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This blog is all about what is making the news in the marine electrical and electronics world. It is current and relevant and also has useful and practical boating information Keep up to date with the marine electrical and electronics web log, the most current marine blog on the net! Bookmark this page for further marine technology updates! West Marine- We Make Boating More Fun!

MISSING YACHT FOUND The missing yacht Moquini that disappeared with all 6 crew in September 2005 has been found floating upside down some 500 nautical miles off the South African coast. The capsized yacht was found by a merchant ship. Salvage divers inspected the yacht and positively identify her as the Moquini. The keel is missing and speculation as to what happened is of course occurring. A single blip from an EPIRB was detected Friday, 16 September in 2005 and the supposition is that this is when the keel was lost and instant capsize with the EPIRB functioning briefly before it was too far under water. All rather sad and the number of keel incidents must be alarming for all sailors New Global Solo Yacht Race Global Ocean Sailing Ventures (GOSV) has announced the Global Ocean Challenge 2007/08, and this is the first ever solo-double around-the-world yacht race ever. The event is open to 40 and 50 ft mono-hull yachts only, with a start line in a major port in European in September 2007. The circumnavigation will go via South Africa (Capetown?), New Zealand (Wellington or Auckland?), South America (Rio?) and then the United States before a finish line crossing back in Europe in May 2008. What is unique is this is first time that single handed sailors and two-handed sailors will compete together. It was stated that for most sailors to participate in an around-the-world race without paying a fortune or being immensely qualified was very difficult. This new race will allow ambitious sailors to enter what is usually just a dream. Already I am dreaming of the possibilities! Struck by Lightning while up the Mast! What are the odds on this one? One of Team Ericsson riggers was taken to hospital after a lightning strike in the water close to where he was working aloft up the carbon fibre mast I Melbourne, Australia. The electric field was induced into the rigging and mast and the crew reacted quickly and got him down and to hospital, and he will be okay John C Payne

Have you checked your keel bolts All of the 10 yachts taking part in the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race have now been diverted to Subic Bay in the Philippines for urgent keel inspection following discovery of loose keel bolts on 7 of the 10 Clipper 68 yachts. The Glasgow Clipper had earlier reported a loose keel bolt and afterwards the Race Team advised the remainder of the fleet of 10 boats to also check their bolts for movement. After this inspection, 6 other yachts also reported slight movement of the keel bolt. Initial inspections indicate a failure of the bond between the hull and the internal strengtheners in the area of the keel. This subsequently led to various degrees of cracking in 8 of the 10 boats, and in the Glasgow Clipper case also rather severe water ingress. Now how to fix it is the next challenge Ship Sinks! If you have been watching the media regarding a collision between a bulk carrier and chemical tanker in the English Channel, the chemical tanker has now sunk. The accident occurred near Guernsey with the 22 crew rescued. The vessel named Ece was loaded with 10,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid. John C Payne

SIMRAD and LOWRANCE MERGE Simrad Yachting AS and Lowrance Electronics are to merge. As we all know Lowrance is one of the planets largest suppliers of marine electronics to fishing and pleasure boats and we all know how good their fishfinders are. They also make GPS products and hand-held GPS mapping products for hikers and campers (I have one myself) and also service aviation and land applications. Simrad Yachting is well known and makes great marine electronics to high-end leisure boats and smaller commercial vessels. Simrad have a great track record in defense and commercial sonar so technology transfer will make some great new Lowrance equipment in the future. Recent Commercial Shipping News Maritime Tragedy The recent tragedy and loss of some 1000 plus lives in the Red Sea is all over the press and it is still appalling after all this time that Titanic level disasters keep happening. Many hundreds of angry and protesting relatives have stormed the offices of the ships owner El Salam Maritime Transport Co Super Cruise Ship Cruise liner operator Royal Caribbean are to order and build a 220,000 grt cruise ship worth €900m ($1bn) and she will carry 5,400 passengers Oil Pollution French prosecutors have asked for a record €600,000 ($725,000) fine against the Master and the owners of the ship Maersk Barcelona, for creating a 61 km oil slick off the French Atlantic coast and this is reputedly the largest seen so far. Piracy Attacks by pirates have dropped to the lowest level in 7 years. And there have been 276 incidents reported according to the International Maritime Bureau QM 2 Passenger Power Wins the Day After staging a sit in and then starting a class action against the ship owners Cunard, all passengers will now get a full refund. The company altered the cruising itinerary (they cut out all stops in Barbados, St. Kitts and Salvador, Brazil and went straight to Rio) so it was just a sea cruise after they tried to make up schedule after deciding to sail with the damaged propulsion pod. The pompous attitude was that as they were on board and enjoyed the facilities, food and entertainment they should only get 50 percent compensation Award for SmartCraft Brunswick have been awarded an Excellence in Technology award by The American Boat Builders and Repairers Association (ABBRA). SmartCraft is an integrated electronics network. SmartCraft was originally designed by Mercury Marine as an engine-to-helm data communications system and this has undergone development to include many more devices New Large Super Yacht Networks The German companies ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and T-Systems have formed a partnership to develop a new generation of internal communications systems for large yacht. The aim is reduced cost and faster installation times that also reduces cabling. They are naming this the 'Multi Service Network Board' or 'MSB', and systems will handle telephone, fax, Internet, radio, TV, audio and video on demand, fire detection. Systems will use fiber optic networks to transfer data around the boat and this will expand to integrate navigation systems data. John C Payne

