinner or a gig and still use PT to get home. Imagine.
For CBD trips the travel time would be 60 min about 10 min longer than the ferry.
Far better connectivity to North Shore destinations, while the ferry is CBD only.
Gulf Harbour ferry services could be replaced by electric buses from 2028 | Stuff.co.nz
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12 hours ago, Black Panther said:
Not correct.
Ferry is way faster than bus. Penlink will knock about 10 mins off travel time, but won't affect bus travel through Silverdale.
I know I'm in a minority on the peninsula but I woukd have canned penlink and put the money into more/better public transport.
First google says the travel time will reduce by 20 min, not 10 (peak time).
And you are assuming Gulf Harbour buses will go via the Silverdale interchange. I'd very much hope that after dropping $800mil on a bridge, someone would have the foresight to reconfigure the bus routes to actually use it.
Penlink was never approved to reduce travel time on the coast. It was solely to allow the Milldale Development to proceed, along with the yet to be announced "Silverdale West" developments on the Western side of the motorway between the Silverdale interchange and the BP. This was all zoned Future Urban in the 2016 Unitary Plan. This is because the Silverdale and Millwater motorway exists are already at capacity and preventing the 8,000 new homes going ahead West of the motorway. Penlink shifts the Whangaparaoa traffic further down the motorway allowing the Milldale traffic to use the existing two exits. It is for the same reason they are currently building a new bridge across the motorway from Highgate Parkway to Milldale. I was present in a series of meetings where all of this was discussed and confirmed.
But back to the ferry:
1) Do you know how much diesel it burns on each trip. Ferries use spectacular amounts of diesel. Even more than Riveria's and Martimo's apparently. This is why they are all trying to rush out electric ferries. If you believe in man-made climate change then you will call for the ferry to be scrapped.
2) Do you know the level of subsidy for this ferry? For each ferry passenger, imagine if you could pay for 10 Northern Express bus trips?
All I'm seeing at the moment is a load of emotional response resisting change to the proposal to scrap the ferry. Interestingly, I've not seen any actual details from AT about the pro's and con's. I suspect this is the 'softening up' phase where they socialise the idea in the community, everyone gets fired up and spends all the energy fighting it, and in 5 years time when they actually get around to cancelling it, everyone has either sub-consciously accepted it or lost the energy to fight it.
PS, 40% of sailings were cancelled last year. How do you get to work when it is that unreliable? Better still, how do you get home again?
PPS, there is walking and cycling on the new Penlink, so you can grab your e-bike, do your cardio and get into town (or Albany at the least) and not need to go near a stinking diesel fumed crowded public bus.
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11 hours ago, Black Panther said:
Not correct.
Ferry is way faster than bus. Penlink will knock about 10 mins off travel time, but won't affect bus travel through Silverdale.
I know I'm in a minority on the peninsula but I woukd have canned penlink and put the money into more/better public transport.
So when was the last time you used the ferry?
Dodger fugly or not
in TechTalk
Posted
There are several elements I like about it.
Artisticly it says "Open 60" bigly, so if you are trying to channel the hard-arsed lunatic shorthanded Breton crowd, you are doing well.
I like that it has low visual impact because you've made it out of a clear material, not the classic navy blue sunbrella plonked on top of an otherwise nicely proportioned white cabintop.
The size looks practical and functional. It 'fits' the width of the cockpit.
The only question I'd have is if it's high enough to work the cabin top winches, and for getting down the hatch without having to bend double.
What have you made it out of? Frame and material? Is the material just a pattern fabric? It is certainly an interesting concept going for a fully clear dodgy. I like that idea.