Way-hay, our "local" group! After the Australia forum was created I was thinking of suggesting this, but never got round to it. Obviously Heath et al came to the same conclusion anyway. I'm on the Isle of Wight, I keep my boat parked mast-up at Island Harbour on the Medina, a couple of mil...

This page on the UK Hydrographic Office (formerly Admiralty) site includes some useful and interesting explanations about tidal phenomena. Very readable as well. It also has a note about the tidal effects in the Northern Adriatic, which I think answers the original question in this thread. Cheers, ...

Hi Matt

I think I'll just make Sunday - the last day. There might even be some bargains among the chandlers if they want to get rid of stock!

Apparently the whole show has been very quiet this year, no-one's got much money to spend on boating.

Cheers, Rick

My linkage is already on the stbd side, so no problem with that. In fact I thought that was the normal way it was done. You should be able to swing the linkage bar round and hook it onto the stbd rudder pivot (I guess you may need to take it off the motor and re-attach, it might not be able to just ...

"Stainless" steel is optimistically named, it's not rust-proof, just rust-resistant. It works because the chrome in the alloy forms an oxide on the surface, and chrome oxide is very hard so forms a protective layer preventing further corrosion. This is why chrome plate stays shiny, and it'...

However, the idea of doubling the line to halve its work ... is fallacy. That line still incurs the full weight of the load on the one-inch segment that's wrapping the block, top of mast. Not so! Any line running over frictionless pulleys must experience the same tension at all points along its len...

Does your boat have the vent under the companion-way step, or under the V-berth? ('97 was the year that feature was changed). If you have the forward vent then it's much more sensitive to the angle the boat is sitting in the water - adding weight to the bow will make a big difference. The vent under...

Hi Jim Thanks for your lyrical write-up of our "interesting" w/e. :) I've only just spotted it cos I don't drop into this forum very much. It was good to have your company, and sorry about my propensity for shallow water. :D I'm hoping to go to the Soton boat show, maybe we can co-ordinate...

Hi Matt Just catching up with your adventures. Jim told me you had a tough time - glad you made it OK. Jim & I attempted a cruise round the Isle of Wight last sat/sun. Sat was good, no wind until lunch time but then it picked up nicely, and was fairly sunny as we sailed round to Ventnor with the...

A few weeks ago I had to make a run home in winds that were picking up to around 30 kts, with seas building to 3 ft or so. I sailed on just the jib, and partly furled it as the wind increased. I was managing 3-4 kts on a close reach, and it was kicking around a lot in the seas, needing a lot of work...

... springer-length lines permanently tied between bow and stern cleats, running along the outside. They are pulled tight and securely cleated. As soon as I touch the dock, even if not ideally straight, I just step off and grab the line, and it works like a huge handle along the length of the boat....

As you're discharging the batteries in parallel it's probably best to charge them the same way. Total charge time should be about the same, and it means they are both getting the same treatment during charge and discharge cycles. This should help them stay balanced and prolong overall life. Given th...

That kind of "ground" connector is pretty irrelevant in a plastic boat. In a metal hulled vessel it might make sense to connect it to the hull, but since there is no frame or "ground" in something made out of GRP I think it's best ignored. The only thing that can be called a grou...

Your two 117AH 12V batteries hold a theoretical 2.8 kWh of energy, so if the oven is actually taking about 1 kW it will flatten the batteries in under 3 hrs use. In fact at that discharge rate it will probably flatten them within 2 hours. So yes, light, infrequent use from the battery between charge...

Seriously bad luck :cry: I'll make sure to be especially careful, at those prices a prang like that to my old engine would write it off :| Similar to other posts, I keep my springer-length lines permanently tied between bow and stern cleats, running along the outside. They are pulled tight and secur...