K4309

Straying into politics, but disaster recovery and monitoring of our exclusive economic zone are primary reasons. Same with the air farce. We dropped our strike fighter squadron because it did not serve a legitimate purpose. But maritime patrol, helos and Charlie 130's are very handy for a country parked at the bottom of the South Pacific that is prone to earthquakes and has a portion of the population that likes sailing, getting lost and hoping that an Orion (or new Poseidon) will come and find them.

Looking at the increasing complexity of insurance requirements, the impossibility of parking your boat anywhere without insurance, and the near impossibility of selling your boat if you haven't met all the insurance requirements - not to mention the near impossibility of selling your boat in the current market, even if it is in top shelf condition, I suspect there will be one or two owners that take the 'nasty accident' option to deal with their current floating liability. PS, not saying or implying that has happened in these situations, I'm just saying the options for dealing with existi

It is just like fishing. The most expensive way of catching free food.

Personally, I think worrying about how much diesel a sailing boat burns is a nonsense. Quoting Aa's example as a good example of relativity. I'm constantly reading boat reviews in the magazines about launches, fizz boats what not. The amount of diesel or petrol those things burn is eye-watering. Just reading about the latest fishing boat, innovative design and what not, they recon it is fantastic fuel economy burning 2.65l per nautical mile. It is designed for day trips and has a 550l fuel tank. You can upgrade that to an 800l fuel tank!?!?! If you are going electric drive purely for

On the insurance thing, I don't think his vessel was damaged? Think it had a bent push-pit, but was afloat and looked sound. Probably chipped the gel coat. All could be fixed for the cost of the insurance excess or there abouts (at least fixed for the cost of one years insurance premium). The ferry on the other hand was a write off, obviously. If the offenders insurance wouldn't pay, then the ferry's insurer would have to. That just becomes a legal dispute between the two insurers. I would like to think the ferry owner gets compensated for loss of buisness / loss of income etc. As al

I think the seating is on the main hull, either side of cockpit. Park bench style. The angle of the photograph makes them line up and look like they are part of the solar panel platforms on the arches. I guess they want the solar down low to keep the windage down? Was going to say for righting moment, but it's a raft...

It is good to have some contract wording. Thanks for that. What I'm not aware of is the other points you make. Are they in the public realm? (as in, reported in the media or something?) I guess what I am asking is if they are established facts of the case (not contesting what you are saying, I'm just not aware of them). An example I was thinking of where a guy got charged with recklessness was a fizz boat over Whitianga way, pranged into an island in the dark. He was effectively lost, but did not slow down, still going full tilt. That was deemed reckless cause he knew he was lost, ha

I'd query that statement on the insurance. Especially the public liability aspects of it. I've never heard of car insurance being cancelled because you were at fault, so why would boat insurance be cancelled? What you might be getting at is that insurance doesn't cover criminal acts. I'd take a punt fleeing from police would get your insurance cancelled. But what about DIC? Noting there are two levels of DIC, the one where you get an infringement notice (which I understand to not be a criminal charge) and the one where you go to Court (which I'd take is a criminal charge).

Have you heard the ancient Chinese curse? "May you own more than one boat"....

Certainly the suction dredge addresses the primary issue of caulerpa in that it smoothers everything. Obviously these are trials at the moment, but you would expect that if you physically remove the smothering caulerpa the rest of the benthic environment will bounce back. It may be like kaykuya (spelling, the grass that grows well in coastal environments). Near impossible to permanently eradicate, but perfectly manageable if you give it a regular mow and weed-eat it once a month. There is nothing technically complex or particularly expensive about the dredge. A long reach digger, probably

It was still a hard stand, regardless if it was to your taste or not.

That is another area of confusion. One gas certifier states 2 sniffers are required, and they must be interlinked to a solenoid valve on the gas bottle. Another gas certifier states sniffers are not part of the gas system, and are not covered by the standard. I have access to the standard and haven't found any reference to requiring sniffers. Moreso, there are strict exclusion areas for electrical components around gas bottles and gas lockers. Electrical equipment provide a source of ignition, so exclusion areas are logical. Accept when you are then required to install an electro-mec

I could (and probably will) start an entire thread about how complicated and tedious it is getting insurance just for a Gulf Cruiser in NZ. I imagine insurance co issues and regulatory requirements are amplified for offshore boats in NZ. Related to the other thread on converting to induction cooking, it is looking like I will need to pull out my perfectly functioning LPG system and stove to obtain insurance. Indicated cost for replacement is $4-$5k. But that isn't the complex bit. The insurance co is fully contradicting what the gas fitters are saying - example, insurance says they don't

I was just reading that the Chief of Defense is telling the govt that to meet the new budget expectations he will have to ground aircraft. Probably the Seasprites, which is states is the primary defensive asset of our fighting ships. Minister for Defense, the Honourable Judith, has suggested that Defense do not do anything that is not core to Defense. Then along comes a new toy... I am sorry to mention politics and what not, but yes, the question is relevant, what is the purpose of this thing? Best I can see, assuming it was designed and built inhouse by Defense staff, is capabi

Crikey, that is a feckin awful story. Enough to give me nightmares. Might go and sort out my forehatch cover so I can open it form the inside.

