Recent content by noelex

Yes, you can use a mains charger without disconnecting the solar panels. The only concern is without a solar controller (which I assume you do not have) if the mains charger charges to 100% SOC and then the solar panels output more than the load, the batteries will be overcharged. Even if on...

(y). The first criterion for a trip like this is whether or not you want crew (and if you do want crew how many). This will be a major factor in the type of boat that is suitable. Hopefully anyone contemplating a RTW trip has enough experience of long passages to already have a firm view on...

Sacrificial rudders are used by some boatbuilders, but they typically have a fracture point around 1/3 - 1/2 of the rudder length. The idea is that if the rudder strikes an object to lower portion will break away, but not damage other components and leave enough blade that the boat can be...

The flange mounted fans seem more durable. Keep in mind both types of fans are very noisy. Normally they are mounted in an engine room with sound insulation. It is unpleasant to be in the same room as these fans when they are operating and if someone uses the fan at night it may wake up...

The time taken for an offshore passage is not just the time taken to complete the voyage. It is the time taken to complete the voyage plus the time taken to effect repairs. By this criterion some "fast" sailboats are slow.

Cruising full time is hard on a boat, especially RTW. A tough, well built boat is a sensible choice. A Moody 45 would be appropriate.

I am reminded of the story of a large marine expedition boat that was designed for charter in Australia. The designer specified a large watertight area in the bow with port lights underwater primarily so guests could appreciate and watch dolphins surfing the bow wave. The underwater port lights...

My post was referring to Baofeng (and similar) radios. These have not been type approved to transmit on marine VHF frequencies, even though they will do this. I sometimes use these radios on ham frequencies to communicate with my wife if one of us is ashore. We both have ham licences and are...

Yep. The transmitters are a bargain. Keep in mind they are not type approved for marine VHF frequencies, but in an emergency any means of raising an alarm is permitted. They work normally on marine VHF frequencies. Monitoring, (never transmitting) CH0 can be useful In the UK. This applies to...

The 446 Mhz + frequency is in the PMR band. This does not require a licence in many countries. However, the Baofeng transmitters may not be type approved (depending on the country) and have more transmit power (depending on the country) than is legally permitted.

One of the advantages of these chep Chinese radios (Beofeng and similar) is that there is a multitute of models available with various frequencies depending on your licence status and country of use. For example if want to transmit on the PMR frequencies (around 446 MHz) this model may be...

The Baofeng radios (and many similar brands) are worth considering for inexpensive general communication. The rules vary depending on the country you are using them in and whether or not you hold a ham licence, but they are considerably more powerful than simple PMR walkie talkies and many will...

Be careful attaching pressurised water (from a dock supply) directly to a tank without an air gap. Water tanks cannot typically survive pressurisation above around 5psi. This is not surprising. If a tank wall is 4 sq feet in area, 5psi will produce a force equivalent to almost 3,000 lbs. While...

One of the neatest way to reliably connect small wires is to solder and then use glue lined heatshrink. For antenna connections in coax attaching plugs is better, but bulkier.

Devices such as MPPT controllers read voltage at their input terminals. This is different to reading the voltage at the battery terminals because of the voltage drop in the cables, connections and fuses between the solar controller and the batteries. So the charging voltage set points will be...