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rjp

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Posts posted by rjp

  1. Definitely a sad day for the city as well.  The port was hanging on a bit as the 105miles up the Chesapeake added a lot of cost to carriers.  This could be the death knell.

    Over the years we sailed under that bridge many times, Also Wed night racing the harbour side for about a dozen years. It is a busy port and always fun.  Was often cat and mouse with the ship movements and interesting to see if anyone got an immediate disqualification from5 honks -and it did happen

  2. Thanks Wheels. I PM’d KM last week and had no response. The person who answered when I called earlier had no idea and KM wasn’t there that day. I clearly need to go back to TM and check what spelling I searched with as that is just too obvious.

     

     

    Two things you can try.

    I sent some tubes of a solid thick Lanoline grease to KM and Chains Ropes and Anchors. Call him to see if any is left.

    Failing that, search Trademe. For instance https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/parts-for-sale/lubricants-coolants/listing-2435416242.htm?rsqid=1be733dc6eaf4bd581fbf8f164ac3d9f-004

  3. Lovely sail up the coast today. 15 kn on the quarter and sunshine

     

    BP, where did you see those breezes?  We left Whangarei around 7am, saw 13 briefly on the quarter around Patau and rest of the way saw less than 10. Ended up motoring around Brett about 6 in a glassy sea.  Still a great day but never saw the 15+ that was forecast.

  4. Friends arrived at the atoll immediately after the grounding and then spent a couple of days trying to help with the refloat efforts.  They have expressed  that the skipper had been warned in simple language not to anchor their by the locals but had a 'I know best' attitude.  The result of not trusting local knowledge....

  5. We lived on the US East Coast for years (Maryland and further north).  I went through this process for more than a decade and never had a problem.  But, I kept the water in the tanks at a percentage of antifreeze that would be expected to form slush and not freeze solid (ratio depends not he batch and I would use the recommendations on the bottle).  My worry would be what happens when you dilute out the antifreeze in the lines with the fresh water -while you may not mix it intentionally a few weeks of freeze thaw in autumn before the big freeze will mix it pretty well (don't close the valves to the distribution lines as while the antifreeze wont freeze it will expand/contract with the temperature changes).  The treatment system is pretty forgiving but the biggest change, and surprise, in coming home was that I no longer had any growth issues in the tanks (clean filters vs always having some green slime) after a winter here.  This was despite always following a spring bleach, soak, rinse, soak, rinse, fill routine after getting rid of the antifreeze.  Good luck

  6. Thanks Frank.  I had passed on Mike Menzies name to them already but I had not done so with Hutcheson's.  An estimate had been given to them (not sure if it was someone in Opua or Whangarei) of $35k.  With that sticked shock I can understand why they are thinking of doing this themselves.  Thanks

  7. Friends have arrived in NZ from Germany and have an osmosis issue (late 80's Swan).  They are wanting to plane the hull back to bare glass, let it dry, fill/fair etc then apply barrier coat.  Having known them for more than a decade, sailed around the Atlantic with them, worked with them on keel repairs after a grounding, rewiring, plumbing and general maintenance I am confident they have the skills to do the job, just not the tools at present.  What we are trying to find now is either somewhere that they can rent a gelcoat planer or, if necessary, purchase one.  The fall-back position is to have one bought in Europe and sent over.  Any suggestions?

    Thanks.

  8. Surface temps are around 65ºF/18ºC right now (https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=m&ext=swt&type=N&hr=36 sidenote: I really miss having a gov't that obsessively tracks this data; NOAA is amazing)

     

    I know what you mean.  Having spent more than 2 decades in the US I too miss that government information availability.  Interestingly I have, with poking around, found there is a whole heap collected here in NZ but the big difference is no government agency (local or national) seems to proactively put anything they have collected out there for the public.  They all try to hide behind a 'user pays' or 'register before we show you' or even worse a 'we'll tell you if you file a FOIA request' curtain.  The US philosophy of your taxes paid for us to collect it so we'll make sure you can see/use it if you want to is much more enlightened and transparent.  

  9. Aren't we talking about the simnet lead on the back/inside of the deck plug fitting (what would be inside the boat) -also has power connection wires?    Or, has it changed and is it now directly on the TP32 and exposed in the cockpit?