That sounds like the classic example of something that is complaint and certified but about as useful as tits on a bull. Serious question - I've been told I need an LPG alarm at the lowest point in the bilge. How then do you keep it in good working order, given the risk of water in the bilge? Being a bilge that is where the water is designed to go in the event of some sort of ingress. Even something as simple as putting the speedo log in. What are good brands / options for LPG alarms, I see prices range from $80 to $300 ish. All appear to require hard wiring for a power source. I'd p

A lot of people used to drink and drive and not wear seatbelts and didn't manage to kill themselves either. The number of people that still smoke and state they haven't died of cancer also amazes me. Noting though that these gas cert issues are driven by companies behind insurance companies. They are not based in logic. Having discussed this directly with my insurance co representative, he fully states they do not have specialist knowledge in boating, they are insurance people. But then quasi impose nonsense requirements on boaties (many examples other than the gas thing) The whole i

Apart from the obvious elements of this, what gives me the shits is being able to get out of the cabin. As in two available exits. The question being could you get out of the main hatch? In a lot of boats the engine and batteries are directly under the companionway steps, and the battery switches, switchboard and fuel tanks aren't far away, generally everything is around the hatchway / back end of the cabin area. This being the most likely area for a fire like this to get started. For my boat the possible exits are the main hatch and forehatch. Most of the tome on the mooring I couldn't o

Haha, I can relate to that. Once we had to leave the boat in Gulf Harbour marina and the next day needed to move it back to it's regular berth. Out of routine and faffing a bit. Anyway, the person who came to 'help' get of out of the berth and thought they'd opened the engine cooling water seacock hadn't actually opened the engine cooling water seacock. I was solo and just starting to lift the revs up from a low idle in that channel bit leaving Gulf Harbour when lights, sirens and alarms starting ringing out. Feck-me it gave me a hell of a fright! Luckily a quick opening of the

Looks like LPG alarms are available and cheaper than I thought. Starting at $80 for a wired model at Burnsco and $200 for a battery powered / independent unit. I see one of these in my future. LPG Gas Detector | Burnsco

I've just been talking to various professionals about getting the "Condition Assessment" done. On the LPC certification, one surveyor I've spoken to is perfectly happy to certify and listed the requirements it needs to met, which wouldn't be too hard to achieve. They were: 1) No hose clips on pipe run, crimps only (Noting I need a certified person to change hose clips to crimps, I can't do that myself. I don't actually know what is onboard) 2) An LPG alarm in the bilge 3) dedicated gas locker, draining directly overboard. I didn't realise LPG alarms were a thing, so I

That poses a very interesting question (well, interesting if you find dull things fascinating). If it complies with the relevant NZ standard, what have Worksafe got to do with it? From all my dealings with Worksafe, they never "approve" anything. The onus is always on you for everything. If it goes wrong, the Worksafe will prosecute. But they will never approve anything. They wont say or sign off that something is fine / up to spec / what ever language you want to use. From a due diligence point of view, if the composite bottles are widely approved, i.e. by 80 countries, and are

This is an important point. It sounds like the example of the exploding boat was from using an LPG heater onboard. There may be many dodgy gas califonts that do pose a fire risk. I'm grappling with the OP's same issue. I need to get a 'condition assessment' for the Insurance co. There is a one line tick box that says "LPG installed to NZ Standards". My LPG install was done in 1985 and is un-altered. I have a 2kg bottle, regulator on bottle, a 2 to 3 m run of gas pipe direct to a marine gas stove. It is a flexible pipe and has been renewed over the life of the boat. The firs

ewwhh. My boat is a couple short of 40 years, and wooden. Just been asked for the boat survey and rig check. Those I think I can handle (haven't gotten price for a survey yet) as I'd like to know about issues before they become major problems, but if it starts opening up a can of worms and there are additional checks and hoops later, I don't know. Perhaps I'll take up golf or something? I can probably get a good wing-foil set for the cost of survey, rig check and annual insurance premium. Last time I changed insurers (when Vero put our rates up 200% in one go) most outfits wanted a m

Back to the original question of the Insurance co requiring a gas certificate. Is the same insurance co requiring anything else? Hull Survey? Rig check? Just focusing on gas seems a bit random, if you are trying to assess the overall risk of loss on the boat.