Subject:
rec.boats Frequently Asked Questions (Part 3 of 5)
Posted-By: auto-faq 2.4
Archive-name: boats-faq/part3
Electronic Equip. 210.48 348.78 225.19 -138.30
Engine maintenance 632.12 374.07 1194.97 +258.05
Sailing Hardware 246.95 229.27 -246.95
General Maintenance on Hull+Eq 458.87 617.96 -159.09
Insurance 881.00 825.00 750.00 +56.00
Interior systems, exc elec+eng 63.47 165.21 490.51 -101.74
Miscellaneous expenses 200.00 306.03 -106.03
Moor'g,Haul'g,Storage, Anchor 830.28 1110.26 1886.08 -279.98
Not Categorized -73.73 75.73 9.56 -149.46
Operating expenses 77.17 546.49 498.31 -469.32
Boat-related phone calls 10.00 97.98 416.80 -87.98
Rigging Replacement 198.74 +198.74
Safety Equipt. 226.57 18.14 -226.57
Sail repair and purchase 111.56 447.40 -335.84
Monthly Bank Charge 30.50 37.00 52.00 -6.50
Tools for boat 191.84 216.63 30.00 -24.79
Yard Labor and Tax 180.00
------------------------------------------
Total 4333.98 6,314.61 8047.67 -1980.63
A few remarks: I've gotten less diligent about recording which
phone calls are boat related. The large engine expense this
year is partly due to having some transmission work done. The
``mooring, etc.'' costs went down only because I failed to pay
one bill before the end of 1992. They'll go up next year. So
will rigging replacement.
I now have further information about a couple of other boats:
Medium-sized powerboat (as I recall), used a good deal. The
``Access'' item may be ``accessories''---I cannot recall.
Payment Fuel Repair Maint Access Moor Insur TOTALS
March $284 $251 $10 $343 $470 $120 $25 $1,503
April $284 $262 $882 $240 $1,687 $120 $25 $3,500
May $284 $218 $3,905 $18 $71 $120 $25 $4,641
June $284 $384 $0 $8 $126 $120 $25 $947
July $284 $838 $34 $4 $106 $120 $25 $1,411
Aug $284 $94 $119 $39 $232 $145 $25 $938
Sept $284 $395 $0 $3 $19 $145 $25 $871
Oct $284 $0 $0 $18 $0 $145 $25 $472
Nov $284 $92 $17 $0 $0 $145 $25 $563
Dec $284 $141 $0 $0 $0 $145 $25 $595
Jan $284 $0 $0 $55 $359 $145 $25 $868
Feb $284 $335 $9 $371 $13 $145 $25 $1,182
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS $3,408 $3,010 $4,976 $1,099 $3,083 $1,615 $300
ANNUAL TOTAL $17,491 AVERAGE MONTHLY $1,458
________________________________________________________________________
And for another sailboat:
We're under 1,000 a month for a 39' sailboat at the Shilshole
Bay Marina in Seattle.
And one more:
I don't have monthly totals, but the following are my yearly
totals for a 22' commercial dory with an 88 h.p. outboard ...
Licensing fees: Fish and Wildlife 450.00
NOAA Marine mammal exemption 30.00
F.C.C. Operators license 35.00
_______
total: $550.00
Maintenance and upkeep: $2884.50
total fuel consumption: 534.6 gallons $787.22
total tackle expenses $825.32
_________
Grand total: $5047.04
I fished the boat an average of three days a week (some weeks
more, others less) and I grossed 3372.06 last year. That
brought my total expenditure for eight months of fishing (and
boating on the Pacific) to about 2700. That gives me a monthly
average of about 225/month.
My insurance (for an ocean going commercial fishing vessel) was
236 for 1992. That will go up to 242 this year.
And one more:
OK, how's this for cheap: A friend of mine and I bought a used
DaySailer for somewhat less than 3000 last summer and during
the fall sailing season, we spent less than 300 total on
maintenance, which included a new battery for our trolling
motor, various rigging upgrades, a new trailer wheel, grease
for the trailer wheels, and a new anchor. We've spent 70
pre-season this year for a reef point and other than new
bearings on the trailer, we're ready to go. OK, so we don't do
blue-water sailing, but it gets us out on the water on the
weekends. :-)
And another detailed one from William Courington:
I can hardly believe I'm doing this in public, the numbers are
so sobering. But here's the cost for Lively in 1993. She's is a
modified Olson30 sailboat in San Francisco, maintained to a
pretty high standard by an owner who generally values
convenience/quality/time over cost.
This year's major optional expense was revarnishing the
interior. (Eleven years old, and quite thin, it wasn't _that_
optional--especially considering that birch ply turns black
when it gets wet.) Unlike the three previous years there were
no new sails, no new engine, no new rigging to speak of. Maybe
a typical year in the life of a sailboat.
Note how a few big items dominate each category.
Grand Total $8700.62
Maintenance Total $4823.61
Major Items
Engine Service 434.13 By pros
Bottom Paint Job 1001.39 By yard
Monthly Bottom Clean 261.20 By pro
Interior Varnish Job 2473.41 By pros
Ext. Varnish Supplies 380.23 Incl. heat gun, scrapers
Of Total 94%
Misc. Total $ 581.13 Books, etc.
Major Item
Insurance 448.00
Of Total 77%
Slip $2700.00
Upgrades Total $ 595.88 Things not broken or required
Major Items
Vberth Covers 308.51
Seacook Stove 213.12 (Great 1 burner gimballed stove!)
