Trawler Blogs

 This
is an edited version of an article we wrote shortly to appear in
Pacific PowerBoat magazine.

Covid-19 cruising update

No
sooner had we
mentioned
New
Zealand’s
return to
unrestricted cruising late
July in
PMB’s last issue than
the new
Auckland
level 3 lock down commenced on 12 August, lasting
until
the
30^th
before
going to level 2.5 and finally to level 1 on 7 October.
This time around
there
was no room for confusion about
boating under
level 3 being
not
permitted and
now with
lock downs hopefully
behind
us and
Spring here cruising can
only get
better.

In
other covid news there are many cruisers in various
Pacific island
locations
highly disappointed at not being able to come to New Zealand for the
summer to avoid the cyclone season and a German crew who arrived
illegally have been deported leaving
the future status of their yacht unclear. I
guess many of these crews assumed they would be allowed entry and
didn’t think to make alternate arrangements. Obviously
there is sympathy for these crews, but
potentially arriving at various
locations
at different times could
have represented a logistical nightmare for our
authorities, although
I guess their time at sea cruising here could have counted towards
quarantine.
Sympathy
also for the various marine facilities and other businesses who
normally benefit from the spends of these crews, reported by media as
averaging $50k per vessel.

Managing
cruising information

Cruising
is all about maximising the enjoyment of our leisure time and the
last thing we want to do out on the water is paperwork right?
Absolutely, but consider these scenarios.

You
call
an
electronics technician
about
a problem with your radar and he
needs
to know its serial number. You
think it’s about time to
get
your engines serviced but
can’t recall how
many engine
hours
passed
since
the last one. You know you wrote down the weather forecast this
morning, but where’s that piece of paper? You
decide to sell your boat and need a comprehensive list of its
features and onboard equipment. You’re
in
bed when your
bilge pump alarm sounds – do you know how to access each seacock
and through hull for inspection at
night?

A
simple Information
Management
System
can
easily answer these
questions as well as making
the
operation of your vessel easier and enhancing
its
resale value. The
elements of the system we’ve successfully
used during nearly forty years cruising include
an
Operating Manual, a Logbook, a Daybook,
a
To
Do
List
and
a Receipts File.

Operating
Manual:
when
we bought Rapport last year
there
was
no Manual and the
broker’s advertising sheet lacked
detail and missed much
of the equipment. Now
we have a comprehensive Manual comprising about forty pages
describing all equipment aboard
and
covering
subjects
such as safety equipment, location of seacocks and other
through-hulls, location of electrical isolation switches, functions
of circuit breakers, how equipment operates, service intervals and
spare parts carried. A
multitude of systems makes boats complex and it’s impossible to
remember everything about them, so when
we do a job for the first time (eg
adjusting
an alternator’s vee belt tension)
we
note procedures in the Manual to make it easier next time. After
owning our previous vessel for 12 years we were
still
adding
information during our last year, maintaining it on Microsoft Word
and periodically printing an updated copy for easy referral.

Logbook:
This is where we note information of lasting interest that
you
might look back on. For example with great friends Bill and Sue you
cruised to Man O’ War bay and had an enjoyable afternoon ashore at
the vineyard. The next day you crossed the Firth of Thames catching
some nice snapper mid-way, anchored off Coromandel and all went up to
the township in the dinghy for fish and chips, nearly getting caught
out by the tide on the return trip. We note
down engine hours each evening, but only
mention weather in the Log if it’s unusual and
memorable for
example a still sunny day in the middle of winter or a wind shift
that causes an uncomfortable night..
If
you want to (and you’re brave enough to)
keep a record of money spent on the boat, the back of the Logbook is
ideal
for
this.

Daybook:
We
use this instead of writing information down on different scraps of
paper that always
seem to get
lost. Information
included is weather forecasts; route planning; fuel and water tank
levels; refuelling
details; engine
oil pressure, water temperature and charging voltage;
notes
about maintenance
and information about planned boat projects. For
example we’re researching an improved bait and filleting station so
we’ll
do our internet research noting relevant points in the Daybook so our
information is all in
one place.

To
Do List: I
guess most boat owners would use such a list and it’s really self
explanatory. A
cruiser’s dream is to have nothing
left
on
their To Do List.

