[It’s a public service announcement from my local US Coast Guard district. —Tim]

SEATTLE — In recognition of National Safe Boating Week, May 19-25, 2012, the Thirteenth Coast Guard District is emphasizing boating safety and will be reminding Pacific Northwest boaters throughout the week and year with a series of boating safety messages.

In conjunction with the North American Safe Boating “Wear it! Always wear your life jacket!” campaign, the Coast Guard will reinforce the following boating safety messages:

• Take a paddler education course. Paddlesports are the fastest growing segment of recreational boating, with more than 300,000 paddlecraft (primarily kayaks) now being sold annually. Paddlecraft are an extremely affordable entry point to recreational boating.  Like any other watercraft, paddlers should seek out paddler education before heading out on the water.  CLICK HERE to obtain more information on paddlesport safety.
• Wear a personal floatation device/life jacket at all times.  The law states you must have a PFD for every person on board, but the Coast Guard suggests you go one step further and wear your PFD at all times when boating.  It is much more difficult to locate, access, or don a PFD at the moment the accident occurs.  CLICK HERE for more information on personal floatation devices/PFDs.
• File a float plan and leave it with someone who is not recreating on the water.  A float plan is a lifesaving device on paper and can assist emergency responders with locating a distressed mariner. To learn more about a float plan CLICK HERE.  For a blank float plan CLICK HERE.
• Have a marine band radio and visual distress signals.  All of these devices will greatly assist you if you are in distress.  CLICK HERE for more information on visual distress signals.
• Have a registered 406MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.  CLICK HERE to learn more about EPIRBs and registering your EPIRB.
• DO NOT boat under the influence of alcohol.  Alcohol affects judgment, vision, balance and coordination.  Factor in boat motion, vibration, engine noise, sun, wind and spray and a drinker’s impairment is accelerated.  CLICK HERE for more information on boating under the influence.   
• Start the season off right with a thorough boat inspection, including the hull and propulsion equipment. Pay particular attention to through-hull fittings and hoses that may have cracked or become brittle over the winter.
• Obtain a free boat inspection from the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Boating safety courses are also available.

For additional boating safety tips, go to http://www.uscgboating.org/default.aspx. Click on the “REGULATIONS” tab to get additional information on federal laws, federal regulations, state boating laws and navigation rules.

It looks like my friends at SmartPlug have some competition, at least in the 100-amp market.

Hubbell Marine is offering a new “line of 100-amp pin and sleeve plugs, connector bodies and components designed to withstand damaging marine conditions.” Sounds familiar, except that SmartPlug offers 30-amp and 50-amp products (so far).

Interesting…Let’s read the press release:

100 AMP SHORE POWER DEVICES STAND UP TO MOTHER NATURE

Ship-to-shore power devices are always stuck out in the elements, subjected to heat, cold, rain, snow or corrosive salt spray.  Hubbell Marine offers a high-quality line of 100 amp pin and sleeve plugs, connector bodies and components designed to withstand damaging marine conditions.

Hubbell Marine’s shore power inlets use a spring-loaded, gasketed cover that automatically closes when not in use, creating a weatherproof seal.  Locking the cover makes it watertight.  Inside, nickel-plated, solid brass pins ensure a reliable electrical contact.  A high-impact thermoset contact carrier is resistant to arcing and overheating to enhance safety.  Terminals are clearly marked for simple installation.

Rugged connector bodies are made from Zytel, a super-tough nylon, and can be attached to cords from 1" to 1.94".  Various models connect to shore power inlets, extension cords or adapters.  A gasketed locking ring ensures watertight connections.  Large external cable grips protect wiring from conductor movement and resulting terminal strain.  Compatible with existing cables, they simplify replacement of worn-out fittings.

Hubbell Marine’s 100 amp devices come in 125/250, 120/208 and 277/480 volt versions.  Inlet and receptacles boxes, closure caps and replacement parts are also available.  They meet USCG requirements, are UL Listed and have ABYC approval.

You know, I often see boats on lifts around here, mostly on the lakes where the water level remains fairly constant. I really wish I could store my boat that way…think how long a coat of bottom paint would last!

