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BIANKA is the world's first electric powered Nonsuch. Check in to see what new "adventures" Mike and BIANKA have been on lately and what repairs and projects are going on board.
At some point this spring on my checklist of things I will check on the expiration date of the emergency flares I have on board. Though the flare testing I did on a few of the expired flares two years ago has me a little apprehensive as to how safe they are to actually use in an emergency situation. Here is a link to the post on that experience. That's why this year I am planning on buying a Weems and Plath Emergency SOS Distress Light in my on board safety kit. There are a couple of real good reasons to have one on board. For one thing it will flash for 60 hours (2.5 Days) so it can be left on constantly as opposed to having to a limited number of flares that one has to think about rationing. Another reason is it requires no further action other than turning it on. So it can be quickly left on deck so that one can go back and hopefully deal and correct whatever emergency situation caused one to call for help in the first place. Someone has to be on deck to launch a meteor flare or hold a handheld one. A problem when one is sailing alone or with inexperienced passengers. It also floats which is an important consideration if one has to enter the water. Plus it's portable so you could take it with you and use it in the dingy too. It would be real handy should your outboard fail in the night on the ride back to the boat. Best of all it does not expire. Though it is recommend the three C batteries that power it be replaced every year. Considering that the cost of replacing one set of expired meteor and handheld flares is more than half of what the Weems and Plath Distress light costs. It seems like much better deal. In addition it comes with a bight orange distress flag so your boat is covered for both day and night emergency situations. Here is a little more on the light:
I probably will still carry flares but, I will probably use this Weems and Plath SOS light as my primary signaling device as it seems safer, constant and more convenient than dealing with emergency pyro technics onboard.
I've been catching up on some projects I've been wanting to do as the sailing season heads to an end. Some of which involve using my fairly new Sailrite LSZ-1 Sewing Machine. I bought a bunch of stuff on board to use and help with the planned projects. Things like tape measures, fabrics, snap hardware and the like. But, I found that I did not bring a straight edge ruler. So making straight hem lines has been a little awkward. The simple straight edge really comes in handy when extending and measuring lines too. So I looked around the boat and found my Weems & Plath Marine Navigation Plotting Tools are coming in very handy when measuring and drawing on various fabric pieces. Seems the same tools used for drawing straight lines on a chart also help do the same on Sunbrella fabric. So I really don't need the straight edge rulers at all.
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At some point this spring on my checklist of things I will check on the expiration date of the emergency flares I have on board. Though the flare testing I did on a few of the expired flares two years ago has me a little apprehensive as to how safe they are to actually use in an emergency situation. Here is a link to the post on that experience. That's why this year I am planning on buying a Weems and Plath Emergency SOS Distress Light in my on board safety kit. There are a couple of real good reasons to have one on board. For one thing it will flash for 60 hours (2.5 Days) so it can be left on constantly as opposed to having to a limited number of flares that one has to think about rationing. Another reason is it requires no further action other than turning it on. So it can be quickly left on deck so that one can go back and hopefully deal and correct whatever emergency situation caused one to call for help in the first place. Someone has to be on deck to launch a meteor flare or hold a handheld one. A problem when one is sailing alone or with inexperienced passengers. It also floats which is an important consideration if one has to enter the water. Plus it's portable so you could take it with you and use it in the dingy too. It would be real handy should your outboard fail in the night on the ride back to the boat. Best of all it does not expire. Though it is recommend the three C batteries that power it be replaced every year. Considering that the cost of replacing one set of expired meteor and handheld flares is more than half of what the Weems and Plath Distress light costs. It seems like much better deal. In addition it comes with a bight orange distress flag so your boat is covered for both day and night emergency situations. Here is a little more on the light:
. I bought a bunch of stuff on board to use and help with the planned projects. Things like tape measures, fabrics, snap hardware and the like. But, I found that I did not bring a straight edge ruler. So making straight hem lines has been a little awkward. The simple straight edge really comes in handy when extending and measuring lines too. So I looked around the boat and found my 
are coming in very handy when measuring and drawing on various fabric pieces. Seems the same tools used for drawing straight lines on a chart also help do the same on Sunbrella fabric. So I really don't need the straight edge rulers at all.
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