My Boat Projects |
Last updated: Man-O-War, 12 Jul 2014 | Contact: |
- Hardtop bimini - with two 130W recessed solar panels
- First Dinghy - a 9' strip planked sailing dinghy
- Boat Cards
- Repowering - replacing an old Yanmar 3HM35F with a new Yanmar 3JH5E
- Fridge - replacing an old Adler Barbour Cold Machine
- Next Dinghy - a 10' nesting stitch & glue
- Attaching a Monitor Windvane to a tiller
- iNavX installation
- Hurricane Sandy
- Next Dinghy - an 11' nesting stitch & glue
- ...
Hardtop Bimini Project |
Máncora, 1 Dec 2008
My first retirement project was a hardtop bimini for Breakaway. It took a lot
longer than I expected but I think it came out OK. There are two
Kyocera KC130TM 130 watt solar panels recessed into it.
They were the best fit in the available space, each measuring
56.1" × 25.7" × 2.3". I think they are pretty
close to a perfect fit. The 2.3" depth includes the terminal box. The depth of just the panel is about
1½".
I've connected them to my batteries using heavy, marine grade 8-gauge copper wire and what appears to be an efficient
Blue Sky 2512iX
controller. I mounted the controller against the hull (on plywood securely epoxied to the hull) just aft
of the battery charger, as close to the batteries as possible. Here are some photos: ![]() ![]() (Click on image to enlarge)
The little holes in the corners are for drainage. I made them by building the "grooves" into the sides first,
fiberglassing inside the groove, then glassing a "ceiling" over the groove (in the last couple layers of fiberglass).
The curved sections were built up of ⅛" bending plywood laminated over a form, then set in place over temporary
supports. Once I had the 4 sides and middle divider fitted in place, I started applying alternating layers of fiberglass cloth and
18oz biaxial roving until the lip supporting the solar panels was about ¼" thick. In hindsight, I would have
used foam in the curved sections instead of plywood, to reduce the weight a little.
As you can see in the photo below on the right, the bottoms of the solar panels are open. This should keep them a little cooler and help the efficiency. ![]() ![]() ![]() (Click on image to enlarge)
Man-O-War Cay, 25 Feb 2015
I built the hardtop bimini in 2007, before I started
documenting my projects. So unfortunately, I don't have any photos
from the construction. I will try to describe it though.
When I started, my plan was to build a "female mold" in the shape I wanted (top and bottom so two molds), then laminate fiberglass material into the mold (building it up layer by layer of glass+resin). I soon realized 2 things -
As each piece was fit into place, I secured it to the overall assembly using small bits of glass cloth and resin - just enough to hold it as I went along. When everything was in place and shaped, I started applying layers of cloth and resin so that there are several layers of cloth in what I felt were the most stressful sections. I found that 18oz. biaxial cloth with the epoxy resin was a very quick way to build up the lip that the panels rest on. That lip was formed over a simple form in order to get the surfaces flat. To finish up, I used quite a bit of thickened epoxy (using West System's "colloidal silica"). After lots of shaping and sanding, I had the boat yard here paint it with 3 coats of Awlgrip. It looks as nice today as the day they painted it. |
Dinghy Project - Plan |
Máncora, 1 Dec 2008 |
My next retirement project (after I return from Ecuador) is to build a
dinghy. I want to do this in the Abacos, the northernmost islands in the
Bahamas. The Abacos have a
long tradition of boat building,
including the Abaco Dinghy.
There was a very pretty Winer Malone-built
Abaco Dinghy at the boatyard for a while this summer. The dinghy I plan to
build is not going to have those lovely traditional lines, but it should be a
lot more convenient for cruising on a small sailboat (much lighter, can be
stored on deck, towable). The dinghy I want to build is from these plans. It uses the strip-plank construction method. First, a form or mould is constructed from plywood and 2x4s. Then 1/4" thick strips of wood are glued edge-to-edge over the mould. When all the strips are glued together, the bottom is sanded and finished "clear" with a layer of fiberglass cloth (overlapped below the waterline). Then the form is removed and the inside is sanded and finished clear with a layer of fiberglass cloth. It looks like this under construction and should look something like the photos below when completed. I built a 16' Redwood strip-plank canoe when I was in high school. It was indestructible. I'm planning to use Spanish Cedar instead of Western Red Cedar (which is what most people use). I had hoped to use Redwood but apparently it is no longer available. Spanish Cedar is a little heavier but it should look really nice when done. Here is how it should fit ondeck on Breakaway..