Of Total 87%
Let me also add a remark from Mike Hughes: People waste time,
effort and money on all kinds of things that don't make sense
when by owning a boat one can consolidate and waste them all on
one thing.
Think about that before you ever consider owning a boat as an
investment.
Two more interesting facts on this whole issue:
Some years ago I plotted (length, price) for 200 used
fiberglass sailboats (19-50ft) on log-log paper and found a
pretty good straight line (scatter was about a factor of 2 in
price). The plot indicated that the price varied as the 3.6
power of the overall length. It implies that a factor of 2 in
length is about a factor of 10 in price. (pk).
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but sailboats, like
any other precious commodity, are sold per unit of mass, not
size. My rule of thumb is that new fiberglass sailboats cost 10
per pound displacement. This holds (relatively) true from 12
feet to 90 feet. This does not generate accurate numbers, but
gets you in the ballpark. (tf)
5.7 Who can tell me about boat X?
Various people on the net know about their own boats and seem
to be willing to talk. Here is a list of boat types, e-mail
addresses, and names.
Alberg 30 bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Alberg 37 jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Albin Vega 27 gucpe@gd.chalmers.se Peter Gustafsson
Albin Vega 27 currier@ctron.com Tom Currier
Beneteau First 235 lastra@cs.unc.edu Anselmo Lastra
First 405 & 456 gucpe@gd.chalmers.se Peter Gustafsson
C\&C 32 kell@mprgate.mpr.ca Dave Kell
Cal 20 stefan@sunrise.stanford.edu Stefan Michalowski
Cal 20 hchan@well.sf.ca.us Hoover Chan
Cascade 29 lgbarker@teleport.com Larry Barker
Catalina 27 wms@spin.ho.att.com Wayne Simpson
Catalina 25 bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Cotuit Skiff bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
Coronado 15 steve@test490.pac.sc.ti.com Steve Comen
Crealock 37 marc@dwp.la.ca.us Marc Hall
CS 33 dgm@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca David G. Macneil
CSY-44 GERMAIN@CDHF2.GSFC.NASA.GOV Andy Germain
DN Iceboat jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Dovekie jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Drascombe Coaster lastra@cs.unc.edu Anselmo Lastra
Ericson 27 haggart@SLAC.STANFORD.EDU Craig Haggart
Etchells 22 ross@geac.com Ross Morrissey
Flying Dutchman guido@blink.att.com Guido Bertucci
Gulfstar 37 larry@pdn.paradyne.com Larry Swift
Herreschoff 12 jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
HinkleyIslander bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
J/24 roy@wombat.phri.nyu.edu Roy Smith
J-30 jmruzzi@tasc.com Joe Ruzzi
Jeanneau 31 crossle1@cc.swarthmore.edu Cindy Rossley
Laser 28 JMHBC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Jim Howell
MacGregor 19 WILCOX@LCC.STONEHILL.EDU Russ Wilcox
MacGregor 25 kell@mprgate.mpr.ca Dave Kell
MacGregor 26 lgbarker@teleport.com Larry Barker
Mercer 44 jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Olson 25 stefan@sunrise.stanford.edu Stefan Michalowski
Puddleduck pram bobp@sandr.com Bob Parkinson
R 2.4 (mini-12) gucpe@gd.chalmers.se Peter Gustafsson
Swan 36 tpl@ces.cwru.edu Tom Lightbody
Stone Horse jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
Thunderbird ross@geac.com Ross Morrissey
Thistle sblair@tivoli.com Steve Blair
Tige' 2002 Fslm comp wwalker@qualcomm.com Bill Walker
Tornado jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
PearsonVanguard scfisher@oasys.dt.navy.mil Steve Fisher
Shannon 43 KetchJMHBC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Jim Howell
Sonar spencer@panix.com David Spencer
Westerly SealordJMHBC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Jim Howell
5.8 What are the laws about boats...?
The FCC form order answering machine is (202) 418 36766 and the
human operated info line is (202) 632 3337. Call these numbers
to get info about getting a VHF license. (dk1)
You can learn about operating procedures for your VHF radio
from Chapman's (see the bibliography). One essential rule:
Channel 16 is for commercial hailing and distress calls.
Hailing by recreational vessels is now supposed to happen on
Channel 9.
You are required to carry adequate saftey devices for your
boat. What is deemed adequate varies by size. Most marine
stores have a pretty good idea what's the minimum. Once again,
Chapman's can give you details.
There are no ``licenses'' for boating in the US---you can buy
the biggest, fastest boat on earth and do whatever you want
with it, as long as it's recreational and you do not carry
passengers or freight for hire, and you abide by the various
marine laws that apply. Prudence dictates that you should learn
how to operate your vessel before you start out. Note that many
states have begun enforcing Boating While Intoxicated laws, and
that some have begun enforcing speed limits. See the additional
material below.
If you want to operate a marine radio from your boat, you need
a station license. Generally a license application is packaged
with each radio set, and all radio dealers carry applications.
If you are licensing any marine radios, the first will be a VHF
set for ``local'' communications ( <30 miles) with 2-25 watt
output. Marine radios must be ``type accepted'' which means you
can not build it yourself, or modify a CB, commercial, or ham
set. Pleasure boaters do not need a radio operator's license.
