Hello friends and visitors,

In the last few days, I’ve been preparing to leave La Paz and Sweet Destiny for the summer, and transitions always seem to be the most work. So, I’m putting Navagear on hold until May 1st, when I’ll be back in the Northwest. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by. Have a look around, and feel free to leave comments or email me with thoughts and suggestions for new things to cover. And don’t forget to come back May 1st!

Thanks,

Aaron

MaxSea, one of the big daddies of the charting software world is turning is turning 12. Version 12, that is. The company is actually 20 years old, which demonstrates good staying power for a software company, and their extremely feature rich products are favorites among professional mariners, not to mention serious offshore sailors like Ellen MacArthur. And recently they’ve hooked up with Furuno to provide radar and depth sounder integration, and sharing of charts, waypoints, and routes between the ship-board computer and a Furuno integrated navigation display. And there’s some really advanced functionality for monitoring AIS, or even special radio equipped buoys that some commercial fishing outfits use. However, the features that impress me the most are related to 3d bathymetry. E.g., you can use your sounder to paint the “real” bottom depth onto a chart. If you wanted to voyage around the world doing chart guides, this would be a great tool to have. Another neat bathymetric feature is a “look-ahead” view which shows a record of the depth reported by the sounder behind boat, and the predicted depths ahead of the boat. But the feature that put MaxSea on the map, so to speak, is their routing software, which predicts the fastest, safe routes given the current and predicted weather. Best of all, the weather data is free to owners of the product, and the files are small enough to download over HF radio or satphone. For some voyagers, that might make it all worth it.

Link: www.maxsea.com

Whew…I’m back. Over the years I’ve been coming down to Baja, I have managed to dodge any significant stomach bugs or other nasties but I got taken down a couple days ago…haven’t had a fever quite that high in awhile. I felt cold inside a hot apartment with my long sleeves, socks, and a blanket over me. Okay, I’ll stop whining now. Just by way of saying, I’ve been in no condition to post for a couple days. And I’m glad to be back among the living and not making a hospital visit in Mexico. Thanks for bearing with me.

-Aaron

A reader emailed to say he was going to try out a “black-box” AIS receiver with his PC (thanks Dave!), and included a link to a UK-based retailer that sells the product. If you’ve browsed British sailing magazines you’ve probably seen ads for the budget instrument maker NASA Marine, the supplier of this AIS receiver and another one that has a “radar-like” LCD display to show the positions and other vitals of shipping traffic equipped with AIS transponders. The black-box version simply connects to a VHF antenna to receive the AIS signals, and outputs NMEA sentences that can be interpreted by appropriate equipment and software. Ah, there’s the rub! Given the newness of AIS in for pleasure boaters, there are few products out there, but a simple charting program that supports AIS is bundled, and MaxSea, one of the over-achievers of the charting software world has an add-on to support it as well. One other caveat…the maker says that a VHF antenna separate from your VHF radio is required for the receiver. Oh, and Dave says his initial tests show that it works!

Links: Nasa Marine, Seamark Nunn (online retailer), MaxSea

The TyeTec sail hardware products are available through challengesailcloth.com in the U.S. and Canada. The F4 interior LED lights I mentioned a few weeks ago, can be had for considerably less than the $230 I originally noted on the IMTRA website. Also, Gideon from Africancats (gideon@africancats.com) tells me he can supply them for about $100/each. Interestingly enough, since the last time I looked, IMTRA has put a couple of the F4 models on sale, for $105. The MaxPower Fuel Cell received a DAME Jury Innovation Award at METS (the big European marine equipment tradeshow). And after a couple months of use, I have some niggles with my Dahon Helios XL folding bike…

The February edition of Yachting World had a round up of interesting gear at METS, the big European marine equipment tradeshow. I was intrigued by these elegantly simple blocks that can be sewn with webbing to the reef points of a sail, for much reduced chafe and friction. But that’s not all—larger sizes can be lashed to a boom as sheet blocks, or a padeye on deck for runners. Really, these are simplified to the essence of blockdom. I’ve never run into TyeTec products in the U.S., but after contacting Herot GmbH via email, they sent me a catalog of their rigging products, which comprise a fairly extensive selection of rigging parts, robust looking batten adjusters, and aluminum mast steps. Even their turnbuckles have nice details, e.g. being tapped with allen head safety screws instead of cotter pins. While there is no website currently, do send them an email if you’d like to see an electronic version of their catalog.

The folks from Herot GmbH emailed to let me know that the Tye Tec sail making related gear will be available in the U.S. and Canada from Challenge Sailcloth.

email: herotgmbh@aol.com

link: challengesailcloth.com

Refrigeration is likely to be one of the more complex systems on a boat, and the tradeoffs of various options are considerable. A refrigerated icebox may also be one of the more expensive items to install, but if you are up to learning the ins and outs of the technology, and have the time to work at the installation, it’s possible to put together an efficient, high quality system yourself. And if you’re taking this route, RPARTS is a great place to find all the pieces for your custom installation. They sell everything you need, from compressors to condensers, to high-tech vacuum panels, to specialized tools. And as a business that understands doing business on the web, they aren’t coy about prices and solid info about their products. The website isn’t flashy, but they’ve got the goods.

Link: www.rparts.com

Recently the author of the Zephyr blog generously posted a link to Navagear, and since I’ve found his blog delightful. The postings are thoughtful, and the evocative photos make me ache to be out on the water. I found myself drawn back again and again. Worth a look!

Link: Zephyr

While feature competitive navigation software has been sparse for the Macintosh in the last couple years, the folks at GPSNavX are doing their part to remedy the situation. Version 3.00 of the program includes features like GRIB weather overlays, and radar target tracking (not radar overlay, but display of designated targets from a radar). There’s even AIS display for tracking shipping traffic equipped with AIS transmitters. It lacks chart quilting, vector charts, and anti-aliased display, which are useful and expected features in advanced charting programs on the PC, but at $50 for a downloaded copy, GPSNavX looks like an excellent value. They also sell a number of bundles with GPS receivers which may be of interest. Best of all, there is a free trial version on their website—so check it out!

Link: GPSNavX