Here is the dinghy itself (Photoshopped from the lines on compumarine.com)..
Here are some photos from one of the builder's letters from that website..
I started to work on the dinghy in August. I assembled the 2x4s for the strongback and jigsawed the station bulkheads out of 1/2" plywood. (As they suggest here) I cut and fastened a narrow strip of 1/2" plywood around the edge of each so that I only need to use C-clamps to hold the strips together until the glue sets. That way I can avoid the little marks left from having to drive staples into the strips to hold them in place. That took me a couple days, sweating like a proverbial pig. For whatever reason (age, condition?) I wasn't getting used to the heat. It wasn't fun. I had been planning to make the trip to Ecuador and Peru after the dinghy. Instead, I put the dinghy project aside and set off for Ecuador. It'll be there when I get back. As I write this from northern Peru, I'm looking forward to it. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Man-O-War Cay, 19 Mar 2009
I've added the construction page
here.
|
Boat Cards |
Cuenca, 20 Jan 2009
I made up some boat cards in Photoshop and had them printed out on some nice textured
business card stock at a little shop a couple blocks from the apartment.
|
Repowering |
Man-O-War, 20 Aug 2011
The Problem
The original engine, a Yanmar 3HM35F, has been having some problems lately. While the base engine
and oilpan still seem to be in good condition (it "sounds like a sewing machine" and does run very smoothly),
recently I've had
The net of it is that I don't feel as confident in the engine as I used to. I have aspirations of going out cruising again and the thought of having to sail into a strange, squirelly inlet with a broken engine is worrisome. When the water pump broke recently, I sailed back into Man-O-War harbour and picked up a mooring single handed and felt pretty proud of that. I swear the inlet was half as wide as normal - juuust squeezing through :-). But, if I had my druthers, I'd rather avoid that sort of drama. Then there would also be the hassle and expense of bringing those parts into an out-of-the-way place. The Options
I'd like to start with a fresh slate and repower here on Man-O-War where it's fairly convenient.
Unfortunately Yanmar no longer makes an engine of the same HP and weight/size as the 3HM35F. Here are the vital
statistics on the old engine and current models:
Below are the power, torque and fuel usage curves for the 3HM35F, 3YM30 and 3JH5E. I've plotted the point on the curve for each engine at 80% of peak RPM for that engine* (the red dots). The (I think, popular) notion is that this is an ideal operating point for each - not over stressing the engine, having some power in reserve, while running it high enough to avoid carbon buildup. Where it applies, I assume an optimum sized propeller for that engine and RPM setting. I assume I will need to modify my existing prop.
|
Size 14 Sep 2011 |
||||||||||||||
|
Prop 18 Sep 2011 |
|||
I haven't been able to get a handle on prop size yet. The current prop appears to be 16" diameter centered in a 22¾" opening. I'd like to reuse the existing prop, modifying the pitch as necessary. I am told (by Thumper at Pacific Seacraft) that the latest model PS34 used a 17RH8 prop on what I believe was a 3JF4E engine. I'll have the local prop shop and Yanmar make their recommendations after I've had a chance to determine the current pitch. | |||
Here is a plot of Boat Speed vs HP that I compiled from this simple tool.
The tool recommended a prop diameter of 17.9" with a pitch of 10.9". I'll make some RPM vs Boat Speed measurements for the new engine and my existing prop (and then with any modifications to the prop) and will post the plots here at that time. |
![]() |
||
I'll be placing the order for a 3JH5E this week.
Steve Brodie at Pacific Seacraft recommends it and it looks like a good fit.
I started out this section saying Yanmar doesn't make an engine of the same HP and weight/size as the 3HM35F.
The 3JH5E appears to be very close, and generally improves on it. I'm having Edwin's Boat Yard, a Yanmar Dealer, do the work. I'm seriously looking forward to seeing an engine hour meter with 0 hours on it :-). And starting a careful maintenance log for it. |
Exhaust thru-hull 22 Sep 2011 |
||||
|
New engine unboxing
24 Feb 2012
|
|
|
The new engine has arrived on Man-O-War. Here is my unboxing video. |
Installation
Man-O-War, 17 Apr 2012
Here are some photos from the start of the installation.
