Showing posts with label boat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boat. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Review: Sailors Compass - Oceanus Brass

I've covered compasses before, mostly as a generic " have a compass, navigation is important" tool and as part of a variety of multi-tool items or kits that include a compass but this one is a little different. I backed a kickstarter for a boutique compass with maritime style. Oceanus Brass specialize in nautically inspired items milled in brass. This is the Oceanus Brass - Sailors compass. Which I backed on Kickstarter. They're in full production now, so you can pick one up, or anything else in their range. Their latest Kickstarter is for a plastic bottle cord maker and looks great too
Brass is an excellent material for traditional nautical kit for several reasons: It is hard wearing to withstand long periods between resupply or repair options. Corrosion resistant to resist saltwater exposure. Non-sparking to keep powder and timbers safe and non ferro-magnetic so as not to throw off your compass needle. It also has a pleasing heft and a bright luster. 
The sailors compass comes as an un-embellished and unadorned puck, with a seam line running its circumference at the 2/3 of its height. The seam line is narrow when the lid is secured and both top and bottom edge of the puck are evenly beveled and smooth. The "lid" unscrews for two full rotations  along finely machined threads, with just index and fore finger and thumb vs palm needed to open it.
Inside the compass is a liquid filled needle chamber, with a well defined needle including a nicely pointed "head" featuring a glow in the dark "dot" for night-time navigation. The tail end flight is subtle and balances the needle both physically and aesthetically.
 
The bezel is gently notched for easy grip and rotates smoothly and features degree markings, in 20 degree major spacings, with minor marks for 10 degrees and 2 degrees. It's firm enough that it won't slide of its own accord but smooth enough that it will turn with a finger-tip's pressure. The backing of the bezel is a ring of glow in the dark material to provide a readable back lit bearing in the dark. A fixed red line serves as the index mark and a pair of embedded glow-dots in the base of the bezel chamber lines up with the North indicator. A central dot completes the after-dark navigation picture. 

The compass is moderately large for an EDC pocket compass, at 2" (55mm) in diameter, 5/8" (17mm) in height and 6.8 oz (194g) in weight, but its smooth and solid design makes it an easy carry. Whilst it would not take the place of a good lensatic compass for navigation. It certainly does the job for simple wayfinding navigation. 




 Solid brass construction provides sea-worthy durability. The Sailor's Compass can be dropped, frozen, banged, forgotten until it isn't. If i had to pick something I didn't like about the compass it would be that it's too smooth. The unadorned surface might lead to slick, fumbly fingers to drop a vital piece of kit and some knurling or a dummy-cord knob or thread-hole might go a long way to securing it. All told though, it makes for a very pleasant EDC pocket addition. 

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Review: collapsible fishing rod

Change of pace! Here's an item that has been rattling about in the secret tool chamber of my SUV for some time, alongside my Kathmandu Hip bag full of bug-out gear, first aid kits, a hatchet, jumper-leads and the like, for some time now. My step-dad Barry gave me a set of three of these collapsible fishing rods, one for myself and one each for Tactical Baby and Triceratops Girl.

They love fishing, and we finally had an opportunity to put them to the test, when we were taken out onto Western Port bay by my partner Lorin's dad, Ken, on his fishing boat, for a day's angling.


The rods collapse down from 5 telescoping segments, to a length of only 41cm (16") from its overall 175cm (5'9") length. It weighs only 75g or so when fully spooled with line. It's really a very lightweight rod. I'm no fishing expert, and could probably count on two hands the number of times I've fished wit ha rod (growing up with dangle hand-reels from my Grandad's boat instead), so I don't have a lot to say about the relative quality of either the rod or the reels attached, but they weren't fancy, or heavy duty. They feature 5 eyes, and along with the generic reels, we didn't expect high performance.

They did work just fine though, and once weighted, hooked and baited, we put lines to water and in a surprisingly short amount of time we had some bites. 
Even though I also swapped out to a regular rod, the girls and I each landed a bream or two with the collapsing rods.

The ones we kept were all above the 28cm limit, with nothing bigger than about 35cm but they were all good eating size. We also landed a couple of the spikey, fang-mouthed flatheads. Nasty to look at, delicious in the pan.

Not only did the girls have fun, and learn a few things about setting bait, hooking and landing fish, but also proved that the collapsible rods aren't just a gimmick, but really do work.
I didn't have any concerns with the structural integrity of the rods, or their fittings, other than their age, as hand-me-downs, but they performed admirably. I suspect if I hooked a BIG fish, but not big enough to break my line, that I might have troubles, but oven the line, and my knots, are the weakest physical link, I can't imagine the rod being at risk.

