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I have a Bourke auto inflate unit that has had heavy rain and seaspray on it. After three years, I bought a service kit that included a new auto-inflate valve and gas bottle. Tried it in actually submerging it and it went off fine. There is a manual inflate pull tag on it too. And blow up tube as well as whistle. Don't forget, ALL PFDs in Vic need a whistle now aparently, so buy your plastic whistle when next in you local supplier.

Sorry but the people in the Electric Vehicle Association say that is an old fallacy. Perhaps in Europe where garage floors get so cold it may be some truth but in Australia it aparently does no harm. Sulphate crystals buil up from the base of the battery and that may be where it started from but our concrete slabs are not cold enough to be any real effect. Better to have your battery evenly supported on a slab than propped up on timber and potentially distorting the cases. Most important it to keep a trickle charge going through a quality charger to prebvent sulphation as much as possible. Under those conditions, off the grid people have no problems and battery banks last 10 years, on concrete slabs... Have a read of an article giving one version of old reason and current thoughts. Storing Batteries on Concrete?

AGM in 100Ah are much better with deep cycle than wet cells as the fibre glass matts between the plates prevent buckling of the plates leading to shorting and losing that cell. Gell cells are tougher but don't like hard discharge as much as AGMs. If you decide to go with two 50Ah cells in parallel, to make each lighter to lift or fit better in holes, there a few points to consider: - Keep cables as short as possible with positive to motor off one battery, negative to motor off the other - this helps cells stay equal and resistance the same. - Buy both the same type, brand and preferrably maufacturing batch to get better ballance - Ocasionally charge each separately and with a cable disconnected to reballance resistance and charge to max. (one battery may trip charger to trickle or off prematurely before other ids fully charged. GENERAL RULES - Recharge fully every time. Also do it ASAP as leaving a battery in discharge is bad for it, Trickle monthly in off season - DON'T FORGET IT OR IT WON'T CHARGE UP NEXT SEASON or WEEK. - Spend more on your charger to get a Pulse Width Modulator (PWM) type as this also works as a desulphator to break up crystaline deposits that shorten battery life. - Don't disharge below 50% DOD as it shortens the battery life. So for 100 Ah calculate on only pulling 50Ah 16Amps @ 12V for under three hours total. - consider getting a simple meter like a "Watts Up" METER TO SHOW VOLTAGE RESTING AND UNDER LOAD WITH CURRENT RATE AND POWER USED. Minimum have voltmeter (even if only cheap hand held) and Amp meter in line. I know all this due to extensive research into wheelchair battery systems and for my electric boat motor system (5KW (8HP) inboard for two ton yacht). Batteries are great if you look after them and will be cheap in the long run. Ignore maintenance and they will fail and be expensive. Happy clean motoring.

I had thick layers of antifoul sodablasted off my 25' keelboat yacht GRP hull. It came out great, just needed a light sand and there was no damage to my 1981 hull. Wasn't cheap and they came to yacht club to do it, but cheaper than having some poor bloke sand that crap off. Very controllable and I can recommend it. There is also dry ice blasting services but they are very very expensive but less mess.

CHECK OUT THESE VIDEO LINKS Motorised ramp on pontoon boat As I said, in USA pontoon boats are often made accessible.

I've been a wheelchair user for 34 years and an avid sailor, so I am well aware of the problems of getting "wheelies" into boats safely. On my yacht I have a boom to swing in off and a 750kg keel to keep the yacht basically stable, but that keel really makes shallow fishing impossible. Pontoon boats are your best bet and I have a number of friends in the US who own them and love them for lake boats. Even though one is powerful enough for her family to ski behind, she admits it is not a great boat in heavy waves and is best in sheltered waters or lakes. ' I rented a BarBee Boat which was an old Aussie made pontoon boat up in the Gold Coast many years ago (probably 1980s) and that was fine. I could just squeeze on between the railings and rolled around the deck no problems. Had to sit sideways to fit half behind the wheel, but for a standard rental pontoon boat, that's impressive. Was something like these BBQ Boats Perhaps you could contact these hire companies and buy an old one you could then modify to suit, for a reasonable price. After all, rental boats would need to meet 'charter' regs that get stricter all the time. Another paraplegic I know in Melbourne has another option of a Kiwi designed Sealegs Amphibious boat that he can transfer onto from his chair on land, drive into the water, go fishing, or in his case use a a "tender" for his real boat that has a lift to access the cabins below, engine room, and up to the fly bridge !!! Yes, it is a BIG power cruiser... Mostly it depends upon mooring/boat ramp/dock facilities and access as well as loading height, but most ramps around Melbourne have been upgraded to have quite reasonable access and floating docks so height is more consistent and would allow roll on/off on a pontoon boat, if the access way of pontton boat is widened and a decent ramp obtained to bridge the gap safely. You also need to consider the person's weight, mobility, balance and other personal issues. I don't feel very stable in my wheelchair on a small boat as they tend to roll and slide around, even with the brakes on, so you'd need to perhaps consider some sort of tiedown to secure chair or transfer into a seat, which is safer. I have a number of overseas contacts that may be of interest who have made accessible boats and yachts, so feel free to PM me for further details. Cheers and safe rolling.

I have used an Auto Inflate unit for years while yachting and it gets very wet on the outside. Has not accidentally inflated yet. Decided to check/service and once submerged,off it went (Bourke brand). You need to replace not only the cyclinder, but the self inflating valve too (about $35 set from OS supplier). Really comfortable on light wind (dry) hot days where full vest would be too hot. I love them.