A Stranded Mariner’s Experiences in China and Beyond
I stumbled upon this site called Engineering ToolBox. It’s an engineer’s treasure chest when it comes to find resources and information for engineering calculations. It helped me a lot with the design of systems on my boat.
Today I want to give a heads-up for OceansWatch, an organisation I recently joined, and which deserves to be promoted. I will provide below, unedited, some information on their organisation and goals.
OceansWatch is a not-for-profit Trust with a rapidly growing membership of individuals. Although we are based in New Zealand our membership is worldwide and is made up of - medical doctors, dentists, engineers, dive instructors, underwater photographers, international development specialists, nurses, midwives, researchers, academics, tourism operators, outdoor educators, radio operators, scientists .. the list goes on!.. and many others interested in making a difference to coastal communities and their associated marine environments. By linking these island communities to those who are actively involved in marine research, education, humanitarian work and conservation we are able to offer practical solutions to their problems.
As we are a very young organisation, in this first year of operation projects are being focused in the Western Pacific on Vanuatu, Tonga and PNG where OceansWatch team members are already familiar with the local conditions.
OceansWatch offers its members a variety of opportunities to participate in marine conservation and humanitarian assistance programmes. As there are thousands of issues concerning the marine environment and thousands of solutions, OceansWatch has chosen to start with something that the Marine Biologists on our team www.oceanswatch.org/team are certain will be of benefit.
Having looked carefully at Reef Check www.reefcheck.org they are happy that the science is good and the results meaningful and of value. Reef Check is a system of monitoring reef health with particular reference to the effects of pollution, over-fishing, and the aquarium and curio trade. The Reef Check scientists have chosen their indicator species carefully to measure these pressures on the reef. The results go into an international database accessible by anyone and Reef Check regularly report on the state of the world’s reefs.
It was important for us that it was relatively simple for members to be able to help in a meaningful way and we feel that Reef Check fulfills our criteria. This year we are running a training programme in Tonga, but we ultimately aim to have bases worldwide where members can receive training. Once trained, members will be able to help out on the 2008 projects in Tonga, Vanuatu and PNG, with the possibility of more in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. We can only work in countries defined as “developing” by the UN.
In addition to this in Vanuatu, OceansWatch will be working alongside Project MARC (Medical Assistance to Remote Communities) who welcomes our assistance on education and marine conservation projects. We will set up new Reef Check transects in an MPA (marine protected area) established by the local Chief; help the Fisheries Department mark established MPAs, as well as supporting current Reef Check programmes. In addition OceansWatch members yachts will distribute resources to local schools and items such as reading glasses under guidance of the local Red Cross. More details will come out shortly.
As well as practical projects, OceansWatch is also a forum for discussion and networking amongst like-minded people and as a member we encourage you to actively use our forums via the website. www.oceanswatch.org/forum .
I am adding a few links to related articles and information for further reading.
oceanswatch-general-introduction
One of the things that had to be sorted out, is the choice of navigation and communication equipment. When you are building a new boat, you have the chance to select the system you want to have in one go, and select equipment that will work well together.
For most of the equipment I selected Raymarine. I have sailed with their equipment before, and I liked it.
In the cockpit I will have a multifunctional display unit, the C80 (a 8.4″ TFT VGA colour display), which can display charts, radar, and AIS information. Also in the cockpit I will have the ST60+ wind system (analog), the ST60+ Tridata digital display for depth, speed through water, and miles logged. In addition to a magnetic steering compass, there will be the ST60+ fluxgate compass. For the GPS input of the chart plotter I will use the Raystar 125 GPS transducer.
For the radar I selected the Raymarine 18″ 2kW radome. It will be mast mounted. Belowdecks at the nav station I will have the ST60+ Graphic repeater, which can display all data which are gathered. Here I will also have the Ray55E VHF radio, and the AIS receiver.
The transducers for speed and depth are both of the through hull retractable type, which allows for easy cleaning and maintenance without having to haul the boat, or having to dive.
Raymarine has a new product, which is a satellite weather radio. It is called Sirius50 and can be integrated with the multifunctional display. Problem is that so far it only covers the USA and part of the Caribbean. So I had to look for another solution. It will be a combined HF Weatherfax / Navtex receiver from Furuno. The information can be displayed on any PC, without having to install additional software.
All the equipment will be supplied by Central Boating from Cape Town.
I will purchase a hand held satellite phone (Iridium or equivalent), which I can also use ashore in remote area’s.
With the hull and deck basically completed now, we are looking into the placement of all deck equipment. The majority of what we need has been delivered by Central Boating. Wynand has made the cutouts for the hatches. All cutouts have to be made prior to blasting the hull and applying the primer.
The first picture gives a view towards the bow. Through the port side hatch the anchor chain locker can be seen. There is a separation in the middle for the two anchor chains. I will use full chain for both anchors, about 80 meters of 10 mm chain each. My primary anchor will be a 25 or 30 kg Bruce or Rocna anchor. For the secondary I am thinking about a Fortress. They are light and compact in relation to their holding power, and I can use the Fortress anchor as a counter weight for the series drogue system I intend to buy.
The second picture shows the cutouts for the hatches for the aft cabin, and the sail locker.
The last picture shows the rudder of ‘Waratah’, which looks truly impressive. The rudder will be filled with oil, to prevent corrosion from the inside.
Meanwhile I have sorted out all the navigation, and communication equipment. I will post separately about this.
A heads-up for a nice website with wind and weather information. It’s called Windfinder. Apart from up to date information about wind speed and direction, it also provides wave heights and periods, temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and barometric pressure. Forecast data for a week are available, in 3 hour increments.
Another nice feature is the availability of wind statistics for most locations. The distribution of wind speed and direction can be seen for every month of the year.
For selected locations, mainly USA and NW Europe, also information on tides is provided.
After a few weeks delay, the engine finally arrived in Welkom last week. It’s a Yanmar 4JH4AE with a ZF30M mechanical multiple plate type transmission. The 4 cylinder engine develops 54 hp (40 kW) at 3000 rpm. The gear ratio of the transmission is 2.15:1.
At the front end the big bracket and double pulley is visible. Here the Balmar 24VDC, 140A, marine alternator will be fitted. This alternator will charge the 460 Ah 24VDC house bank. The other alternator at the drive end of the engine, is the 12VDC 80A alternator for the starter battery.
Every time I arrive in Japan, I have the feeling that I just landed on another planet. Friendly and polite people, fantastic food (my absolute favourite), and excellent infrastructure. This time I was in the area around Kobe, famous for Kobe beef, and the beautiful cherry blossoms this time of the year.
The transom of ‘Waratah’ is in place now. Looks great! On the deck, instead of the standard toe rail, Wynand created nice looking and sturdy bulwarks. Later cutouts will be made, to insert stainless steel guides for mooring lines and ropes, bow rollers for the anchors, and drains.
The cutout for the main sliding hatch is done, and gives view into the interior, where the companionway leads down. Next step is making all the cutouts for hatches and windows.
The cockpit is really taking shape now. Look at the beautiful shape of the conical coaming in front of the cockpit. This is not easy to make, but the result is fantastic.