In summary, these light, flexible and easily stored rods were entirely effective, and have truly earned their place in my bug-out car tool cache, and they're something that I would be very happy strapping to a pack should I be heading out on an adventure where there might be fish to catch.

I'm extremely grateful to both my stepdad Barry for giving us the rods, and to Ken for taking us out on his boat. Thank's guys!

Friday, April 17, 2015

Home Front: Marina

We live a 5 minute drive from a marina, less than 2km by foot. I have often considered bug-out-by-water as one of our options, especially given how close we live to the Bay and that has been one of the motivators I've had to get into kayaking.

The marina we live near  features a 280m long pier, which meats up with a 350m long, curved piled stone breakwater which protects a anchorage with around 120 berths, most of which are suited to docking 2 small yachts.

Both the pier and the breakwater are topped with concrete slab walkways and fitted with guard rails on the windward side. The pier has its own small floating dock and we often see fishermen trying their hand to catch the fish that inhabit the bay from it in the evenings.

The breakwater has a harbourmasters hut, on a raised platform around its 250m mark, and at this point, it is around 240m away from the closest point of the spit of sand that makes up the closest bit of shore.

The marina proper is walled, with heavy duty fencing wrapping around its pier-side perimeter, with spiked ramparts, the marina's facilities are well protected from casual intruders. A motivated individual could make it over these walls without too much trouble, or even less if you approach it from the water, but this is designed to keep people from wandering into private property and making off with supplies, or interfering with the docked vessels.


 A variety of small boats are docked here, from yachts to a few powered launches and even a couple of small sport fishing boats, with a selection of runabouts mored to the marina walls as well. There are only limited facilities in the walled off marina section, but it is both raised from the water level, and walled off from the pier.

These traits are what make me consider the marina and the pier as bug-out locations. They are removed from the main thoroughfare of modern urban life, whilst being not too distant as to make it untenable to range out from.

The sparse local resources bring both a risk and a boon. Apart from the boats, there is little to salvage or scavenge, which would reduce its value as a raiding target to most people. If the threat faced required isolation, say a quarantine, and there were not many able-bodied people to worry about breaking that quarantine this might well make a very appealing site. Prevailing winds and the action of the waves give you some sound and smoke dissipation concealment,  and by the very nature of location, you might well have the advantage of obscurity. Assuming you were not concerned with natural risks coming from the water, or weather, or from able-bodied threats able to invade from the sea, a location like a marina might well make a good bug-out location to head for, even if you don't intend to use it as a staging point to flee by boat, their primary resource.






Monday, July 28, 2014

Home Front: Sea Levels

originally posted as  @Fenstardeluxe southbank-flood1
I live "by the Bay", the beach is a 2 minute drive from my house. When I dig in my garden, my soil is predominantly sandy. When it rains, I often loose internet (though that might be more to do with the wiring that Alexander Bell may have let his less than competent cousin install, rather than out location's fault).

originally posted as @Fenstardeluxe southbank-flood2
All of this plays a part in my thinking, especially considering prepping, when I consider my pathways too and from home in my day to day life. This is accentuated when we get exciting weather  as we did on June 24, when high winds and low pressure pushed the Yarra River back in from the Bay, causing it to burst its banks.

This was only a minor inconvenience, nothing like the flooding seen by the Hurricane Katrina storm surge,  or the far more ruinous flooding that frequently occurs in places like Bangladesh
but still gave me pause to think.

@MEL_J_84 southbank-flood3
There is a lot of talk about the validity of the human climate change arguments, and its affect on both sea levels and the propagation of that climate change. I'm going to come out and say it, I'm satisfied with the assessments I've read thus far. I'm convinced.

What it will all mean in practical effects, I'm not yet certain of, one way or another, but I think we will start to see a lot more ruinous weather. Perhaps not Split Second bad, for a while, but not good.

There are even some good references out there using GoogleMaps topographical information to offer predictions as to how sea-level rises will affect low laying areas. Check it out, and check out where YOU live in relation to this. Melbourne is renowned for being built beside a swamp and having several water ways diverted through its CBD, leading to some spectacular historical images. It's quite a sobering thought to wonder what might be coming, in just a few short years.

My recent holiday to Fiji reminded me of this even further, with that Pacific islands sand beaches, like so many others I have visited over the years. So many low-laying islands that are at risk of simply being inundated.

This island I visited would have only been 4m above sea-level at its peak, and being an all-sand and coral outcropping, would face erosion threats even before succumbing to sea levels reaching that height. 


With news of the glacial ice-calving at the Poles and other alarming news, it bears dwelling on. What will happen when the water rise? Where will you be, what will you do? Will it be a gentle swell, or a surge that cuts you off from home?

