Afloat again

[haiqu]

Turns out Harry (see last message) is in the entertainment business, not the boat business. He sent me a link to his new series that has just been accepted by Foxtel.

I guess that justifies my decision to avoid television.

Today was fairly ordinary. Well, except for the all butterflies hanging around the yacht this morning, despite a 10kt breeze. Oh, and the three storey paddle wheeler that chugged by about an hour ago.

Actually it was a nice day.

[haiqu]

Tha factory shown below was, until about two months ago, entirely open to the river. Workmen came along and erected the safety fence then over a period of several weeks enclosed the end and added roller doors. It's now for rent as two separate factories.

The reason I mention all this will become apparent shortly.

[haiqu]

So it appears that these pylons are now orphaned. They were probably associated with some type of marine business 20 or 30 years ago. If you look just behind the derelict 20' plastic fantastic attached to them you can also see an abandoned piece of flotsam that used to be a pontoon.

Now, after reading Goodlander's "Buy, Outfit and Sail" I was taken by one statement. He never pays for haulouts. Never. And after the spending I've been doing lately it occurred to me that this is a pretty good philosophy. The owner of another nearby ferro, a kiwi by the name of Cliff, recently hauled his 38'er and it cost him about $5000 by the time he finished the hull repairs and repaint. That's a lot of cruising fun vouchers folks.

I've often lamented the fact that the river here has a muddy bottom. It makes careening an impossible business since anyone walking on the stuff sinks calf-deep in it. Now look back at that photo again and try to see where this is going.

What if I drag the pontoon across to that left pair of pylons and tie it on, then motor in and tie up to the other side of the pylons and wait for the tide to go out? Hey presto, I have in instant work platform that avoids the mud. I admit it's not ideal, but then again neither is paying $600pw on the hard plus lift/splash costs. Apart from a lack of shore power and running fresh water it's entirely possible with a bit of effort.

[haiqu]

In his book "Build Your Own Ferrocement Boat" the author Colin Brookes mSNAME, amRINA states categorically that steel boats - and by association, ferro boats - are electrically incompatible with copper antifoul. In fact this is true, and the only reason they don't completely rust out is due to the epoxy barrier coating usually painted on beforehand. The anode voltage of the Al-Cu interface is 0.55 volts while Fe-Cu is barely lower at 0.50 volts and nobody in their right mind would dream of using copper antifoul on an aluminium boat.

I did some searching for alternatives because of this, and I'm pleased to say that many of the paint manufacturers have already been aware of issues with copper paint for some time and have come up with copper free products. Amongst these are Pettit Hydrocoat Eco, Interlux CSC Micron CF, Pettit Eco Ultima, Eco Clad Fastcoat, Sea Hawk Smart Solution and West Marine CFA Eco. Some of these are even water based, which is a distinct improvement over the smelly chemicals in most paints.

The reviews of their effectiveness are a bit mixed and I believe it's too early to tell if they work well, but there are two reasons I won't be using any of them at this stage. Firstly, none are available in Australia yet; and secondly, they cost about twice the price of Hempel Olympic, of which I can get a 5 litre can for AU$160.00 plus local shipping.

Quelle dommage.

[haiqu]

Just informed friends in NZ that I'm definitely not going to be there this year. Meanwhile, neighbour informs me that a couple of goats have escaped from the local abattoire and have taken up residence in my yard. As long as they keep the grass down I really don't mind.

Lemme see, so far this year there has been one horse, a pair of feral bull terriers, a relative of the previous owner and a random vandal. And now these goats. Yep, New Zealand sure is a lively spot.

[Auzzee]

International paints make some good anti-fouling paints which don't include copper. The problem with copper and aluminium is that aluminium is far less noble than steel. Therefore the reaction between Al and Cu is much more aggressive than it is for steel. Cuprous oxide is recommended for steel boats..however I wouldn't use it on my steel boat.

Back in the days when TBT (tri butyl tin) was still in legal usage for small boats, anti-fouling would last for many seasons even in equatorial waters. The best performance I ever got was from a Jotun product. I bought and applied it in Rebak Marina in Malaysia, and it lasted for eight years. I guess it may not have been the most environmentally friendly product on the market.

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by Auzzee

International paints make some good anti-fouling paints which don't include copper. The problem with copper and aluminium is that aluminium is far less noble than steel. Therefore the reaction between Al and Cu is much more aggressive than it is for steel. Cuprous oxide is recommended for steel boats..however I wouldn't use it on my steel boat.

Another factor is that Aluminium Oxide is also very corrosive, exacerbating the problem.

Just curious, what do you use on your steel boat?

Back in the days when TBT (tri butyl tin) was still in legal usage for small boats, anti-fouling would last for many seasons even in equatorial waters. The best performance I ever got was from a Jotun product. I bought and applied it in Rebak Marina in Malaysia, and it lasted for eight years. I guess it may not have been the most environmentally friendly product on the market.