Volvo Ocean Race Electrical Fire A tale of a fire on board ABN Amro two, and it could have been worse. They found the boat full of smoke and after initially suspecting a generator problem then located the source behind the Navigation Station. A short circuit had developed, and heating caused cable insulation to heat up and melt generating smoke. They cut away the wires and several others too, and they even found an instrument bracket glowing and had to severe more wires to make it all safe. It has affected some of their communications however. No reason or cause was given so not sure what lessons can be learned. It does make me wonder about the effectiveness of the protection of circuits, if circuits are properly fused this shouldnt happen. Queen Mary 2 Problems The Cunard flagship cruise liner Queen Mary 2 has possibly damaged one of the main propulsion pods after running aground as she departed Port Everglades on a 38-day cruise. These pods are electrical propulsion units. Happens to the best of them! Another Yacht Fire Possibly one person died today after a yacht caught fire and sank in Sydney, Australia. The 10-metre vessel was burnt to the waterline. Crime scene investigators are to examine the scene and boat recovery will take place Record Bottle A plastic bottle with a message which thrown into the sea by a 4 year old girl in Morecambe Bay, in England. It was found just 6 months later and 9000 miles away by a 10 year old in Perth Australia. That is fast! John C Payne

Rescued! The British tall ship Stavros S Niarchos has rescued two American female rowers that were participating in the 2006 Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race. TOon Sunday 15 January 2006, at 1649 Hours GMT a 406 Mhz EPIRB activation alert was detected by the US Coastguard. Lesson – carry an Epirb and make sure it is properly registered ARC World Rally World Cruising, who are the organisers of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, are now launching the 'World ARC', which is a circumnavigation that will take some 20 months. Scheduled departure point is Gran Canaria in November 2007 the across to the Caribbean, on to the Panama Canal, across the South Pacific and Australia, and then the option of back via South East Asia and through to the eastern Med, or alternatively via South Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean and back to Europe. Choices! Choices! DSC VHF Radio Recall from Silva Silva have issued an urgent safety notice to recall an early batch of S10 fixed DSC VHF radios, which were sold between December 2003 and May 2004. This reason is that they were notified that an S10 unit had transmitted an erroneous GPS position to the coastguard during a rescue incident and as a precaution are recalling all. Well done Silva! The VHF units have the serial numbers 0300001 to 0401060 and the number is found at the top right of the upper casing surface of the casing. Silva will supply a brand new S10 to all affected owners. Flat Battery! A motorboat was rescued off the UK’s South Devon this week after drifting with a flat battery and no fuel. Mobile Phone Rescues – Electrical and Communications Problems The debate over use of mobiles for distress and not marine communications is sure to be fired up. This week off the UK in heavy rain and Force 5 conditions, four people and their 56ft ketch were rescued by the RNLI Fowey lifeboat. The yacht had lost the VHF radio and other electrical systems. The vessel was taking water fast and sinking. Again I talk much in books about redundant power supplies and reliability. Better Fishing line Line manufacturer gamma has a new high performance copolymer line. Utilizing the same technology used with the Frog Hair High Performance fly fishing tippet and leaders they now have the High Performance Copolymer for general fishing applications. Gamma have a patented processing technique that involves altering the line material molecular structure for enhanced strength and abrasion resistance, better knot strength, as greater suppleness and sensitivity. The copolymer lines are available in the range from 4 to 40-pound test Better Fish Finders The new Humminbird 987c SI Combo is a combination GPS and chartplotting/sonar unit that also offers exclusive side-imaging sonar. The result is very high resolution imaging of the bottom, any fish and the tructure off both sides of the boat. The range is 480 feet of coverage to 150-foot depths. The unit has a 7-inch, high-resolution 480V x 854H color display, with a 16-channel GPS/WAAS receiver, and power output up to 8,000 watts peak-to-peak. Keep Your Kids Safe You would have thought it was a no-brainer to make sure that any child afloat has an approved life jacket on when out on the water. Still many do not and the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water (BoatU.S.) is actively supporting safe boating with it’s commendable initiative, the Life Jacket Loaner Program. They are now searching for boat clubs or other waterfront businesses in the US that would be interested in becoming lending sites for the program, and this scheme loans PFDs for free to boaters with children. Join the 328 clubs and businesses already are participating in the program. Of course you could also splash out and buy your kids a PFD. John C Payne

