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rossd

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Posts posted by rossd

  1. Gee what a handy place to know for all sorts. Hi-Q   Thanks for that. It  never came up with internet searchers so for all its cleverness we still have to rely on old fashioned referrals.  They appear to have some glands with 18mm thread for 10mm wire so should do the job. The 2 washer trip would look pretty cool but am limited on access on the inside for drilling etc  but might use that elsewhere.  

  2. Sometimes a job that should be as simple as hell turns out to be a pain. I have glands for different size cables but none of them are long enough on the thread to go through 12 mm wood, they are for panel steel or something up to 5mm thick so are no use. Shopping on the net the specs say the thickness of wire but no mention material thickness. Could always bore a hole, poke the wire through and squirt some silicone in there but was hoping for something at least a little bit more up market! 

  3. Cutting some slots for halyard exit plates. Top one 2400 above deck and lower one on other side. Was going to make a vertical spacing of 100mm from bottom of top cutout to top of bottom cutout. Does this sound OK.?  11 metre masthead, 28 foot boat. Also is there a tradition of which side for main and jib halyards?   

  4. I think they are really designed for panels to stay put but if you put a couple of slots in each floor panel so you could get a finger hold you could rip all the floor up in no time in an emergency. Some of my ply floor panels are warping so have screwed them down which is a pain and I would think a hell of a mission to get them up in a rough sea.    .  

  5. I have a DD kauri Nova 28  bilge keeler, my first and only yacht, had for must be 8 years now. Still learning, have a spinnaker thats never flown and I wouldnt know how to, maybe this summer. There was a site with a lot of information called "Alderwicks web" but cannot find it now, out of Wellington and a lot of stories and infomation on trips to the Sounds etc. Someone might be able to find it. Yacht called SV "Smile" also had a list of all the other Nova 28s he knew of.  

  6. That's certainly what the solar cpys are saying and some will not entertain thermal modules at all. I think having both is not on but still a place for thermal on its own I think. The vacuum tube jobs are all the rage but i wonder if they have been oversold. I am going to see a place in Huntly that imports flat panels from Turkey of all places and see what he has to say.

  7. Agree there wheels with the economics however peovple put in pv for other reasons mostly. We visited a perspn in town who disconnected from the grid in February and i mean really disconnected, they took away the meters and also the wires back to the pole. She is a person prepared to rough it and go without a bit doing washing on a sunny day etc. when my wife heard that she said , no way! Only 8 modules so pretty small. With cylinder temp we had ours up to 80 degreese on a fancy controller but i dont thjnk the cylinder manufacturers are happy about that. I am thinking of unequal pressure with a vent through the roof , 270 litre cap. In the ceiling with thermo syphon for both wetback and panels.

  8. You have obviously spec'ed your system high Alistair and no need for energy efficient appiances but anyone on grid such appliances may well pay for themselves. We will probably buy a Gram fridge which is about $500 more than a regular fridge. Also studying up on fridge/ freezer installation which is still at the shove in hole and plug in stage where as putting a hole in the floor and venting up through the ceiling and or roof is reccomended. By reducing consumption i mean not only smart use but comonsence use which apears to be beyond a lot of people. We have some friends with a off the grid holiday batch, what a nightmare , even after a conserve power lecture guests will go out and leave lights and tv on!

  9. We have brought a section and planing a new 90 sq m house for just 2 of us. Town section with services at the gate. Was going to go the whole hog off the grid  but having second thoughts now and maybe just go thermal panel, wet back hot water and grid for the rest with maybe gas hob. We have got 2.75 Kw PV grid connect in our present house which has been OK but hard to set up well in an existing house. I have been through a rather interesting exercise in the last couple of months measuring consumption of different appliances around the house.  Being a avid tea drinker rather shocked on the electric jug consumption. Then a again the Elcold freezer was very economical although the garage was a bit like a freezer anyway! To make PV really  hum you need to reduce consumption especially at night but to just reduce consumption while still on the grid virtually will give as good a result without the considerable expense.  We already dont havea TV and dont use the dishwasher, cold wash clothes and with well insulated new house and woodburner no electric heaters and dont believe in heat pumps.   

  10. My first visit to Coromandel harbour was on a dark night, what with a Cow and Calf and mussel farms, where am I?  Not sure if it was my brain or ears thought they heard waves crashing on rocks.  I to this day believe that  calf had wandered away from its mother.   

  11. Chrisc is obviously willingly putting himself forward as a spokesperson for all or at least many of the people on this forum and he has my support.  What is your view IT on a spokesperson for the forum? If his letters are from a group rather than an individual they  hold a heap more weight. I like to compare what boaties have achieved on the water which is virtually nothing to what the motor caravaners  have achieved on land which is huge.  They have lawyers, accountants, planners, engineers all on board, have influence on central and local government, own campgrounds, dumpstations etc. (Mount Ruapehu ski fields another example, totally owned by the skiers) What a different place we would be in now if we had followed there lead for the past 30 years?  We would own or at least part own marinas by now , have influence on council and maritime law etc. Its not to late, if we stand around watching what we fear will happen.     

  12. I once had a crew member to drop off at the bottom of Queen st somewhere to catch a bus and didnt know which wharf to use,. Viaduct basin was open and pretty quiet as it was winter so went in there , miles of empty pontoons. Had been around the Gulf for a week and were hanging out for a decent coffee so thought we could tie up there and go to one of the cafes with the yacht  in sight in case a boat came in and we had to move along a bit. Hadnt even got the line around the bollard and this guy comes running down saying you cannot stop there, cannot stop there. No hello. good day  how you going, nothing.  Just ignorant.        

  13. Different experience to what I had a about 4 years ago. Motored into HMB and the guy was decidedly grumpy and sent me packing when i admitted no insurance. Shabby looking boat probably didnt help. Totally different reception at the boat club, who provided a berth for night, invited into clubrooms, shower, the works. Cannot remember the charge but must have been OK. There is actually a lot of grumpy buggers in Auckland for visiting yachts I think they make a prejudgement  if the boats not flash and polished.

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