Stuart Streuli reviewed the Velocitek Speedpuck for Sailing World this winter, and it sounds like it could be just the thing for dinghy and smaller one-design racers. He tried it out on a Laser, and learned something new and slightly counterintuitive about maximizing boatspeed in moderate conditions with flat water.

Read his review here. Here’s an excerpt:

A couple of years ago, at Key West Race Week, I asked Dave Ullman to divulge a few of the secrets behind another convincing win in the Melges 24 class. The one that stuck in my head was the simplest, “Get a speedo.”

The longstanding conventional wisdom for dinghy and one-design keelboat sailors has said why bother with a knot meter when all the necessary speed data can be gleaned by comparison with nearby competition. “The fleet is your speedometer.” The difficulty involved with installing a thru hull and the required battery only reinforced the point.

Products like the Velocitek Speedpuck have solved the second problem. As for the conventional wisdom, well, I prefer Dave Ullman’s wisdom. So last weekend, I took the Speedpuck out for a test sail in Newport’s Laser frostbiting fleet.

Technically, the Speedpuck, a GPS-driven speedo and compass, isn’t legal under Laser class rules, which mandate analog compasses. But our Frostbite fleet is fairly casual when it comes to rules—both class and otherwise—and to be honest, I didn’t use it while racing. Nonetheless, I came away very impressed with this little tool and the potential benefits for any one-design sailor.

The first thing I liked about the Speedpuck is its compact size. It’s slightly bigger than a hockey puck and weighs, with batteries, 10 oz. The second thing I liked is the ease of operation. Simply put in the batteries, screw on the watertight back, hold down the button, and let it sync. Directions? Who needs directions? The Speedpuck has one button, which allows the user to cycle through three modes: speed, heading, and maximum speed.

[Read more...]

My newest feature is up at MadMariner. It’s a sequel to the previous one, Astronomy 101. Take a look!

[I get press releases for all kinds of doodads and fittings. Here's one that could be just the thing when you need a low-profile hardpoint installed flush with the surface of a bulkhead or deck. But I'm just a little bit confused about how it's installed. Read on... —Tim]

When riding the waves, it’s important to keep everyone aboard safe and all equipment in the boat. With Accon Marine’s 195 Large and 196 Small Tie Downs, all loose gear can be secured to the deck.

Great for poling platforms, scuba gear and fenders, these Tie Downs can be used anywhere equipment needs to stay in place. The Large version measures 3.5″ L x 3.5″ W x 1.25″ D and is also ideal for docks. Suited for use on personal watercraft, the Small model is 2″ L x 2″ W x 1″ D.

Constructed from stainless steel, the Tie Down’s assembly consists of the main body and sealing cup. Installation is simple and only requires owners to drill a single hole and fasten the Tie Down with four screws. The 195 model needs a 2-1/2″ hole, while the small 196 model requires a 1-1/2″ hole.

[Hold on a minute: A single hole? Don't they mean one big whole and four small ones? And I want to know more about the "sealing cup"; I'm going to bed this with my beloved polysulfide anyway, right? I better check with the manufacturer. —Tim]

Accon Marine’s 195 Large Tie Down has a retail price of $40.71, while the 196 Small Tie Down is priced at $17.92.

Inventor of the original Pop-Up cleat, Accon Marine specializes in flush mounted, stainless steel hardware, enhancing a boater’s experience. With fresh ideas and innovation as its industry trademarks, Accon Marine strives for high-quality in its products.

The Coast Guard Compass has this item today, by “athorsson”, and Navagear wants to help spread the word:

I would really like to use some strong language to talk about how unsavory I find hoax callers but it is probably impolite so I will leave it at this: hoax callers leave a lot to be desired as people and should find themselves a hobby that doesn’t put the lives of others at risk.

Why are hoax callers substandard in their choice of activities? (Again trying to be polite in my choice of words)

Before I go any further into this post let me make it clear hoax calling is a felony. The Studds Act was passed in November 1990. This act states that a false distress call is a class D Felony, and a convicted hoax caller is subject to a fine of up to $250,000 and up to six years in prison. The caller might also have to reimburse the Coast Guard for the cost of the search. The caller is also subject to an FCC civil fine of up to $8,000. Even if a child makes the distress call, the parents are ultimately responsible.

