Been holding off getting a HAM radio license because of that niggling five words per minute Morse code requirement? Well, wait no more! In a rule change, the FCC has dropped the Morse code requirement, with the effect of making HAM radio a lot more accessible.

This is good news for a lot of voyagers, because high frequency radios are one of the best and least expensive ways to keep in touch while on passage or in truly remote areas. Many offshore boats carry a marine SSB radio, which allows communication over a specific set of frequencies dedicated to marine use. With a special radio modem (Pactor), email is even possible, though access to the non-profit SailMail service requires an annual fee. However, there are advantages to having access to HAM communications in addition to SSB, e.g., unlike SailMail, the Winlink volunteer-operated email gateway is free. And having more frequencies and modulations available to you can sometimes be a life-saver (literally).

As you may know, some SSB radios can be HAM enabled (though they may be missing some of the features of a full HAM rig), but a HAM radio is not allowed to use SSB frequencies. So, if you want to do both marine SSB and HAM with one radio, start with a marine SSB that can be used in HAM mode (the Icom 802, for instance). So, dust off those marine SSB manuals and see if your radio can access HAM frequencies.

NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 23, 2007 — A new Amateur Radio Service regime now is in place. The requirement to demonstrate Morse code proficiency to gain HF privileges officially disappeared from the FCC’s Part 97 rules today at 12:01 AM Eastern Time. At the same time, some 200,000 Technician licensees without Morse code exam credit acquired HF privileges equivalent to those available to Novice licensees. The League is marking the occasion with a W1AW special event aimed at welcoming newcomers to the HF bands. The “W1AW HF Open House” has included exam sessions under both old and new rules. ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, points to the still-growing number of ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) test sessions now on the schedule across the US as evidence that the rule changes will provide a shot in the arm to Amateur Radio.

Source: ARRLWeb: Amateur Radio Enters a New Era

I figure the perfect way to cap off a week of multihull and boarding posts is a pas de deux combining them! These guys wakeboard behind one of those crazy-*ss formula 1 French trimarans. In the nice, smooth conditions, check out the tri getting it’s main-hull daggerboard completely clear of the water…

Another Seattle Boatshow find from a few weeks back was the Hobie Adventure Island model, a do-it-all, over-achieving kayak design which is actually pretty impressive. Starting with a sit-on-top design, Hobie adds their interesting foot-pedaled Mirage Drive, which slots through the hull (and is easily removed by turns of a couple locking cams). The main hull can be used as a conventional kayak, and features a bunch of nice little touches, like integrated holders for a folding paddle; molded-in mounting holes for a wheeled cart (which also stows perfectly behind the seat); and hatch-accessible inside storage, as well a generous, bungeed, outside storage area behind the seat.

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Crikey! Okay, this has all the ingredients of something I should like. It’s a catamaran (multihull…check!). It uses renewable energy (wind turbine…check!), and it does something interestingly unique (it can go straight upwind). And yet it’s missing something…maybe if it was a proa! Hmmm. Maybe not.

To the skeptical out there, the upwind thing really does work. Various experimenters have been doing it for a long time. I wish I could find the reference the Victorian era naval designer who first built a working version. From what I recall there are some curious challenges to contend with. For one thing there is pretty strong gyroscopic effect to deal with, that can cause some unpleasant motion as the vessel pitches through waves.

I think I’ll leave being on the cutting edge with this technology to others (getting hit with one of those rotor blades can’t be good).

This Most Radical sailing craft utilizes a windmill geared to drive a large 6-bladed underwater propeller. Testing has provided positive results. Unlike a normal sailing craft this vessel makes its’ best time sailing straight into a headwind.

