[Rhodes22-list] Speaking of instruments....

[John Tonjes]

Ben,
The making of the proper rum drink takes more than just a few minutes. It
is an art form.  One must remove the plastic cap from the bottle and slowly
move the bottle in a  counter clockwise motion under your nose while
inhaling the aroma. Allow the bottle to breath for a few minutes before
pouring into a glass or cup with just enough, but not to much ice. Then you
must gently add the mix, preferably diet coke and make sure not to add to
much, otherwise you ruin the flavor of the rum. Now that you have the
perfect drink, a good cigar must go with it. Again, a careful choice must
be made in order to enhance the previously mentioned  perfect drink. No
cheap Hav A Tampa's will do. 
Sit back, crank up Led Zeppelin and enjoy the moment. As an alternative,
Pink Lloyd is acceptable...........:) Don't worry, the Admiral will
understand and not disturb you.

Rummy


> [Original Message]
> From: Ben Schultz <BenS at ApproSystems.com>
> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Date: 4/15/2003 5:27:39 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Speaking of instruments....
>
> Diligent readers will recall that I also installed the Autohelm autopilot
> this winter.
>
> Saturday, I had the first chance to sail for several hours with A.P. at
the
> helm.  It did a great job of holding a steady course in ~15 kt. winds and
> choppy water.  I do find that I'm having trouble not having to hold the
> tiller.  When the course and winds are steady, what does one do with the
> hands?  I know that the popular answer is that you head for the galley and
> mix rum drinks, but that only took a few minutes.  
>
> I did get in a little magazine reading, but the degree of heel was too
high
> for pacing the deck.  Besides, the admiral was snoozing, and I couldn't
> shake the fear that I would go overboard, and watch Velvet Elvis sail away
> without me.  Wouldn't that teach her to nap - she would find herself 60-8
> miles out in the middle of nowhere without knowing where the heck I went!
>
> At any rate, it was a great sailing day.  Nice wind, not a cloud in the
sky,
> and temps in the mid-70's, and low to moderate humidity.  There were lots
of
> other boats near by (but not too close) to provide a little visual
> stimulation.  It was even clear enough to see the New Orleans skyline 25
> miles across the lake.  Louisiana humidity usually makes the city
invisible
> from that far away.  
>
> I certainly won't count on 12 years of bulletproof performance!  That's
> incredible, but it's nice to know that it's possible.  I'm certain that
I've
> never had any piece of electronics last that long.  Even televisions and
> radios wear out for me fater than that, and they have no moving parts.
>
> Fair winds,
> Ben
> Velvet Elvis
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: 	Roger Pihlaja [mailto:cen09402 at centurytel.net] 
> Sent:	Tuesday, April 15, 2003 08:50
> To:	The Rhodes 22 mail list
> Subject:	Re: [Rhodes22-list] Looking for advice
>
> Hi Alice,
>
> I have the Autohelm ST-50 (Now Raytheon ST-60) tridata instrument.  The
> tridata includes a knotmeter, mileage log, water temperature, & depth
> sounder all in one display package.  I also have an Autohelm autopilot.  I
> like the Autohelm series because of their proprietary "seatalk"
> communications bus, which allows all the instruments in the system to
share
> information.  You may not care about having an integrated instrument
package
> now, but you might in the future.  This is good equipment.  Mine have been
> bulletproof for over 12 years & counting.
>
> In my opinion, a knotlog, depth sounder, & ship's compass are the minimum
> complement of instruments your boat needs if you are going to take out of
> sight of land.  The water temperature function  came with the tridata
> package.  I wouldn't have bought it separately; but, it has turned out to
be
> surprisingly useful: for fishing, as a comfort gauge for swimming, & as an
> indicator of when you have crossed into & out of currents.
>
> What ever brand of depth sounder you get, make certain it has an
adjustable
> depth alarm.  That way you don't have to stare at it all the time.  It
will
> alarm when the water depth gets less than the setpoint.  This function is
> also useful as an anchor alarm to detect if the boat is dragging its
anchor
> while you are sleeping.  Most digital depth sounders have at least one
> adjustable depth alarm.
>
> Another useful function on a depth sounder is an adjustable offset.  An
> adjustable offset allows you to compensate for the difference in vertical
> height between the depth sounder transducer and the deepest part of the
> boat - usually the keel.  For example, I have my depth sounder setup to
> indicate the water depth under the keel.  This function is very useful,
> because in a stressful situation, you don't have to keep remembering to
> subtract 20" from the water depth reading to know when your solid shoal
> draft keel is going to touch.  Most digital depth sounders have an
> adjustable offset function.
>
> Some depth sounders are equipped with a "forward looking" function.  This
> function is derived by keeping track of the last several depth readings
and
> extrapolating the trend forward in front of the boat.  In theory, this can
> give you an early warning of a shallow area ahead.  In my opinion, this
> function is of very limited utility in real world sailing situations.  I
> certainly wouldn't pay extra in order to get it.
>
> Finally, whatever brand of depth sounder you purchase, pay very close
> attention to the installation instructions especially re the location of
the
> SONAR transducer.  The transducer can only transmit & receive its SONAR
> signals in a relatively narrow cone.  If you mount the transducer on a
> sloped part of the hull - like say the sharp V up near the bow; then, it
may
> lose the bottom return echo signal when the boat is heeled over on one
> sailing tack or the other.  The transducer must also be in bubble-free
> water.  I have my depth sounder transducer mounted approximately amidships
> on the starboard side in front of the ice box.  It is mounted as far
inboard
> as the shoal draft keel permits.  I installed a 6" ID Beckson screw-in
deck
> plate in my cabin sole to permit inspection & maintenance of the backside
of
> the transducer.  The other preferred depth sounder transducer location is
in
> the lazarette compartment as far forward as possible & several inches to
> starboard of the centerline.  You want to be as far forward as possible &
on
> the starboard side of the lazarette compartment to keep the transducer in
> bubble-free water.  There are several sources of bubbles which may cause
> problems for the transducer in this location: the cockpit drain, the
> outboard motor exhaust when running in reverse, & waves slamming into the
> transom when running before a following sea.  You also don't want to mount
> the transducer so close to the centerline that it causes a structural
> weakness between the cockpit drain thru hull & the thru hull penetration
for
> the transducer - keep them several inches apart.  If you mount the depth
> sounder transducer in the lazarette compartment; then I would also
fabricate
> some sort of guard or cover to protect the backside of the transducer &
> cable from being damaged by shifting cargo.  That's another favorable
point
> for the amidships mounting location - there's nothing rattling around
under
> the cabin sole that might damage the backside of the transducer or the
> cable.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <AMICW at aol.com>
> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 7:14 AM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Looking for advice
>
>
> > Hi folks!  Hope to get delivery on my R22 soon and I'm considering a
depth
> > finder.  I know, from past emails, that many, including Stan, think this
> is
> > not needed however, I'll be sailing on the Chesapeake and would feel a
bit
> > safer with it.  For those who have (or want) one, what depth finder
would
> you
> > recommend (don't need fishfinder - I do that on my own with a fishing
> pole).
> > Thanks.
> > Alice
> >
> >
>
>
>
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