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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #2011
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    St. Helena, a isolated island marooned in the middle of the South Atlantic, is on the milk run for many cruisers sailing from Cape Town, South Africa to the Caribbean. Recently, singlehander Webb Chiles briefly stopped at St. Helena aboard his Moore-24 GANNET. https://my.yb.tl/gannet

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    The only way to reach St. Helena, other than by yacht, is the bi-monthly aging mail ferry St. HELENA from Cape Town. That was about to change, and St. HELENA's visits canceled, with the opening of the much heralded and anticipated St. Helena International Airport.

    Before the anticipated revelry, heavy equipment had to be landed on the nearly inaccessible coast. Then 530,000 truckloads of earth removed from a nearby mountain top to fill in the Dry Gut Gorge and raise its elevation 300 feet. This construction unfortunately had major impact on the nesting sites and habitat of the critically endangered Wire Bird (St. Helena plover), the national bird of St. Helena.
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    Britain funded $490 million for the expertise and completion of long delayed construction, and the initial commercial flight was set for last April.

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    A royal reception was planned, the crowd assembled, the band played, and the plane circled but couldn't land. Everyone went home, reportedly disappointed. It seemed no one in the design stage for the new airport had anticipated the extreme windshear that could make commercial landings unfeasible. No one but Charles Darwin, who had observed and written about the windshear phenomena in 1836 on the visit of the BEAGLE.

    Whether the St. Helena airport and incoming flights carrying the Golden Egg of tourism can be salvaged is uncertain.
    Apparently there may be a certain type of 4 engine STOL jet with hardy brakes and flown by experienced high wind pilots from the rugged Faroe Islands of the North Atlantic who have the experience to land downwind at St. Helena that may save the day. The welcoming band may play yet.

    Meanwhile, I suspect Napoleon, exiled to St. Helena after his crushing defeat at Waterloo and who died on-island, is likely rolling in his grave wishing for another chance at the incompetent Brits.
    Last edited by sleddog; 03-21-2017 at 08:39 AM.

  2. #2012
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    Up the rig, under the boat, in the engine room, it's easy for things “out of sight, out of mind” to have a life of their own. Spring cleaning is upon us and I was reminded again of taking things for granted when, with a loud “whoosh,” my West Marine “Inshore” Automatic Inflating PFD (lifejacket) burst open and vigorously inflated.

    I'm used to PFD's unintentionally inflating for the simple reason a wave broke over the boat, soaking the wearer, and melting the aspirin “trigger.” But this premature inflation was different. It was sunny and I was a 1/4 mile from the nearest water, with the PFD lying on deck. What happened?

    While attempting to deflate, then rearm the misbehaving PFD, I had ample opportunity to explore the workings of the PFD and its automatic trigger device. Initially, what I found simultaneously deflated my wallet and confidence. I noticed the fabric and bladder of the PFD was made in China, the C02 cartridge made in Austria, the aspirin trigger made in Germany, and the small yellow bobbin made in the USA.

    I visited West Marine and bought a rearm kit for my auto-inflate PFD. First thing I noticed was the replacement CO2 cartridge was made in Japan and despite have the same number, “24 grams”, as the original Austrian one, the new cartridge was physically larger and heavier (112.5 vs. 107 grams.) No where could I find if this mattered...(it doesn't, see below).

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    I installed the new aspirin bobbin and CO2 cartridge as per instructions. “Whoosh,” again premature inflation. This was confusing until I noticed the rearm package was labeled for a “Manual” PFD. My WM Inshore PFD had large letters on its exterior: “MANUAL/AUTOMATIC”. The WM sales associate had assured me it was the correct rearm kit I was buying.

    I again visited WM and returned the now used rearm kit for exchange and replaced it with the proper “AUTOMATIC PFD” rearm kit which I should have bought the first time. Returning home, I again rearmed the PFD. Again, “Whoosh!” Again I experienced the CO2 cartridge triggering as I screwed in the CO2cylinder. ???

    I examined the inner workings of the Halkey/Roberts inflator and triggering device with a flashlite. What I saw was the piercing pin for the C02 cartridge not withdrawing flush into its cap upon rearmament. It was a mystery why this was so. I finally settled on the reason being a faulty bobbin....

    I returned to West Marine for a third time, and left with yet another rearm kit (one bobbin comes in each rearm kit, as well as a CO2 cartridge).

    This time success.... But why did the PFD prematurely inflate the first time when dry? I could only surmise that during the winter, I'd placed the PFD into a plastic bag for safekeeping. In the sunlight, the air remaining in the plastic bag condensed, causing moisture, which set off melting the Halkey Roberts aspirin triggering mechanism.

    Takeaways from the exercise:

    1) If you own an Auto Inflate PFD, it is mandatory to replace the water-activated bobbin every three years from the date stamped on the bobbin, even if the CO2 cartridge is good. This replacement entails unscrewing the clear plastic inflator and inserting a new bobbin. Takes about a minute.

    You can't just buy one individual bobbin. Bobbins come in a 3 pack. To buy one bobbin, you have to buy the full rearm kit containing a CO2 cylinder, even if yours is unused.

