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julesmoto forum posts in last 60 days

julesmoto

Topic: Propeller shaft: Prop speed, Antifoul or Electrical tape?

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

20 Jul 2026 3:23pm

Currently got my boat on the slips and trying to decide how to best protect the prop shaft from fouling.
I have had it suggested to me to wrap it in electrical tape which is a method I have never heard of before. It's a stainless steel shaft and there is a fair bit of it exposed.
Any advice in the next 48 hours gratefully received.

Topic: Propspeed Alternatives and Sources

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

18 Jul 2026 10:02am

Slipping the boat on Tuesday and DIY.
As we all know Propspeed is an absurd price. I'm sure I have seen alternative brands but can't quite remember where.
Anyone got any recommendations preferably available on the north shore of Sydney that I can actually pick up Monday. Thanks in advance.
Actually while I'm at it what are you guys using to clean up the prop which does a good but relatively quick job but doesn't chew into and thin out the blades too much? Flapper wheel on a drill?

Reply in Topic: Lithium Battery Replacement

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

16 Jul 2026 7:36am

Magpiemike said..
Jules,
what would be your plan if the temperature alarm or the smoke detector started going off?
Mike

That's rather like saying what is the plan if lightning strikes your house.
To answer the question however I wouldn't be trying to put it out that's for sure. I would be getting the hell off the boat after putting in a mayday if I could do so without inhaling smoke.
In my opinion and in my experience metho, kero or gas stoves on a boat are far far more dangerous.

Reply in Topic: Lithium Battery Replacement

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

16 Jul 2026 7:32am

Trek said..
Sorry to jump in.

Hmmm these are lithium batteries
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/why-do-sydney-s-trams-keep-catching-fire-20260713-p60eyt.html

Over to you Jules......

There is very little information in this article. It doesn't say what type of lithium batteries are involved. Lithium iron phosphate batteries and nickel manganese cobalt lithiums are chalk and cheese when it comes to fire. Most importantly the temperature at which a ternary lithium battery will go into runaway is far lower than that at which a lithium iron phosphate will.
Plenty of diesel vehicles have caught fire and we all know how hard it is to ignite diesel.

Reply in Topic: Lithium Battery Replacement

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

12 Jul 2026 2:18pm

Safety is all down to the BMS which is utilised and most times you have no way of knowing and even the best can fail. I think a fire with lithium Iron phosphate is extremely unlikely but of course always possible. I can't see what a steel box would do because it will get hot real fast and conduct that heat perfectly to the fiberglass, timber or whatever else it is sitting on. I just went with an extreemly compact 340

amp hour job from AliExpress which has been great but I installed with a temperature sensor and alarm taped to it and a smoke alarm directly above. Its the size of a regular battery so this business of 200 amp hour or above batteries coming in gigantic cases is total BS and its just foam packing. It's Bluetooth enabled so you can see everything about it including internal resistance and the voltage of the individual cells plus you can instruct it to top balance whenever you like .

Wouldn't dream of installing AGM or deep cycle these days. I don't really like sleeping in the bunk directly above however since quick exit path is a bit restricted.

Reply in Topic: Forward looking sonar - anybody using it?

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

10 Jun 2026 7:44am

BluewaterBound said..
Hi all

I've been sailing my 30' yacht in Port Phillip Bay for six years now, but I'm finally getting to the stage where I'll have time to make tentative forays into Bass Strait and beyond. When I'm more comfortable with ocean conditions I hope to head to Western Port, the Gippland Lakes, King Island and Tassie ... and eventually up to NSW and Qld. I'm a solo sailor, so building up skills slowly has always been my approach.

As part of this learning curve I'm upgrading my navigation gear - the last lot belonged in a museum and my make-do solution has been to use a small handheld garmin unit. It does the job, but I'd prefer a better system for ease of use.

At present I'm planning a wireless masthead wind speed/direction instrument, and a through-hull depth/speed/temp transducer both linked to a 9" B&G Vulcan chartplotter. Might also look at AIS later.