     

    Yes I assume it would void the warranty on the deck gland fitting but thats just a fitting not the TP itself.  Isn't it pretty normal for any brand to tie into a backbone close to where the cable enters the hull?  I certainly dont recall any brand of tiller pilot I've worked on having a multi-metre length on their deck fittings.

  10. CH,  Its prob 8y since I encountered and solved this problem on a friends boat (Simrad IS20 wind & compass, Airmar DST800 depth/speed, Garmin MFD).  My memory is that the simnet cable has the exact same 5 [EDIT it is four wires and shield is the foil] wires in it as N2k.  We simply cut off the end of the extension signet cable and attached a field installable maretron n2k adaptor.  

     

    Confirmed by a quick search;  https://www.panbo.com/n2k-cable-mixing-not-a-big-woop/ 

  11. we were very similar to Clipper with our son.  The only extra thing we did was install a couple of pad-eyes so we could attach a car seat to the cockpit on the aft facing cabin end.  If the wind was enough to heel we put him in the seat.  he loved being able to see everyone and be involved.  for us not having to think/watch where he was crawling to just took one more stressor off.  worked until about 2.1/2

  12.  

    Stop generalising as the majority of owners need their people and take a lot of effort to look after their people and they have done that a lot long than the laws saying they must have existed. Making dumbarse statements like the above is no different than BP and AJ calling anyone not extreme lefties Nazis, f**king stupid, counter-productive and does the exact opposite of what they they are trying to achieve or say they are trying too. I spend a mother load more coin and time making sure my team are as safe as practicable than I do on my own kids. I would not be unusual in doing that.

     

    Clearly what I wrote was poorly worded.  It was not my intention to malign the companies owners nor to imply they didn't care about keeping/protecting employees.  I know from experience retaining a trained quality employee is ALWAYS cheaper and better than trying to replace them -No matter what the cause for their leaving.  It doesn't ever help an employer (or the bottom line) to have machinery broken due to improper use, to have staff numbers down due to stupid mistakes, to make people not want to come to work because conditions make them uncomfortable/scared.

     

    My intention was to suggest that for the employee it has much less effect on their pay check if they do something silly/stupid.  Labour practices make it harder to fire them and if they do injure themselves then ACC picks up much of the cost in immediate and long-term care.  From the employer side any increase in ACC levy is a lot smaller than loosing an insurance discount or having a policy dropped (remember in US no policy providing coverage to your employees/removing liability for accidents from the work-site owner = no work).  I would like to be proven wrong but I have not heard of an employer being shut down because their ACC claim rate is too high.  What I do see is huge added costs and added staff numbers that must be hurting productivity per employee despite no proven correlation to improved outcome.

  13. The ACC claims rate for workplace accidents has fallen from 158/1000 FTE to 107/1000 FTE from 2002 to 2016.  I'm not going to raise specific scenarios as for everyone I can dream up you can dream up a counter. I honestly dont know if all H&S changes over the past 20 years have been effective but the overall trend is showing us work places are safer now and fewer people are injuring themselves

     

    I only returned to NZ 3 years ago, after a couple of decades in the US East Coast, but those numbers seem appalling large -at times I worked home renovations, sailboat rigging, hi-tech facility fit-out.  US figures have been running at ~35 total recordable per 1000 (https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/ostb4732.pdf, data is per 100 in this table) with the 'construction/agriculture/dangerous' industries about double that.  

     

    Yes, Im sure you can argue the stats are measuring slightly different things but I have not seen, heard or observed a single case where productivity here has been better than I saw in the US.  Nor, have I heard any one else provide an example from their own perspective.   

     

    I propose that what you are seeing is many more people being employed on the site to satisfy H&S rules and a lower overall output/number of real workers.  I can't prove it for construction sites but I absolutely seem many more -probably double, workers on road sites than the US used AND it takes 2-3 times as long to get something done here.  As for home tasks: US -one person to paint a 300m2 2.5 story house vs NZ -4 people on job, plus scaffolders for same sized house.  Price difference 4 fold (allowing for exchange rates and paint cost).  In the US it was between the worker and their insurance company (as the homeowner or company owner you absolutely checked the worker carried their own insurance and they were responsible not you for their own actions).  The person doing the work took the risk if they wanted to and were in hindsight much more careful about what they did.  Here I see hopeless scaffolding, poor load handling etc all the time.  There almost never as if you screwed yourself up physically then you couldn't work and there was a consequence and liability.  Here no consequence to pay check, no immediate/personal liability to company/owner so why bother changing/taking care.

