Abel Seaman

August 11, 2022

Well I followed Aardvarkash10' suggestion and bought an EPEVER MPPT controller. It does seem like the cost /quality point i was looking for. Actually it arrived today and seems to be a solid bit of gear.

My next question regards series or parallel. I already have a 20 watt panel which seems to be working just fine so i would like to continue using it and add a 60-80 watt panel as well.

Series or Parallel?

Thanks

July 27, 2022

4 hours ago, aardvarkash10 said:

The old car truism is that you can have cheap, fast and good - pick any two. I'm guessing it holds true here too.

we have a 130W system utilising the 20A version of this controller from this supplier. Fit and forget. Reasonably programmable as long as you don't have some weird multi-chemistry battery bank.

Thanks very much for that. That model is one of the ones that i was looking at so that is very useful feedback.

Back story:

If i had a fully wired and instrumented keeler with multiple batteries, i would not hesitate to spring for the best, but I have a simple, low value (but dear to me) boat with a single deep cycle battery that doubles as starter battery for my electric start, long shaft outboard.

Starting the engine with the pull cord is not difficult so there is no point having a separate starting battery. Electric start is nice but the real reason i went for it was that for an electric start honda the charging coil (magneto?) delivers twice the amps to the battery as compared to the same motor supplied with pull start only. It actually does return a useful amount of charge to the battery but who wants their motor running more than is essential?

July 27, 2022

Hi all

I am wanting to bump up my solar on my Trailer yacht to 70 watts nominal. I don't have huge electrical installation and this amount will improve the current setup to meet my needs. (pun intended)

At present i have a cheap PWM unit with my smaller panel, but want the efficiency of a MPPT and also some sort of display would be nice. I don't want to pay victron prices. Trademe etc has lots of cheap controllers claiming to be MPPT, but are they in fact and are any of them any good?

Thanks

June 5, 2022

I use my non cellular S3 Galaxy Tablet regularly for GPS location using OpenCPN and the NZ chart set. I use it as an e reader so often use it on planes where if i am next to a window, the tablet will get GPS signal and i can see where we are and how fast we are going etc.

January 19, 2022

On 12/01/2022 at 7:10 PM, Winter said:

What are you going to do when the sky falls down? The average boat these days has 4 cell phones (nearly all of which are waterproof), a chart plotter or two, separate house and start banks so two power supplies, three if you count the solar.. I think there is enough redundancy in that.. I have spare fuses, chargers, a cell phone power bank as a backup. Work laptop is on board (incase of a snap lockdown) which has opencpn..

Perhaps years ago when there was only GPS, no Galileo or GLONASS etc. The yanks have removed selective availability as a feature set from their birds, and modern recievers are multi GNSS capable

The electronic toys are not going to pack up...

Maybe google Carrington event? Only 160 years ago and only recognised at all because there were primitive electrical systems. Similar events prior to that would not have been noticed necessarily.

Another Carrington event now could/would wipe out all satellites and most computer systems. You would need the paper charts to get home to find out that your bank now had no record of your wealth as they stopped keeping paper records years ago...

January 14, 2022

Thanks for the affirmations. I didn't report them but now wish i had.

I did have an encounter of another sort a few days ago. Motoring up channel at 5 knots which is max speed against outgoing tide for me, a powerboat passed me at estimated 25 knots and within 5 metres. (not 50metres!) Of course i gesticulated! Caught up with them at the ramp. Asked the skipper whether he was aware of rules. He wouldn't meet my eye, but his hatchet faced wife accused me of having an attitude problem.

I used to be against compulsory boat registration and skipper licencing, but i am changing my views! I have the video of this encounter, and would share it with HM if the boat had ID.

January 14, 2022

On 13/01/2022 at 9:25 PM, chariot said:

Dickheads end up ruining it for everyone.

Yes! This is true in so many areas. I am the first to say that civil disobedience in the face of bureaucratic incompetence is the duty of every citizen, but most of the rules such as no dogs in national parks are there for very good reasons. I love dogs and when i retire will probably adopt one, but i wont be trying to sneak it into the national parks.