I've got a ship repainting facility about 200 metres away and they aren't limited by the rules that apply to pleasure craft. Maybe I should pay them a visit and see if I can scrounge some of the good stuff. Eight years sounds pretty awesome to me, although even a solid three years would be adequate.

These days they talk as if 12 months is a good innngs for antifoul, which is ludicrous. If that's the case I'll stick to cleaning the hull periodically from the dinghy with a paint scraper. With a SA/D of under 10 the remaining gunge will hardly make a difference, the Hartley is a snail in light winds anyhow.

[haiqu]

Seems I may have found a replacement for the T111 dual instrument I lost overboard a few weeks ago. Will know whether I have it in a few more days. And it's the older beige MN100-1 model so it matches the rest of the set properly, not that this was a major concern.

I'm at my brother's house for Thanksgiving (his wife is from the USA) and will be back aboard maybe Tuesday. Happy turkey day folks.

[Auzzee]

Thanksgiving Day in the USA is huge. Oddly, many 'Merkens seem to think it's an international day of celebration rather than the domestic holiday which it is. Being one to immerse myself in foreign cultures, I will be eating huge quantities of turkey and cranberry sauce and I shall probably drink a Seppo brew or two. (Maybe even three) down here in Pompano Beach.

Gobble!

[haiqu]

Many (younger) Aussies seem to think Halloween is an international event as well. I've had a few discouraged kids leave my doorway after being told they're not in America.

Blame it on television.

But I could get used to turkey day after that delicious slice of pumpkin pie last night. We've delayed the turkey until today (Sat'dy) so that we get a decent crowd. About 30-40 people expected any minute.

BTW I don't think one uses the word "merkins" in polite company, unless you are actually referring to a pubic wig.

[haiqu]

The auction went well. Picked up a replacement T111 Dual Display, a second T910 Hull Triducer (which I needed anyhow), and spares of the T121 Hull Transmitter and T909 Fluxgate Compass. There was only one other bid so the price was right.

Turkey Day is still winding down. We started out drinking C***sucking Cowboys around 11am while the food was still cooking, and by about two hours ago they were snorting Tabasco Sauce and downing Tequilas, which is a just-invented local variation on the Prairie Fire shot. Needless to say, a wild time was had by all. The remainder of the party is downstairs in my nephew's room watching death metal videos.

I think it's worth doing again next year.

[haiqu]

Back to Shenoa after a week away. Found that the dinghy had been inundated due to high tides, which in itself wouldn't have been an issue except that the padlock I used to secure it is filled with sand and rust. I had to unbolt the pad eye on the transom to use it yesterday afternoon when I got back here.

All the new Tacktick bits work, which is a relief. Here, have a photo:

[redbopeep]

Glad you had a way to deal with your lock. Also, looks like you've got plenty of projects to keep you busy, busy, busy on that boat.

[haiqu]

Yep, there's always plenty to do here. :-)

I just spent half an hour fending off a Bayliner Discovery 288 launch that was dragging anchor. Rang the police and now they're trying to find the owner. It's a bit of a hazard to shipping, seems like the anchor is really tiny and just isn't holding at all.

It's not one I've seen here before, apparently the owner went ashore and left it nearby. What a way to treat a $50,000 boat eh?

[haiqu]

Problem solved. Apparently the launch was part of the Wynnum Manly Yacht Club's December outing and had been left behind while the other eight boats continued up river for the day. The anchor didn't hold because it came down on a crab pot, which became obvious when they weighed anchor on their return.

Lesson to be learned there: make sure the anchor is properly set before leaving.

I checked their itinerary online and it seems they'll all be here for the night. Busiest I've ever seen this anchorage.

[Oldsquizzy]

Most important part of that was........Did they get any crabs?

[haiqu]

No, it didn't look like they got any crabs.

Which reminds me, I've been feeling a bit lonely of late and decided to check a few dating websites. I think it's just the proximity to Christmas, although the fact that I've been single for 22 years doesn't help I suppose. Amongst these was Plenty Of Fish (see what I did there?) and OKCupid. After wasting an afternoon looking at profiles I've come to the conclusion that I made the correct decision to follow this lifestyle. There was no-one posting messages that I would have wanted to know.

At one most startling website - which shall remain nameless - I started receiving emails from superhot girls before I'd even finished filling in the profile. Since that's entirely impossible it quickly became apparent that it was all done with AI and there was actually nobody home. The scam was that you had to pay a monthly subscription to reply to them.

What a cynical world.

[haiqu]

Wired and tested the 2.5W solar panel that's going to power my Tacktick hull transmitter, thus making it independent from the main electrical system. Works great.

Replaced the bolt that joins the rudder shaft from the tiller extension, no more slop there any more.

Slowly slowly catchee monkey.

[Oldsquizzy]

And what does one do with the monkey after you catch him?

[haiqu]

Norty Squizzy. I'll have you know that I'm trying my hardest these days to not remain a "single-hander". :-)