(wv)
In general, boat registration laws and fees vary from state to
state. Usually a boat dealer or the local state police
detachment is a good starting point for specifics. (wv)
To carry any passengers for hire you need a Coast Guard
license. Before you can even take the required written exam(s)
you need documentary evidence of a full year (365 days) of
boating experience. Licenses come in several categories. To
carry more than six passengers for hire, the boat must also be
inspected by the Coast Guard. Fines for violations are quite
high. (wv)
Courtesy of Terry Steinford, we have the following long and
thorough essay about carrying passengers, etc.: (tls@gate.net)
Some of the requirements for carrying passengers, chartering
and licensing were changed about a year ago.
Self-propelled vessels that carry any passengers for hire are
required to be operated by a Coast Guard licensed operator. If
the vessel carries more than 6 passengers, at least one of
which is a passenger for hire, the vessel is required to be
inspected by the Coast Guard as a commercial passenger vessel.
A pure sail vessel under 100 gross tons carrying up to 6
passengers is not required to have a licensed operator. Way
back in ancient history, pure sail vessels up to 700 gross tons
carrying passengers were not required to be inspected, but that
loophole was eliminated years ago.
The minimum license is the Operator of Uninspected Passenger
Vessels (OUPV), formerly known as the Motorboat Operator or
6-pack license. Inspected vessels require a licensed Master
with the appropriate tonnage and geographical route. All OUPV
licenses are valid for vessels up to 100 gross tons. The "near
coastal" route is up to 100 miles offshore. "Inland" is most
waters that are a lake, bay or sound on a chart. The dividing
line between near coastal and inland is based on geography, not
the rules of the road.
On December 20, 1993 the President signed the Passenger Vessel
Safety Act of 1993 (public law 103-206), changing the legal
requirements for passenger and charter operations. The act
establishes for the first time the definition of passenger for
hire and requires many vessels operating under bareboat charter
to be inspected by the Coast Guard as commercial passenger
vessels. The law also changes the inspection requirements for
certain vessels over 100 gross tons.
The new law has relaxed the prior strict treatment of
situations were a guest provided food or chipped in for
expenses. Previous law treated such such guests as passengers,
requiring operator licenses and possibly vessel inspection.
Under the new law a passenger for hire is is a passenger for
whom consideration is contributed as a condition of carriage on
the vessel, whether directly or indirectly flowing to the
owner, charterer, agent or any other persons having an interest
in the vessel.
Consideration is an economic benefit, inducement, right or
profit including pecuniary payment accruing to an individual,
person, or entity, but not including a voluntary sharing of the
actual expenses of the voyage by monetary contribution or
donation of fuel, food, beverage or other supplies.
Previously, vessels operating under legitimate bareboat or
demise charters were not required to meet the commercial
passenger vessel standards. Some vessels operating under
charter are carrying hundreds of persons and are in direct
competition with commercial passenger vessels meeting the Coast
Guard inspection and licensing requirements. Under a legitimate
bareboat charter the vessel is in essence "sold" to the
charterer for the duration of the charter, hence the people
carried aboard were not passengers for hire. In some cases the
charterer may not have been aware of his legal liabilities
during the charter. Unsuspecting passengers may not have been
aware that they were sailing on a vessel that did not meet the
same safety equipment and design standards as a regular
passenger vessel.
Congress has acted to remove these differences for charter
vessels carrying more than 12, or in some cases 6 passengers.
The following vessels are required to be inspected by the Coast
Guard:
(1) if under 100 gross tons:
(a) carrying more than 6 passengers, including at least 1 for
hire, or
(b) chartered with crew provided or specified by owner and
carrying more than 6 passengers, or
(c) chartered and carrying more than 12 passengers, or
(d) submersible vessels carrying 1 or more passengers for hire
(2) if 100 gross tons or over:
(a) carrying more than 12 passengers, including at least 1 for
hire, or
(b) chartered and carrying more than 12 passengers, or
(c) submersible vessels carrying 1 or more passengers for hire
An uninspected vessel that carries not more than 6 passenger
for hire is required to carry the safety equipment in
Subchapter C of Tile 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The
requirements are generally the same as for a recreational
vessel of the same length, except that all life jackets must be
Type I commercial style.
There are no federal requirements for insurance for these
vessels. Local government agencies may require business or
occupational licenses, including insurance or bonds.
5.9 What's a formula for top speed?
The answer, verbatim from mp, is:
The formula yacht designers use is called Crouch's formula.
It takes into account the weight and horsepower at the
propeller, and assumes a 50\% to 60\% efficient prop.
Most props fall into this range. Note that it doesn't take
into account the boat length, as that doesn't matter with
planing boats.
Crouch's Formula
V = C/((DISP/HP)**.5)
Where V = boat speed in knots (1 knot=1.15 mph)
C = Constant (depends on boat type)
DISP = Displacement (pounds)
Note that boat manufacturers usually give
innacurate numbers for displacement,
typically on the low side
HP = Horsepower available at the propeller
For comparison sake, here are some average values of C:
150 Typical lightweight, planing cruiser
180 High Speed Runabout
200-230 Race boats, hydroplanes etc.
5.10 Accurate time source for navigation
The time of day is broadcast on radio stations WWV and WWVH,
which transmit in the shortwave bands, on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20
MHz. The time is announced every minute, and at other times
there is a steady beeping. Any shortwave receiver should be
able to pick up these broadcasts - the particular frequency you
can receive will vary with location and time of day.
