Here’s a nice bit of gear for all you technology-lovin’ sailors.

Longtime Navagear readers will be aware that I like to wave the flag a bit for the many maritime product manufacturers located in the greater Puget Sound/Salish Sea/Pacific Northwest region. This is one of them.

I spoke with Paul Comyns, Marketing Director for PYI Inc., which is headquartered right up the road from me in Lynnwood, Washington. He told me that the entire Seaview line, including the Sail Pods, are assembled right here in Washington state.

PYI also maintains an office in France, so the firm also distributes several lines of European products here in North America. All in all, there’s a lot going on in little old Lynnwood!

On with the press release…

Lynnwood, Wash. – Seaview, a leader in the design and manufacture of mounting solutions for marine electronics, announced today its new range of rail mounting solutions to complete its extensive pod line, Seaview Sail Pods by PYI. Designed to house and protect sailboat steering instrumentation while ensuring convenient viewing, the versatile new Sail Pods are available in four sizes to fit popular marine instrument displays, with faceplates that can be custom pre-cut to order. Developed to fit the majority of steering pedestals from Jefa, Whitlock and Edson, Seaview Sail Pods offer a clean, secure and professional design that seamlessly complements any sailing vessel.

Providing sailors with functional and efficient mounting for navigational instruments, Seaview Sail Pods are constructed using only high-quality marine-grade materials to maintain watertight integrity and shelter valuable electronics. Enclosed wire-runs protect cables and sockets from moisture and snagging, and all Seaview pods feature design elements to eliminate moisture build up. The pods also offer a unique, versatile rear-mount template that adapts to different installation requirements for both standard (12-inch and 9.5-inch) and non-standard guardrails.

“The Seaview Sail Pods provide convenient, secure instrument mounting that is perfect for the grab rails of a steering pedestal or any rail installation best suited for individual sailor’s needs,” said Paul Comyns, director of sales and marketing, PYI Inc. “The pods are a valuable addition to our versatile product line and highlight our continued commitment to bringing innovative new solutions to the boating community.”

Keep reading →

Ben Ellison at Panbo has this item, and I’m going to pass it along here at Navagear. As Ben says, “Even if your AIS transponder didn’t get messed up by this mistake, the pdf may be worth reading so you better understand a little used feature of the System.”

Oops:  "Between July 27 and August 19, 2010, while conducting development testing of its Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS), the Coast Guard inadvertently tele-commanded most AIS users transiting the Eastern United States between lower Connecticut and North Carolina to switch to AIS frequencies other than the AIS default frequencies (161.975 MHz – Channel 87B – 2087 and 162.025 MHz – Channel 88B – 2088)…"

"As a result, those users within uniquely defined channel management regions (as shown in the picture) will neither see nor be seen by vessels operating on the default AIS channels when within these regions. Similarly, vessels operating on default frequencies will not see or be seen by those vessels that were inadvertently switched to other frequencies."  You can download the USCG Alert 0710.pdf here.

Just a quick note that I’m giving the new installation a sea trial for the next few days aboard Two Lucky Fish, and I’ll be posting general trip details on my Twitter account.

Yeah, the cabling is still kind of a mess, but it’s working!

“Everybody thinks they can avoid getting a multiplexer, and in the end they always get multiplexers.”
               —Brad Christian, Rose Point Navigation

Yeah, sure, whatever, Brad.

Longtime Navagear readers are aware that I have been avoiding multiplexers for more than three years (here’s the proof). I’ve had a good deal of success.

And also a good deal of…um…unsuccess.

Today I enjoyed a big success, though, completing and testing the installation of a new NoLand AM43 NMEA 0183 multiplexer. So it turns out Brad is right. Again. I’m getting kinda tired of that, Brad!

The guys at NoLand have been very helpful, answering over email some questions I had. The diagram above shows a typical installation, but mine was slightly different. I’ll share my schematic diagram here. The top is some general brainstorming. The bottom shows what’s actually connected to each terminal.