    2) According to Chuck Hawley, with whom I spoke and who knows these things, the size of the CO2 cylinder doesn't matter, only the capacity of CO2, which in my case was 24 grams and matched the expended 24 gram cylinder.

    3) Especially during winter, or anytime, storing an auto inflatable PFD in a potentially damp environment like a plastic bag or bunk locker is asking for trouble. The aspirin in the trigger will degrade over time.

    4) All this is moot if you own the more expensive MUSTANG auto-inflate PFD with the hydro static inflator (HIT) that doesn't use an aspirin/bobbin combo, but different technology that doesn't trigger until the inflator is 4” underwater.
    Last edited by sleddog; 03-21-2017 at 10:33 AM.

  3. #2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    1) If you own an Auto Inflate PFD, it is mandatory to replace the water-activated bobbin every three years from the date stamped on the bobbin, even if the CO2 cartridge is good. This replacement entails unscrewing the clear plastic inflator and inserting a new bobbin. Takes about a minute.
    Uh oh. Technical skills required. This is never easy.

  4. #2014
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    Also, be sure you get a cylinder with the right size threads.

  5. #2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Critter View Post
    Also, be sure you get a cylinder with the right size threads.
    Threads? There are threads? Does it require reading a handbook like when I bought an IBM computer in 1989 and it required reading the 400 page "Understanding DOS" handbook? This is making me feel so stressed. Gotta go sailing to relieve that stress.

  6. #2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    Threads? There are threads? Does it require reading a handbook like when I bought an IBM computer in 1989 and it required reading the 400 page "Understanding DOS" handbook? This is making me feel so stressed. Gotta go sailing to relieve that stress.
    Hi Jackie,
    Do you wear a manual inflation PFD? If so, you are good to go as is.
    Auto-inflation? Then unless you know the date on the yellow bobbin, it is good practice to check...no more difficult than unscrewing the lid on a jar of Englehoffers.
    Simply expose the clear cup on the bottom of the inflator, unscrew, and drop the yellow bobbin out. Check the date on the side of the yellow bobbin. If more than 3 years, time to replace. ( I've got 2 extra new bobbins I'm willing to give away)
    Then replace the plastic cup tight with the white side of the bobbin upward, and you are good to go! No need to replace the CO2 cylinder unless its been triggered.
    Easy Peasy, no stress. Here's our friend Chuck Hawley giving a demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkA14AgkEw

  7. #2017
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    All this is moot if you own the more expensive MUSTANG auto-inflate PFD with the hydro static inflator (HIT) that doesn't use an aspirin/bobbin combo, but different technology that doesn't trigger until the inflator is 4” underwater.
    Ran right down to the marina and sailed DM in surprisingly windy conditions. While we were out there I thought to look down to find, amazingly, that I purchased the "more expensive MUSTANG auto-inflate PFD". Who would have expected DM to have such a luxury item aboard? So it is all, as you write, a moot point. And a good thing, too, because now I can worry about other things, like cleaning the bottom of the boat so the fish finder doesn't "chirp!" instead of reading properly. Always something. BTW, what did I learn about my fish finder/depth sounder? It reads up to 200 ft depth, but when we are offshore and it becomes deeper, it chirps, too. I say to it, "that is just a silly sound" and it stops.
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    Last edited by Philpott; 03-21-2017 at 05:39 PM.

  8. #2018
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    because now I can worry about other things, like cleaning the bottom of the boat so the fish finder doesn't "chirp!" instead of reading properly. what did I learn about my fish finder/depth sounder? It reads up to 200 ft depth, but when we are offshore and it becomes deeper, it chirps, too. I say to it, "that is just a silly sound" and it stops.
    The fish finder chirps? Maybe you are sailing over a school of fish and it's time to break out the rod and reel? Fish and chips are good this time of year.

    Never a dull moment on DM? Why would a dirty bottom make the fish finder chirp? And it has voice control activiation? You are amazing..

  9. #2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    The fish finder chirps? Maybe you are sailing over a school of fish and it's time to break out the rod and reel? Fish and chips are good this time of year.

    Never a dull moment on DM? Why would a dirty bottom make the fish finder chirp? And it has voice control activiation? You are amazing..
    She writes books too.

  10. #2020
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    Whee, the National Weather Service has issued a Special Marine Warning for waters offshore Santa Cruz: You don't see "waterspout" and "stay below deck" usually mentioned in our local weather. Secure the cat and chickens.

    AT 621 AM PDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM...
    CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS 34 KNOTS OR GREATER AND SMALL HAIL...
    LOCATED 82 NM NORTHWEST OF POINT PIEDRAS BLANCAS...MOVING NORTHEAST
    AT 25 KNOTS. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY OPEN WATERS.

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

    FREQUENT LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. IF CAUGHT ON THE
    OPEN WATER STAY BELOW DECK IF POSSIBLE...KEEP AWAY FROM UNGROUNDED
    METAL OBJECTS.

    WATERSPOUT...
    WIND... >34KTS
    HAIL... <.75IN

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