You can also hear the NIST's WWV broadcasts via the telephone.
The number is (303) 499-7111.
5.11 Winter storage for batteries, and their state of charge
There is a ritual debate on this topic each year. The concensus
seems to be that (1) It's OK to store a battery on a cement
floor, but if you stick it on an old piece of plywood, any
drips or spills will be easier to clean up, so perhaps the old
wives' tale has some value, (2) storing a battery cold in the
winter, provided it is fully charged, is an OK thing to do. The
rate of discharge is reduced by the cold environment, so less
frequent recharging is called for.
Here is an article from Finn Stafsnes, which seems to have some
hard data (fs):
The content is taken from a booklet provided by norwegian
battery manufacturer (Anker-Sonnak).
I have done some linear interpolation between tabulated values.
Therefore minor errors due to non-linear effects may be
present. I can only hope that I have not done big errors in my
calculations.
State............Spec.gravity.......Freezing.......Spec.gravity
of...............@ 25 C, 77 F........point.........@ freez.temp
charge..........kilograms/litre.....deg C, F....kilograms/litre
Full (100 .75 .50 .25 weak.................1.160..........-17,
+ 1..........1.189 0 0
If it is impractical to measure the spec. gravity an
approximate formula is given based upon voltage measurment:
Spec.gravity (@ 25 C) = ((Voltage of battery)/(no of cells)) -
0.84 (kilogr./lit.)
The voltage should be measured after the battery has been
disconnected (left to rest) for at least 6 hours.
A discharged battery will gradually be distroyed if stored in a
low state of charge condition due to crystal growth of PbSO4,
even if it don't freeze.
Self discharge rate is halved for every 10 deg C (18 F) the
storage temperature is reduced.
Conclusion: Keep the battery well charged all the time. If you
don't want to recharge during the winter, store the battery
cold.
And here is a mini-FAQ written by Alan Yelvington:
The efficiency of batteries varies with time, temperature, and
state of charge.
Batteries self-discarge over time. Lead-calcium (die-hard)
discharge faster that straight lead-acid. Their advantage is
that they typically do not need to have the water replaced.
Temperature will kill a battery over time. If a battery gets
too hot, its self-discharge rate goes up. If the battery gets
to cold, the reaction that produces electricity gets slowed
down and the full capacity cannot be ``harvested.''
The state of charge limits efficiency because of the reactions
in the battery. If a battery is left dead for too long (this
means you), the internal plates will start to accumulate
lead-sulphate on them. This insulates that portion of the plate
so that in can no longer contribue to the output of the
battery. It takes extra power in to remove the sulphation that
cannot be recouped. (EDTA will chemically remove the
sulphate....)
A typical battery in good condition will return 90 to 95 put
into it under these conditions:
DO NOT recharge at a rate of more that one tenth its capacity.
eg. A 220 amp-hour battery should not be recharged at more than
22 amps. The excess current will generate waste heat and form
lead-sulphite. The lead-sulphite is worse than the sulphate
because it cannot be removed.
DO NOT discharge a battery beyond 50
DO NOT over charge the battery. (Lead Sulphite problem again.)
DO NOT discharge the battery faster than one tenth of its
capacity. That is, don't draw more than 22 amps from a 220
amp-hour battery. You'll just make waste heat that cannot do
work.
DO use the battery and not just leave it dormant all the time.
If you must have a battery for infrequent use, NiCd or gelcells
are much better and are another story altogether. (ay)
Another reader pointed me towards a nice solar panel charge
controller the November, 1993 issue of ``73'' magazine. It's
used by a guy with 200 WATTS of solar panels on his roof.
5.12 Online information
First of all, Mosaic/Web pages about boats are sprouting up
like weeds, and there's no way I can keep track of all of them.
I can, however, give a pointer to a page that seems to keep
track of a lot:
http://www-engr.uvic.ca/ jlsmith/
This page is maintained by Jeremy Smith.
Second, there's the Live-Aboard mailing list: To join, send
E-mail to: majordomo@centaur.astro.utoronto.ca; the subject
line is not critical but in the BODY of your e-mail write:
SUBSCRIBE LIVE-ABOARD
Stefan (the maintainer of the list) provided me with the
following information:
Previous contributions are available by anonymous ftp. Just ftp
to centaur.astro.utoronto.ca, login as "anonymous" and use your
e-mail address as the password. Go to the directory
pub/archive. The directory pub/digests contains earlier posts
filed into folders. The material in both directories is updated
periodically.
(The following section courtesy of sb)
You can FTP hourly surface analyses (one of the things you can
recieve with a weather fax receiver), in the form of .GIF files
from vmd.cs.uiuc.edu, in directory WX.
There is also hourly raw visual and infrared satellite imagery,
(from GEOS-7) which I don't know what to do with these.
The files are SA*.GIF, CI*.GIF and CV*.GIF, where the * is the
date and GMT hour of the picture.
Then, if you are on a unix system, you can use xloadimage to
display them.
There are also .DOC files which describe many other sources of
weather related information on the network.
Also,
telnet madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000
gets you any forecast you like. If you enter the city ``BOSM,''
you get the forecast for Boston, PLUS the marine forecast. This
may work for other cities as well.
You can also try telnetting to duats.gtefsd.com. This is an
aviation weather service funded by the FAA. It's really meant
for pilots to get weather briefings, but they don't seem to
mind non-pilots using it (in fact, the particular hostname I
mentioned is specifically for non-pilots; there is another host
with the identical service for pilots which requires an account
and allows use of some additional functions).
