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woko forum posts in last 60 days

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Reply in Topic: A new kid on the block
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

Monday,
23 Feb 2026 8:23pm
Cheers Gary, it's not every day you witness someone actually re invent the wheel
Reply in Topic: Coral infestation
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

16 Feb 2026 7:02pm
I was under the impression that copper coat needed to be sanded occasionally to expose fresh copper, but I have been wrong before
Reply in Topic: Electrical question
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

11 Feb 2026 8:11pm
But wait there's more, RCD is good in an earthed system, like Lazz's lovely small ship system. In an isolated/ floating system a RVD is the option. In a system like my recent upgrade where the inverter is turned on to use a specific tool/ device then an inline RVD seems to be the safest option. Phew my brain still hurts !
Reply in Topic: Electrical question
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

10 Feb 2026 8:31pm
I bet lazz had no idea of the can of worms he was opening up ! I've had a look at the items I would/ do use the inverter for, wet&dry vac, battery tool charger, small blender, induction cooktop ( will start another thread) angle grinder all are double insulated ie 2 pin plugs no earth. It seems in this case earthing is a moot point, but of course you could plug in an earth pin item. It would be educational if a rep from Victron / Renogy etc could explain chassis earthing ... ( please note the use of the term earthing as opposed to grounding,grounding on boat is to be avoided !
Reply in Topic: Electrical question
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

10 Feb 2026 6:54am
All good. I understand the concept, when living of grid with generators as 240v supply they where grounded for safety
Reply in Topic: Electrical question
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

9 Feb 2026 6:31pm
Select to expand quote
shaggybaxter said..
Hi Lazz,
Yes, connect the inverter chassis ground to neg busbar, which then connects to the boat's ground. This is the light green wire in Q's wiring diagram. Only use one ground connection from the neg busbar to the boat hull/engine, multiple grounds can be problematic.

The right hand information box has a statement " when operating in inverter mode, the neutral output must be connected to ground'.
I would reword this to say" The AC system must have a Neutral-Earth bond when the inverter is the supply source".

This is done internally in the Multiplus II. This is a safety thing and uses an internal Neutral-Earth relay. When you are connected to shore power it disconnects, so the shore power handles all the safety stuff (RCD). When you are off shore power and the inverter is the AC source, the internal relay kicks in to bond the Neutral-Earth, enabling RCD protection to work on the boat.

The boat earth is very high impedance compared to the neutral conductor, so AC current doesn't 'flow' through to the hull, just like current doesn't flow through the earth stake on your house. This simply ensures the hull and Neutral sit at the same voltage unless a fault occurs. In normal operation, think of the boat ground as a reference, not a current carrying circuit.

Ergo:
-- Do wire the Multiplus-II chassis ground to the boat's ground. That's it.
-- Do not wire any AC (L, N or PE) to your boat's ground.

Cheers!
SB


thanks a informative post. I can deal with inverter chassis ground to dc neg, I can deal with inverter chassis ground to steel hull/ engine. But after decades of being schooled to not using the hull as neg for dc like in a car / any machine, I find it difficult to conceptualise dc Neg to vessel/ motor. I'm sure you're correct but my poor little brain is struggling !
Reply in Topic: Electrical question
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

9 Feb 2026 6:58am
Must admit I skipped thru your 1st post and missed the marine thing. The instructions are definitely for hard wired insulation though. I'm confident lazz will come back with an explanation
Reply in Topic: Electrical question
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

8 Feb 2026 8:42pm
Select to expand quote
Lazzz said..
Just about to install a new Victron Inverter & wondering where I should connect the Chassis to ground connection on my steel boat??


I could be wrong, but I think chassis grounding is a land thing, detailed for hard wired installations. I put a dedicated fuse on the battery 400a just to cover my butt.
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

6 Feb 2026 6:08pm
20/20 vision in hindsight, thanks for the update. I use a handy billy ( running back stay tackle)to let the traveler out if I get excited enough. If I was inspired I could do something similar, got any pics of your set up ?
Reply in Topic: VHF AIS combo
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

5 Feb 2026 6:58pm
Cheers shaggy that's a great wrap. The B&G was for example. I'm glad the funky little black & white screen is a goer. I'm avoiding making my nav area look like a space ship control. That's at least until paper charts are a long gone. tho I'm a bit tempted by navigation lap tops refurbed tough books
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

5 Feb 2026 5:53pm
While scouting around for a new vhf I see there's a few combos on the market, ie. B&G v60. Are the screens on these units visible ? Or is it a case of having to pair with a chart plotter ?
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

29 Jan 2026 6:50pm
In the end I could have had the cord remade for $98+gst the Gx700 sells for $220 ish, not worth the fooling around for a vital bit of kit. As a side the white cords seem more prone to deterioration. Apparently using the unsheathed wire in the cord is common practice.
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

29 Jan 2026 5:22pm
12kg danforth might be a bit light, I carry a 20kg danforth for a kedge. Join all your chain & rope together & look at one of the more modern anchor designs, along with an anchor watch app for peace of mind
Reply in Topic: Reefing Downwind
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

24 Jan 2026 10:06am
Twins are the obvious answer, Same amount of hardware though extra halyard, sheets & 2x spinnaker poles. The existing heady is on a furler the second would need to be retrieved from the end of a 4m bow sprit, that's what prompted me to look else where
Reply in Topic: Reefing Downwind
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

23 Jan 2026 9:17pm
Definitely horses for courses, I was surprised to find that my long keel ketch won't run on the main alone, perhaps being gaff with long shallow keel adds to the round up ? Toying with the idea of a square sail for off the wind work
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

22 Jan 2026 4:37pm
Nice conclusion Q, intermittent issues are notoriously difficult to track down. Shaggy's amp meter via deviation gag is nearly as clever :)
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

17 Jan 2026 2:37pm
Navionics tend to put x in random places saying caution rocks. I guess it's a butt covering exercise, along with the fine print that you accept to use it ( not for navigation) gold standard is Australian hydrographers ENC it needs a device that can read the incription, sounds like your new tablet may be able to. Otherwise paper charts while you can still get em, or google earth
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

17 Jan 2026 5:14am
I'm not a fan of navionics or any other non official chart app. If you're not concerned about accuracy then navionics is ok I guess. If you don't update the app it will still work no need for subscription. I have an old version on an iPad 2017
Reply in Topic: Reefing Downwind
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

4 Jan 2026 8:36pm
Scroll down, contact support/help.
Reply in Topic: Reefing Downwind
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

4 Jan 2026 11:13am
Got a bit caught out returning from Ballina a couple of weeks ago, had the boat mostly de rigged on the slip, it was a steam home but a northerly kicked in with about 8 miles to go, so of course the sails went up, the breeze continued to build, no reefs run crossed the bar with the main scandalized, not ideal but got us back
Reply in Topic: Camping fridges on boats
woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

3 Jan 2026 6:24pm
It's done new dometic, same litres as old unit, quiet, more efficient & match's the upholstery


woko
woko

NSW

1770 posts

17 Dec 2025 7:24pm
If I can find the little female crimp connector I can repair the vhf curly cable otherwise it's in the bin


Unfortunately pic not so sharp uploaded
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