But most of the designs I’ve seen are a little bit “contraptionary”; think Rube Goldberg. On the other hand, who am I kidding? I LOVE contraptions!

Anyway, Sunstream Boat Lifts’ new V-Lift is a design I have not seen before, and I’m intrigued. I especially like how compact it is (10-foot maximum width, for boats up to 8.5’ beam). I like that it’s free-floating in as little as 3 feet of water, and it just ties to the dock, without relying on shore power or water pressure. I like that it’s designed for fresh or saltwater environments.

Like I said…I’m intrigued. Let’s watch the video!

It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? There is SO MUCH overlap between “functionality that makes AIS useful” and “traditional chartplotter functionality”, that it was only a matter of time before somebody created a chartplotter with built-in AIS.

But this? This I hadn’t anticipated: The SI-TEX SAS-300 is being marketed as a Class B AIS unit with built-in chartplotter! The chartplotter, conventionally the core of all nav systems, has been relegated to the role of “product feature” augmenting AID, the primary function!

Here’s the press release:

SI-TEX INTRODUCES NEW SAS-300 CLASS B TRANSCEIVER WITH LARGE 6.5-INCH COLOR DISPLAY AND FULL C-MAP MAX CHARTING CAPABILITIES

Advanced AIS Message Processing, Easy Information Management and Vivid, Versatile Display Make The New-for-2012 SAS-300 An Ideal Choice for a Wide Range of Vessels

SI-TEX Marine Electronics has added the new SAS-300 to its leading line-up of AIS (Automatic Information System) instruments for recreational and professional mariners. This new-for-2012 standalone AIS stands apart from other systems, with a 6.5” high-resolution (750X480 pixel) color TFT display and the ability to view and track AIS targets on a standard “radar” display, over included worldwide base charts or (with optional SD Card), overlaid onto highly detailed C-MAP MAX cartography.

The heart of the new SAS-300 is an internal Class B AIS transceiver with advanced Rmax^TM technology that transmits your vessel data while displaying information from Class A and Class B vessels, Base Stations, Aids to Navigation and AIS SARTs (Search And Rescue Transponders). This latest generation AIS technology maximizes the unit’s receive/ transmit range and ensures that all available AIS messages are received and decoded in real time. This translates into more complete, more accurate and more concise tracking of critical AIS information – especially important when navigating in inclement conditions, limited visibility and congested waterways.

With its optimum screen size and versatile display options, the SAS-300 makes it easy for boaters to view and manage all this information. The SAS-300 tracks the movement of up to 5 vessels with track history and optional live details on individual vessels. Boaters can monitor position, speed and heading of vessels on a basic “radar” style display (with adjustable range rings), or viewed over the unit’s embedded worldwide base charts.

For a professional navigational experience with the highest level of situational awareness, the SAS-300 also allows for insertion of C-MAP MAX cartography on convenient SD card. This provides the navigator with a wealth of additional detail and information on his surroundings, including spot soundings, bathymetric contours, NavAids, aerial photography of key harbors/inlets, and more.

The SAS-300’s user interface is designed to help boaters manage today’s crowded waterways and an ever-increasing amount of available AIS data. It’s easy to set up parameters that provide the navigator with alarms for Closest Point of Approach (CPA) and Time to Closest Point of Approach (TCPA) for added safety and confidence. The user also has the ability to display different types of vessel by color and different types of transmission by changing the on-screen icon – making it easy to analyze surrounding vessel traffic at a glance.

The SAS-300’s large display also makes it easier to view listings of all vessels with name, MMSI, range/bearing and full details on each vessel, with an instant “Go To” function. Users can also view tabular listings of vessels sorted by variable parameters. Unlike some other AIS systems, the SAS-300 features a full control pad with dedicated function keys for simplicity and easy switching from screen to screen. The ability to quickly zoom/pan and easily adjust screen brightness and contrast make the most of this large format display, whether navigating with charts or pulling up needed information on surrounding vessels.

The SAS-300 carries an MSRP of $1,099.