When you get to the main menu, select "Weather Briefing", then
"Local Briefing", then "Standard Briefing". Anytime it asks for
a "Tail Number", just enter "N1234".
The user interface is kind of clunky, and the reports are all
in technojargonspeak which is probably pretty much
incomprehensible if you don't know how to decode it. You will
probably need a book on interpreting weather service reports to
make any use of it, but for raw weather information, it
probably can't be beat as a source. For example, here's the
last three hours worth of reports from LaGuardia Airport:
LGA SA 1850 E140 BKN 12 122/55/46/0513/989 LGA SA 1750 M110 BKN
12 122/54/46/0517/989/ 214 1070 54 LGA SA 1650 80 SCT M110 OVC
10 115/55/45/0616/987/WSHFT 28 FROPA BINOVC
The 1650 (UTC) report is the longest, so I'll decode that. It
says:
LaGuardia Airport, Normal scheduled report at 1650 UTC (i.e.
12:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time). First cloud layer is estimated
to be at 8000 feet and is scattered (which I think means
covering between 10 sky). Second cloud layer is measured at
11,000 feet and is overcast (i.e. covering more than 90
barometric pressure is 1011.5 millibars. Temperature is 55
degrees F. Dew point is 45 F. Wind (this is the part you're
interested in, right?) is from 060 at 16 kts. Altimiter setting
is 29.87 inches of Hg. Windshift from 280, frontal passage,
breaks in overcast.
The coding is baroque and opaque, being designed for the days
of 110 baud teletypes when saving every character mattered.
There are also forecasts for the next 12 hours or so for
selected locations, predicted winds aloft (sometimes useful for
predicting surface wind shifts), locations of fronts, etc. As
far as 24-48 hours in the future, I don't suspect you'll find
much in the way of that, except in the most vague and general
terms. (rs)
More weather stuff:
ftp://archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space/
NORAD (TLE) for NOAA sats, tide code
ftp://atlantic.ocean.fsu.edu/pub/Tides/
Tide code (shareware) for IBM-PC compatible
The racing rules updates can be found on the Ship-to-Shore BBS
(the number is listed in the Max Ebb article). Here's a list
that I got from the BBS: (hc)
Ship to Shore OIS
Marine Net for Sailors
Arlington VA 703-525-1458 Boston MA 508-256-1775
Moncton NB 506-386-8843 New York City NY 212-865-3787
Norwalk CT 203-831-8791 San Diego CA 619-435-3187
San Francisco CA 415-365-6385 Salt Lake Cty UT 801-968-8770
Toronto ON 416-322-6814 Vancouver BC 604-540-9596
There are also the following mailing lists for discussion of
various topics:
live-aboard@centaur.astro.utoronto.ca MARINE-L @VM.UOGUELPH.CA
YACHT-L@GREARN.BITNET
YACHT-L owner address: E.R.Kooi@CRI.Leidenuniv.NL list address
: YACHT-L listserver : LISTSERV or LISTSERV@NIC.SURFNET.NL
TALLSHIP owner address: CBROMLEY@NVMUSIC.VCCS.EDU list address
: TALLSHIP listserver : LISTSERV
The SAIL-TX mailing list FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) File:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Listname: SAIL-TX Title: Texas Sailing announcements and
discussion To post: sail-tx-l@mdf.fidonet.org To SUBscribe:
sail-tx-r@mdf.fidonet.org To UNSUBscribt:
listserv@mdf.fidonet.org in the msg body state UNSUB SAIL-TX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Joe Hersey, of Coast Guard Communications: For those who
are interested, the Coast Guard Research and Development Center
in Groton CT now has an operational World Wide Web server,
accessable from: http://138.29.250.20/
I'll try to keep an up-to-date summary of the Coast Guard's
Internet services in the CG Navigation Information System BBS,
accessable from fedworld.gov.
Finally, Boat/US maintains an online mailing list:
``Some info will still be posted in rec.boats, but to avoid
cluttering the group, we've decided to create a mailing list
open to all interested boaters. To subscribe, just email your
request directly to boatus@aol.com.''
5.13 Should we split rec.boats?
This topic arises about three times a year. The usual proposal
is a split along power/sail lines. Each time the concensus,
with a growing number of dissenters, is that (a) much of what
is discussed here would be crossposted to rec.boats.sail and
rec.boats.power if they both existed, (b) many topics, like
maintenance, moorings, coast guard regs, boat shows, the
grounding of the QEII, large oil spills, etc., are of (passing)
interest to almost anyone who goes out on the water, (c) we all
learn something about the folks with whom we share the water by
reading what they have to say, (d) the volume of postings is
rapidly increasing and is growing too large, but a power/sail
split will not necessarily address this.
Recently rec.boats.racing and rec.boats.building have been
formed, and they seem quite successful; I personally attribute
their success to the lack of overlap in interests between the
folks in those groups and ``the rest of us.''
Analysis of the traffic on rec.boats suggests that between 1
and 10 percent of the traffic is devoted to discussions of
splitting. All such discussion should take place in (or at
least route followups to) news.groups.
5.14 What sextant should I buy to learn with?
Good sextants are expensive (about 3000US is not unusual), and
the inexpensive plastic ones (Davis make the best-known) are
far cheaper. For learning, or even for real navigation, the
Davis models are fine, but require more careful and frequent
adjustment, and often seem to give less accurate results.
