John wrote: " have been part of a group (too cunning to do any towing myself!) that involved a full-day rafted tow on the west coast of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in very lumpy water. A fan tow was tried and didn't work so the rig was changed to in-line. Multiple body tows were used, with no injury." Lovely place isn't it, John? I love Skye! Been there a few times, coming by train and car (with just train you have to walk a lot)! Latest trip was the first with my wife to Skye (we saw Skye from Mallagh on our second visit but didn't have the time to cross - we even went to Scotland on our honey moon weekend, two years ago), The latest was the second with our Klepper Aerius II! Couldn't have been better! Before setting out we got help and expert advice from Gordon Brown and Morag Maclean, of Skyak Adventures! See www.foldingkayaks.org/gallery/tord Click on Paddling tour of Skye, Scotland, 2004 The aftermath to our tour is that we're lucky that we used a double, as my right shoulder acted up ever so often while my wife had lots of stamina, till her blood sugar levels dropped (usually easily fixed)! So now we've added sails :-)! And an outrigger :-)! But both out of the way of the paddles! Only possible remaining problem being the leeboard, as that isn't easy to attach while under way! And we had perfect weather most of the time, and just lazy swell. At the most we had 3 ft waves, plus the swell of a few feet more! Our main problem, except avoiding sunstroke, was sore bums! As there were few places to go ashore between Glen Brittle and Loch Bracadale! But what a landscape, or should that be seascape?! But to touch the subject of tow lines: Our Kevlar tow line is attached at the nose of our boat and after being folded double is threaded through all the D-rings on the deck on starboard side, from bow to stern, and ends with a hefty handle. To deploy you just grab the handle and pull! Works (almost) every time! All the best, Tord S Eriksson *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This has nothing to do with paddling, but it seems there are a few folks out there with a good knowledge of electronics and battery charging, and to those I direct this request. Answers probably best via back-channel. At work we have a satellite phone, using NMH batteries, which we want to recharge from a solar panel we have. It would also be nice to recharge lap-tops with the panel. I know enough not to charge directly from the panel, but I'm unsure of the best way to go. Weight of any set-up is important, so carrying an additional battery is not ideal. We have two batteries for the sat phone so could charge out of the unit. Keen to hear advice, or directions to sites that would be more suitable. Cheers JKA -- John Kirk-Anderson Banks Peninsula NEW ZEALAND *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
It is wise to store NiMHs cold, as they self-discharge faster the warmer they are: http://www.starbatteries.com/seldisrat.html This is actually the best argument for Lithiums, no matter which type: They all self-discharge very, very slowly! Simon Van Leeuwen, in Calgary, an expert on Lithiums, and a retailer of Li-Po packs as well, stated in a recent email that the fire hazard is the same, no matter what type of Lithium cells we're speaking of. Li-Ion are metal encased and explode first, then burn savagely, the Li-Pos just burn savagely. You take your pick :-)! Tord *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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