A careful look might reveal something odd: Why does the TLK/com pair connect right back to the unit through the IN1+/IN1-? If the data is already in the multiplexer, why feed it back?

Turns out the TLK port is the only “talker” carrying data received from the PC. I want that datastream aggregated into the primary OUTh port; that’s the one that goes to my Raymarine C-80 chartplotter.

And it works! If I select a waypoint in Rose Point Coastal Explorer and make it “active”, my C-80 asks if I want to engage the autopilot to navigate to that waypoint.

And for the first time, I’ve got AIS targets displaying on both the PC and the C-80. Oh, and I verified that DSC targets sent from the VHF appear on the C-80. I haven’t verified that they appear on the PC, but I expect they will.

It’s only day one, but so far I’m impressed that the NoLand AM43 does what it says it will.

If I had any suggestions for future products, it would be to include one more high-speed input. So there would be 2 high-speed inputs and 1 high-speed output. Why? In addition to the AIS, I want to plug the NMEA output from the C-80 into the multiplexer, to get all the data from the C-80 (autopilot, GPS, depth, speed, etc.) into the PC. That data doesn’t actually require a high-speed pipe, but on my C-80, I have to set a common data speed for both the input and output ports. I can’t set the input to 38,400 baud and the output to 4800 baud.

So right now, I’m still obliged to use a clunky workaround, pulling what data is available from the 4800-baud NMEA-out in my autopilot. That set of data is somewhat incomplete, and it’s a shame, especially since the NMEA out on the C-80 (configured at 38,400 baud so that the input can accept the AIS datastream) isn’t connected to anything right now! I guess I could run it into the PC through an unused USB port, but it seems a shame to run an extra wire for it.

Next time I actually take the boat out of her slip, I’ll put the whole kit and caboodle to the test. Stay tuned!

Several months ago, I posted a link to a Panbo entry about an interesting device that uses the AIS protocol to send a short-range search-and-rescue homing signal.

It’s the Jotron AIS-SART, and I still think it’s a clever idea. But I was just reminded that for many recreational (and even professional) mariners, selecting appropriate safety, rescue, and communication gear can be a little bit overwhelming. Bewildering, even.

Here’s what made me think of this. Today, a new comment appeared on the Navagear item about this AIS-SART product:

“will the ais function where the iphone cannot receive a signal as in nome alaska”

First off, the simple answer is "Yes, it will function where the iPhone cannot." But the question itself appears to demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the device. The AIS-SART is so totally unlike an iPhone that I’ve got to wonder if the reader really understands how this technology works. The question itself is not appropriate. A question such as “Will a claw hammer function in Nome, Alaska, where the iPhone cannot receive a signal?” is only slightly more inappropriate. “Um…yes. But why do you ask? What are you trying to accomplish?”

Now I’m not trying to “diss” the reader who left the comment. Not at all. The fact is that this technology IS confusing! And the unfortunate truth is that you need to wrap your head around the various technologies and the different products before you can make good purchasing decisions.

There are only a few places (such as The Offshore Store in Seattle) where you can get genuinely valuable advice to help you make these decisions. But those shops have a hard time competing against the online discounters, where you cannot, in general, get advice and assistance you’d want to stake your crew’s lives on!

That leaves online discussion forums and blogs like Navagear and Panbo as primary resources for shoppers. And you STILL need to invest a lot of time and mental energy to feel confident about your decisions. It’s a real obstacle.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a clever suggestion about all this. Those of us who spend our time keeping up with the technology have a pretty good idea what the options are and which might make sense aboard various boats in different cruising grounds. I’m not claiming to be The Expert on this; but I’ve got enough information to make some reasonable suggestions. The trouble is that I don’t have enough time to do this for each boater that might ask.

And let’s face it: Sometimes we forgot that our readers aren’t all propeller-headed geeks, too!