They will give a result accurate to within about 2 minutes of
arc, which should get your position right within about 3 miles
or so. Errors made by beginners are usually computational or
mistakes of understanding, and tend to be far greater than
this. So a plastic sextant makes a fine tool for learning. Buy
one, and if you like it, keep it as a spare when you go
offshore.
Hints: to keep the readings accurate, beware of temperature
fluctuations, which warp the sextant (temporarily). In winter,
wear gloves. In summer, watch out for having part of the
sextant in sun and part in shade. And last but not least,
always approach your reading from the same side (i.e., always
increase the angle until the sun is on the horizon---don't
increase and then decrease and then increase, etc.) This
prevents backlash from screwing up your readings. (jfh)
5.15 Boat pictures, and ftp sites for boat info
I (sb2) run the rec.boats FTP server(if you can use a listserv,
you too can have them) for pictures. Some from my personal
collection, some from the America's Cup, others from Whitbread,
etc.
dell1.dell.com in the anonymous FTP directory/donate/boats
I believe that Steve also maintains an ftp-able version of the
FAQ. So do I (jfh) on the machine wilma.cs.brown.edu, in the
pub directory with the name rec.boats_FAQ.Z. The file POWER.UU
that's there is also of interest to some rec.boaters---it's a
PC program for something to do with surface-piercing drives,
submitted by Paul Kamen. It's a zipped DOS executable, and you
need version 2.04 of pkunzip to unzip it.
5.16 Propellor selection
GENERAL RULE OF PROP SELECTION: On a properly trimmed boat a
prop of the correct pitch and diameter will permit the motor to
attain it's maximum rated RPMs but NO MORE.
HOW TO BUY THE CORRECT PROP: The best method of prop selection
that I know of is to find a dealer that will let you try
several props with the understanding that you will buy the one
that performs as above. Of course it is also understood that if
you ding a test prop you will buy it.
Contributed by hl.
5.17 Binocular selection
Contributed by (pe).
The quality of binoculars shows up in several important areas.
this is certainly one product area that the quality can range
from junk to excellent, and you get what you pay for. The areas
of prime concern are as follows:
1) Eye relief: This is the distance back from the eye piece
that the image is formed. Most binoculars have a rubber eye
piece that positions your eyes in the proper place. This rubber
piece can then be folded out of the way for people who wear
glasses. A longer eye relief is more forgiving to those who
wear glasses.
2) EXIT PUPIL: Generally tied closely to eye relief, this is
the diameter of the image comming out of the eye piece. The
larger this is, the less sensitive it will be to having your
eye is in the exact right spot. Generally speaking, larger is
better. But to make it larger, the overall size of the
binoculars increases.
3) Light Transmission: The percentage of light that enters the
front lens that makes it out the eye piece. For daylight use,
this is not too critical. For nightime use, a few percent
improvement in the amount of light making it through can make a
hugh difference. The type of optics (glass versus plastic), the
coatings on the lens elements, and the overall quality of teh
lenses make the difference. Large, GLASS, coated optics give
much better performance than plastic, uncoated optics. Of
course, large glass elements start to get heavy.
4) Depth of Field: As a side effect of the above three items is
an improved depth of field. This is the distance that an object
remains in focus. The really good units don't even have a focus
knob, as the depth of feild is so large that it isn't
necessary.
5) GAS FILLED: The better units are sealed, and purged with dry
nitrogen. This keeps moisture out, keeps the lenses from
fogging, and helps improve the overall optical qualities.
6) THE CASE: A rubber armored, rugged case will help prevent
damage. Lens caps that stay with the unit keep them from
getting lost, and make it much more likely that you will put
them back on to protect the lenses.
You may want to check out the West Marine catalog. They have a
chart listing all the important characteristics of the
binoculars that they sell. Compare it against the specs of a
unit you are considering. Decide if you might ever need to read
the number on a channel marker at night.
My advice is to go with the best that you can afford. Properly
treated, they will last forever and you will not be sorry.
5.18 Blue book value of boats
Contributed by jjensen@kaiwan.com (John Jensen). For anyone
thinking of a purchase of a boat, BUC Research's Used Boat
Price Guide seems to be the reference to have. You can reach
them at: BUC Research 1314 Northeast 17th Court Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33305 to order call: 1-800-327-6929 Fax:
305-561-3095 phone: 305-565-6715 Library of Congress Catalog
Card No. 63-35604 ISBN 911778-67-5
Prices as of the Volume 1 issue (1984-1990 models): Volume 1
(1984-1990) 72.00 Volume 2 (1974-1983) 62.00 Volume 3
(1905-1973) 52.00
The book(s) are worth it. However it has been suggested to try
your local library first before shelling out your money.
5.19 Interfacing NMEA0183 to your computer
Lots of people want to know how to interface NMEA 0183
instruments to their laptops or other computers. One answer is
to do it directly: NMEA data out -> RS232 data in, and NMEA
data return -> RS232 ground. The signal is 4800 baud,
no-parity, 1 stop bit.
But here's a better answer, courtesy of Bob Curtis
(bc@gate.net): Here's a simple circuit to keep your instruments
safe:
a ----/\/\/\/\----+ +---+------/\/\/\/\------ +12v
5k | | | 5k
--- |/ +-------------------- to RS-232 rcv.