Long-time Navagear readers know that I am intrigued by…even an advocate of… “artificial”, “synthentic”, or “virtual” AIS.

Not sure what that is? Read my article from 2007.

Anyway, the idea has come a long way over the past five years, to the point where companies like Vesper Marine are introducing products designed specifically for this application. Here’s the press release…

Auckland, New Zealand – Vesper Marine, a leading manufacturer of innovative marine safety products, announced today that its Virtual AIS Beacon for Aids to Navigation has been awarded the 2012 Professional Mariner Samuel Plimsoll Award for Innovation. Honoring important contributions to safety by individuals and organizations in the maritime industry, the award recognizes Vesper Marine’s Virtual AIS Beacon for significantly improving the wellbeing of mariners by increasing safety and efficiency levels in the industry. Professional Mariner presented Vesper Marine with the prestigious award at the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2012 Conference in Stamford, Connecticut on March 20, 2012.

“We are proud to receive this esteemed industry honor,” said Jeff Robbins, founder, Vesper Marine. “This recognition is a testament to our dedication to innovation, as well as our commitment to enhancing safety on the water by continuing to bring cutting-edge AIS systems to the marine market.”

The innovative Vesper Marine Virtual AIS Beacon establishes a Virtual Aid to Navigation (VAtoN) based on the international standardized marine Automatic Identification System (AIS), which all large ships must use, and smaller vessels are now choosing to use for safety and collision avoidance benefits.

The virtual beacon delivers a proactive electronic marker of dangerous visible and invisible hazards such as bridges, piers, rock outcrops, reefs, as well as any fixed underwater hazard or moving hazards such as sandbars, to regularly provide changes in location and alert warnings. The virtual markers have no environmental impact and do not require a physical location to be mounted or powered. When a navigational hazard is marked by a Vesper Marine Virtual AIS Beacon it is displayed on a vessel’s chartplotter, AIS display or other receiving equipment within range of the transmitting equipment. A ship’s onboard equipment is then able to alert crews if they are on a collision course with the marked navigational hazard. Shore stations house Vesper Marine’s Virtual AIS Beacons and are managed by administration software; multiple stations can be used to extend network coverage.

For more information on Vesper Marine’s award-winning Virtual AIS Beacon, its complete line of AIS solutions, or to learn more about Vesper Marine, please visit www.vespermarine.com.

I’ll admit I’ve been curious about this for years. The various self-leveling radar mounts I’ve come across appear to incorporate some combination of complex, fragile, heavy, or expensive. On the other hand, how can radar possibly work well at 20-degree heel?

I’ll admit…I don’t know what the answer is here. So I’ll be following this discussion over at Panbo closely…

Should sailboat radars be leveled, and if so how?

This entry is inspired by Edson’s Miami introduction of a Manual Radar Leveling Kit that looks neat to me. I’ve seen pole mounts like this before–either custom fabricated or made by less familiar companies like Garhauer–and they struck me as a simple and economical way to deal with the issue of decreased radar performance due to boat heel. But before discussing the merits of manual (or electric) leveling mechanisms versus the many self-leveling mounts, I probably ought to address the fact that some sailors reject the whole notion of radar leveling as hokum!…

For instance, I found this emphatic statement on cruisersforum.com: "I NOTICED NO DISCERNIBLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE QUESTUS {self-leveling} PERFORMANCE AND THE CONVENTIONAL POLE MOUNT!!!"

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JOHN KONRAD has this analysis at gCaptain:

Fire, sinking, and even collisions can turn an ordinary day at sea into a flutter of activity and worry, but nothing provokes the immediate and raw emotions as the two simple words, “Man Overboard.” No matter how remote the chances of it occurring aboard your ship, no sailor has ever set to sea without the thought of drifting alone at sea after falling overboard.

Fortunately, many of the myths of man overboard (MOB) recovery, including hypothermia and drowning, have been debunked and new ISM and IMO safety procedures have reduced the occurrence of MOBs.

One truth will always remain…

If the man overboard is not found, he or she will not be recovered.