Receipts
File: Keep
all your receipts together in date order for ease of reference. When
you eventually sell your boat many prospective buyers would
want
to see this and
it helps reassure them that you’ve
used an
organised approach to maintenance.

Using
a system like this is not burdensome and on the contrary adds to the
joy of cruising.

 This is an edited version of an article we wrote shortly to appear in Pacific PowerBoat magazine.

Covid-19 cruising update

No sooner had wementioned New Zealand’sreturn tounrestricted cruising late July in PMB’s last issue than the new Auckland level 3 lock down commenced on 12 August, lasting until the 30^thbefore going to level 2.5 and finally to level 1 on 7 October. This time around there was no room for confusion about boating under level 3 being not permitted and now with lock downs hopefully behind us andSpring here cruising can only get better.

In other covid news there are many cruisers in variousPacific island locationshighly disappointed at not being able to come to New Zealand for the summer to avoid the cyclone season and a German crew who arrived illegally have been deported leavingthe future status of their yacht unclear. I guess many of these crews assumed they would be allowed entry and didn’t think to make alternate arrangements. Obviously there is sympathy for these crews, butpotentially arriving at various locations at different times could have represented a logistical nightmare for ourauthorities, although I guess their time at sea cruising here could have counted towards quarantine.Sympathy also for the various marine facilities and other businesses who normally benefit from the spends of these crews, reported by media as averaging $50k per vessel.

Managing cruising information

Cruising is all about maximising the enjoyment of our leisure time and the last thing we want to do out on the water is paperwork right? Absolutely, but consider these scenarios.

You call anelectronics technicianabouta problem with your radar and he needsto know its serial number. You think it’s about time to getyour engines serviced but can’t recall how many engine hours passed since the last one. You know you wrote down the weather forecast this morning, but where’s that piece of paper? You decide to sell your boat and need a comprehensive list of its features and onboard equipment. You’rein bed when your bilge pump alarm sounds – do you know how to access each seacock and through hull for inspection at night?

Asimple Information Management System can easily answer these questions as well as makingthe operation of your vessel easier and enhancing its resale value. The elements of the system we’ve successfully used during nearly forty years cruising include an Operating Manual, a Logbook, a Daybook, a To Do List and a Receipts File.

Operating Manual:when we bought Rapport last year there was no Manual and the broker’s advertising sheet lacked detail and missed much of the equipment. Now we have a comprehensive Manual comprising about forty pages describing all equipment aboard and covering subjects such as safety equipment, location of seacocks and other through-hulls, location of electrical isolation switches, functions of circuit breakers, how equipment operates, service intervals and spare parts carried. A multitude of systems makes boats complex and it’s impossible to remember everything about them, so when we do a job for the first time (eg adjusting an alternator’s vee belt tension)we note procedures in the Manual to make it easier next time. After owning our previous vessel for 12 years we were still addinginformation during our last year, maintaining it on Microsoft Word and periodically printing an updated copy for easy referral.

Logbook:This is where we note information of lasting interest that you might look back on. For example with great friends Bill and Sue you cruised to Man O’ War bay and had an enjoyable afternoon ashore at the vineyard. The next day you crossed the Firth of Thames catching some nice snapper mid-way, anchored off Coromandel and all went up to the township in the dinghy for fish and chips, nearly getting caught out by the tide on the return trip. We note down engine hours each evening, but only mention weather in the Log if it’s unusual and memorable for example a still sunny day in the middle of winter or a wind shift that causes an uncomfortable night.. If you want to (and you’re brave enough to) keep a record of money spent on the boat, the back of the Logbook is ideal forthis.

Daybook: We use this instead of writing information down on different scraps of paper that always seem to get lost. Information included is weather forecasts; route planning; fuel and water tank levels; refuelling details; engine oil pressure, water temperature and charging voltage;notes about maintenanceand information about planned boat projects. For example we’re researching an improved bait and filleting station so we’ll do our internet research noting relevant points in the Daybook so our information is all in one place.

To Do List: I guess most boat owners would use such a list and it’s really self explanatory. A cruiser’s dream is to have nothing left on their To Do List.

Receipts File: Keep all your receipts together in date order for ease of reference. When you eventually sell your boat many prospective buyers would want to see this and it helps reassure them that you’ve used anorganised approach to maintenance.

Using a system like this is not burdensome and on the contrary adds to the joy of cruising.