  14. We were having problems with Seagulls in the BoI and Swallows back here in Whangarei.  For the last 3 seasons we have had 2 Gullsweeps installed (1 hanging in fore triangle and 1 on boom, 10.5m boat) and have been dropping free. So far after 2 summer seasons they are holding up fine in the UV. Long term -too soon to tell.  When we lived on the E Coast of the US I knew people who had had them for 6-10 years and they still worked (out all year).  A bit pricy in NZ but can be ordered direct and if buying 2 it is cheaper. 

  15. Wheels said: 

    BUT PLEASE NOTE: If the boat is sitting, the Hull will get dirty. DO NOT expect the surface to remain clean. It ONLY CLEANS when the boat is underway. If you want clean while sitting in the Marina, then the only other type is self ablatives.

     

    This has been our experience as well.  But, I would caution that we have found that when there is silt in the water, that in turn settles on the hull like a tan slime layer' then nothing really works.  A self ablative won't properly erode/dissolve away if it gets a coating over it.  Unfortunately in Parua Bay this is what we live with and a self-ablative's price premium becomes a waste of money.

     

    Beccara said:

    We get a decent brackish water flow with the river but fouling really took off in the past 4 months with barnacle growth that's solid to the hull and not moving away without a scraper.

     
    We are in Parua Bay and have had the same barnacle growth in the last 10 weeks along the waterline on the Port side (normally the shady side and away from the sun but also the side exposed to the incoming current (food, larvae)).  The prior clean (mid-May) had silt/slime but no fresh barnacles.  The latest clean (a week ago) had a solid layer of 2-3mm barnacles in the 50-80mm closest to the waterline.   Our Sea Barrier-4000 ( 2-3 coats, blue) is 2 years old now and getting ready to be repainted in the next couple of months.  We give the boat a carpet wipe every 3-4 weeks during the warmer water months and now the water is cooler every 8-12 weeks. While that is a pain in the backside it is the best option as the combination of silting up and our slow speed (sail 6k, motor 5k) means neither soft paints or self-ablatives can perform as designed.
  16. Nah - don't buy that.  Most 'old farts' would actually love to see more younger people on their management committees - at least that's the case in the three clubs I'm a member of

     

    Not so sure about that when push comes to shove.  Yes availability of free time and disposable income is a critical element.  But, I think there is much more 'whats in it for me' now compared to the 60's, 70's and 80's.  I have seen more than once, and sailing friends at different clubs have said the same thing, the older members stymie expenditures/plans that won't benefit them directly.  The refrain 'if it lasts 5-10 years thats good enough as i'll be gone by then' seems to be heard pretty commonly.  Spend money on new training boats, provide free or subsidised membership to high school or young adults -No way.  But spend a magnitude more dollars to improve the dock/ramp so they can get into/onto it more easily and they are all over that -especially if the debt is paid off over time and there is a chance it will outlive their membership.  The 'leave it better than you found it' or 'do something to help a mate' quotient is much lower now I believe.  This is in no way unique to Yacht Clubs but seems now to be entrenched in the Kiwi culture.  The recent thread on trade me quality/pricing/sellers bears this out.  If I can get away with it and make a killing then thats what I'll do damn it.  One thing leads to another....

  17. I used to use YouShip regularly but changed to Ship2U.co.nz about a year ago.  I have been much more impressed with their repacking and multi-parcel consolidation compared with YouShop.  They have agents in Auckland (are part of Aon) and have been quick to respond to questions and to answer phone calls.

  18. I have been using a Genasun GV-10Pb controller on a Solbian SL-80 panel for 6 years.  I have been very happy with the Genasun performance and also their support (even since Blue Sky purchased them).  The one limitation that may affect your ability to use them in series is that there is a 34Vmax on the regulator.  

     

    180S -where are you planning on getting the Genasun (I was living in the US when I purchased these pieces)? 

  19. A spoonful of brown sugar will take care of any urine (amonia) smells if you are using a larger container over a longer period.

     

    We find a few Tablespoons of white vinegar in the empty pee bottle before installing in does the trick.  We also use a 1:5-1:10 diluted white vinegar as a spray to wipe out the bowl of any urine drops or #2 streaks after use.  That loo paper joins the used in the dry waste that we bag every 2-3 days.  With this regime we have not had any smell from the head, pee bottle or solid waste.

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