marinheiro

What do people think about the pro's and con's of integrating AIS (and other electronics for that matter) as against stand alone eg from Vesper's range standalone: Watchmate 850 and Vision integrated: XB-8000 The obvious pro for integration is potentially being able to display all info (chart/radar/AIS)on a single screen, the con being if that screen goes down you have nothing. Other thoughts??

just a comment on terminology, the AIS units used in maritime are "Tranceivers". They are transmitting continuously. A Transponder, as used in aviation, only transmits in response to an incoming signal. Even the Vesper site is incorrect in this respect Some AIS units can also transmit additional data when "queried", but this is a secondary function. Re radar reflectors, most are a waste of time and weight aloft, something like this is better option (in addition to an AIS transceiver) http://www.sea-me.co.uk/

Both would be good value, with a focus on the first(prep) to avoid the situation of the second (abandonment)

the AIS VHF signal is at a higher frequency than the marine VHF cannel and hence a standard VHF aerial may not perform well for AIS. Options are a second dedicated AIS aerial or this aerial from Vesper (manufactured by Pacific Aerials) - I fitted one for "future proofing" http://www.vespermarine.com/antennas-splitters/shared-ais-antenna.html/

an excellent evening Matt, thanks for the effort in preparing and giving the presentation. Look forward to the next one Alan

For me the most important thing is not to go overboard in the first place. In an offshore shorthanded situation the chances of a. being found and b. being recovered are not good. Remember super experienced guys like Rob James and Eric Tabarly, even when crew found them they could not get them onto the boat.

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/recreational/flotation-clothing?country=25

A better option if you plan to travel down the coast is to check out from Coffs Harbour. Lord Howe is on the rhumbline between there & Cape Reianga

Prevailing wind at that time of the year down to about 30 deg S is SE'ly (check out the pilot charts), exactly the direction you want to go, northerlies do not typically kick in until November/December.

consumption somewhere between 0 - 0.1 ahr

Another option for a battery monitor is this from Blue Sea https://www.bluesea.com/products/1801/Vessel_Systems_Monitor_VSM_422 I selected it because it can monitor DC and AC with a single instrument (BEP's cannot do this)plus it has the tank gauge and other options. I also have separate ammeters on the outputs of both alternators, very Handy to see what they are up to. You can purchase NZ made ammeters and voltmeters from Carel-Electrade http://www.carrel-electrade.co.nz/ They were OEM suppliers to BEP in the 80's and my original gauges function perfectly

Jim Young's self published book "Jim Young - designer, boatbuilder, sailor" hit the shelves this week. Great Reading and many good stories, some we knew and some new - like how he "sourced" the planking for his first X-Class. He gives special credit to Daniel Johnston(Tango) and Gary Baigent for helping make the book happen I bought mine at Boat Books ($80), expect they are in other shops as well

Talking to Coastguard people the majority of call outs are initiated by VHF calls, then those from mobile pones. Very few from EPIRB's in Coastguards área of ops. Similar to Dr Bob, I have not been able to understand why there is no formal covergae of DSC in NZ. It is of note in USA where the Coastguard does provide DSC monitoring there are regular comments about the low "takeup" of DSC, ie people not obtaining an MMSI number or connecting a GPS to the VHF radio. As a fall back one of these handheld VHF's could come in very Handy, particularly if the aerial of your fixed VHF is pointing at

there is a guy in Australia doing solid looking Kubota marinisations http://wm-diesel.com/ could be worth talking to. There is also Beta Marine out of UK who lean towrds replacement (rather than OEM) engines and are prepared to make custom mounts

good article here on the subject, http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/term ... mall_wires

Wheel, 30mA is a European set average from IEC standards to balance between nuisance level of tripping and a reasonable (but not absolute) level of safety to an adult. USA takes a more conservative approach for power sockets If you want to read on some of the research & conclusions check out http://www.nfpa.org/~/media/Files/Resea ... onding.pdf with a relevant paragraph on page 26 "Of particular interest is the let-go threshold because a person unable to break the current path may be exposed to the shock current “indefinitely” potentially resulting in severe burn injuries and death

actually Smithy, the RCD's should be rated at 30mA. But part of the problem is 30mA is a rating for equipment protection, not personnel protection. Studies principally in USA have set the threshold rating for personnel protection at 5mA (they test this by having volunteers in swimming pools and running currents thru them to test reaction, I hope they are well paid). This is why even in your bathroom at home the power points should have 10mA RCD sockets (5mA sockets are not available in NZ) The other issue to consider is that RCD's are land based technology which have been transplanted to the

We should perhaps think about whether it is safe for anyone to be swimming/diving in a marina. This article, allowing some points relating to its USA origins, explains why not http://www.tri-statemarine.com/uncatego ... -drowning/ Think about the number of power leads you see in the water as your walk along the marina and wonder, even with an Electrical WOF, just how secure are all boats electrical installations. I have seen a couple of boats on the hard after a "fizzing" episode, would not have been healthy to have been in the water close to these at the time In the past I used to dive on

sadly Brasil's reality, most cities have large áreas that do not have proper sewage reticulation, and most people rich or poor just do not care where they throw their rubbish. We have a beautiful lake in Belo Horizonte, Lagoa Pampulha, decades ago people used to sail on it but a capsize guaranteed hepatitis and no one except the rubbish collection boats goes out on it now. Unfortunately you can guarantee any public Works Project in Brazil costs doublé what it should do because of the corruption by contractors, politicians and bureaucrats. There are half finished projects all round the count

Poms did the same thing on a smaller scale in Australia, first the Montebello islands off the northern coast of WA and subsequently Maralinga in Sth Australia. Fallout from the Maralianga tests passed over populated áreas including Adelaide where future British prime minister to be Tony Blair was living as a child. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/ ... 21707.html In spite of his mother dying of thyroid cáncer most likely caused by the fallout, whilst PM he continued the line that the tests had not had any effects on servicemen or civilian poulation. Typical hypocritical pollie

if you have not already bought a replacement, it would be worth checking with Grant Nilsson about refurbishing yours. The V3000 is way over built compared to anything on the market now. Grant can make up new bits and can also fit a reversible motor as well, as long as the gear box is in good shape. I have one as well, 25yrs old and only needed the motor looking at after all that time. The motors are a modified Lucas starter motor so are of course a bit of a weak link......

animated view at http://earth.nullschool.net/ Drag the area north of NZ to the centre of the screen and scroll the mouse to make the image larger or smaller. Double click any spot on the map and you will see a reading in the bottom left of the wind speed and direction. This is in real time wind around the world but you should refresh the screen now and then.

It was missing at Xmas, maybe washed away?

for sure the currency situation does not help, but I think the key reason is very simple, the people (or their companies) who would normally build these superyachts in general aren't spending and the used market is saturated. Even perennial Alloy spec client Neville Crighton does not have one on the go which speaks for his view of the market. On the other hand if you can find the right niche, distance/currency does not always appear to have an influence - consider Dashew's FPB series being built in Whangarei. They are finishing off the last of 10 64's, the 97 is progressing well, Dashew's own

Another option is the Davidson 37. Alot more built in Australia as the Cav 37/39, Kay Cottee circumnavigated in a Cav 37 http://www.taurangaboatsales.co.nz/davidson-37/ I would not consider the Farr 38 for offshore cruising, great boat with a race crew but bit of a handful for the family offshore.