/ "_ |
--- |\
| |
b ----------------+ +------------------------ to RS-232 common
|
| <- might not need this connection
gnd ------------------------+
You will have 100 shown (recommended). Some systems may work
more reliably with a common ground. The parts (2-5k resistors
and a photo-optical isolator) will cost about 4 at any Radio
Shack.
Chapter 6
List of Contributors
Here is a list of the people who contributed to the information
above. The list is widly incomplete, because I started
collecting the information (for myself) long before I planned
to make the FAQ, and didn't attach names to lots of things
people told me. My apologizes to those whose names I've
omitted. I'll gladly add them if you tell me to.
ab bowers@tifosi.dfrf.nasa.gov Al Bowers
ag GERMAIN@CDHF2.GSFC.NASA.GOV Andy Germain
al lastra@cs.unc.edu Anselmo Lastra
ay alany@tekig5.pen.tek.com Alan Yelvington
bj wtjones@sr.hp.com Bill Jones
bp billp@voyager.chm.clarkson.edu Bill Plunkett
bm cfwpm@ux1.cts.eiu.edu Bill McGown
bs bsmith@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM Brian Smith
bt Brigitte.Torok@CCIW.ca Brigitte Torok
cp peterson@hercules.calspan.com Chuck Peterson
cn nolte@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu Cheryl Nolte
cr crossle1@cc.swarthmore.edu Cindy Rossley
da davea@hpscit.sc.hp.com Dave Angelini
db dbyrne@ldgo.columbia.edu Deirdre Byrne
dk1 kinzer@prcamfg.sps.mot.com Dave Kinzer
dk2 kell@mprgate.mpr.ca Dave Kell
dz zielke@fozzie.nrl.navy.mil David Zielke
eb boebert@SCTC.COM Earl Boebert
em murphy@phri.nyu.edu Ellen Murphy
fm francis@oas.Stanford.EDU Francis Muir
fs Finn.Stafsnes@tf.tele.no Finn Stafsnes
gb1 Greg Bullough
gb2 Gerard Bras
gb3 guido@blink.att.com Guido Bertocci
gf gregf@ptidsun18.pen.tek.com Greg (Fox?)
gm grm@instrumental.com Greg Mansfield
hc hchan@well.sf.ca.us Hoover Chan
hl Hal@cache.declab.usu.edu Hal Lynch
jb bloxham@geophysics.harvard.edu Jeremy Bloxham
jfh jfh@cs.brown.edu John Hughes
jz zeeff@b-tech.ann-arbor.mi.us Jon Zeeff
la lance@lancea.actrix.gen.nz Lance Andrewes
mb burati@APOLLO.HP.COM Mike Burati
mp pedersen@halcyon.com Matt Pedersen
mt markt@tekig1.PEN.COM Mark Tilden
pb bennett@erich.trimuf.ca Peter Bennett
pe Peter_Engels@star9gate.mitre.org Peter Engels
pg peter.gustafsson@gd.chalmers.se Peter Gustafsson
ph lotus!lotatg. lotus.com!phil@uunet.UU.NET
Phil Somebody
pk fishmeal@netcom.com Paul Kamen
prh prh@s3109j15.atl.hp.com Phil Haseltine
ps Paul.Saltzman@f764.n153.z1.ship.wimsey.bc.ca
Paul Salzman
rb bentson@grieg.seaslug.org Randolph Bentson
rs roy@wombat.phri.nyu.edu Roy Smith
rs2 rstepno@eagle.wesleyan.edu Bob Stepno
rs3 spady@bcstec.ca.boeing.com Robyn Spady
sb steph@candide.uchicago.edu Stephen Bailey
sb2 sblair@upurbmw.dell.com Steve Blair
sc steve@test490.pac.sc.ti.com Steve Comen
sm stefan@sunrise.stanford.edu Stefan Michalowski
sm2 smorris@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu Scott Morris
srb Scott.Richard.Berg@p4910.f349.n109.z1.fidonet.org
Scott Richard Berg
sja dv207@cleveland.Freenet.Edu Seth J. Alberts
tc chatzi@beauty.asd.sgi.com Tony Chatzigianis
tf timf@eskimo.com Timothy R. R. Flanagan
tl tpl@ces.cwru.edu Tom Lightbody
wc billc@netcom.com William Courington
wh whoward@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu Will Howard
wms wms@spin.att.com Wayne Simpson
wo woodruff@s34.es.llnl.gov Someone Woodruff
wv VENABLE@faculty.coe.wvu.wvnet.edu Wallace Venable
Chapter 7
Bibliography
7.1 Magazines
AMERICAN SAILOR, none, This one is for members of USYRU. Almost
exclusively for racing. Dave Perry has a short but interesting
``rules corner''.
ASH BREEZE, none, P. O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355, 15/year (4
issues). The journal of the Traditional Small Craft
Association. Member-contributed articles about design,
construction, and history of traditional boats. Members also
receive discounts on books published by International
Marine.(al).
BOAT DESIGN QUARTERLY, none, P.O. Box 98, Brooklin, ME, 24/year
(only 4 issues). Each issue contains six to eight reviews of
boat designs. This magazine is mostly the effort of Mike
O'Brien (who also writes for WoodenBoat magazine). Only worth
it for those truly obsessed with boat designs.(al).
