Year 5 Day 20 New Friends
20 February 2012 | Bundaberg Port Marina, AU
Dave/Sunny
Yesterday, I mentioned that we met Angie on the way to the Farmer's Market. Today, we really got to know her and her husband, Allen. Their boat is a ferro-cement boat named S/V Honey Wind. Angie stopped by this afternoon to drop off some of her preferred coughing elixir for Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret every now and again gets into a coughing jag. Angie swears by this stuff and thought that Mary Margaret would like it. So far it is working!!
While she was on Leu Cat we learned that her husband grew up in Tasmania and since we are going there, we asked if we could talk with him to get some good ideas as to what to see and do when we are there next month. When Angie left, she had a couple of slices of the new Key Lime pie that Mary Margaret had just finish making and we had agreed that we would stop over around 1900 to talk more with her and to meet Allen.
Getting together was great as we learned about how they had survived two Category 5 hurricanes that had slammed into Cairns in the last 5 years and how their boat was the only one in the bay that survived. As an aside, Allen had use the same double anchor technique that we use when we are in poor or unknown holding areas. We have withstood 45 knot winds without dragging. Now we know that this technique can stand up to Category 5 winds! For those of you in the US, Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane so you can understand how powerful they are.
This is their first year as cruisers and they have already sailed up from Cairns over to PNG and back and are now heading south a bit. They will be leaving this marina tomorrow. In April/May time frame they will be returning to Cairns. They will be up there before the time we arrive in Cairns so we are hoping to see them again there. While we were on Honey Wind, Allen shared some great places to visit while we are in Tasmania. We are even more excited now then we were before!
Today was another great day regarding boat projects. I went into town and met with the fiberglass shop guy and ordered three new fiberglass battens. He called down to a place in Brisbane that sells them in 6 meter lengths for $84 AU each. Thus, for $252 AU, I have new battens being sent up instead of paying $800 AU, which the local sail maker wanted. I am still steaming about how he tried to rip us off...
Techno-Tip Of The Week: More On Hose Clamps
Last week I wrote about making sure you check the condition of your hose clamps periodically since they will break or vibrate loose over time. The last thing you want is a thru-hull hose leaking because of a loose or broken hose clamp. To that tip, our good friend Clint left a comment to say one should always double clamp when possible. I wish to underscore that very important point he made but to also offer a couple of additional tips to his point.
First, you will find that a number of hose bibs (i.e., the thing that the hose fits over) are not long enough to really hold two hose clamps. It that case, you should not add a second clamp since it will just sit on the end of the bib and as you tighten it, it was slip off the bib and cut into the hose.
Second, even if the second hose clamp will fit onto the bib, you should not tighten it down as much as you do the first hose clamp. The first hose clamp is there to seal the hose onto the bib and to prevent leaks. The second hose clamp is to act as a safety net in case the first hose clamp fails. You will notice that hose bibs have a rise at their end. This is to seat the clamp and to help prevent the hose from sliding off the bid. If you try to tighten the second clamp down as much as the first hose clamp, that rise at the end of the bib will force the clamp to wear into the hose and over time may damage the hose. This is not good!! Thus, if you put on a second clamp, just tighten it down until you feel that it is tight on the hose and then turn the nut just one more complete rotation. Thus should be good to keep the hose from popping off if the first clamp breaks.