This is the first post describing how we have decided to outfit our HR. In all we will cover; Sails, Electrical System, Electronics, Plumbing, Mechanical, Safety and significant other. In Part 1 we will discuss the choices of Electronics.
Raymarine 60+ Speed, Depth, Wind
Autopilot Raymarine ST7002G+ Type II
Raymarine Smart Controller remote and repeater
Additional raymarine ST60 + Graphic at nav station
Radar/plotter/GPS Raymarine E120 multifunction display,excl attena
Raymarine 4kw Radar radom- & GPS - antenna
AIS-CTRX class B Transponder
Stereo/CD Pioneer (AM/FM) USA with remote, 6 inch speakers
Stereo Loudspeakers in Cockpit
SSB Icom ICM802, AT 140, and 2 grounding plates, USA Only
VHF Icom M502, DSC with commandmic HM-127B, USA Only
Weatherfax/Navtex unit Furuno Fax-30 for NAVnet/PC, exkl.ant
Pactor II USB modem with Pactor 3 license USB cable to chart table
We built our choices on the very positive expereince we had with Raymarine and Icom equipment on our previous boat, where we never had a failure. With expanded horizons however comes expanded requirements, particularly in communications as well as safety.
We elected to install a SSB, which continues to be the most common choice for long distance marine communications, and once installed is essentially free to use excepting small email service support fees. The downside is that SSB can be difficult to install (grounding, attena etc.) and operate in certain conditions and limits shore side communications to email at a slow rate (2800 baud). The increasing popular addition of a satellite phone is still quite expensive particularly for ongoing operations ($2/minute) and not much faster than SSB for email. Satellite phones are also easy to self install. Conclusion: have the yard install the SSB during construction and leave the satellite phone off.
In the area of safety we looked at two areas - visibility and weather. For visibility it is a two fold issue - seeing and being seen. Too see we have elected a powerful radar unit which interfaced with chartering software will provide a good overview of the surrounding area even in poor visibility (fog, night). However, the most interesting development has been the advent of AIS, which all large ships now must carry and is available to pleasure craft as well. AIS allows for the transmission on VHF channels all the details of a vessel, including direction, speed, type, cargo etc. Thus interfaced to a radar, we will be able to not only "see" a vessel but have information from AIS to identify whether there is a risk of collision much quicker as well as sort targets which may be stationary, such as fishing vessels. We have selected a transponder so we will send our information as well as receive others.
Weather forecasting and information availability has improved substantially over the past many years. It is the single most important safety and comfort factor for a mariner. We will have four ways of accessing weather information 1) SSB/VHF radio broadcasts 2) emailed GRIB weather files 3) contact with dedicated weather routing via email 4) NATEX weather forecast broadcasts. NAVTEX receivers use dedicated stations worldwide that send weather forecasts (usually 72 hours). Using a dedicated receiver the times and frequencies pre-programmed the weather data is received without user interface.
Other electronics include an autopilot, depth sounder, knot log, wind strength and direction indicator and GPS. As we have always navigated using paper charts and dead reckoning, we will continue to do this as our primary form of navigation using GPS, Radar and Electronic charts as our back-up.
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