"Vance Nelson" writes: >I have same situation using L16's. I have not found any AGMs with the power >of the L16. If you are aware of any AGM that has 420 AMP Hours let us know. Yes, have a look at Discover batteries. 390 AH AGMs in L-16 case sizes. See http://discover-energy.com/files/datasheets/EVL16A-A.pdf I used a bank of 12 of these in Island Eagle, so far so good. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

"Chris Byer" writes: >She is a circumnavigator, with a good set of paravanes, and mentioned in >Beebie's "Voyaging Under Power." If memory serves me correctly, the >original of this design was named "Feng Shui" and was built of Teak. Fess >Prarker kept an example of this design in Santa Barbara. These boats were >unaique in that their engine was located towards the bow, with the engine >exhiausting through the forward mast. Chris, Just a guess, but I think that the boat for sale is actually Feng Shui. To the best of my knowledge there was only one boat built to that design. Cheoy Lee did build a 47' 'glass trawler to a design by William Garden. This was quite a distinctive design as it had a flush deck over the aft cabin. When I was searching for my boat (2003) there was a fully restored and repowered one for sale on the east coast. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

tbehan6468@aol.com writes: >I?realize I can buy the materials (cable, crimper, cutter, etc) but this >willa be a once in a life time event so I believe it will be cheaper overall >wto have all the interconnecting cables made up. The cables will need to be >mtade from 2/0 cable. I made a lot of cables on Island Eagle, all 3/0. It's not hard to do. A few comments: 1) Try and borrow a proper crimper. The good ones press from all sides and make either a hex shape or a sort of dimpled "O". If you know any commercial electricians they often have one they can lend you (that's what I did). 2) Often you can cut the cables to length and then take then to the battery store and use their crimper. Don't forget to mark the orientation of the lugs, it can be hard to twist the cable. You will need a GOOD cutter. Get the Greenlee Model 727 (http://tinyurl.com/5y6a46). About $40 and should be in your toolbox. Cuts 2/0 like butter. 3) Beware the premade cables. Often they are non-tinned automotive cables. 4) Don't forget that the lugs have two different measurements, the wire size and the hole size. Make sure you put the correct hole size on. 5) Cover the crimps with good adhesive-lined heat-shrink afterwards. Invest in a cheap Home Depot heat gun for doing the shrinking, it's well worth the $20. 6) In the event that you can't borrow a good crimper, you can use the pin-style crimper (see http://tinyurl.com/5dxzl7). These work pretty well, and they are good to have in the toolbox. You can use a hammer but if you have a vise they work 10X better. 7) Shop around for both the cable and the lugs. If you are near a commercial marine supplier, they will often have choices other than Ancor. DO NOT use welding cable. It's not tinned and is not suitable for marine use. 8) Finally, look around the wire departments in various marine stores. There are often deals on mis-cuts, leftovers, etc. A 2 foot piece may be "scarp" to the store but it's 2 jumpers to you. And remember, you can use 3/0 if you have to. For the ground connection between my house and start banks I found an 18 foot length of 4/0 black cable for $25. I only needed 3/0 but using the 4/0 saved me $75. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

Mike Maurice writes: >Washington has no exemption for under 65', unless you pay for one. The >fee is about $300. Where do I apply for this? I have taken Island Eagle down to Port Townsend once already with no problem, but I can imaging that one over-zealous water cop could ruin your whole day. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

I agree with Po, if you have the room a full size bike is OK but we didn't on our 32 ft sailboat and we don't really on our Monk 36 so we really like our folding ones! They are Montague DX's and fold out to be full size bikes which we wanted. We store them in zipper bags and we have had them about 6 years now. They ride like any regular bike and they have held up very well in the marine environment. We have used then extensively and would buy them again. And Po is right again when he says they fit in the dingy better! David Monk 36 "Significant Other"