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Review: AquaYak - Aqua II tandem kayak


A little while ago, I showed you all the AquaYak Snapper-Pro, that was loaned to me by the good folks at AquaYak Kayaks. A couple of months ago, I saw that there was a sale going on at AquaYak, and we took the plunge (so to speak) and went out to check out the showroom. It was the tandem's that had caught my eye, both for load-hauling, but also for family-moving purposes. We settled on a Aqua II tandem, in their Granite Spa colour, with a full load of accessories.

Tactical Baby promptly claimed is as "MY BOAT"

The kayak is a direct extension from the Snapper Pro, just bigger.

It features the same scupper hole and circular storage hatch system as the Snapper Pro, giving self-draining capacity to each of the two, deeply molded seats which as well as adding stability, and having their own mounting points for the padded fabric comfort seats, also feature the molded foot rests, drink holding wells (between the thighs) and anchor point for lashing dummy-cords (between the calves).

The central storage hatches had bags fitted, so your personal items don't get lost in the hull-void.

Fore and aft hatches, are the main structural difference between the Snapper Pro and the Aqua II. These hatches are held in place with a clever shock-cord mechanism, and can be unstrapped and opened with minimal effort, without being a loose or an accidental release risk. These open directly into the hull-space, and afford a very spacious cargo storage area, if you first consider the width of the openings. Stuffable packs and items will work well, but larger items might need to ride on top.

I found that I made use of the Grab Lines, which are mounted by brackets running all around the hull, for both maneuvering the kayak about on the land, as well as for giving Tactical Baby and Triceratops Girl places to hold onto when they were riding with us. As part of our deal, we bought a family's worth of life-vests including a red and black and  coyote/OD Stormrider YAK PFD for the adults as well as lurid red and yellow kid and toddler sized ones (which I will cover later). I also got several 10L dry-bags to go in the hull, and scupper plugs, to reduce incidental water splashes. 

You can get an idea of the depth and size of the two fore and aft hatches with this shot of my arm, along with the padded seal that makes up the inside of those hatches.

The same propriety 'alkatuff polyethylene' material, which holds a UV certification for maritime plastics, is used to make up all the AquaYak hulls, and whilst I have noted that my dragging, and beaching has scored the keel and sides of the hull, its all cosmetic, and a very tough, resilient material. 



At 3.8m (12.5") long and 0.9m (just under 3") wide at the beam, and weighing in at 30kg, it is quite a bit larger than the Snapper Pro, and harder to man-handle when out of the water.

At 30kg it is not all that to lift, but the size of it makes it awkward. The two sizable heavy-duty handles at the bow and stern make for easy lifting and hauling, even when fully laden with safety gear, seats, paddles and even the occasional squealing child. I've dragged it up a grassy hill by looping some webbing through the front handle. Wheels might well be in order (and AquaYak offer them)

In the water, It handles really well, thanks in part to having two sets of paddlers but is very operable with only one, even being quite maneuverable when solo.

We've it out on The Bay a number of times, and whilst its bulk means loading it onto and off my vehicle can be a pain, once its in the water , it is a lot of fun.

With a stated carrying capacity of 200kg, even with two adults, and two kids riding, unencumbered by gear, we've ridden very high in the water, and have had little trouble staying course, and upright, even on our first trips, are probably largely due tot he great design, including this tri-keel, which helps with tracking and stability, even in the moderate swells we've encountered.

I feel that if we needed to get off-shore, as simply as possible, this is a real option for us, both is speed, and limited cost. Get it on the vehicle, get to the beach, onto the water, and away ... Load it up with MALICE 2 pack, a Platatac Light Field Pack, and supplies in Dead People Jars, we could have quite the getaway. 


We put the kids in their Mudlarks All-In-One suits, to keep them warm and dry, with the PVD vests over the top, and went for a paddle one sunny spring afternoon, having been visiting with friends.

You can see that there is quite a bit of room the in the kayak, and we have found that the kids can site between our knees as we paddle, but that space could just as easily be full of packs and supplies. This is the saem beach as I reviewed the Snapper Pro, with a high grassy hill from the carpark to the beach. The weight of the fully laden kayak, over grass, down a hill was no issue at all. It even maneuvered well.

Once down at the waters edge, it was a simple matter to alight and shove off.



You can see here how high on the water we were, and whilst heading right into waves gave us some spray, we were a long way off ever taking water over the side and into the cockpit. I think we could have laden the hull with a lot more kit, and still have been positively buoyant and dry.

All in all, I am really pleased with this acquisition, and plan to spend a bunch of time on The Bay over the summer, as well as trips to local lakes and rivers.

I heard recently that AquaYak are going to stock a Windpaddle sail for their kayaks, and that is a great idea...








Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...