smithy09

Hi Marinheiro. Thanks for the detailed answer. You certainly have studied hard. Hats off to you! ABYC standards do not apply to us, so they are out. The reason for earthing that you give is not relevant at all for portable appliances and an extension lead. Any short or leakage of current to earth whether it is via the case of trhe appliance, or via my body, is protected by dual RCDs, one on the dock and one in my boat. The earth from the dock is also connected through to my appliances, so why do I need to earth my boat? What you say would be quite correct if I had a hard wired system through

Yup!! This seems very reasonable to me. My current installation is pretty much exactly this and would comply. However this does not comply with NZ 3004.2 which covers ewofs for boats. It's total bollocks and just a paperwork/bureaucracy nightmare. My comments regarding the inspector you get seem well founded.

Hahahaha. Karma!! I had a run in with one of their tosser operators on the way back to Westhaven a few weeks ago in the Masrhall. Basically he was mucking around at around 2-3 knots over Bayswater way among the moorings. No idea what he was up to then he decided to head straight at me from my starboard side and basically tracked me doing 2-3 knots while I was doing 7 knots. By the time it was clear he was set on continuing his course I would have had to do a 360 to avoid him so, as we both had eye contact, I just gave a wave and continued. I then got a mouthful of "Did I realise I had to give

Hi IT. OK, but how does this make my system safer? Why do I need an earth to seawater? Why do I need to connect my DC bus negative to ground. What earthly use is this?

Are you an electrical inspector marinheiro? You seem very well informed. If what you are saying is the case, ie that the standards do not apply 100% to existing installations, then what guidelines are the inspectors following? I just don't get it. If I want an ewof, does my boat need to be externally earthed to the seawater, or is the electrical earth connected to the marina via the lead sufficient? Do all exposed metal parts need to be earthed? As there is nothing hard wired, just a battery charger and a dehumifier running off a portable box with an RCD/MCB in it, how is this installation

This is quite an interpretation. C10 reads: C10.1 General This section details requirements for basic visual inspection of an electrical installation to confirm that the installation remains in good repair and does not exhibit indications of misuse or damage. This inspection does not include any electrical testing. This would seem to indicate ongoing visual inspection, not just new installations. My main problem is that a lot of us just run an extension cord with a battery charger and dehumidifier running off it. I can understand the need for testing the lead, but I do not understand the

If that is the case, which standard are we complying with for the ewof? NZ 3000 doesn't cover it and the check list is pretty clear!

It applies to you. You are plugging into shorepower, therefore according to the Marinas you need an eWof.

If this is the case then he is not following the standard which is quite clear as to the tests that should be completed. I have attached the testing side of things from the 2008 standard. The layout is not 100% correct as I couldn't be bothered editing the whole thing. From here it is clear that the EWof does indeed cover the DC circuits on the boat as well.. Also interesting is the scope of the standard which states: This Part of AS/NZS 3004 specifies requirements for the design, construction and installation of electrical systems in recreational boats that have a length of up to 50 m, a

It says you can use rings, spades or terminals. No soldered joints, no bare wire ends. Pretty easy..

Hi Wheels. I don't think you are correct here. I have a copy of the standard and nowhere does it say that you require ring terminals or need to comply with an installation to survey standards. There is a big list of items that need to be ticked off, and the DC system does need to pass as well, but I have never seen anything like you are suggesting. What I understand inspectors are currently doing is turning a blind eye to many of the items that should be checked.. You are correct that the marinas are over reaching their authority and becoming very heavy handed, with no good reason, and no retu

Good luck. I watch with interest to see what they recommend!

Yes it's a joke. Even the relevant NZ standard does not require it, and from talks I have had with electrical service providers, the inspectors are turning a blind eye to many of the requirements on the checklist that comes with the standard. If this is the case, why bother? Also, as part of the standard you are required to bond your boat (exposed metal parts and an underwater grounding plate) to the marina Earth. With this in mind, do the Marinas have built in earth monitoring equipment? If the boat next door is sinking a small current into its earth, and therefore the marina earth, and ther

No. Begging is wanting something for nothing. These guys give you the videos in return. You are funding them to continue producing the videos. There is a heap of work in the videos so they are not wanting money for doing nothing. If the Paetron guys are prepared to pay for this, then I consider it a win-win situation. When I lived on board in the Med for 3 years, I wrote articles and sold them to the UK yachting periodicals. Helped the bank balance. I didn't consider this begging, and I also reckon that their videos are much more work than the articles I wrote. They put a heap of effort into t

The $330K was total income from U tube and Paetron. I wouldn't call it begging. You get a product for your money, just depends if you're interested enough. They produce good videos that take a lot of work. Personally I would rather enjoy the trip than spend all that time filming it but they are young and motivated and doing well. Hats off to them. My experience with Euro boats is that some of them go real well upwind. Try getting past Outrageous Fortune (Beneteau) upwind in a blow! Kiwi boats tend to be faster downwind. It is really hard to beat the accommodation and interior on the Bendy

Not quite right there. It was $330K per annum, and Delos $250K per ANNUM. Jeeze if it was per episode, I'd be learning video editing real fast...

Good onya Shane!

I Agree with Duty Free. The recent Westhaven rent increase was the last straw for me and The Marshall will be going up for sale shortly. The overheads in owning and racing a 40ft keeler are just too high for this fella. Add in all the ridiculous hoops that you have to jump through (electrical WOF, Cat 2 changes, etc etc) it's just too much. And then to top it off, go for a shower in the toilet block near B pier, and there is 1 shower only. Want hot water with that? Put $2 in the machine. When you're paying $920 a month you expect a little better. Rip off!

Tried to load Photos but it wouldn't have it..

Just off Tolaga Bay. Titanium just in Front, and the Spy in front a few miles. Truxton behind now. Not Marshall weather but wind has dropped to about 15 knots and the horrendous lumpy waves have abated a bit. Hope it doesn't swing North when we round East Cape!!

I expect a lot of boats on the market soon! Just too expensive!

I have done the Canal du Midi from Bordeaux to Sete (enter via the Gironde river in the Atlantic and exit in the Med) and also the Rhone river, then Canal du L'Est to the Moselle, Mosel, then into the Rhine, exit in Holland. The canal and river system in France was 100% free in the 80s. Not sure now. All the locks are operated by retired civil servants. Their retirement is to get the Lock keeper's house for free, and in return they operate the lock. Some of these guys were magic. Some were miserable! The whole experience was awesome, and such a nice way to travel. I did it in a Dufour 29 which

I'm gutted for him. I hope he can get some tail winds for the last Jury rig sail to the finish.. He has tried so hard and overcome obstacle after obstacle, now this!

Beat me to it. No surprises. This should result in a few dismissals from YNZ really. $800K down the tubes but they won't fund our windsurfers to go to Rio?? WTF?? Sorry, but this is bad news..

I'll back that up! The Wa kindly bought me a new gen anchor from KM for Christmas to replace our old Manson plough. With the Manson I used to reverse at 1-2 knots and it would dig in. I tried that with the Excel and we just kept on dragging. Tried it 3 times, then just slowed right down to maybe 1/2 knot backwards and it dug in hard and didn't move. Took a bit of a change in technique alright! Held well once it set though.