EchoPilot Forward
Scan Sonar FLSII
www.echopilot.com
and www.pilotmarine.com
We have found that having a forward scan sonar has made
exploring in the high latitudes safer and more feasible.
Instead of feeling our way along at 2 knots when off the
charts, we can now travel confidently at 6 knots, since
the forward scan reaches out up to 200 meters ahead.
Also, the sounder makes it possible to feel our way into
tight anchorages, even when the water is not clear
enough to see the bottom.
This is first generation technology: the interface is clunky and non-intuitive; the
buttons are difficult to use especially with cold hands;
and it takes practice to interpret the readout.
There are several other issues that are important to
know: the transducer is vulnerable to damage from
ice, so we carry a spare; and the sensitivity is variable between units. We went through 2 units and 2
transducers before we got a combination that reached
specification. However, the British manufacturer
and the American distributor (Pilot Marine) have been
very responsive to our problems and their newer models
fix many of our complaints about the FLSII, albeit with
a shorter range.
The EchoPilot
has made a huge difference to our ability to cruise
safely in the high latitudes. It isn't necessary,
however, to go to the high latitudes to get good use
from a forward scan sonar: We use it all the time, even
in well-charted waters, to guard against the
consequences of a navigation mistake and when
anchoring it allows
us to survey for anchor placement with much greater
accuracy and less hesitancy about getting too close to
shore.
Furuno NX-500 Navtex
www.furuno.com
Navtex is an invaluable resource for weather and ice
information. When our old Furuno combined weather fax
and navtex receiver died, we balked at paying the high
price (over a thousand dollars) of a new Furuno navtex
and so bought another brand (See our
Gear
failures & fixes page under ICS Navtex). So started a long story of
not being able to receive navtex transmissions in places
where we should be able to. After many hours of
frustration and labour trying out various antenna and
receiver combinations, the American dealer had to agree
that the machine we had purchased was not living up to
its specifications. So we ended up spending the money
anyway and purchased the Furuno. We haven’t been sorry
for a single minute. While other cruisers anchored next
to us are not receiving anything on their navtex
receivers (the same brand we purchased initially), we
receive vital weather reports loud and clear.
Furuno Radar Model 1832
www.furuno.com
If we had to choose only one piece of electronics to
have on board Morgan’s Cloud, it would be radar.
We do not have electronic charting but continue to use
paper charts and take bearings with a hand-held compass
and ranges with radar. In areas that are prone to heavy
fog, as the high latitudes can be, this is an essential
piece of equipment. We also use the radar for anchoring
in tight anchorages and chose the Furuno radar for its
short ranges that make this possible. Our old Furuno radar
was still working after 11 years in our open
cockpit—great gear. We built an aluminum housing for the
new one.
HF Radio Installation
Jim Corenman
(AirMail & SailMail) and Eric Steinberg (Farallon
Electronics)
www.yachtwire.com
In the winter of 2002/03 we decided to replace our aging Icom SSB with a new Icom. You would think that
installation on a metal boat would be easy. Not so. We
had many problems with stray RF resulting in low output
power and poor tuning. We were working with Eric
Steinberg of Farallon Electronics and even he was
stumped. Finally Eric put us in touch with Jim, the
author of the AirMail program that serves as the e-mail
client running on PCs aboard member vessels of SailMail's e-mail-over-HF-radio service. Even though we
don’t use SailMail (our e-mail volume is too high) Jim
got involved and solved our problem. If you have a SSB
radio, particularly on a metal boat, and are unhappy
with its performance, read Jim’s article on stray RF at
www.airmail2000.com/rfi.htm. Based on Jim’s
recommendations we installed line isolators from
www.radioworks.com
and our radio has never worked so well.
The JRJ Group
info@jrjgroupsales.com
Jon Josephson of the JRJ Group was the dealer we used
when we replaced our KVH wind instrument system with a
NEXUS system from Silva Marine. We will report on the NEXUS system once we
have used it and given it a good work over. But, as
always when installing electronics, there were a few
hiccups in the installation process (see our
Gear
failures & fixes page) and Jon was a
godsend! He knows his stuff and his product and he is
exceptionally helpful. Thanks, Jon!
The Joys and Tears of TurboCAD
For the last few years we have been using
TurboCAD for visualizing and designing projects on
Morgan’s Cloud. TurboCAD is a great value, with
much of the functionality of systems costing many times
more, at just US$150, and you can often get it
discounted to as little as $US80.00 by shopping around
on the Internet.
We have used it for projects ranging from simple wiring
diagrams to the computer workstation to go above our
salon table, shown in the rendering below.
The joys include:
