AlastairW

Just been through this discussion elsewhere for a land based application, and apparently full bottles must be stored upright at all times because the contents of the bottle MIGHT affect the valve...…… More OSH doodah. Personally, having spent many years operating mountain huts and having 70 odd cylinders stored on their side outdoors for up to 2 years, we never once found it a problem.

Dr W, I can flick you through the data sheets if you want, but you'll no doubt find them on the net easily enough. Efficiency is good as compared to an FLA, they can regularly be discharged to 50% with no undue effect, can be taken down to 100% discharge and will recover well, and, important for a solar set-up, can be left at a less than full state of charge for some time without deteriorating. Not sure I would go mixing them with different types of batteries, that's never been a good idea. pricing will vary, but is about what you would pay for a good AGM of comparable size, but the lead c

I've sailed across the Atlantic on smaller commercial cargo boats than that, and worked on passenger boats with less comms gear !!

If you can wait a few months for more information, I'm going to be replacing my now ageing FLA's at home with a bank of Lead Crystals, and might be able to give you first hand experience. We're off grid, solar with back-up generator for occasional use in Winter. Pricing isn't bad, projected lifetime charge/discharge curves look pretty fair, and they will take a bit more abuse than an FLA. The distributor I work with down here is no longer stocking any other type of battery, his experience with them has been so positive, and I do actually trust this guy.

I remember going to a talk he gave on that trip. A very humble and captivating man. His voyage was far more inspiring than Chichester's - he just did it in the family boat.

I'm with Wheels on this. Easiest thing to do, no additional bits or alterations to wiring, Why complicate things, and by the time you start taking your time into account and buying all the bits for other options, probably no more expensive.

What makes of DSC equipped VHF sets cause this issue? My DSC equipped Uniden (the second one I've had), has never had this problem. I was a marine electronics officer back in the late 1970's when DSC was starting to be fitted to ships, and used by coast stations. Thought it was great then, it's infinitely more versatile and useful these days. As Kiwifish says, you need to know how to use the gear you have.

Having been brought up with real CQR anchors and never really having any trouble with them (other than the odd snagged finger, and some gentle dragging at times), I thought they were the business, until I got a Rocna for the last boat. Immediately it felt more secure, first from the ease of setting, then over time, never dragging. Sometimes had the odd problem breaking it out when raising the anchor though. For the current boat we went the Excel way, and will not be changing. Sits on the bow well, launches no problem, sets immediately, holds fast, and is easier to break out of the bottom when

Recently bought a new Tri-Radial Laminate Main and Yankee for our 12.8m boat. Main is 37sqm, Yankee 29sqm. Made in NZ (Auckland). Main was roughly 1/3 more expensive than the Yankee. Main fully battened with 3 reef points and extra reinforcing, Yankee roller furled with an insert on the luff. Well made solid sails with a lovely shape.

Well, we finally managed to get the new sails fitted to Wild Bird, and although time will tell, first impression is very favourable. Sails arrived in Dunedin from Auckland on Dec 28th. Battens arrived a day later, but then they are a bit of an awkward shaped package and had to be specially handled. Wild Bird however, was in the boatyard having the gearbox rebuilt, so we weren't actually able to get the sails on the mast until this weekend just past. The Yankee went onto the roller with no trouble, looks like a well made sail to my eye, we never discussed an insert on the luff when orde

The dairy in the main street in Port Chalmers. Not only do they do big ice creams, they have the best dollar mixtures ever!

The Armare stuff that CRA sells is brilliant. Not cheap, but worth spending the extra on. We replaced all the halyards on Wild Bird with it, handles really well, and has minimal stretch. Using a similar length to what you are looking at.

A wee update on where we are with the new sails. After much hand wringing, asked half a dozen sailmakers for rough pricing and advice about materials etc. Large and smaller lofts. Four got back to me, and of those, two (Calibre and Evolution) actually gave us advice and proposed specifications for the sails. Evolution were suggesting a set of tri-radial cruising laminates, Calibre a set of crosscuts. Having spoken to both, I was perfectly happy with both proposals, and the prices were close enough not to make that an issue. After a bit of thought, we've gone with the tri-radial lamina

Thanks folks Appreciate the help so far, and still have an open if cynical mind......

Time to bite the bullet............. Need to get a new suit of good cruising sails, and, there seems so much glossy marketing doodah about when you go searching on the interweb, that I kind of get put off. So, any suggestions as to who to approach for quotes, and, equally, who to avoid? Quality is at least as important as price - I want something that will take a bit of hard use.

Ah, an Oceanspan and a couple of Atalantas........ Only had one Atalanta on my first boat. Did have a similar haircut though!

I've been using Outback at home for 7 years now and can also testify to how good they are. Expensive - yes, but you get what you pay for. I believe that their devices are indeed made in China, and there is IS a knock-off, which you can buy on Trade Me. Looks exactly like the real thing, doubt if it performs in the same way. Have to go with Wheels on it being a waste of money having two discreet 50W systems. Unless you have both panels mounted in the same plane side by side you're going to be losing the ability to maximise output, and the chances of getting 4 amps out of the whole syste

You get them for about 20GBP less than that from a couple of retailers, and by the time you get the 20% VAT back too......... But in 360's defence, they probably got their stock when the exchange rate wasn't as favourable as it is now.

Just brought one of those back from the UK for fitting to The Bird. Was a fraction of the cost over there. And it stood up to the rigours of international travel in the hold of numerous planes and assorted baggage handlers without a problem! The NASA gear seems quite popular over there, not flashy but functional seems to be the general opinion. Aiming to get it onto the mast this weekend.

Was there not a yacht lost in there many years ago when it tried to use the bay for shelter in a big Southerly?

What you actually need to do when the noise control doodahs come round, is get them to go and measure the noise level at the complainants property. Your lawn mower might well have a maximum sound output of 95dB, but from memory, that is the level measured at a distance of 1metre. Again, I can't recall off the top of my head what the attenuation of sound in free air is, but there's a good chance that the sound generated by the mower has been attenuated over distance to below the 75dB allowed. AND you get to find out which of the neighbours is being a pain....... For comparison, normal speec

I'm just looking at getting some. Have been talking to AA Solar, and the ones they have been selling have had problems with the connection onto the panel element failing in a few cases. Consequently, they are selling their stock at a discount, but with no warranty. Since I'd rather not have a panel even partially fail on me at sea, where I might be reliant on it, I'm not buying any from them. Nothing against AA Solar, rest of their stuff is no doubt perfectly good. All my panels at home are made in China, and we have no issues with them. It's not about the country of origin, it's about

We have a Taylors diesel heater. Absolutely great, easy to use, simple, economical to run. Unfortunately no agent in NZ, but the company (UK based) are great to deal with, and, the exchange rate is pretty good just now.

I think Waimanu was on a mooring in Deborah Bay beside our Nova "Silhouette" for a while, wondered where she had gone, now I know ! There was a post here earlier about weather helm developing quickly on the Nova. I found that too initially, but changing the headsail in plenty of time sorted that out. At first I was tempted to carry the No1 Genoa for longer than I really ought, because there didn't feel to be any risk of breaking anything, but she did become quite heavy on the helm. Started to become more proactive with my sail changes though, and the boat was far more balanced and fun to

Just as a matter if curiosity, what sort of speed are you expecting to get from a Nova in any given wind and see condition? Personally, sailing ours down here in the open seas off the East Coast of the South Island, with sails set to suit the conditions and maintain handling, I was pretty happy to be doing somewhere around 6-7 knots off the wind. Yep, have gone faster, but that was pressing the boat hard. It's a 28ft cruising boat, with a waterline length about 6 foot less than that. Built for strength and sea keeping, not speed.