January 14, 2022

9 hours ago, Psyche said:

are you saying the jetskiers need to be put on leashes?

I think you mean choke chains?

January 10, 2022

Me: solo in trailer yacht arrives Bark bay (Abel Tasman) after a hard upwind sail.

Him and her: in oversized tinny outboard thing with accommodation. They just get into the lagoon on rising tide before me and anchor in the north corner. (which is as far from permanently staffed Doc Ranger hut as possible to get) Now this was a spot was where i had been previous week and I calculated that I would dry out and re-float no problem on the neap. Further in the Lagoon may have been problematic on the neap tide and i did need to get home. It seemed there was room for two so after he had set up bow and stern anchor, I snuck inside and setup 30 metres or so from them saying hello and that i believed there was room for both of us in that pool.

Knackered, i retired below to a cold beer or two with intention of going over to be sociable.

Now contrary to the build up there was no conflict about space or anything like that. The Boats stayed in relative position no problems.

Suitably revived, i looked over to see them covertly hoisting their dog into the inflatable and taking it ashore to do its business- off lead. :-( This is a huge no- no in a national park. Bark Bay has been the scene of re establishment of endangered birds. I like dogs actually, but they are banned from National parks for good reason.

I didn't go and say hello and quite ruined my evening wondering whether i should wander over and have a word with the Doc Ranger, but who wants to be a nark?

I didn't, nark that is, but i did wake at 5.30 am and get out of the lagoon on an already falling tide. No sign of wakefulness from the other boat and i can only hope they missed the tide and had to spend all day waiting for the next.

What would you have done? (getting up earlier isn't the answer i am looking for :-) )

August 9, 2021

On 8/08/2021 at 2:00 PM, aardvarkash10 said:

Thanks to Crew member lateral, I got a piece of 10mm acrylic that looks like it would hold back the Apocalypse, and is large enough to replace the entire upper board, which it will now do.

I want to glue a lap onto the bottom of the sheet so that it overlaps the bottom washboard. I've cut a strip of the acrylic and routered its edges ready to glue on, but then I thought "what with?"

I figure cyno-acrylate, any other guesses or knowledgeable comments?

I just made a box shaped shower dome using 5mm acrylic. Following research the whole thing is glued up using superglue. No problem.

February 5, 2021

10 years ago i bought a $100 fishfinder with transom mount transducer for my glass over ply trailer yacht. As a trial, i bedded the transducer in a wadge of vaseline against the inside of the hull. I was careful to extract a lump of vaseline from the jar with no bubbles in it.

It worked so well, that it is still there and still working, and as opposed to epoxy, i can remove it and replace it if i need to with no drama.

I built an open top open bottom box to put around it so it doesnt get knocked, but honestly i havent touched the transducer since i installed it 10 years ago!

When i did this i didnt think vaseline would hold the transducer firmly enough for anything except a trial, but not the case at all.

Certainly satisfies the Kiss principal!

September 13, 2020

Combination chandler and hardware store in Greece. They had everything you could imagine in a space the size of a living room.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept is to find what you want.

June 2, 2020

Both give optimistic fuel use/heat output.

The maths ain't difficult: Lower calorific value of diesel is about 36.5 Mj/litre.

1 watt = 1 joule/second so for heat from 1 litre per hour of diesel =36500000 joules /3600 seconds = 10 kw

Claiming 5 kw for 0.1 litre/hr consumption is a bit of a stretch!

May 22, 2020

Shower domes work, but there are cheaper options:

I bought a sheet of perspex and made one using a wooden former and using hot air guns. Cost of perspex is not much, but it was suprisingly difficult to get enough heat even with two x 2 kw hot air guns.

So for the upstairs shower, i just glued some hardwood battens around the shower cubicle at the same height as the door frame and have a flat sheet of 3 mm perspex sitting on door frame and battens. No complaints about claustrophobia from me or my wife. It works. Can have a shower and the unheated mirror doesn't fog up. The perspex just sits there , it has no seals or anything sophisticated. It doesn't need a pressure seal or anything flash! It is easy to lift down and wipe clean as needed which is about once a month. Dust settling on the top is more of an issue than mould inside!