|
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Darren used the crane to lower it onto these blocks in the cockpit. Then we used a hoist and come-along to lower it into the engine compartment. He removed the air cleaner, exhaust elbow and shifter bracket. We were then able to fairly easily lower it into the hold by tilting the transmission end down. Having lift rings on this engine is wonderful. The old engine had none and it was necessary to rig straps around the fore and aft to take it out or put it back. Tilting it to maneuver into the engine compartment was pretty hard. | ![]() panel to the engine compartment. |
|
We then raised and lowered it a number of times, checking the fit and reshaping parts of the engine pan. The engine mounts and overall size of the new engine are pretty close to the old one, but the oil pan and transmission housing are a little bigger. We had to trim the engine pan around it some to allow it to fit. And it looks like it will be best to mount this engine a couple inches further forward than the old one - necessitating a new, longer propeller shaft. As I am having a new dripless fitting installed now, it will be good to have a new shaft for that to fit to | ![]() |
|
- some compensation I suppose. Having a couple more inches in that space will be welcome too. |
||
![]() and wider than the old one. Barely discernable. |
![]() |
Installation, continued
Man-O-War, 1 Mar 2013
Well, I went sailing for a couple months aboard Panope, got back to MOW and it was too darn
hot to do anything. I was in no hurry. But, we're getting back to it.. |
||
Here's the plan for the
exhaust. These diagrams come from yanmarhelp.com/i_exhaust.html. The "Min"s are, as far as I can tell, recommendations from Yanmar. I've seen one or two people refer to them being in a "Yanmar Installation Manual", but I haven't been able to find such a manual so far. The values in red are from my actual installation ("~" means "approx"). As you can see, the actual values from my installation are at least double the recommended values, except for the distance from the top of the waterlock to bottom of the high riser elbow. Still, it's about 3" more than the recommended 10". |
Installation, finished
Man-O-War, 12 Jul 2014
Here are some photos from the installation. Chad Albury and his dad, Blake, of Edwin's Boat Yard
did an outstanding job with the installation IMO. |
||
|
||
|
||
|
Here is a short video. |
Postscript
Man-O-War, 21 Jul 2014
I feel this engine is a better choice than the 3YM30, say. And am very happy with the conscientiousness and final installation of
Chad and Blake Albury (who only got involved at the end - game savers as it were). One lingering question in my mind is: Could we
have reduced the exhaust diameter, say to 2½", coming into the muffler? The installer who started the installation recommended
carrying 3" all the way. In hindsight, I should have gotten a second opinion at the start. (live and learn) At this point,
I don't know if 2½" was an option, but if it was it would have saved a fair amount of space, weight and cost.
References:
- Source of the Yanmar 3YM30 and 3JH5E curves
- The 3HM35F curves and other specs are from the Yanmar service manual
- All the 3JH5E manuals
- Compass Marine "How To" Articles - lots of photos, clear explanations
- Here is an interesting look at the inside of a mixing elbow after 2000 hrs
- Source of the Yanmar 3YM30 and 3JH5E curves
- The 3HM35F curves and other specs are from the Yanmar service manual
- All the 3JH5E manuals
- Compass Marine "How To" Articles - lots of photos, clear explanations
- Here is an interesting look at the inside of a mixing elbow after 2000 hrs
Fridge |
Man-O-War, 21 Sep 2011
The fridge, an Adler Barbour Cold Machine, stopped working some time ago. Recently, I bought a new one (a CU-200 with the
water-chilling option in case I need it) and am in the process of installing it.
I just saw this comparison from a Practical Sailor article
and it made me kinda wish I had gone with a Frigoboat instead. But on second thought, I wonder. Breakaway's icebox looks to be about 4 cu.ft. (well under the 10 cu.ft. spec of the Frigoboat) but with probably just moderate insulation - I see about 2½" thickness (including the wall of the engine compartment) where the evaporator's tubing exits the icebox and 1½" thickness on top (including the counter top). The cover is about 3" thick. So I wonder if, without adding insulation, the Frigoboat's Danfoss BD35F would have been sufficient? The article says the BD50F (used in the Cold Machine) has 25% more cooling capacity at 40% more power demand than the BD35F (used in the Frigoboat). So the Frigoboat's compressor is inherently more efficient. And it looks like Frigoboat's ability to slow down the compressor to the more efficient 2000 RPM might have been a good fit with my solar panels. Regarding the BD35F's inherent efficiency, the "25% more cooling capacity at 40% more power demand" claim seems a little misleading. In that for a given cooling load, the BD50F will run at a lower duty cycle. If the energy usage and cooling output are both linear with run time, for a given cooling requirement the BD50F would consume just 12% more energy. Doesn't sound quite as bad.