I wish I knew how this knowledge gap could be most effectively bridged. There are more safety gear options available than ever before, and one size does NOT fit all. How do we get appropriate products installed on individual boats?

Have at it in the comments, folks!

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is reviewing a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation Wednesday that the service develop policies on the use of cellular phones on Coast Guard vessels as well as issue a safety advisory to the marine industry on the possible dangers of crewmember use of electronic communications devices such as cell phones, smart phones and personal data assistants.

The Coast Guard issued guidance July 16, 2010 to its personnel prohibiting the use of these devices by operators of Coast Guard boats and also restricted their use by other crewmembers.

"While cell phones and texting devices have become ubiquitous in everyday life, the internal Coast Guard policy issued in July prohibits their use on Coast Guard boats without the permission of the coxswain, said Lt. Cmdr. Chris O’Neil, a Coast Guard spokesman. "The policy also strictly prohibits the use of these devices by the coxswain, or the operator, of a Coast Guard boat."

Cell phones and texting devices may be useful communication tools if boats lose a marine radio signal or as alternate means of communication to a marine radio.

The Coast Guard takes the NTSB recommendations seriously and will provide a response to the letter upon a thorough review.

The NTSB recommendation comes amid investigations into two collisions involving Coast Guard boats but does not draw any conclusions that the use of electronic devices was a cause of those accidents.

NTSB and Coast Guard investigations into those two accidents are ongoing.

Bob at BoatBits has this item today, which reminds me of a Navagear item from a couple years ago:

Some time back I mentioned various ways to deal with boom brakes and how a simple figure eight descender/belay device works just fine… Over at Sail-World they have a great article showing you how to do it.
I’ll add that instead of rigging it as they describe with one end of the sheet dead ended to a chainplate it is better to have both tails of the sheet come back to the cockpit so you can put equal pressure on the system and gain a lot in the way of control at the cost of an extra block and a couple of shackles. We’ve done it both ways and the twin tail system works a whole lot better!

Boat Bits has this link to An interesting article about LED’s…:

Voiles et Voiliers, the French sailing magazine, really knows how to put sailboats and products through their paces (real tests with no concern about advertising revenue) and their recent testing of LED lighting is no exception…Check it out!

For those Boat Bits readers who don’t read French may I suggest you use Babel Fish…

Read more. And just to make sure Navagear is truly “adding value” on this repost, let me point out that if you don’t speak French, you should check out Foux Da Fa Fa by Flight of the Conchords.

Ben has this item at Panbo today:

I’ve just been cruising with four premium MFDs for two weeks, often using them seriously for four or five hours a day.  But that doesn’t mean I’ve learned every nuance of these complex beasts, or that I’ve developed strong preferences.  Actually I have (mostly minor) complaints about every one of them!…even if they’re all way better than the electronics I used around this coast 40, 30, 20, 10, even 5 years ago.  I’m going to start with something fairly simple…

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Bob and Jane Salnick’s “Windborne in Puget Sound” blog has this useful tip:

Nothing outlasts Sunbrella.

Eventually, those vinyl windows in your hatch covers will die – turn yellow or brown and go opaque, long before the Sunbrella is finished. Hatch cover vinyl seem to be far worse at this than the vinyl in dodgers – perhaps because the sun strikes it more directly. Ours had gotten pretty bad. Here’s a piece of old vinyl next to a piece of new:

So Jane went to Seattle Fabrics and got some new vinyl. Now the $64 question is how to actually do the job, without losing the shape of the fabric? Once the old vinyl is removed, there will be nothing to hold things in place. The standard technique is to sew the new vinyl in behind the old vinyl, and then cut the old vinyl back to the inside edge of the opening. We did not like this because:

• Jane’s machine would never sew thru two thicknesses of vinyl
• Now the edge will twice as thick as it was before. Imagine doing this a third time, or even a forth.

So we needed a different process.

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