Steven Dubnoff writes: >This is a very interesting piece on the effects of being in cold water. > >http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/cold_water/ > >The bottom line is "It is impossible to die from >hypothermia in cold water unless you are wearing >flotation, because without flotation  you wont >live long enough to become hypothermic" > >The three rules of survival: Life jacket. Life jacket. Life jacket. This is an excellent article. It's quite incredible to see what some people are capable of in cold water. I once watched a friend of mine named Charlie Issaluk (who happens to be Eskimo) teach himself to water ski. In Hudson Bay. Without a life jacket. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to keep warm. It took about 45 minutes before he could stay up. I was on shore, wearing a down parka, and I was damn cold. The air temperature was just under 50 degrees and the water temperature about 38 degrees. He seemed to suffer no ill effects, in fact he got out of the water and rode home (in his wet clothes) on a motorcycle. By the way, the "can't breathe" part is absolutely true, my father did about 1000 under-ice dives and every single time he went in he had to wait in the hole until he could breathe. I have fallen into very cold (35 degree) water twice, once from a boat and once from a skidoo, and you have to be prepared for the sensation of drowning, it's scary but it does pass. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

"Mark G. Ketcham" writes: >I installed a 200 AMP Ample Power (Bus) alternator on a Volvo TMD40 >instead of putting a Generator on our Kha Shing 36. The Volvo has a >3 Groove Pulley for 3/8" Belts but used only 2 Belts. The Alternator >came with a 2 Groove, 1/2" belt Pulley that I used for 2 seasons with >the 3/8" Belts but had to Short the Alternator Temperature leads on >the Balmar 612 Regulator to limit output to 100 AMPS to keep the >belts from self-destructing. I have been unable to find a 3 Groove >Pulley for a 5/8" Shaft and 3/8" Belts of about 3 to 4" O.D. in the >usual places. Any suggestions? Yep. Just head down to your local machine shop, they will make one to your exact specs out of billett alumuminum. Make sure you know the profile of the drive pulley, the best bet is to just give them one of the existing belts and they can use that as a guide. Also, you can also use this opportunity to match the RPMs exactly, size the driven pulley so that redline on the engine exactly corresponds with the alternator max rpm. I used this method on Island Eagle to make a custom drive pulley with four grooves, two for each of my 125 amp alternators. Works like a charm. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

Rob Zanussi writes: >I have no idea how long I have been a member of this list and this is the >first time I have heard any reference to VTS as well. Only certain areas have VTS in force. However if you look at ANY chart of the Straight of Juan de Fuca, you will see the VTS highlighted (in purple I believe), with clear directions as to which vessels must participate and what the procedures are. Smaller vessels are typically exempt, but it is IMPERITIVE that you know and understand where the ships will be, so you can navigate around them safely. Note that the VTS can also override other rules of the road, so for example in the one off Vancouver there are clear lanes for inbound and outbound ship traffic. I don't have my COLREGS in front of me, but I am pretty damn sure that the vessels participating in the VTS are considered to be constrained in their ability to navigate and hence you must give way to them even if you are the stand-on vessel. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

jtones@shaw.ca writes: > At the forward end there >is a special casting (bronze) which acts as the thru-hull for both in >and out coolant pipes as well as splitting the cooling tubes into two >runs each way (fore and aft). The aft end also has a "custom" casting >that allows the tubes to again be parallel in regards to the flow. These >castings I am certain were locally made as most of the systems I have >seen seem to use identical castings so they probably came from one >foundry in this area. A couple of comments here: 1) Are you SURE that the pipes are copper? I too assumed that they were, but when I bought the Walter cooler for my genset I discovered that the pipes wer e actually bronze. Also, modern coolers have ridged pipes, which increases th e cooling substantially. 2) I am guessing that the castings are actually from one of the standard mari ne foundries (e.g. Perko, Wilcox-Crittenden, Walter, Buck Algonquin). First, those castings are actually pretty complex. Second, I collect old marine cata logs, plans and magazines, and even plans for fishboats 50 and 60 years ago s pecified Walter keel-cooling fittings. From the description you give, I would bet dollars to donuts that you have a Walter keel cooler. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

jtones@shaw.ca writes: >One point I forgot to make about the cooler installation on my boat is >the fact that it is installed over a copper sheet that is about a foot >bigger in all ways and is nailed to the hull before the cooler was >installed - I think for the purpose of reducing barnacle and sea life >build up between the cooler and the hull. What ever the reason I am glad >its there as it acts as a great ground plane for my HF radio system! That's a darn good idea, I think that I will do this on my next haul-out. I'v e actually thought about coppering my entire bottom, but it's a pretty large job. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out ." - John Wooden