The principle of a shower dome is not rocket science. Well done Shower dome for monetising a simple concept, but any practical kiwi bloke can emulate at much less cost.

Cheers

John

January 9, 2020

When i firts rigged my new full batten main i thought i had made a tragic mistake: I had to winch it the whole way.

A few good squirts of silicone lube later, i could hoist the whole mainsail by hand and just use the winch for final luff tension.

Figure out your friction problems and deal to them.

Cheers

John

December 5, 2019

I havent seen this stuff for years but it was impressive!

https://www.marine-deals.co.nz/epoxy-resin-and-boat-repair/seal-once-sealant-cartridge

Salesman applied a bead of sealant to a piece of polished stainless steel (that i gave to him from our stocks) while it was under a running cold water tap!

we used it in wet industrial applications with good results.

No relationship at all...

October 20, 2019

I bought one of these in Australia last week.

Just back from Afternoon around the buoys racing where i wore it for the first time.

Its been a brilliant day here and usually my face would be glowing in spite of sunscreen , sunglasses and a wide brim hat.

Today my face is cool....

I thought it might be irritating to wear but it wasnt. Didnt interfere with vision nor communication.

So i am very pleased. Much interest from other sailors.

Some said that they felt a little intimidated when i was bearing down on them with just my eyes showing so that is also good ;-) .

September 20, 2019

Yip, threads are a freakin nightmare.

The type used depends on where the unit was made and what it is going to be used for. The US has their own range of threads, being NPT(national Pipe Thread). Brittan has theirs, being BSP(British Standard Pipe) and Europe tend to use Metric. So it is helpful to at first identify where something is made and that at least may give you a clue.

I agree threads are a nightmare.

As my stepfather used to say: "Everyone likes standards. Thats why we have so many of them!"

Actually the BSP standard was adopted into the metric system as ISO 7 and ISO 228.

ISO 7 generally relates to what used to be BSPT (British Standard Pipe Taper where a seal is formed on the thread as the male thread is tapered and tightens as you screw it in. ISO 228 relates to BSPP British Standard Pipe Parallel where the seal is not formed on the threads but on an end face gasket.

Still has the classic Whitworth thread form too!

(I regularly cringe as i watch todays "I did a 5 minute training course" tradesmen attempt to seal parallel threads with lots of thread tape.)

For stuff originating from Europe you will see these designated as:

G, external and internal parallel (ISO 228)
R, external taper (ISO 7)
Rp, internal parallel (ISO 7/1)
Rc, internal taper (ISO 7)
Rs, external parallel

with G and R being most common.

As for NPT, its like Trump. Should be kept within the USA and never exported. We are a metric country and NPT is not a metric standard so suppliers and importers have no business bringing this sh*t in.

Good luck

September 3, 2019

Maybe i missed something, and i am happy to be corrected, but:

I downloaded the YNZ Safety Regulations of Sailing 17-20 to use as a check list for pre season boat preparation.

My flare kit is well expired, so i was particularly interested in current requirements.

Suprised that parachute flares are no longer needed for a Cat 1 flare kit?

Even more suprised that the only requirement for parachute flares is for Trailer Yachts on open water events.

Page 76 for category 1- 5

18.7 Distress signals conforming to the current

International Convention for the Safety

of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Regulations to be

stowed in waterproof container(s), and

meeting the following requirements for

each category as indicated.

(a) Four red hand flares, additional

to those

in the liferaft.

Two red hand flares, additional to those in

the liferaaft.(

Two orange smoke flares

additional

to those in the liferaft.

Page 116 for trailer yachts category ABC

hand-held smoke torches and two parachute

rockets.

Is this right or an oversight?

Cheers

John

August 20, 2019

Sorry for the delay.

There are no gaskets. The two faces of the mating bulkheads pull in flat to each other and there is no leakage i am aware of.

Of course with beach landings , wet feet etc there is often a little watr in the bottom.

Handy hint: I deliberately put the gunwhales all on the outside of the sides if that makes sense. When you tip dinghy on its side to drain out water, every last drop falls out.

cheers

August 16, 2019

Sorry - not impressed.

demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic physics! The ropes to each side of each swing are differnt lengths, so as per Gallileos observations will have different periods. In practice meand that the seat will twist as it goes back and forth. Makes it unpleasant to use even if decorative.