Why is hoax calling such a big deal? Well, if the Coast Guard is using all these assets trying to search for a fake caller, what happens when there is someone in real danger and we have to split our attention between two cases…when one isn’t even a real case? Don’t you think it matters to focus our attention on the people actually in danger? So are hoax callers so bored they have to make things up and potentially keep someone else from being saved to entertain themselves? Pathetic.

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Ben Ellison over at Panbo pointed us to an incredible deal on high-quality charts for the iPhone.

I don’t usually write about rebates and sales, but 90% off!?!  Navionics not only launched version 2.0 of its Mobile app yesterday, it’s slashing prices. Here’s the press release.

I haven’t had a chance to use the Navionics iPhone charts, but I’m about to fix that: My friend Tom Forsythe (local folks know him as the go-to guy for top-quality brightwork refinishing in Seattle) has an iPhone, and we’re getting him set up with the new Navionics Mobile Charts 2.0.

The British Columbia map (which includes virtually all the coastal water most Puget Sound cruisers use) is only $9.99.

But only “For a limited time”, so if you’ve got an iPhone, I would encourage you to take advantage of this deal and let Navagear readers know what you think of the application.

Stay tuned for more on our impressions. In the meantime, check out Ben’s reporting at Panbo.

When I first encountered the Wichard Gyb’Easy boom brake, I thought “Hey, cool, a kind of self-tacking preventer”.

And then I thought “Why not just use a conventional figure-eight descender, like climbers use?”

And then I started doing some research. It turns out my thoughts aren’t all that original; lots of people have wondered if an inexpensive figure-eight descender could work.

There are a couple of discussion threads (here and here) over at Sailnet.com, for instance. And another thread at CruiserLog, which includes a suggestion that you have your own boom brake friction device fabricated for a fraction of the price. Asked and answered, as well, over at the Seven Seas Cruising Association and Cruisers Forum.

Oh, and to clarify, this is not a preventer at all. It doesn’t “prevent” a gybe, but it does slow down the boom when it swings across. So it’s a boom brake. Just wanted to clarify that.

Any of my talented readers have experience with this device, or with a conventional figure-eight?

An interesting item by Nicholas Thompson over at Wired magazine’s Epicenter blog:

There’s news bubbling up about a potential crisis in our GPS systems. According to a new GAO report, a bunch of the satellites up there guiding our cars, geo-shagging applications, and soldiers might go kaput soon. If they fall, the report implies, the sky falls.

For starters, how big a crisis is this? Not so bad. We really only need 24 satellites working in order to have assured accuracy, and there are 31 operational in the current constellation, with more launches planned. The odds of seven or more failing before replacements get into orbit is rather low. The satellites may be reaching the end of their expected lifespans, but military equipment often lasts much longer than its expected lifespan.

But in any case here’s one thought-experiment for our budget-constrained times: what if the federal government taxed all civilian providers of GPS gear? If you build a device that pulls information from these satellites that Uncle Sam put up, you pay money to Uncle Sam. (Monitoring use would be hard, which is why it would be better to tax devices.)

Revenues could then be dumped into programs to build replacements or to keep funding for Loran, the ground-based system that backs up GPS that Obama has considered cutting. Right now, GPS information beemed down from our satellites is a massive government giveaway. In a time of massive deficits, is it crazy to consider changing that?

Comments from the marine navigation community?

Anchorage, Alaska — Throughout National Safe Boating Week and beyond the Coast Guard wants to recommend all boaters to file a float plan with friends, family or the local harbormaster to aid rescuers should your voyage be delayed or compromised.

While there are many steps to take to decrease the likeliness of trouble on the water, including having proper safety equipment, regular maintenance on your vessel, taking a boating safety course, and carrying adequate supplies when you go out to prepare for unexpected delays, a float plan is a critical step that many overlook.

Many of the search and rescue cases the Coast Guard handles could be alleviated or abbreviated by the use of a float plan that details where you plan to travel and when. By providing a float plan to friends or family, Coast Guard personnel can narrow search parameters and potentially find boaters sooner and render assistance or convey to your loved ones that you are delayed but safe.