However as I've done my research, I've been impressed by the ForwardScan transducers which do forward-looking sonar. This is something I'm considering in addition to the more conventional depth/speed/temp sensor.

The kits for this transducer are about $1000 (see example link below) and it seems that installing it at the right angle and in the right part of the hull are really important. They project out of the hull more than most sensors, so there is also the issue of them getting covered in barnacles etc or getting knocked off altogether by a passing chunk of driftwood.

www.bluebottlemarine.com/products/forwardscan-transducer-kit.html?sku=000-11674-001&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17437305970&gbraid=0AAAAAB4-pTdd9f6J1Ve6H1RQFw76CZWbt&gclid=CjwKCAjw8uTQBhAdEiwAVvtJyr6v3rwMHflpNRc3d5kMKA7BLHNecbbvP_2NpqIXMx_UWo_JzKq0VhoC4YgQAvD_BwE

So my question is: does anyone have experience of forward-looking sonar? I'm thinking it would be of particular use on the west coast of Tassie.

Also, I'm aware that many people are using their own navigation set-ups based around tablets, laptops, phones and Navionics - in my case that's not of interest because anything that can ease my stress levels when conditions are really nasty (i.e. a dedicated, robust, and highly visible system) is, for a solo voyager, worth the extra expense.

Any thoughts on installation or use of this kind of system would be appreciated.

Heaps of places where you can't rely on charts and where you will be motoring. Pretty much every bar entrance in Australia and certainly the Gippsland lakes where sand moves all the time. If you've got the dollars then great idea. I was on a mates cat when we hit a rock trying to anchor a bit too close in and his straight down depth sounder didn't register an alarm yet. Straight after that he got forward facing and then bought a new boat which he also installed it on. I recently had to negotiate the extremely tricky and moving 1770 bar which is totally incorrectly mapped on Navionics and it would have been great in that situation. Most of these situations you will be motoring not sailing and reverse is very effective and readily available.

Reply in Topic: Sobering news

julesmoto

NSW

1585 posts

julesmoto

NSW, 1585 posts

28 May 2026 8:11am

shaggybaxter said..

woko said..
If the vessel that was being rescued was impounded instead of being moved on none of those lives would have been lost.

I believe in the idea of meeting a minimum standard for venturing offshore.
But, it is not uncommon, even on this forum, for loud protests to emerge against even the slightest hint of more regulatory oversight. (Example: the opposition to having to attend and pay for a 1 day course to get an SROCP license, despite it being informative, concise and an extremely valuable skill to everyone going offshore )
Yet we all agree that for modern society to function, there are laws and rules we need to abide by to accommodate the 1%'ers that will are incapable of 'doing the right thing'.

So, if we want to object to additional oversight, we have no right to bitch when peeps that are clearly unqualified get themselves into trouble, and increase the risk to rescue services, and others, in the process. The lesser the regulatory oversight, then greater the potent for these incidents to occur.
So which is it that we prefer ? The wild west where accident or death is a more common occurence but we're free to do what we want (until the 1%ers force an overreaction from authorities) , or we accept that additional oversight may be required to prevent acts of stupidity resulting in outcomes such as this?

Summary? You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Pretty sad when we call freedom the Wild West in a derogatory way. Plenty of people die from bush walking in the Blue mountains. Do you want them to have to get a license to go on a bushwalk as well?
There will always be people who want to try risky things including stupid people. The problem with modern society is that we expect the government to save us from our own stupidity. We need to realise that no we do not have an obligation to go and save people in obvious war zones just because they have an Australian passport. They chose to go there despite warnings. Similarly sea rescue services need to weigh up carefully whether the risk is too great for them to attempt a rescue. Rather like an injured man lying in front of an enemy machine gun nest. Obviously you don't get six more men killed trying to rescue him.
In this case I think we need to look at the person who decided to go out and attempt the rescue and risk the crews life. This person should not have been in charge as their risk assessment skills were clearly deficient not to mention their seamanship skills.

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