For example:
And regarding the Frigoboat's ability to slow down it's compressor to the more efficient 2000 RPM, this might make an interesting Arduino project. It would be fun to try dynamically changing the resistance in the thermostat circuit to vary the compressor RPM (the ability mentioned under the Sea Frost section in that article), based on the fridge's temperature and contents vs the current and predicted status of the house battery bank. For example, use the following regimen:
I wonder which of these various options is most cost effective in tropical conditions? Hmm. I'd like to measure my current system (new solar panels, new fridge, 3 year old Deka 6v battery house bank that has never been deeply cycled and has been equalized once just recently) in use to see how well balanced it is and how much fine-tuning it is going to make a difference. Still, I think I'd like to try the resistance-varying trick just for fun. The Arduino controller could also monitor and optimize the cycling of the Water Cooled Option pump in conjunction with the compressor speed. Hmm. |
![]() |
Man-O-War, 10 Oct 2011 |
|||
On a day with around 80°F temperatures, the new fridge (half full, with 3 trays of frozen ice cubes), is averaging 3:10 (min:sec) on, then 10:15 off. For about a 25% duty cycle. |
Next Dinghy Project - Plan |
Man-O-War, 6 Oct 2011 |
So, why another dinghy? First, a picture. The red hull/green lines are the 10' nesting Spindrift dinghy that I'm considering. The black lines are my existing 9' Yacht Tender. The rolled-up gray thing on the bow is my existing Avon inflatable. I'll probably sell the Yacht Tender and keep the Avon for a backup. Note that Breakaway has mast pulpits which prevent me from snugging the dinghy up to the mast. I really like the mast pulpits (aka "granny bars") and want to keep them.

Advantages of the Spindrift over the Yacht Tender
- It looks like it would fit better amidship, where the Yacht Tender will interfere with the main sheet. On the bow, both interfere with use of the staysail as well as tacking the genoa when the staysail is not in use (and the inner stay is moved to it's aft storage position - where I usually keep it). Also, it looks like it will be a little "shorter" on deck, so should be easier to see over.
- It looks like it should have better initial hull stability - making it more convenient for passengers to board and easier to transport bulky/heavy stuff like 6 gallon jerry containers of fuel.
- It should be able to take my existing 4 HP Johnson outboard motor where the Yacht Tender (1) requires a long-shaft outboard and (2) doesn't appear to have as much bouyancy in the stern to take the weight.
- It looks like it should plane. The
Spindrift webpage shows a 10'
model planing with a 2 HP engine (with a fairly lightweight boat driver). An
online forum
mentions planing under sail (again under ideal conditions). Pretty kewl.
17 Jan 2012: I just noticed on one of Garry Prater's pages, he says:She reached a plane a few times and once on a broad reach with a gust she took off on a plane like a shot with a slight hum from the centerboard. Wow! - I would paint the Spindrift. It would then be easier to maintain and I wouldn't worry so much about knocking it against docks and rocks and such. Just a matter of applying some fiberglass and fresh paint over the damage.
- It would draw less attention and not set me apart as much from the local community.
- Not sure if it would be practical, but it looks possible to launch
by placing each half in the water and assembling it there.
25 Dec 2011: Garry Prater, who came up with this idea, described to me how he was able to join the two halves in the water and how he did that once in gale-force winds in an emergency - when he had to launch his dinghy to carry out an anchor in the Intracoastal Waterway during a sudden storm.
Some nesting dinghies that I found
I wish I had gone to one of the wooden boat festivals where the manufacturers have some of these on display.
Or even have 3 or 4 day construction classes. If there was an event where you could try your favorites
in the water, that would have been awesome.
I bought a kayak that way once - a weekend try-before-you-buy
event in Maine with all the major manufacturers present. Then a stop at L.L.Bean where they had the model I liked
best. BTW, a 17½' Current Designs Solstice fit nicely on Breakaway's deck and I could fairly easily launch and board
it from there. The combination of Breakaway's low freeboard and the kayak's stability made stepping in and out of
it from Breakaway's deck eminently doable.
