Label Heat Exchanger Zinc

The engine heat exchanger zinc is frequently overlooked. A bright label will serve as a good reminder to inspect and replace the pencil zinc as necessary.

Turn a Prop Zinc into a Hand Lead

Make a Mark Twain (two fathom) hand lead using a shaft prop zinc for a weight. Bend to a spare sheet for measuring deeper depths.

Laptop Pub 229 Sight Reduction Calculator

Save this Pub 229 sight reduction calculator file to your laptop desktop to have an on the go anywhere means of performing celestial sight reduction.

file:///Users/greg/Desktop/Nav%20Calc/srt1.html

(Z) rules to get (Zn) azimuth of body when using the calculator

NORTH LATITUDE
L.H.A. greater than 180° Zn=Z
L.H.A. less than 180° Zn=360°–Z
SOUTH LATITUDE
L.H.A. greater than 180° Zn=180°–Z
L.H.A. less than 180° Zn=180°+Z

NGA Link:
http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=msi_portal_page_145&calcCode=01

Key Floatation

Save those wine corks ! One cork per key will buoy the key ring to facilitate an easy rescue from the drink. The corks also serve double duty as at hand damage control plugs for small holes.

Recovering Time

A modern variant of an ancient mariner celestial navigation technique called lunars is concisely explained by John S. Letcher in chapter 17 of his book Self-Contained Celestial Navigation with H.O. 208. If recovering time for a stopped chronometer ever becomes necessary this method offers a better than nothing means until a time signal can be received. Chapter 12 offers an additional more precise method of recovering time from a known position if time signals aren't available.

Mast Head Cactus

Eliminate birds from roosting at the mast head by installing some mast head cactus. Commercial products are available at the hardware store but the handy can construct their own by threading seizing wire through a cork coaster and then twist the spikes into a supporting structure. Glue into place with a blob of silicone. The hardest part will be installing. For that a trip up the mast by the skilled will be needed.

Steering Compass Deviation

It is important to keep areas around the steering compass and autopilot free of magnetic influence. Items containing speakers or tools containing magnetic materials should be stored well away from the binnacle. Caution ! Cup holders by the binnacle should never be used as a hand held VHF holder. http://www.hshyachts.com/html/compass_deviation.html