marinheiro

Just curious, given the dreadful weather over the last weeks, as to how many have got away from NZ to the islands. I see on the yit site a fair few who must have left NZ up to 10 days ago at or close to their destinations but no one else on their way. I also heard (unconfirmed) that the big yellow cat El Citron has lost her mast - again. very sad for them

have a look at Seafarer as well http://www.nkconsultancy.co.nz/nk-services.html locally made from the German material

there was a long discussion a while back about claiming back GST when exporting a boat, and the short answer is, except for very special circumstances, that there is no avenue to claim the GST back when exporting a second hand boat from Australia and NZ. GST can only be claimed by the original builder on export builds. Remember if you are buying in Aus, you are potentially losing 10% on value to FOREX, have the delivery costs and will then be up for 15% GST on arrival in NZ. Might want to have another look at the local market.

Diesel stoves are good in cold climates, not so good in temperate or tropical because they give off alot of heat into the cabin area. Induction is good if you have a big battery bank (eg Dashew boats) and/or a generator, but running a genset to boil the kettle is a hassle. Yes LPG has to be managed correctly, like so many other things we use, but the installation is not so difficult - most of the compliance items eg sealed draining locker and correct piping and hoses are just common sense. There is no retrospective application of the regs at present as there is no gas WOF.

Scottie, I was advised that the gas locker is supposed to have an air inlet of approx 75mm and a drain of 19mm, per the code AG 601 - have not seen this in writing. I asked what the intent of the air inlet was - advice was this was to stop condensation/humidity in the locker. Mine is stone dry so I am not cutting another hole in the boat.

Matt, As you know I had some gas work done before Xmas (the morning of Xmas Eve to be precise!) This consisted of replacing the flexible hoses at the bottle and stove ends, new regulator and solenoid and removing the Califont, with a pressure test.. Following this work I was issued a certificate by a third party (not the gas fitter) titled "Gas Fitting Certificate of Compliance - Gas safety Certificate" Gas fitting work was done by Aquaplumb - Malcolm Pollard

Looks like they are in a transition phase towards introducing a VAT http://www.pwc.com/nc/en/doing-business-in-new-caledonia/corporate-taxation-guide.html there are also Import Taxes and Duties referenced elsewhere. Best to get some local advice

It may be worth contacting the marinas you intend visiting to see if this insurance is required or not. If yes, ask if they can recommend some local insurers. I doubt if any blue water insurer would want to provide 3rd part PL only as no money in it for them, however you could ask Pantaenius if this is possible http://www.pantaenius.com.au/en/insurance-service/solution-for/bluewater-sail-motor.html

It was dredged a couple of years back so should be ok. The most shallow spot is where Henderson creek meets the channel, and there is a bump just outside the marina entrance. As long as you are 2 hrs either side of low tide you will be ok

Years ago Maxwell recommended Wynns Viscotene to me for their winches http://www.wynns.eu/product/viscotene/ not sure if it is still available in NZ. I have found it very good

Sadly Fred, "the tricky plumber", passed away in Auckland Hospital earlier this week. There is a funeral service at BBYC on Friday. Another of the old guard moving on. Condolences to his family.

No problem living aboard at Fairway Bay, however getting a berth there now is a missión - Grant has a long waiting list.

This is a bit of a follow on from a discussion I had with Bad Kitty at Xmas. Hope to head off this winter for a typical cruise - Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, maybe Solomons and New Caledonia. On the Electronic side I have C Map on a plotter, and OpenCPN running the LINZ chart set and CMAP 93. On the paper side an eclectic set from the late 80's that came with the yacht including Fiji F5 and Pickmere's Yasawa charts. Tonga is covered by LINZ, New Cal by the French charts. Fiji seems to be a mix of their own and Admiralty. Vanuatu appears really dodgy with a lot still based on 1800's lead line surv

Did Stratosphere ever get salvaged and repaired?

Looks like it is in Australia, possibly Perth from the style of the house?

IB, which model Iridium phones were you running? Are you saying the older one with external aerial worked better than the newer one with external aerial? I have an old 9500 with external aerial and am looking for feedback if that may be adequate for basic data comms. Thanks

for small quantities I have got by quite happily using various size spoons, if you do not have any to spare in the cutlery drawer, hop down to the local Hospice/Sallies op shop.

I had a Merlin but it died and was junked. Problem with them was if you did not keep the battery current they lost the programming and data. It was designed by a surveyor in Perth, Mike Pepperday. He updated my Merlin after it had lost its programming, later it would not switch on at all. If you can find an operational one I believe Boat Books in Sydney can reprogramme it

If you want it checked/serviced, Dave the compass man in Bayswater can do it

Carboline's Isotal enamels are good and reasonably priced

I suspect on balance Coastguard prefer the status quo - they certainly have no problem obtaining flash boats but a shame (in Auckland) they are too mean to buy their crews tee shirts - because with government funding comes all the fish hooks that equals bureaucratic control. RNLI take the same view in UK - last thing they want is the government involved.

I have just installed some Vybar and certainly pleased with the results - it was recommended by a launch builder who needs to silence very large engines. Apart from its acoustic performance it does not fall apart after a few years, which the Forman and Pyrotek products tend to do. It is about 30% more expensive.

It is not just the marine industry, just about everyone is closed - I drove thru Albany this arvo and almost all the trade outfits are closed. As Wheels said, everyone has been flatout up to Xmas - I had my gas system finally finished on Xmas eve and that job had been on the guy's books for weeks, so you can reasonably expect he is going to want to use his own boat over Xmas rather than sit round waiting for a possible job. There are exceptions, especially when you have a captive audience - back in the 80's when most people had compressor driven fridge/freezers, the Paihia fridge techo used

another view on Gaza http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/03/the-truths-of-the-gaza-war-revealed/

Surely the incident is a reminder to only go to sea in a seaworthy vessel of a suitable size for the area you will be passaging. Safety gear is important but should be regarded as secondary to basic seaworthiness