Thinking 'safety at sea', prior to setting sail, I always test my emergency equipment.

Having purchased an Orion Safety Products Orion 12-Gauge High Performance Red Aerial Signals, Item Number: 539 and an Orion XII 12-Gauge Signal Pistol at West Marine, I followed the instructions to the letter and, held straight up at arm's length, test-fired a single flare.

I immediately suffered severe hearing loss and am now hard of hearing in both ears.  My hearing was checked by Audiologist Constance N. Metropulos, AuD and Doctor Curtis Johnson, DO at The Hearing Doctors, 220 S.W. 84th Ave, Suite 101, Plantation, Florida 33324, who informed me my hearing will neither return to normal nor improve naturally and I require a hearing aid.

The insurance company for Orion Safety Products is Admiral Insurance whose Claims Adjuster, at Vantage Point Claims Management, PLLC, is Mr. Mark DeCarlo.

Despite sworn and signed notarized written testimony presented as evidence by an eyewitness to support the flare I discharged at my residence, on the date of loss, was manufactured by Orion Safety Products, Mr. DeCarlo informed me, 'There was no evidence presented to support the flare you discharged at your residence on the date of loss was manufactured by Orion Safety Products therefore, Admiral Insurance Company must respectfully deny liability in this matter.'

Other than an eyewitness account, I'm not sure exactly how else, after the fact, to present a very loud 'BANG!' as evidence  to support the flare I discharged.

This is not intended as a reflection on West Marine but, on my recent experience with an Orion Safety Products 12-Gauge High Performance Red Aerial Signal flare fired with an Orion XII model flare gun manufactured by the Kilgore Corporation, as a warning to others in the ame boat.

Spoke to Jay Siano at Pennsylvania Thread Co. : Solar Thread II and ordered a spool of White 1800 thread that arrived with a sample spool of Luscent ... will update this thread [ha!] and advise as to the qualities after re-sewing the Sunbrella cover to the stays'l (on a Profurl roller furling gizmo).  Only 1 boom on this boat.


Solar Thread is much softer than and sews better than Tenara.  Made in Austria, it has the same Warranty as Tenara.

Colors: Clear / Luscent + White + Black


Pennsylvania Thread Co., 6159 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA 18938, U.S.A.  –  T. 1 800 296 4647 (AWNINGS)  •  
E. pathread@netcarrier.com

Scott

http://i.imgur.com/9hyXR6a.jpg

Sailing with IPhone and IPad

Each sensibulb I've purchased,since that first one,has the power wires break off at the circuit board.  They are shipped with very small stranded wire (AWG 22?) which connects to a halogen pin connector,and there is no mechanical stress relief where the wires meet the circuit board.  So while attempting to install the sensibulb,the wires always break off at the circuit board,this was with 3 different lamps on different manufactured dates (each with more simplified/cheap packaging too).   It may be better to put a dab of goop as mechanical protection on the wires of any new units before installation.  Also,the bulb I installed over the salon table is so bright,and on the DE 32 it is positioned low and slanting outwards,that it hurts to look directly at the light and it makes shadows (this will depend on the light covering of course.. mine are refractive-type glass).  It would be better to mount the sensibulb lights facing upwards or sideways to a reflector,so it's not such direct light.  The power savings is huge,so these gotcha's are still worth it.

I also threw down some $$ at bebi electronics for a couple of their nice looking LED-mounted-in-wood lights.  Expect to get them in another week (apparently my order was processed weeks late,so the vendor sent them express).  From something I read somewhere,this company has undergone some change in management…  the original owner was a Downeast 38 sailor.  I'll post how it goes.

On the flip side sailrite has probably double or triple the customer service that any other company I know of has. When I called rochfordsupply the person that answered the phone just didn't feel that interested in helping me find the right product or even taking my order over the phone. Right now though price is king. We use sailrite first if they have reasonable prices. We just bought some trampoline netting and fittings to make a baby proof lee cloth for the v-berth on the boat and got it from sailrite. It will be strong enough to keep an adult in but allow the baby to see the rest of the boat through the mesh when its up and she is in the v-berth.

Your also right about sailrite's online resources. They have how to videos for just about everything.

Sailrite to me seems to be a retail store on the web aimed at the home/boat user with lots of customer service and hand holding while places like http://www.rochfordsupply.com seem more like a wholesaler with a bring your own knowledge with you attitude.

sailrite.com

Using their goods has been a good investment so far.

Scott

I went the simpler route, picked up white LED christmas lights after the season was over (under $10), string them inside the cabin, and plug them into AC (at the dock).  Works great for non-heating general lighting, though not bright enough like the cabin spot lights are.

In the end, I soldered the LED module to the cabin light wiring because the plug was for a halogen receptacle (DE lights use bayonet), but soldering is not the proper method on a vessel.  Using crimp conductors is the proper method. 

Sensibulb does come with a heatsink, it clips onto the module, so can be repositioned as needed.

lol

Here is my review.

- ASA (Basic sailing,couple weekends)

Great class.  Took through university,so great price (less than $100!).  Drawback was the small boats used (I forget;something 16ft or 22 ft).  More focused on racing skills and tight situations such as needed in tiny boat (Laser) racing.  However as we know,the fast-thinking-get-it-done racing skills come in very handy when the wind picks up during cruising.  Taught good discipline for sailing with crew (i.e. calling maneuvers).

- US Sailing (Basic sailing,Basic cruising,each a couple weekends)

I would not pay for their products again.  Overpriced ($$$$$!),not great instruction,and material significantly dumbed down.  Check out their text books,they are written for a 2nd grade audience.  Should have looked into this more before I paid for it.  Seemed aimed at the beer float crowd to me.  Got to the navigation portion and the class rolled their eyes and said "Omg I can't do math" so the instructor basically skipped it —I should have requested a refund.

- US Power Squadron  (many classes on all topics)

Wish I knew about these first,then I would have focused on these.  Amazing instruction and rock bottom prices.  This group is the little brother to the US Coast Guard.  Drawback is that most of the instruction is classroom style,not on-the-water,although this seems to be changing.   Text book material is written at a real level (i.e. technician manual level).  Also this is a volunteer organization so instruction is not consistent across all U.S. or across classes.   Other drawback is that it is half focused on power boaters (gads!),though some might consider that a money-making opportunity:-D   Also, it's more of a club, so expect instant invites to raft-ups.   Another big benefit is that the group is not alcohol focused like the local yacht clubs are.

- Yacht club racing (regattas etc)

Show up, find a captain, join his crew, don't get much instruction besides "trim it! trim it!", get yelled at, everyone gets drunk, get asked to join in U.S. national races, get yelled at more, everyone gets drunk, then various drama due to drunken and disgruntled crew and drunken captains who want to argue about rules & weights.  Costs varies, sometimes free, sometimes the cost of drinks.  Not my cup of tea.  Racing instructors admit they don't know how to anchor or dock (haven't ever done it).  Incredibly useful for learning how to manage fast & stressful situations.  It's okay for a season, not really educational beyond that.  Also great for learning how to be a horrible captain and as such, the mistakes to avoid, for example, mislabeling clutches and expecting crew (or wife/girlfriend) to know which line to handle.