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projects:sailing:blog:2_spending [2024/01/05 13:08] – tjhowseprojects:sailing:blog:2_spending [2024/01/12 00:05] (current) – tjhowse
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 ====== Financial stuff ====== ====== Financial stuff ======
  
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 ===== New Jib ===== ===== New Jib =====
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-074038.jpeg|A photo of our old jib laying on the driveway. It is a triangle of sailcloth with a large rip across the middle.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-074038.jpeg|A photo of our old jib laying on the driveway. It is a triangle of sailcloth with a large rip across the middle.}}
  
 At the top of the list was the jib. That's the front sail. The original jib was a total wreck. Technically we could sail without a jib but we'd be losing a lot of sail area and we'd have to waste a lot of energy steering with the rudder. The jib and mainsail act to balance each-other to keep the boat going in a straight line. Without the jib we'd need to correct our direction with the rudder constantly, spending our precious wind power to generate turbulent water in our wake. No bueno. At the top of the list was the jib. That's the front sail. The original jib was a total wreck. Technically we could sail without a jib but we'd be losing a lot of sail area and we'd have to waste a lot of energy steering with the rudder. The jib and mainsail act to balance each-other to keep the boat going in a straight line. Without the jib we'd need to correct our direction with the rudder constantly, spending our precious wind power to generate turbulent water in our wake. No bueno.
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-073450.png|A photo of our boat with a red outline around the jib.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-073450.png|A photo of our boat with a red outline around the jib.}}
  
 Caper Cats aren't made anymore, so we couldn't buy a replacement off the shelf. Having sails custom-made is expensive, like "more than we paid for the boat" expensive, so I measured some dimensions and found a roughly suitable second hand sail on [[https://www.sailexchange.com.au/|Sail Exchange]]. This website lets you search by the various edge lengths, price and quality to find something suitable. The replacement was AUD$200 delivered and arrived in a few days. It was rated 5/10 on the quality scale, but it was in far better condition than any sail I've ever seen. Caper Cats aren't made anymore, so we couldn't buy a replacement off the shelf. Having sails custom-made is expensive, like "more than we paid for the boat" expensive, so I measured some dimensions and found a roughly suitable second hand sail on [[https://www.sailexchange.com.au/|Sail Exchange]]. This website lets you search by the various edge lengths, price and quality to find something suitable. The replacement was AUD$200 delivered and arrived in a few days. It was rated 5/10 on the quality scale, but it was in far better condition than any sail I've ever seen.
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 ===== Rigging ===== ===== Rigging =====
  
-Tiresome pedants love to say that sailboats have no ropes, but it's reasonable to ignore them and enjoy a better life as a result. There's ropes everywhere and they all have weird names that predate modern English. Some of these ropes are made of steel. These are collectively called "fixed rigging" and generally don't move much when sailing. These are in contrast to the "running rigging", which are the ropes you pull on to make the boat go places or stop going places.+Tiresome pedants love to say that sailboats have no ropes, but it's reasonable to ignore them and enjoy a better life as a result. There are ropes everywhere and they all have weird names that predate modern English. Some of these ropes are made of steel. These are collectively called "fixed rigging" and generally don't move much when sailing. These are in contrast to the "running rigging", which are the ropes you pull on to make the boat go places or stop going places.
  
 I had to install a new luff line along the leading edge of the new jib, and one of the mast shrouds had worn down to a few strands on one end. The shrouds are steel lines that run down the outside of the mast to add stiffness. If a shroud snapped the mast would wonk over sideways like a banana. This is bad for sailing. For this work I would need to pick up a spool of stainless wire, some thimbles, some swages, some shackles, carabiners and a swaging tool. Farewell to another AUD$200-ish. I had to install a new luff line along the leading edge of the new jib, and one of the mast shrouds had worn down to a few strands on one end. The shrouds are steel lines that run down the outside of the mast to add stiffness. If a shroud snapped the mast would wonk over sideways like a banana. This is bad for sailing. For this work I would need to pick up a spool of stainless wire, some thimbles, some swages, some shackles, carabiners and a swaging tool. Farewell to another AUD$200-ish.
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 "Swaging" is a fancy word for "squashing a thick metal tube around a wire". It's a good way of making a strong join in braided wire. A thimble is an insert that goes inside a loop of wire to enforce a minimum bend radius. The old shroud was close to failure because the thimble was absent; the cable was fatigued by the sharp bend. "Swaging" is a fancy word for "squashing a thick metal tube around a wire". It's a good way of making a strong join in braided wire. A thimble is an insert that goes inside a loop of wire to enforce a minimum bend radius. The old shroud was close to failure because the thimble was absent; the cable was fatigued by the sharp bend.
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-105723.jpeg|A photo of a swaged eye on the end of a thick steel cable}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-105723.jpeg|A photo of a swaged eye on the end of a thick steel cable}}
 [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1554184|Image source]] This is not a photo from our boat. [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1554184|Image source]] This is not a photo from our boat.
  
