idlerboat

Great stuff IT.. It may be of interest to some people that AIS signals being picked up by satellite is in fact a happy accident. It was never intended to be the case, but due to the fact that it is "line of sight" and the atmosphere has less interference as you go higher, it has ended up working. As IT has said, the standard class B system is right on the edge of reasonable reception but newer versions should sort that out making a ready made very cheap global tracking system. It has been a huge success with commercial shipping companies because suddenly an existing and legally necessary syst

Please be awareWind gusts can be 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height.

Like with any fuel burning stove , make sure you have good ventilation (and dont use it as an overnight heater). Overtime kero burning will give your boat a distinct smell. Most owners dont notice it.. You can now get diesel heaters (external flue, blower types for under $300 !!) There are thousands of them being made in China and are basically webasco copies. And to to the tilley lantern heaters.....beware !! the original mantels of the heaters are asbestos. (I collect Tilley lamps : ) )

Built in float bags were quite common in the 70,s They often took the space under the sette seats and had their own gas bottles attached (Like a slightly larger version of a dive pony bottle) . I remember reading an American sailing mag in a dentist that advertised them I think they fell out of favour because of the amount of space they took up and the vigilance needed to make sure nothing was stacked on top of them. A serious fire on board would make the use of them a bit of a problem.....

That is very likely what it is.... !! Here in the land of Oz we are going through a very major set of changes. The majority of anything to do with boats, is going to be regulated for the whole country by the one governing body. This has involved many months of discussions as state by state rules get amalgamated into a national set of rules and standards. (and the wish list of the new body gets stacked on top of that as well ) These new standards cover everything from qualifications to survey regulations. (including even the marine rescue sector). New course structures for marine quali

I may have mentioned this elsewhere...but anyway.. A while a go we did a serious test of flares versus electronic flares.. We used two vessels at different distances off shore and a heap of shore based "posts" spread for many miles to record what they saw. Fist thing...the electronic ones have a ways to go .. Second the old school flares could be seen by the posts.. Third thing... Melbourne is a very big city with a lot of people...and a lot of those people live and work around Port Phillip Bay.. Not a single report was received by the emergency services of a flare .... But yet it was

Yep...put it on !! A rough rule of thumb with most soft ablatives is one coat will give you a safe 10 months. .. But if you have 5 knots running through twice a day on your mooring ........... The paint thickness has to be even though.....work in set small areas and get up a rhythm.. You should put even more on the leading and trailing edges...around the prop and along the water line. Dont dry sand. You need to remove any excess salt and the immediate surface of the old paint (if it is all in good condition) Removing lots of existing antifoul with hard sanding is just removing useful p

Have an EPIRB. ....and dont be afraid to use it. We in the rescue services dont like not finding people.....and bodies on beaches really upset a lot of people. Including us.

MOBs best friend.. Latest Ambo Chopper (5.5 tons) coming in over our rescue vessel. They do direct extraction from in water or straight off our aft deck. We have to lower our roof antennas so their wheels dont touch them !! When I am driving its hard not to duck...the rotor force adds 2.5 knots of boat speed to us...

its very difficult !! Its important to remember that a very large mount of people cant climb rope ladders.... They think they can until they try when they are cold...the boat is rolling in a swell and the ladder curves against and under the hull..(meaning they MOB has to lift a larger proportion of their body weight with their arms.) Fold down rigid ladders with at least three steps under water is a start for MOBs who have the ability. Chances are the vessel will now be beam on and "Rolling like a Bastard"... If the MOB is not capable of self retrieval it gets much harder. Even on a de

.....measuring rigging stretch is a reasonable way of checking tension.... you can find a wire size to stretch tables on the internet. The actual measured distance matters only as a fraction of the calculation. (and the longer the distance the more accurate) Otherwise use a Lews guage.. (loos) .. They are not hard to make if you want. Snatch loads on rigging is bad ! ( slack tension) BUT..there is a surprising amount of boats that when you start to get the tension up properly the boats beam decreases and the freeboard increases.....!! Older timber boats need to be treated with caution.

Just got directed to this from a friend of mine... Honestly made me a bit teary.. Now all these years later and so many thousands of miles... To wheels and fusion.. Thanks.

...sorry MJ I am a bit confused. The equipment you are talking about already exists. A typical AIS personal SART unit interfaces with your chart plotter. As you say...just drop the sails ..start the engine and follow the MOB information back... .

MJ re EPIRB , I agree...but still more chance of finding the MOB back through a sat phone from AMSA or similar with lon and lat than visually. EPIRB direction finders (they look like a miniature TV antennae) are not bulky or expensive. Not as good as AIS SART beacon with chart plotter location software, but better than looking into the dark.

Please note the following comments are not to be seen as a criticism or critique of the incident. I have no idea what the actual circumstance were like. As someone involved with marine rescue , I can assure you that finding a head in even small swells is extremely difficult. From the air can be a bit easier as you are looking a bit less "through the swells". Unfortunately the reality of using search aircraft to find a human a long way off shore , is that both the range or the amount of time to get to the search area can make it difficult and often impossible. Even so, the use of FLIR ca

Very sad. At its simplest, many life jackets dont inflate.....because the CO2 bottle has vibrated a couple of turns loose. The only security (small) in those conditions is a full harness with extremely strong tether and Jack lines. They should be very short as well.. I personalty think that stanchions and wire safety lines are a dangerous joke. They are to low and way to flimsy. Sliding along them is also no joke.

Im not really a racing person , (mainly because I am to lazy and would rather run at a pace that I can read a book and cook a full meal ) But I do understand the interest , challenge and joy in it. So.. Why not set up a Crew.org Trans taz "cruise in company ".. . (Race) The rules could be set up over a couple of meetings or an email session. People could help people. I am sure as mentioned a handicapper could be found. Start could be a pre ordained time or a friend of could do the horn bit. Finish either self timed ...(send a txt pic of a set thing to a given number) or have a chat

...yep we have had a "bit of weather" on this side..

We have coast guard too... But we (VMR Mornington / Hastings) are a completely separate organisation. We dont do patrols or dress uniforms.... We are a rapid response Emergency service only.....Get the call....get there as quick as the situation dictates ...complete the task or tow, and go home. A bit like the old style English version... We actually have 5 boats and have never refused a call out in our history.

https://youtu.be/dj3WFqh8hc8 Heres a brand new short doco on VMR Mornington / Hastings. Victoria. It is mostly based around Mornington in Port philip Bay , But we actually have a larger and even busier vessel in Western port that is not shown in the footage.

Apart from biosecurity..and only you know where you have been..The problem is local contamination. Antifoul application is one of the things I do for a living. So..first read the product data. You will be amazed how many people don't but come up with their own opinions. You will find most data sheets will state DON'T dry sand and do pressure wash and wet scrub or wet sand....with fresh water. This is to remove salt , marine growth and provide a surface key. (And on ablative paints only enough to achieve the above should be done. You will be putting a high concentration of toxic stuff in

pinched from another web site.. the inner and outer parts of the thermocouple are made of 2 different metals and when heated this creates a very small dc voltage measured in millivolts this in turn energises the electro magnetic valve (normally called a junkers valve) in the gas tap failure of system is usually is due to 1 tip not positioned in the hottest part of the flame (blue part) 2 loose conection at nut on to junkers valve 3 burnt out thermocouple 4 faulty junkers valve

...."Now if I just lean the boat over, it will come off the mud...."

"In the future, seagulls will need chips"...

Swap only... Go to Vanuatu for refill.. (oz gas company and fittings)