Source: Revelation II Wind turbine powered sailboat
Via: Treehugger

That aerial footage shot from a kite that I posted Monday was taken with a Pentax wateproof camera, according to Heidi of S/V Aquarius. Ben Ellison of Panbo and I both like our waterproof Pentaxes, too. Really a great camera to carry onboard. Here’s a pic I took in the Grand Canyon with the older Optio 430:

Attach a wateproof camera to a kite to see yourself kiteboarding! I’m not a kiteboarder, but I can see taking a parafoil kite onboard just for capturing some cool pictures of my boat underway, or interesting aerial shots in places where you can’t get elevation otherwise.

via: The Voyage of the S/V Aquarius

Wow. Here’s a pretty compelling option for taking your boat’s propulsion system electric. I really like that the motor is completely contained in the underwater pod. No vulnerable shaft with stuffing box, cutlass bearing hassles, etc. No big hole in the hull for a saildrive. And with 36 and 48 volt options, these require a less ambitious battery setup than the high voltage systems some others are using. Like the Solomon Wheel systems, power generation from the turning of the prop while under sail is possible. The E-POD motors come with composite, 4-bladed, adjustable pitch props, but with a standard 1 inch shaft that can accommodate a variety of props, including folding and feathering ones, if you are more performance inclined.

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What do you do when the battery on a cordless tool goes bad? If it costs $90 to get a new one, and your name is Bill Shaw, you solder in a cord from your onboard 12 volt system. It’s a great solution, especially if you are a long ways away from the nearest Home Depot. Thanks for the good idea, Bill!

… I disassembled one of the battery packs. Inside I found a cluster of ‘C’ size rechargable cells and the plug (visible at the top of the battery pack). I removed with prejudice the battery cells. Then I soldered wires to the plug (after determining which was ‘+’ ). I epoxied the connector back into place in the battery pack (it had been held in place by the cluster of batteries) and closed up the package. Running the wire through the side of the empty battery pack and to a 12-volt cigarette lighter styled plug I was in business. The now-empty battery pack still unclips from the un-altered drill as before and stores with the wire in a separate bag. The drill runs just fine. The drill will still run off the remaining battery pack (or a new generic if I can convince myself to buy that one on ebay) as well as plug into a 12-volt receptacle. I put enough wire on the thing to reach anywhere on board Galena. Am I cheap, or what?

Source: s/v Galena (Westsail 32)

One more piece of essential kit for cruising the South Seas! Coconuts are high among nature’s gifts to voyagers. But getting through the thick, fibrous outer husk to the coconuty goodness inside has brought many expletives to the lips of the inexperienced, not to mention damage to fingers and pride. The CocoTap promises to lessen the humiliation.

Oh, and the link comes via Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools website. Kelly has been the editor publisher of the Whole Earth Catalog, and a founder of Wired magazine. One of his little projects is the Cool Tools site, which is a deep well of great things collected by KK and his readers.

CocoTap Quick coconut penetration cocotap.jpg Considering the implications of carrying around a machete and also the possibility of hacking off a finger, a CocoTap is a simple and invaluable tool for accessing a coconut. A solid 316 stainless tube crafted with a pointed end and a handle that folds out to a T position, it will easily pierce a green coconut and go through everything from a jelly nut to a mature drinking coconut.

Source: Cool Tool: CocoTap

Navigation software usually costs a pretty penny. Reasons include that it’s a specialized and limited market, and that developing high quality software that will support an ongoing business is expensive. If you have a tight budget and can do without some of the features and polish of the impressive commercial products out there, SeaClear deserves a good look. Great news for Linux users is that SeaClear is said to work just fine with the Wine Windows emulation library.

SeaClear Charting Software Is Free SeaClear II is, as far as I can find, the only fully functioning free electronic navigation chart plotter. SeaClear is PC based, interfaces with GPS, and uses raster charts (such as the free NOAA raster charts) and user-scanned images of paper charts. It’s available for download at no charge at http://www.sping.com/seaclear/.

Also worth checking out is FreeNav, a nice navigation-software-focused blog. A bunch of good articles there.

Source: FreeNav – Electronic Navigation on a Budget: SeaClear Charting Software Is Free