Recent content by roger

Vsteadying sail and my limited experience The V-steadying sail is most interesting . Thank-you forfinding the reference and posting the link. I habve only used my storm jib steading sail in fairly mild conditions. I wound the clew bar tight with a mast winch and the jib itself it pretty flat...

LED 48 patch MR16 mount lamps I have two of the warm white 48 patch lights from searolf working at home from LED drivers. They are excellent even when used from a 10ft. high ceiling.

Thanks for the ideas Thanks for your ideas so far folks. I have looked at the Sailrite website. That is where the idea of a 12.5 sq.ft. sail-size came from. Ive consulted a good sailmaker with admitted slight experience with steadying sails who suggested about 4 sq. metres - 40 sq. ft. with a...

My boat Badger flaps back and forth while at anchor. I have temporarily cured the problem by running the storm jib (7.7 sq. metres) up the back-stay and taking the clew forward. It works superbly holding the boat very steady. However the foot of the sail then touches the spray-hood, makes the...

Removing limescale You need as much acid as you have lime-scale to clean it out. That is in molar terms. It's possible to do the calculations but actually, if you have a pipe-full you need a lot of acid. I worry about using hydrochloric acid as it attacks a lot of materials including stainless...

Searolf is good I agree with Bobgoode in recommending Searolf. They have some seriously bright 48 or so patch lights. I use some of these at home. However you do need to watch the mains drivers. I had one self deatruct when powered by an electronic transformer. I believe this was due to...

I have an ever growing collection of leads and adaptors for on-board kit. Much of it is also used at home so it has to be transported back and forth. It takes up a serious amount of space, gets dreadfully tangled and is a right Royal pain. I have two phones each with two leads, two cameras with...

Vane might be in pipe I managed to break off a vane on my 20HP Beta. The vane never made it to the heat exchanger. I did find it a season later in the pump housing to my surprise. I think it had been hiding in the bent copper pipe between pump and heat exchanger. Because of its shape it is very...

Overwintering in Norway - the law The law in Norway is clear enough. If you leave your boa in Norway you are deemed to have imported it and pay import duty of around 25% There is a very similar law for cars and aeroplanes. Norway charges high import duties and many and various are the ways...

The stand-on boat Colregs - he say "The stand-on boat shall hold its course and speed" This, I suggest, means what it says. It does not mean it can tack onto a collision course. If, in a narrow channel, it needs to tack in order to avoid grounding, then it, in effect, loses "stand-on" status...

Suggestion I'm glad to say I have no experience of dismasting. However I've seen a strong man trying to cut through an 8mm. dia forestay with a goodish pair of croppers. I don't remember if they were straight blade or parrot type. This was on firm ground and took a great deal of effort. I...

Porta potti ?? Porta pottis use a very nasty chemical solution which can ruin a biological wate treatment tank and I dread to think what it does to the sea. I have seen many notices on marina toilet blocks forbidding emptying porta pttis down the loos.

Boat heating I have seen car type boat heaters for sale in a Chandlers in Norway so presumably it can be done. However it would be easier for a motor boat with a largish engine. I have also seen an elderly Vindo sail boat with a finned tube heater extending round the boat , running through most...

The NauticPath chart is good (at least in the Baltic) but usually misses out bridge and cable hieghts and marina layouts. You may need to be a bit inventive with the display controls to get good discrimination between land and water. I would regard the Norwegian charts as essential if only for...

Stopelo Seal I bought a Stopelo Seal in Dunkirk in 2001, fitted it that winter and have used it ever since with no problems. I couldn't work out which spares to get so bought another complete one in 2003. It's still in it's packing on the boat. It is of the conventional type rubber bellows...