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Post by ComfortZone on May 30, 2023 9:56:38 GMT 12
Motored up to Marsden Cove early this morning, have done our customs clearance and will be on our way in a couple of hours. Caught up with a few other cruising friends here Em might see us sailing motoring past mid afternoon. Touch base again in 10 days or so
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Post by chariot on May 30, 2023 10:01:36 GMT 12
Must feel good to finally get away. Hope you get good ride up to those warmer climates.
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Post by Fogg on May 30, 2023 14:19:45 GMT 12
Bon voyage CZ. Will follow the tracker for updates.
Wish I was also heading north to the islands rather than sitting in an airport lounge in Dubai…
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Post by sabre on May 30, 2023 16:50:31 GMT 12
How nice it would be to escape this weather. Nearly 600mm for the month here..
Safe travels CZ. Will also be keeping an eye on the tracker.
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Post by sloopjohnb on May 31, 2023 12:59:54 GMT 12
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Post by Fogg on Jun 1, 2023 18:20:26 GMT 12
Looks like CZ is having a good run so far…
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Post by sloopjohnb on Jun 1, 2023 18:23:54 GMT 12
What's his predict wind link?
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Post by Fogg on Jun 1, 2023 18:32:26 GMT 12
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Post by em on Jun 1, 2023 18:35:33 GMT 12
Bugger , missed him was getting boat ready for this weekend . They are Doing well alright
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Post by Fogg on Jun 2, 2023 9:24:25 GMT 12
Interesting to read that that CZ has had autopilot issues - I’ve noticed a lot of boats have reported AP issues this year. Seems to be a recurring theme perhaps in aging units. I’m even more tempted to replace my entire system before heading offshore.
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Post by fish on Jun 2, 2023 13:14:18 GMT 12
Interesting to read that that CZ has had autopilot issues - I’ve noticed a lot of boats have reported AP issues this year. Seems to be a recurring theme perhaps in aging units. I’m even more tempted to replace my entire system before heading offshore. I've got 2 AP's on Charlatan. One is a 20yr old Raymarine tiller pilot, and doesn't go, haven't got around to sorting it, probably corroded plugs. It is only ever a back up. My main one is a Nexus hydraulic unit. I've blown the FETS on the circuit board once and blown the fuse a second time. Devil of a job getting the FETS replaced, spoke to Macalister at Kiwi Yachting who put me onto the original designer in Aus, who had a part finished old unit on the shelf. I spoke very nicely to him and after a patient wait he tested and commissioned this last ever Nexus board and posted it over. That unit has a habit of going on the blink around the South end of Tiri channel. First I thought it was a coincidence, but now I'm starting to wonder if it is something to do with the Navy de-gaussing bouys. Turn it off and turn it on once I've left the area seems to work. Anyway, the reason I'm going on about all of this, is due to unreliability and criticality of my AP when solo, I've made up a spear-gun bungy tiller pilot. This is my 'fuck electronics and modern tech' back up. The geometry of our tiller is perfect for it. So I can tie a clove hitch around the tiller, and have a section of gun-bungy on both sides to 8mm braid around a winch base and into an existing cam cleat on the cockpit coaming. It means I can adjust the tension on both sides independently, and the gun bungy absorbs any snatch and pulls the tiller back to where it was balanced. The parts are cheap as chips from Wettie (spear fishing suppliers for the un-initiated) and super easy to set up. The bonus is I now know how to replace the rubber on my spear gun, which coincidentally looks like it needs replacing. Would be a tad more complicated to set up on a wheel, but I'm sure still possible. The objective of my set up is to cover short periods of solo, like dropping the main, getting food from below etc. If you want a reliable system for offshore solo, I can't see how you can get away with anything other than a wind-vane system. I think those are a lot harder to install effectively on these modern wide arsed cruisers like Fogg, but that is a whole rabbit-hole in itself, and I've never looked. Either that or carry 3 AP's for redundancy, all of different brands or makes, all with separate rudder stock / wheel attachments, and with several different charging and power supply options. Oh, and all with different input systems, wind vane, steering compass, rudder angle feedback etc. You can see the opportunities for faults are numerous, and making everything foolproof gets complex quickly. PS Fogg, instead of 'replacing' your entire system, I'd suggest installing a new system in parallel. This way you should ('should') have a functioning back up system if the first / new one fails. When it comes to redundancy, AP's and solo, you simply cannot have too much redundancy. Hand steering solo gets really boring really quickly. Sleep and food are your friends, not hand steering...
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Post by Fogg on Jun 5, 2023 11:24:39 GMT 12
CZ now north of Noumea and only about 350nm / 2 days to go ie expecting to arrive Port Vila breakfast time Wed.
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Post by ComfortZone on Jun 8, 2023 14:27:59 GMT 12
Hi team, thanks for keeping an eye on us. As you probably know arrived in Port Vila 0230 Wednesday. Done all the customs/immigration/biosecurity clearance stuff now, got the crew signed off the crew list and looking forward to GF arriving next Wednesday. It was a really good passage, most wind we saw was 25kts and never more than 3m swells, about 2 splashes over the side in the whole trip. Had a couple of days continuous motoring to get thru the high and into the trades, then last 2 days had full main and poled out genoa. Tueday the trades picked up a bit to 18 -22kts and we were really humming, bursts to 10kts which is not bad considering the load we were carrying. Great to have Bruce Buckley telling us what was in front of us. Stats -distance travelled by log 1090 NM (think it under reads slightly), 80hrs on engine, fuel used 178 litres. The autopilot issue was not an atypical one. My set up is a Raymarine Evolution 400 computer, S2 linear drive and a P70s controller, all installed early 2019 and never any issue. In addition I have a second control head from an older series Smart Pilot which uses SeaTalk communication language. To get it to talk to the Evolution computer there is a smart connector block with a processor in it. On the day of the problem I established email contact with Lusty's tech, who was in Fiji at the time, and after 6-7 back and forth emails and disconnecting various components we established it was either the old control head or the smart block ( I think the latter) that was the problem and once this was taken out of the system all worked fine. Other issues were we managed to break the SSB aerial lead to the backstay and my house alternator, a 140 amp Leece Neville, is starting to make some strange noises, replacements are on their way from NZ. We are very dependent on the engine for charging the batteries at sea due to power consumption primarily the autopilot but also all the other gear you are running. If we had not been motoring i would typically run the engine for about 1.5hrs in the morning and another hour in the evening. At startup the alternator would go to full output and sit there for 20 min or so before the regulator eased the field current back. I run AGM's would be less with Lithium's but you need a charging system that can handle the heavy loads they put on that system. Solar does not even scratch the surface at sea unless you boat is covered in it. About the only realistic alternative generation option is the likes of the Watt n Sea water generators. You want to have batteries in good condition, mine are 4 years old and on their second cruise, they are OK but will replace before next cruise. Had lots of pre cooked meals so it was just easy heat n eat, maybe some pasta or rice to go with it (the 90 sec rice pouches are great to bung in the microwave). Iridium GO was perfectly adequate for our needs, would not bother with the Exec. Was even able to call GF from mid ocean to see what she was upto swanning around in Italy I expect Starlink will have a more sensible marine option in a year or 2 and then our GO modems will just get put in the bottom drawer at home with al the rest of the superseded E waste
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Post by Fogg on Jun 8, 2023 23:21:16 GMT 12
Well done. Enjoy the cruising. Share some envy-inducing pics & updates when poss.
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Post by sloopjohnb on Jun 10, 2023 9:12:43 GMT 12
Good write up there CF, glad you, crew and boat made it safely.
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