marinheiro

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

You can also get the Lucas - CAV 296 with the head mounted manual fuel pump, however Racor with its spin on filter is less likely to leak than the CAV (the latter perhaps reinforcing its English heritage).