Float plans outline your voyage by documenting times and locations of departure and expected arrival, number and ages of people on board, vessel description, safety equipment on board and much more.

A copy should be left on the dashboard of your vehicle, visible from the outside, as well as with a responsible party in which you keep in regular contact. They should be instructed that in the event your vessel does not arrive as planned, they should contact the nearest Coast Guard station.

Alaska has one of the highest non-commercial boating fatality rates per capita in the nation. In Alaska drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death.

The Coast Guard encourages boaters to enjoy your time on the water, but remember to boat responsibly, and that a float plan can help take the search out of search and rescue.

The newest version of a float plan can be found at http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/fedreqs/saf_float.htm.

[Here's our MadMariner feature from a couple weeks back. —Tim]

About a year ago, when I first installed an AIS receiver aboard my boat, I made an effort to see how little I could spend to display AIS vessels on my chartplotter. The result: $267.46 (here is the breakdown).

The reason I bring this up is that I’m still using the same antenna with the Shine Micro RadarPlus AIS-BX Class B AIS transceiver I installed last fall: a four-foot Shakespeare Galaxy 5400-XT, which is an antenna intended for conventional VHF use. On my boat, a C-Dory 22, this antenna is mounted about six feet above the surface of the water.

Virtually every radio manufacturer and installer will advise you to select an antenna tuned for the frequencies you will use most. A quick look at any antenna manufacturer’s product catalog reveals that there are “VHF” antennas and there are “AIS” antennas. AIS antennas are optimized for the two specific frequencies AIS uses, while VHF antennas are optimized to perform over a wider range of frequencies encompassing all the marine VHF channels.

Further complicating matters is the availability of antenna “splitters” that allow you to connect an AIS transceiver to the same antenna you use for your primary VHF radio. Easy! However, most authorities suggest that a separate, dedicated AIS antenna is preferable, especially if you have a Class B AIS unit that transmits your vessel’s data.

So, what is the story on antennas?

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Wendy Kravit has this suggestion over at MadMariner’s “Tips you can use” feature:

When embarking on a long cruise, it is nice to be able to have fresh food as much as possible. The difficulty, of course, is that the refrigerator on a boat isn’t that big. On a three-week Caribbean cruise, I learned a trick from a friend for keeping eggs fresh outside of the fridge: Coat each one with Vaseline, and then place them back in the carton. Store the carton somewhere safe from falling. The eggs will last weeks. When you need to use the eggs, wipe them down with a paper towel. The Vaseline prevents oxygen from penetrating the eggs and thus retards the spoilage. Since it is petroleum-based, it doesn’t get rancid itself.

Good suggestion, but it’s a shame we need to reinvent this particular wheel at all.

I used to keep chickens, and one of the things I learned is that if you don’t wash off the “bloom”, as is done in the United States, the eggs will last for weeks, without refrigeration.

After all, they last well enough for baby chickens to hatch out of them, when fertilized. What keeps the eggs with the baby chicks from spoiling, especially when they’re being kept so warm under the hen?

Ever notice they don’t refrigerate eggs in some European countries? You walk through the market, and the eggs are just out in the open. Why don’t they refrigerate them? They don’t need to, because the eggs aren’t washed before heading to market.

Vaseline is basically an artificial “bloom”, and I’ve no doubt that it works well.

Oh, you don’t know what the bloom is? In the last portion of the chicken’s oviduct, a thin protein coating called “bloom” is applied to the shell to keep harmful bacteria or dust from entering the egg shell pores.

So why is this valuable bloom washed off the eggs, necessitating refrigeration? Well, it sometime contains portions of excrement or other discolorations. It’s perfectly harmless (these particles are coated in bloom too), but unappetizing to American shoppers. You can wash the eggs off just before you break them, if you want, but we never bothered.

Anyway, when you’re provisioning your boat for a long trip, consider getting your eggs at a farm or farmer’s market, where they’re more likely to retain the bloom.

Thus endeth the Navagear’s poultry lesson for the day.