To make it functional there should be a rigid extended mount downwards so that fo aech swing the ropes are the same length...

August 7, 2019

Yes i did use 9 or 10 mm ply for transoms and bulkheads.

I did fit a towing eye at the lowest point on outside the forrad transom. For very short hops i have towed using the internally connected painter, but for proper towing have a floating line with a snap shackle that i hook on to the outside eye.

Floating rope to minimise chance of prop wrap!

I normally pull the dinghy aboard for sailing along the coast in a decent sea breeze, but i have been deliberately towing in higher wind and sea conditions to see how that goes. So far so good. I take everything loose out of the dinghy and remove the motor, but have had no issues at all with towing. It just sits there following on behind...

Good luck.

August 5, 2019

Rolling and tipping can definitely rival a spray job, you need to have good paint and the right amount of reducer plus technique. Years ago a mate of mine rolled a boat with interspray and it came up absolutely mint, and that was before the "brushable" paints were around. Its done a lot in europe in areas where spraying is verboten but you need a few practice runs and youtube instruction.

You dont get anything for nothing, wraps may be perfect for you but dont kid yourself that it wont fade and it also needs to be replaced at the useby date unless you like spending your week with peeling of 2 inch bits

Hmm, - reminds me of a stainless steel tank that was supplied to a project in australia. The stainless sheet was supplied with a wrap to protect the surface. The fabricators removed strips to weld the strakes together as is standard practice. The project suffered delays and delays and the tank sat outside in the weather. Finally it was installed and people started trying to remove the wrap. Too late it had stuck firmely and degraded. Never mind 2 inch strips, that would have been doable. Picture instead, confetti stuck on with superglue! Many have tried with many solvents and scrapers, but half the tank is still carrying immoveable plastic wrap!

August 1, 2019

Thanks for the kind words, here are some answers;

Yes Kaiteriteri. I live not far away.

How I did the two halves was to make 2 bulkheads at the forrad side of the main seat /thwart. I used something like matchsticks which were same thickness as my favourite handsaw to space them apart then made the boat as per normal. I did enough on the outside with cable tie stitches to hold it all together then glassed in tape over thickened epoxied fillets on all internal joints.

The moment of truth was inserting said handsaw between the double bulkheads and literally cutting my boat in half! Then I did all outside finishing.

Attachment of two halves is by 3 off 12 mm stainless bolts. I welded the bolts onto big square ss washers and drilled holes in the washers for small screws to keep that end in place.

On the bow end , same big washers glued and screwed on. I made nuts by welding tags onto ss 12 mm nuts then encasing them between disks of kwila cut out with a big hole saw. They can be tightened by hand and most importantly they float!

In practice it is easiest to drop both halves into the water and then get into the stern section and join them in the water though you need to hold on to both painters. Photo shows what happens when you let go and the wind blows the bow section away!

Realistically this design will never have the stability of a blowup. but it takes 115 kg me and my similarly proportioned friend ashore without to many dramas. If you are young and slender like my son and the girl in the photo then even better.

One other point to make is that it does tow brilliantly without vices and seemingly minimal drag.

I reckon it cost $400 in materials all up.

I have been toying with doing a rebuild to make the same thing but a bit longer and maximising the space available. I reckon i could just about get to 10 ft.

I will check the actual weight and report back.

Cheers

July 31, 2019

D5 dinghy I built. Free plans on Internet. I believe i was first to make a nester out of it, though others have since done so.

http://bateau2.com/free/D5_free_m.PDF

I like it. Its actually a pleasure to row and i dont think anyone ever said that about an inflatable.

It fits on the fordeck of my Young 780 so will just about fit anything i guess.

It also tows really well and goes well with 3.6 hp motor.

Plywood is lighter than fibreglass in this application as the thickness you need for practical stiffness makes it so, although fibreglass is undoubtably stronger thickness for thickness.

I did the hull in 3 mm ply and put a single layer of glass on the bottom for abrasion protection.

Good luck.

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