New devices exist to increase the chance of recovery.  First up AIS SARTS:

EasyRescue Portable AIS SART

I have long been a proponent of Personal Locator Beacons (PLB), the handheld sized versions of EPIRB’s, and I have even gone as far as saying “that one of these devices should be required inside every lifeboat and liferaft that goes to sea“.  I also believe, due to their diminutive size, these devices belong clipped onto the lifejackets of all persons who go on deck in rough weather.

But, as great as they are, EPIRBS are a global positioning system.

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How many Navagear readers are both boat nuts AND science geeks? Probably quite a lot, actually. I found this story at gCaptain fascinating:

by Bart Stockdill, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Mechanical Engineer, Robert Allan Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

Water will boil at room temperature if the pressure is low enough. In fact, the pressure has to be very low, about 2% of standard atmospheric pressure at sea level.

Just like a wing generating lift, marine propellers use pressure differences across their blades to generate thrust. The pressure distribution on a propeller blade depends on its shape and how that shape influences the speed of the water flowing
around the blade. As the flow speeds up, the pressure drops and conversely when the flow slows down, the pressure rises.

Thus the blade is shaped to promote higher speed on the forward or suction side and lower speed on the aft or pressure side. If the blade shape is too aggressive, very low pressure can result. Indeed, this pressure can be low enough to reach the boiling point of water which then leads to cavitation.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Wouldn’t one of these little R2-D2 units look great on top of my boat?

The big news with this unit, the M-618S, is the gyro-stabilization. In a bouncy lightweight boat (like mine!), that feature could really enhance the camera’s usability. Particularly in demanding conditions where every reduction in the cognitive demands placed upon the operator produces a corresponding performance improvement and/or fatigue reduction.

Wait, what did I just say?

Alls I’m sayin’ is that you don’t get a headache so fast when the image isn’t jiggly, and if you don’t get a headache you don’t get cranky and make bad decisions.

Anyway, here’s the press release…

M-618CS INTRODUCES GYRO-STABILIZED THERMAL NIGHT VISION

High-Resolution Thermal Night Vision with a Color TV Camera

Portland, OR – FLIR Systems (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced the release of the latest addition to its industry-leading M-Series family of thermal night vision cameras at the Miami International Boat Show: the new gyro-stabilized M-618CS.

This exciting new M-Series camera offers powerful new features, including:

• High resolution thermal night vision – 640 x 480 resolution, along with 2× and 4× E-Zoom, provide clear, detailed images from farther away than you ever thought possible, even in total darkness.

• Extended range performance – The M-618CS’s 35 mm thermal lens can detect small vessels from over 2 miles away, giving you more time to see and avoid potentially dangerous situations.

• Active gyro-stabilization – Provides steady imagery, even in rough seas; this is critical for getting the most out of the M-618CS’s long-range cameras.

• Color TV camera with 10x optical zoom – Continuous zoom can match the thermal camera’s e-zoom for easy operation when switching between cameras.

Housed in a rugged, waterproof gimbal enclosure that provides continuous 360° pan and +/-90° tilt capability, the M-618CS provides horizon-to-horizon coverage, and incorporates cutting-edge Ethernet connectivity for easy installation and control.

No one else has ever offered all of these cutting edge features at this price point.

Thanks to Deborah Bach at Three Sheets Northwest for spotting this product at the Seattle Boat Show. Somehow I missed it!

Solbian’s lightweight solar panels were designed for open ocean racing.

One of the more interesting products we saw at the Seattle Boat Show was the flexible, super-thin, lightweight solar panels made by Italian company Solbian.

The Solbianflex Solar Panels, which were at the show for the first time this year, are about as thin as a flexible cutting board and weigh between 1.76 and 5.17 pounds, a fraction of the weight of the bulky, heavy panels typically seen on boats.

But what intrigued me the most is that the panels can be ordered with zippers that attach to biminis and dodgers, making for easy installation without the need for heavy, expensive mounting frames. The panels can also be mounted with grommets and lashed down on decks, though situating them in high-traffic areas is not recommended.

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