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 A marine VHF radio is an important piece of safety gear. If you're heading out into open water you can use it to call in to the Volunteer Marine Rescue folk and let them know the number of people onboard, where you're going and when you expect to be back. This means they can send someone to fish you out if you go missing. It's also handy for calling for help if you need it. I asked a radio nerd mate of mine (thanks VK4BRY!) for some advice. He recommended an ICom radio with at least 5W transmit power. I searched around and found a good price for an ICOM IC-M25 on ebay. A marine VHF radio is an important piece of safety gear. If you're heading out into open water you can use it to call in to the Volunteer Marine Rescue folk and let them know the number of people onboard, where you're going and when you expect to be back. This means they can send someone to fish you out if you go missing. It's also handy for calling for help if you need it. I asked a radio nerd mate of mine (thanks VK4BRY!) for some advice. He recommended an ICom radio with at least 5W transmit power. I searched around and found a good price for an ICOM IC-M25 on ebay.
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-115334.png|A photo of me holding an ICom IC-M25 radio.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-115334.png|A photo of me holding an ICom IC-M25 radio.}}
  
 I had a play with the radio when it arrived. It worked fine, but the holographic sticker on the back didn't match the description on ICom's website. My suspicion piqued, I took the back housing off and found the immersion sensor pad wasn't connected to the rest of the radio. Hm. Hmmmmmm. I had a play with the radio when it arrived. It worked fine, but the holographic sticker on the back didn't match the description on ICom's website. My suspicion piqued, I took the back housing off and found the immersion sensor pad wasn't connected to the rest of the radio. Hm. Hmmmmmm.
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-115936.png|A collage of photos showing various angles of a holographic sticker and the inside of a marine VHF radio. There are only battery wires visible in the picture, no sensor wire to the blob of glue.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-115936.png|A collage of photos showing various angles of a holographic sticker and the inside of a marine VHF radio. There are only battery wires visible in the picture, no sensor wire to the blob of glue.}}
  
 I requested a refund on ebay and posted it off. At time of writing I haven't received a refund. I ordered another radio from a more reputable storefront for a AUD$50 premium. I had some lingering doubts about my counterfeit assessment of the first one, but these were dispelled by the sticker on the new radio that exactly matched the description. And it had more wires inside, which is usually a good thing. I requested a refund on ebay and posted it off. At time of writing I haven't received a refund. I ordered another radio from a more reputable storefront for a AUD$50 premium. I had some lingering doubts about my counterfeit assessment of the first one, but these were dispelled by the sticker on the new radio that exactly matched the description. And it had more wires inside, which is usually a good thing.
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-120031.png|A collage of photos of the inside of a genuine radio, with visible changes in the holographic sticker based on angle, and a wire connected to the immersion sensor pad.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-120031.png|A collage of photos of the inside of a genuine radio, with visible changes in the holographic sticker based on angle, and a wire connected to the immersion sensor pad.}}
  
 ==== Charts ==== ==== Charts ====
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 Charts (or maps) are important for telling you where things are. You, navigation markers, no-go zones, areas with special rules, boat ramps, water, land, things like that. They also usually show the depth of the water at low tide so you can avoid running aground. This is less of a concern for us because our boat is designed to run aground for fun, but it's a bigger deal for keelboats (boats that poke deep into the water). There are good charting apps for mobile phones, but as a software engineer I have an innate distrust of most software. I decided to go with paper charts. Maritime Safety Queensland publish an excellent [[https://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Beacon-to-Beacon-Guides/Moreton-Bay-guides|set of charts]], licensed under creative commons, that are designed to be printed A4. I printed them in double-sided colour at [[https://www.officeworks.com.au/|Officeworks]] and bought a pack of lamination pouches. Bon voyage, AUD$46.30. Charts (or maps) are important for telling you where things are. You, navigation markers, no-go zones, areas with special rules, boat ramps, water, land, things like that. They also usually show the depth of the water at low tide so you can avoid running aground. This is less of a concern for us because our boat is designed to run aground for fun, but it's a bigger deal for keelboats (boats that poke deep into the water). There are good charting apps for mobile phones, but as a software engineer I have an innate distrust of most software. I decided to go with paper charts. Maritime Safety Queensland publish an excellent [[https://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Beacon-to-Beacon-Guides/Moreton-Bay-guides|set of charts]], licensed under creative commons, that are designed to be printed A4. I printed them in double-sided colour at [[https://www.officeworks.com.au/|Officeworks]] and bought a pack of lamination pouches. Bon voyage, AUD$46.30.
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-121714.png|A photo of a pile of A4 printed charts being laminated on my kitchen bench.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-121714.png|A photo of a pile of A4 printed charts being laminated on my kitchen bench.}}
  
-{{:drafts:sailing:pasted:20240105-122210.jpeg|A photo of a sheaf of charts held together with a loop of stainless wire.}}+{{:projects:sailing:pasted:20240105-122210.jpeg|A photo of a sheaf of charts held together with a loop of stainless wire.}}
  
 I ended up cutting off the fetching swaged stainless wire loop and using a keyring instead. Works much better. I could've bought a pre-made book of charts, but it was slightly more expensive than making it myself, and included a bunch of charts I'd never need. I ended up cutting off the fetching swaged stainless wire loop and using a keyring instead. Works much better. I could've bought a pre-made book of charts, but it was slightly more expensive than making it myself, and included a bunch of charts I'd never need.
projects/sailing/blog/2_spending.1704460108.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/01/05 13:08 by tjhowse