In lieu of that, this is the best I can do:
Designer | Design | Len x Beam | Weight (lbs) | Capacity (lbs) | HP | Rig/SA | Notes (expanded page) | ||
Danny Greene |
Chameleon | 10'4" x 4'2" | ~100 | ~500 | 2 - 4 | Lug / 50 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Chesapeake Light Craft | Eastport Nesting Pram | 7'9" x 4' | 75 | 375 | Lug / 42 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Passagemaker Dinghy | 11'7" x 4'8" | 94 | 650 | Sloop / 78 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
David G. Bolduc (based on Matt Layden) | Micro Folding Dinghy | 6'10" x 2'+ |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Uses 1 sheet of ¼" plywood + a little canvas. Free plans. | |||||||||
Nestaway | 8'2" nesting pram | 8'2" x 4'3" | 100 | Lug / |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
8ft Nesting Stem Dinghy | 8' x 4' | 75 - 80 | 400 | Lug / |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
9ft Nesting Clinker Stem Dinghy | 9' x 4'3" | 110 | 2.5 - 4 | Lug / |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
10ft NN10 Nesting Stem Dinghy | 10'2" x 4'5" | 145 | Sloop / |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
John Holtrop |
Nestor 8 | 8' x 3'8" | 2 adults | Cat / |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
Nestor 10 | 10' x 4'4" | 80 | 4 adults | Cat / | |||||
Note that Holtrop's site (apparently now gone) included free download plans for the Nestor 8. They are available from the web.archive.org site here. |
|||||||||
Port Townsend Watercraft |
PT Eleven | 11' x 4'2" | 85 | 518 | 2 | Cat / 60 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Forum: Builders' BLOG | |||||||||
B&B Yacht Designs (Graham Byrnes) | Spindrift 9N | 9' x 4'1" | 72 - 82 | 2/4** | 2 - 3 | Cat / 45 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Spindrift 10N | 10' x 4'2" | 77 - 87 | 2/4** | 2 - 3 | Cat / 55 ft2 |
Forum: B & B Yachts Forum Construction blogs: my list |
|||
Spindrift 11N | 11' x 4'6" | 88 - 110 | 3/4** | 3 - 4 | Cat / 65 ft2 | ||||
Two-Paw 8 | 7'10" x 4' | 65 – 75 | 3 - 4 passengers | 2 | Lug / 36 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Two-Paw 9 | 9' x 4'4" | 75 – 85 | 3 - 4 passengers | 3 | Lug / 45 ft2 |
||||
Wooden Widget | Fliptail 6 | 6'2" x 3'4" | 33 | 330 | max 3.3 | Lug / 25 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Fliptail 7 | 7'2" x 3'4" | 39 | 495 | max 3.3 | Lug / 25 ft2 |
![]() |
|||
Stasha | 7'2" x 3'8" | 22 ! | 330 | max 3.3 | Lug / 25 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
There are several other folding designs on their website as well. | |||||||||
WaveDancer Yacht Design | Piccolo | 9'1" x 4'8" | 2 - 3.3 | Cat / 33 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
Sinbad | 10'2" x 4'8" | 2 - 3.3, up to 5 | Lug / 56 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
Dorita | 10'3" x 5' | Cat / 42 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Nexus | 10'11" x 4'11" | 2 - 6, max 9.9 | Cat / 52 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
Sinbad 2 | 11'2" x 5' | 2 - 3.3, up to 5 | Cat/lug / 52 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() |
|||
Normus | 13'1" x 5'3" | 3.3-6, max. 15 | Lug / 76 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
Sponberg Yacht Design Inc. (Eric W. Sponberg) | Halfling | 7'10" x 4'0" | ~70 | 800 | Cat / 37.2 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
||
BoatCraft Pacific | Nesting Joey | 8' | 2 | Cat |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
Selway Fisher Design (Paul Fisher) | BOCAR 8 | 7'11" x 3'11" | ~65 | 2-3 passengers rowing/motoring, 1-2 sailing | Lug / 34 ft2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Bateau | FB11 | 10'6" x 4'2" | 70 | 4 | Sprit |
![]() |
![]() |
Thanks to Paul DiCarlo for pointing me (and this table) to a number of these.
Here is a comparison of two transoms - the Spindrift in red, the Port Townsend Watercraft Eleven in white. The Spindrift, with just the one chine, looks like it will have a little more form initial stability. |
![]() |
Again, here is the construction page for my next dinghy, a Spindrift 10N.
References:
- Free small boat plans - canoes, dinghies, small sailboats, houseboats, etc
- Free Boat Plans from "Science and Mechanics", "Boat Builder Handbook" and other very old magazines
(makes me chuckle - I built the Redwood Canoe from those very plans when I was a kid ...
about 45 years ago)
- pinoyboats.org Projects page - Philippine Home Boatbuilders projects
- The Swift Solo looks interesting. Very pretty hulls. Although maybe more of a young man's game.
