ballystick

RaceQs trackers give coverage using Google Earth background which looks great but I think it is not being supported by developers anymore due to lack of income possibly. Still able to be used at present though luckily.

We had racing insurance from FMG but when we failed to pull on the backstay and the top of the mast folded forward we were denied insurance because we didn't hit anything or have a fire! An expensive mistake not to read the fine print!

We had a great weekend at the Mercs on Labour Weekend as part of the Legends Regatta. Lovely evenings with no wind and nice sea breezes during the day for the races. Here is a picture one of my crew took at the entrance of the Cove

I use the Hempels Globic NCT and that seems to be pretty good, similar to old Micron 66 but much cheaper and better than Altex No.5. It's supposed to work even when there is no water movement

We had a great weekend at the Mercs on the long weekend but whilst cooking pizza the oven door (Plastimo) and surroundings became so hot the chef received some burns from the door and safety latch, is this common?

Despite all the other stuff, I really like the articles by John MacFarlane, really interesting and often full of great technical advice.

Have you checked the radiator cap and where it seals, a common problem in older Subarus, they just spit out heaps of coolant that looks to be overheating and erode the sealing ring surface on the radiator as well? I'd try another cap and make sure it sits on the filler mouth area with good pressure, a tricky problem!

I looked at several E1050's in Auckland about a year ago, Sniper is a class above them all, it has been well maintained and is well fitted out for cruising. It has a really good keel and goes upwind like nothing else. It wasn't for sale when I was looking, It was built as the plug for the production 1050s I think.

Hi Dan, I checked out your Facebook page and I see you have had some amazing adventures. Looks like you are living the dream and exploring everything the South Is. has to offer and more (Chathams) Keep it coming, I hope to visit some of those spots within the next 5-10 years so I'll keep an eye out, cheers Andy

You've done a great job on Meister, I hope you can pass it on to another Crew.orger.

Thanks IT, I have 2 separate freezers (port and starboard) one of which has a smallish fridge attached using the cold from the freezer attached from one, the system uses an engine compressor. I would like to have one freezer that freezes and the other to stay as a fridge without freezing everything if the compressor is left on too long. I tend to end up freezing stuff like bottled beer accidentally which is not ideal, when in port or at anchor I would like to have an operational fridge or freezer by inserting a cooling plate into the space rather than using the eutectic system as I have seen i

I would like to know if anyone has converted a freezer to a fridge when there is another freezer in the same system? Currently I have a dual freezer unit that have brine tanks I think and they have an engine driven compressor etc. Also, has anyone installed an electrically powered cooling element to keep the contents cold without having to start the engine every 6 - 12 hours?

I once replaced the head gaskets of an Alfasud Veloce Sprint, after running it for a while there was a massive fog bank gathering behind the vehicle on it's first road test as the coolant vapourised. I was in shock, however, I persevered as I thought my job was completed correctly so I took it for a half hour road test and finally the fog disappeared and the vehicle was returned to the owner. It had me worried for a while though and mainly through an experienced service manager backing me meant that I didn't disassemble it again.

Anyone know of the whereabouts of Truxton? It was right up with Coppelia who have finished but no news of Truxton??

A Charger 33 was sailed to NZ about 15-20 years ago from S Africa via the Atlantic and Panama Canal by Norge Kennedy of Tauranga and his family including 2 children (Bruce Kennedy - a very good youth sailor from Peter Burling age) and stayed here for a few years before heading south. He would know a fair bit about it but as far as I knew he rated it highly. I think it was called Irish Mist.

The boat had Coppercoat from new, unsure what was under that. I far as I knew it was the first coating. Micron 66 Black was applied directly to that coat because the Coppercoat wasn't working. The keel had to be coated lightly or not at all except for the bulb to avoid it being stuck in the raised position. All coats we put on was Micron 66 subsequently.

That was early Micron 66, subsequent coats didn't seem to have the same punch as far as staying clean. But adhesion and finish on the Coppercoat (which was next to useless) was great!

I applied Micron 66 over Coppercoat with great results, good finish and it seemed to stay active for far longer than any subsequent recoats on our R930

There are not many outboards that would fit in that well of your board due to size limitations, I'm pretty sure the Yamaha 9.9 is too bulky. It was made for an Evinrude which was lightest at the time and quite compact. 2 strokes use heaps of fuel when cruising and their fumes cause engines to run roughly or even stop so if you can get a more compact 4 stroke to fit in it would be best, also ensure that there is adequate ventilation, a bilge blowing fan made a big difference to engine reliability in the well of the 930

Thanks Matt, I may have updated it, there doesn't seem to be an update button on my phone app, maybe, but possibly the charts haven't been updated as they don't seem to have changed

How do I update my base chart with Jan 2018 file when using OpenCPN? Tauranga Harbour has had several mark changes (e.g. C4 deleted) and the channel has been dredged and I would like to think the 2018 update would include these changes but it either doesn't have it or I am doing something wrong