Recent content by Frank Holden

Anyone embarking on a long sea voyage on a small boat should take along a copy of 'The Custom of the Sea'.

I believe southern Chile/ Magallanes Province / TDF/ etc has the highest incidence of melanomas on the planet.

You've been reading too much Bowditch. In the Anglosphere they are surely tidal streams. I blame Benjamin Franklin and him naming the Gulf Current the Gulf Stream.

That's exactly how I was taught to stream a Walker log and how I deploy my towed AquaGen impeller. Warp goes in on the port quarter then the impeller dropped in on stbd quarter.

Well I've whizzed through the Fastnet Inquiry pdf but the only item of note relevant to this thread that I have found is attached below. Now I haven't all that much experience in high Southern latttudes - about 6000 miles between Mar del Plata and Le Maire and v/v (4 passages) and a few Le...

Just fit a bum gun in the head The Bum Gun, a Beginner's Guide, 'Cos Toilets in Asia Ain't Easy

Be thankful you have a UK passport if you ever think of coming to Chile, to call the visa requirements if travelling on an Australian passport onerous would be putting it mildly. Mind you it is just tit-for-tat. I've just checked my UK passport - its a blue one issued in '21 with a flat ten years.

Nope, much the same down south. Strong NW'lys with rain = stay in bed. You tend to move only when calm - esp northbound.

Thank you for all the replies. Today a 7 hour motor fron Rilan back to Anihue. Started the day with batteries at 12.5V with normal morning loads switched on and after about 30 minutes with the Espaker. By end of day we were looking at 14.2/14.3 V and trickle plus load. So this alternater while...

So, its a mystery. Yesterday after motoring for 4 hours in a glassy Patagonian calm and the batts were sitting on 12.3V when I rose from my slumber. Alt started at 13.6V 60 amps, four hours later 14.2 V and about 12 amps ie covering load which is basically autopilot and fridge. Acting just...

Mine is certainly behaving like a battery sensed alt yet when I asked Beta ( last year when I ordered the engine ) about getting a battery sensed Alt they said they didn't supply them. My old Bosch had a white sense wire to the batteries, this one has no such wire. This is why I am wondering if...

The Beta book says to run at not less than 1200 rpm when charging and I imagine 60 amps is putting a fair load on things. With the Volvo MD17D and the 80amp Bosch alt you could hear the engine easing off when it went from 60 to 40 to 20. Its a bit of a case of neccesity. I would prefer to charge...

Here I am at anchor off the coast of Isla Chiloe using the marvels of modern telecomunications while my shiny new Beta 35 putters away charging my batteries. Now, to the best of my understanding this has what is known as a 'machine sensed' alternator which I thought was unsuited to marine use...

Allcaidesa

Arrived back in Algarrobo a few days ago. Updated photo of updated sink which was modified about 9 years ago. New Italian taps, new bench top and the sinks have been inset with no lip. 'Mop bucket' is actually 11 litres, Cutlery holder salvaged from a dead dishwasher years ago.