BOATBUILDER, none, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235
800-786-3459. Primarily amatuer construction. Monthly articles
by notable Dave Gerr (lots of his latest book "The Nature of
Boats" was first published in Boatbuilder). Includes instant
boat construction, origami steel boats, etc.(mp) Possible new
address (subscription dept?): Boatbuilder, 76 Holly Hill Lane,
Greenwich, CT 06836-2626.
COASTAL CRUISING, none, The Magazine of Achievable Dreams. This
rag was formerly called "Carolina Cruising" and probably still
should be. Concentrates on the ICW around and about its
Beufort, NC home base. A harbor profile in each issue with a
color arial photograch as a centerspread. Quirky columns
written by people who are really into bringing the spoken
accent to the written page. Printed on cheap newsprint paper
and comes out 6 times a year. Unless you live or cruise in the
Carolinas, save your money. (wms).
CRUISING WORLD, none, Good articles, wonderful reader service
called ``Another Opinion'', which will tell you about other
readers who own the same boat that you do (or that you are
thinking of buying), and who might be interested in telling you
about it, Extensive brokerage and charter listing. -jfh-.
GPS WORLD MAGAZINE, none, Monthly magazine covering the
spectrum of GPS usage. Current regular subscription rates: US
59, Canada 79, Foreign 117. Advanstar Communications, P.O. Box
10460, Eugene, Oregon 97440-2460, U.S.A. Phone: (503) 343-1200
Fax: (503) 683-8841 Telex: 510-597-0365 (rb).
GREAT LAKES SAILOR, none, Tends to focus on the sailing scene
in the midwest. Has suspended publication as of January 1993.
(tl).
JOURNAL OF NAVIGATION, none, The main problem is this is a
quarterly publication (at best), that often suffers long delays
in delivery. It has an interesting mixture of high end and low
end stuff. For instance it will have discussions of what the
piloting station of a large freighter will have the next decade
alongside a report of a last (ill fated) Atlantic voyage of a
junk rigged 30' cruiser. (rb).
LATITUDE 38, none, The SF Bay sailing rag. Cheap paper,
irreverant staff. Far more honest than any other sailing rag.
Latitude 38,P.O. Box 1678,Sausalito CA 94966,USA. Phone: 415
383 8200 ; 415 383 5816 (fax). First class postage
subscription: 45/year. Third class postage subscription:
20/year. ``We regret that we cannot accept foreign
subscriptions, nor do we bill for subscriptions. Check or money
order must accompany subscription orders.'' (However, Canadians
may order the First Class subscription.).
MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS, none, This small magazine with its own
strong identity and readership may interest those who enjoyed
Small Boat Journal before its change. Costs 20 buck per year.
29 Burley St., Wenham, MA 01984. ``This is a great little
magazine filled with reader-contributed articles and good
classifieds (especially for readers in New England). Very
entertaining, and you can't beat the price.'' (al),
``particularly since it comes out every two weeks. The primary
focus is on boats for the "little guy," rowboats, patched-up
boats, and homebuilt boats. There is a lot of coverage of
off-beat boats, and most issues include a design by Phil
Bolger.'' (wv).
MULTIHULLS, none, 421 Hancock St., N. Quincy, MA 02171, (800)
333-6858, 21/year (6 issues). As the name states, this magazine
deals exclusively with multihulls. Coverage is divided about
evenly between cruising, design, building, and racing. They
also sell books, videos, and posters.(al).
NATIONAL FISHERMAN, none, The working seaman's magazine.
Printed on newsprint, filled with editorials about why the
fisherman cannot make it in the modern USA, and articles about
how well EPIRBs *really* work, etc. A *great* mag. Wonderful
classifieds.
OCEAN NAVIGATOR, none, Informative article; passagemaking
information, info on nav hardware and tools. The letters are
worth the price of admission. Nav problems at the end of each
issue that include piloting and offshore celestial problems,
with answers. Only magainze that I read cover to cover. Some
articles about electrics tend to be slightly screwy--Nigel
Calder can't distinguish amps from amp-hours.
OFFSHORE, none, 220-9 Resevoir Ave, Needham, MA 02194. Covers
the Northeast coast from New Jersey to Maine. Good coverage of
the area with plenty of local interest stories, marina
profiles, safe boating, navigation and area history. Slightly
skewed toward powerboats but plenty of interest to sailboaters,
too. Regular columns on local boating news and Coast Guard
Search and Rescue summary. Series by Dave Gerr on understanding
Yacht Design contains many of the articles on which his book
"The Nature of Boats" is based. Excellent classified section
with a unique "renewable guarantee" that will keep your ad in
until sold for a one time fee of 25.00 (wms).
POWERBOAT REPORTS, none.
PRACTICAL BOAT OWNER, none, published in Poole, Dorset,
England. Practical Boat Owner Subscription, Quadrant
Subscription Services, Perrymount Road, Hayward Heath, W.
Sussex, RH16 3DH, United Kingdom. Another reader notes that
``The current Practical Boat Owner gives the following address
for overseas subscriptions: Practical Boat Owner, PO Box 272,
Haywards Heath, W Sussex, RH16 3FS, UK. Tel: 0444 44555.''
P.B.O. is great for boat tests (yachts any size, motor boats
mostly small) and simply excellent for how-to-do-its.
Editorials reflect the British scene since it's a British
magazine. The editor, George Taylor, answers queries in person
by return of post.
PRACTICAL SAILOR, none, These folks test out products and do
sailboat reviews and compare products made by different people.
They also answer questions. They have no adverts, so that their