Mike Maurice writes: >Now here is where it gets interesting. The WA statutes and the WA >Pilotage boards web site are silent about this, but the exemption is >apparently in a treaty between WA and BC. Since I was under the >impression that a treaty was between countries, it sounds more like some >kind of mutual reciprocity agreement, like that between two states, like >Oregon and Washington. I believe that I have tracked this down at last. Yes, as Mike points out, the pilotage rules are silent about yachts, and yes, treaties are between countries and not states. But all is revealed, the story goes back over 150 years! Here's the message I received today: Like a lot of treaties of the time, the "Oregon Treaty of 1846" was drafted and signed by people who had little information on the geography of the area they were dividing up.B The dispute over what was the "main channel" where the border line was established led to a war, with both British and American forts being built on San Juan Island to fight if necessary to establish whether the line was on the east or west side of San Juan Island.B Fortunately, the only casualty was a farmer's pig, shot by a soldier of one of the garrisons. Anyway, theB treaty guarantees vessels of both nations free travel in the channels through the San Juans and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.B Technically, free travel on Admiralty Inlet south of Port Townsend might not be guaranteed by the Treaty, but Washington has exempted Canadian vessels "engaged exclusively in the coasting trade on the west coast of the continental United States ... and/or British Columbia" from compulsory pilotage on Puget Sound and Grays Harbor.B I don't know that the term "coasting trade" has been defined as not including yachts, but it would create a huge international incident and economic disruption in the local pleasure boat industry if we claimed it did not -- there aren't very many Canadian yachts that cruise the U.S. side, but thousands of U.S. yachts cruise the Canadian waters every year without taking pilots. The treaty is reprinted at [ http://www.ccrh.org/comm/slough/primary/ortreaty.htm ]http://www.ccrh.org/comm/slough/primary/ortreaty.htm. So there you have it. The treaty was between the US and Britain, and as the successor country Canada is also covered (Canada did not exist as a country until 21 years after the treaty was signed). So Canadian vessels are exempt from pilotage rules in the US, and US vessels are exempt from pilotage rules in Canada, as long as they are "engaged exclusively in the coasting trade", which is completely and totally undefined! Now, presumably British vessels are exempt as well, and I'll bet even the Dashews could have argued that an New Zealand vessel is exempt as NZ was a British territory at the time the treaty was signed. But it's pretty clear that a *foreign flagged* yacht (e.g. Cayman Islands, Panama, etc.) is *not exempt* and is *required* to have a pilot. Those vessels may request an exemption, but the onus is on them to do so. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

Ownyacht@aol.com writes: >If I go into the compartment and give the pump a slight tap with a >screwdriver handle it starts pumping and works for several flushes until >the problem >happens again...sometimes 24 hours later. > >What's going on? A few comments: 1) This sounds like it might just be a loose connection on the pump power. Next time, try jiggling the wires before tapping the pump. 2) However, this sound a lot like a problem I had. Sometimes the pump would not start when it was supposed to, and sometimes it would run on. After watching the tank carefully I realized that there was a shaft which connected to the vacacuum switch bellows and operated a microswitch. The shaft has gotten a bit dirty and dusty, and was binding against the sleeve. This is very easy to test -- just gently nudge the shaft. Anyhow, a quick spray of WD-40 had it running perfectly. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

Sven writes: >Is the Northwest passage really open ? I know the ice coverage maps >shows the area north of Canada open during the summer months, but >does that really mean that one could motor or sail from the Pacific >to the Atlantic above Canada ? > >Assuming the answer is yes, are the charts good enough to allow it >to be done with some confidence in being able to avoid running >aground due to chart errors ? I have some experience with this, as I worked on a boat in the arctic for 7 years. My parents have both been through the passage in both directions on larger boats (icebreakers), and have 30+ years of boating experience on Lancaster Sound, the part of the passage near Resolute Bay. They regularly traveled up to 250 miles in a 24 foot aluminum workboat. "Open" is a relative term. While certain parts of the passage may be ice-free at certain times, you cannot guarantee that a wind or weather change will not bring a crushing pack of ice in on you. In particular, there are certain very narrow passes (e.g. Bellot Straight) which are particularly dangerous. This pack ice can be pushed in at any time at all. "Summer" in the high arctic is late July through early September, and during that time you can still expect snow. The good news is that if it's warm enough for boating, it's also light 24 hours a day (I still find boating in the dark pretty freaky, I'd never done it once in the 7 years I worked in the arctic). I myself would love to take a boat through, in fact I've even though about taking Island Eagle through, but in my opinion you would have to understand the following facts: 1) The boat would have to be disposable. If you are not prepared to risk everything, don't start. It should also be very strong, with steel being the optimal choice. 2) You have to be really, really self-sufficient. Between Alaska and Newfoundland there are exactly zero boatyards. Haulout will be with a Cat up a gravel beach. There is no cell service. There are no Coast Guard stations. There are no roads. There are no hospitals. There is basically a lot of empty land (and by "a lot" I mean "an area the size of all of Europe"). 3) While there are communities, they are very, very small. A few hundred people, and the stores are sort of cross between a 7-11 and an old-style general store. All fresh food comes in by air, so expect to pay dearly. Each community has a "nursing station" with one or two nurses. 4) Fuel is available but typically about double the price of whatever you would pay "down south". It will be delivered to the beach in 45 gallon drums. >From there it's your problem. 5) The cost of dealing with any emergency is high. Flights to Resolute (the easiest place on the passage to reach) are roughly $5000 return (Yes, $5000, that is not a typo). Couriers are nonexistent. Dealers for any type of equipment are nonexistent. Marinas and docks are nonexistent. If you need to fly out to your boat from one of the communities expect to pay at least $500/hr for a charter. 6) As Mike pointed out, you are close to the magnetic north pole. Trust me when I tell you, magnetic compasses just spin in circles. You'll need a gyrocompass for any autopilot. Also, the charts are a bit sketchy, where they exist. The rest of the time, you are on your own. Google Earth will be a big help. In my day, we didn't even have GPS. That was fun. On the flip side, it's absolutely beautiful and as wild as it gets. The people are incredible. It will be a unique experience. If you want to learn more, I would suggest the following books: "North-West Passage" by Willi De Roos. Willi took a sailboat through in the mid-70s, singlehanded (!!), in a single year (!!!!). A great read. http://tinyurl.com/6yqd6x "High Latitude, North Atlantic" by John Bockstoce. Many parts to this book, but John took his boat Belvedere (a steel motorsailer built by Sutton in California) through the North-West Passage in the early 80s. An excellent read, highly recommended. By the way he also went through in a 24 foot skin umiaq when he was younger. Not for the faint of heart. http://tinyurl.com/6ayjyf and http://tinyurl.com/67fz5y "Arctic Odyssey: Dove III Masters the Northwest Passage" by Len Sherman. Three guys from Nanaimo took a 27 foot steel sailboat through in about 1995. One of the guys keeps his new boat just a few slips down from Island Eagle. A good read. http://tinyurl.com/5gwkdu "Northwest Passage Solo" by David Scott Cowper. The best of the best. David Cowper was the first person to solo circumnavigate in a powerboat. He then went around again, but through the Northwest Passage. A really good book. Very highly recommended. http://tinyurl.com/5heltu Finally, for all of those folks who think that the ice is not melting: I'm sorry to report that the scientific evidence is against you. My father's day job was as an arctic biologist, and he and his colleagues have been tracking arctic ice thickness and cover since the mid-sixties. It appears that both cover and thickness show a steady decline. Variations in individual years are well within statistical expectations, but the trend is clear. Something to think about: ice is an almost perfect reflector of solar radiation. Water is almost a perfect absorber. When that ice melts, and the water warms up, the change in global weather patterns is likely to make El Nino look like an afternoon shower. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

"Larry Cruzen" writes: >Does any one have an approximate mathematical relationship between >hull displacement and fuel consumption? Consider a 40' trawler >displacing 20,000 lbs and a 46' trawler displacing 40,000 lbs, similar >hull, same engines, both cruising at 7 knots. I highly recommend "The Propeller Handbook", by Dave Gerr. All you ever wanted to know, and more. See http://tinyurl.com/gerrprop for details. Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

GARY RITZMAN writes: >One of the VDO tachs for my Lehman 135s seems to "skip" or "bounce." For >example, running at 1700 RPM, it will drop to zero and then immediately >bounce >back up to 2000 before settling back to 1700. I thought that perhaps the belt >was loose but that does not appear to be the problem. Any suggestions from >the >fertile minds of this knowledgeable group? Well, I have good and bad news. The good news is that I know what causes this, because it also happens to me on my VDO tach. It happens when the batteries reach full charge and the field current on the alternator drops to such a low point that the tachometer feed from the alternator is too weak for the tach to read. The bad news is that I have not yet figured out what I can do about it, other than installing a dedicated tachometer sender. Perhaps someone else has a suggestion? Scott Welch FirstClass Product Manager www.firstclass.com Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.