"C. Marin Faure" writes: >Are you sure you don't mean the Nuvi 255W? I do not see any >reference to a "225." The 255W was rated as the best in this >particular class of GPS units, and we bought one earlier this year to >use on a several thousand mile driving trip to Prince Edward Island. >It's a great unit the wide screen is a real benefit. While we are on the subject of car GPS units: I have had a few, and used a few more. There is one thing that DRIVES ME CRAZY with some of the units, and that is that the on-screen keyboard is alphabetical (A-B-C-D-E-F...) instead of the standard Q-W-E-R-T-Y. I found this incredibly hard to get used to, and I'm guessing most folks on here are pretty comfortably with QWERTY. I would not buy a unit without a QWERTY keyboard. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

"Tom Hitchcock" writes: >would appreciate any suggestions on care to apply to the thin wood veneer >finish as is common on the Tiawan built trawlers of the 80's. I believe >the finish is satin varnish and is worn down and darkened in areas; will >a furniture polish like Liquid Gold work? Or is it best to sand and apply >more varnish. I'm concerned about sanding the veneer off? There is another solution, and it's what I did on Island Eagle. It might sound heretical, but have you considered paint? Typically the panels are veneer and the trim is solid wood (teak in your case, mahogany in mine). The mahogany on IE had faded to a particularly unattractive puke-yellow. I decide to remove the trim, paint almost all of the panels a nice white, and then refinish and reinstall the trim. Yes, it's a different look (more "Herreschoff" than "Taiwan Trawler") but I found that it brightened the cabins substantially. I also painted some of the mahogany doors. Just an idea, Scott Welch "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

Kevin Kearney writes: >Presently for a 30/20/3 NEW Prices range from $1200-$2200, Ahoy vs >Michigan-Do >T&T members have suggestions on best price sources? Use eBay. I've now picked up two props there, both brand new, both at less than 30% of retail. And just out of curiosity, what about your current props makes you "unhappy"? Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

Rudy and Jill writes: >Probably bad guys in 8 knot boats! And we all know that you can tell the bad guys because they don't have a VHF! Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden

"Kim Boyce & Eric Thoman" writes: >4. Joe Engel once suffered the "Rudy treatment" when he announced that he >did not use a ratchet crimping tool. The entire list jumped on him. After >two or three days he said "OK, I'll go buy one and use it." You could hear >a pin drop. By the way, for what it's worth: both Dieter (my boat electrician) and I own a Ancor ratchet crimping tool, and when we started work on Island Eagle that's what we both used. In the course of the renovation, which I estimate involved crimping AT LEAST 5,000 connectors and hence 10,000 crimps, we both decided to switch to Klein 1005 non-ratcheting crimpers: http://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-Insulated-Non-Insulated-Terminals/dp/B0006M6Y5M There are a couple of reasons for this switch: 1) We both found that given certain conditions, the ratcheting crimpers had a tendency to apply slightly too much pressure on the main crimp, which resulted in the insulation on the connector being split. 2) We found the same thing on the secondary crimp, but in that case it was the wire insulation that was cut. By the way this was happening with Ancor cable and Ancor connectors. 3) The ratcheting crimpers are quite bulky and require a fair bit of working room, whereas the Klein plier-style is easier to snake into a tight area. 4) The Kleins have a very handy pair of sidecutters on the nose, which are perfect for trimming both the ends of wires as well as nipping zip-ties. 5) The longer handles of the Kleins are much easier on your hand muscles in the long run. All in all I have been very happy with this change, and I believe that it has substantially improved with the speed and quality of the job. As an aside, if anyone on the list needs any wiring done in the Nanaimo BC area, I would HIGHLY recommend Dieter. Scott Welch Chief Evangelist, Open Text Social Media Group www.opentext.com 905 762 6101 "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." - John Wooden