The builders' website and what appears to be the class homepage.
- Free small boat plans - canoes, dinghies, small sailboats, houseboats, etc
- Free Boat Plans from "Science and Mechanics", "Boat Builder Handbook" and other very old magazines
(makes me chuckle - I built the Redwood Canoe from those very plans when I was a kid ...
about 45 years ago)
- pinoyboats.org Projects page - Philippine Home Boatbuilders projects
- The Swift Solo looks interesting. Very pretty hulls. Although maybe more of a young man's game.
The builders' website and what appears to be the class homepage.
Attaching a Monitor Windvane to a tiller |
Erice, 16 June 2012
Here is IMO a pretty clever way to connect a Monitor Windvane
on a tiller-rigged boat.
Edmund J. Hull came up with it for his Crealock 34, Panope.
It steers the boat well and is easy to attach and detach. I think the stainless steel pipe and base were standard lifeline stanchion parts so should be easy to find. (Click on the images to enlarge) |
![]()
The tiller is connected using the stainless steel pipe shown here. The lines hold everything in place
|
![]() Attachment to the tiller
|
![]() The lines secure the pipe to the Monitor when in use. The pin enables removing the pipe from the tiller
when not in use |
![]() Here is the pipe
attached to the Monitor. There is a little U-shaped plate welded onto the pipe that fits onto a link in the chain |
![]() The pipe is fairly easily detached from the Monitor to quickly resume hand steering. The pipe is then detached from the tiller by taking out the pin
|
Here is how the autopilot is attached to the rudder. With the autopilot in use, the tiller is left in a vertical position. |
![]() This yoke/arm was fabricated
by a friend of Edmund |
![]() Here the autopilot is attached
|
iNavX installation |
Man-O-War, 5 Oct 2012
Onboard, I have:
|
||
I'd like to:
This blog entry will be about installing the bits to setup to use iNavX on the new iPads on my boat. |
Acquiring the multiplexer
Man-O-War, 8 Oct 2012
The iNavX FAQ recommends 6 multiplexers. With the Raymarine
instruments I have, I needed the translation from Seatalk to NMEA 0183. And I wanted WiFi. The Brookhouse
and ShipModul units looked the most promising. Brookhouse's site says to send them an email to find out
the prices and distributors in the US. I sent several emails and never got a response.ShipModul's unit (a MiniPlex-2Wi) looked good, their website was pretty informative, and I found a dealer in the states with them in stock for $466 (Navstore). ShipModul also offered the unit for sale, direct from them in the Netherlands, with free shipping for € 280. That came out to $380. I placed the order with them on a Saturday (their order entry is a little funky via Paypal), it shipped from the Netherlands on Monday along with an email with a DHL tracking number, and arrived in Florida on Wednesday. Sweet.
The only thing I don't like about the MiniPlex-2Wi is that the WiFi link is apparently Ad-hoc so limited to a single iPad (or iPhone or iPod) at a time. More than one would have been nice, though not necessary. One future possibility is to connect the USB output from the MiniPlex-2Wi to a Raspberry-Pi board and then rebroadcast the NMEA 0183 datastream on an Infrastructure network (allowing multiple devices to receive it at the same time).
References:
- iNavX FAQ
- ShipModul MiniPlex-2Wi
- Connecting NMEA 0183 equipment
- Charts for iNavX
- NOAA RNC Charts - US waters, free
- x-traverse.com - looks to be mostly Navionics charts, reasonably priced
Hurricane Sandy |
Man-O-War, 28 Oct 2012
Not a project,
per se, but something for the scrapbook.. Man-O-War is where the orange (current position) dot is, of course. We probably got around 80 mph winds, as they note. Some surge, but not too bad. The island is fairly used to dealing with hurricanes - both preparation and cleanup. |
Man-O-War, 5 Jan 2013
Here is the actual landfall on the East Coast.It's interesting how accurate the projected track was in the forecast above - 3 days, 18 hours ahead of the actual landfall. At a point too where it apparently made a sharp turn. I have been reading a book by Nate Silver called The Signal and the Noise. In it, he talks about the improvements in weather prediction. His blog, FiveThirtyEight was spot on in projecting the election. The book has great insights into prediction making - weather, sports, economics, elections, chess, poker. I predict myself rereading it a couple times :-). |
-- End of file --