ENERGY CONSERVATION ON BOATS The Fédération des Industries Nautiques (FIN) has just announced the theme for the Bateau Bleu Award in 2006. The theme is to be onboard energy savings. This award will specifically recognise a product, system or concept that provides substantial energy savings to be achieved on boats without any compromise to the onboard comfort. I am giving this careful thought with a view to entering, and readers input welcome New Jabsco Pumps Jabsco have come out with 2 new water pressure pumps that are specifically designed to output a very quiet and smooth water flow. The Jabsco 1.9 and 2.9 are three chamber diaphragm pumps, that produce up to 7 litres per minute (1.9 usgpm) and 11 litres per minute (2.9 usgpm). The 2 models cleverly incorporate built-in pulsation dampening, which will eliminate cycling and remove the noise and vibration, and the upshot is you no longer need a separate accumulator tank. This is great development and drives me crackers. GALILEO - FIRST SATELLITE LAUNCHED The alternative to GPS, and the European Space Agency's satellite navigation system, is now going ahead. As a direct rival to the American military-based GPS (Global Position Satellite) system, Galileo, is a civilian system and is due in operation by 2008. Galileo has a constellation of 30 satellites, with 27 operating and three in reserve located in three circular orbits some 23,000 km above the earth and at a position angle of 56 degrees to the equator. Next satellite is in spring. Accuracy will be better at 3 meters and better at northern lattitudes, with no military involvment. B&G; SEMINARS B&G;, the Performance Sailing Division of Simrad, have announced winter dates and venues for the popular Deckman and Know Your Numbers seminars. The seminars are very popular with people who wish to improve their skills and get the most out of B&G; equipment. The full seminar schedule is as follows: Dec 29: Know Your Numbers - Royal Yacht Club, South Africa Jan 12: Know Your Numbers - LIBS, ExCel centre, London Jan 12: Deckman software - LIBS, ExCel centre, London Jan 24: Know Your Numbers - Royal Ocean Yachting Club, London Jan 30: Know Your Numbers/Deckman/RaceVision2 - Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Australia Feb 21: Deckman Introduction - Royal Ocean Racing Club, London Feb 22: Deckman Overview - Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble Feb 28: Deckman Intermediate - Royal Ocean Racing Club, London Mar 7: Deckman Advanced - Royal Ocean Racing Club, St James, London RNLI USING IRIDIUM The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in the UK has started the testing of a new marine safety system that uses the Iridium satellite network. If the trials come up successful the intent is to install the system on the entire fleet of 128 offshore lifeboats and their 208 inshore lifeboats are the United Kingdom, Ireland and Channel Islands. ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS with DEUTSCH US electrical connector manufacturer Deutsch has just become the first company to meet the US The American Boat and Yacht Council's E-11 specification. This entails voltage temperature and moisture ingress. Deutsch electrical connectors are rated to 170°C and to a minimum of the IP67 ingress protection as part of the European EN60529 standard for harsh environments. Sunseeker have been part of this effort and will standardize Deutsch's waterproof electrical connectors on bilge applications on all boats within the range. BEP MARINE and MARINCO The Actuant Corporation who also Marinco have purchased the outstanding stock of New Zealand’s BEP Marine. BEP sells AC and DC control panels, digital monitoring systems, battery switches and battery distribution products, waterproof switch panels, and gas detectors UK MERGER UK company Marine Electronic Services (MES) has acquired Golden Arrow Marine Electronics. Both offer marine electronics distribution and installation NEW CERTIFICATION STANDARD FROM GERMANISCHER LLOYD The German classification society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has developed a new certification scheme for yachts and recreational craft of up to 24m (79ft) in length. One salient point is that the new rules expand on current mandatory EC certification requirements that are defined within the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) with increased safety provisions. NAVIONICS WINS AT PARIS BOAT SHOW Italian company Navionics has won 1st prize for Innovation at the Paris boat show for its new cartography product, Platinum. Navionics Platinum made its world debut at 2005 Miami, and the product features charts, 3D bathymetrics, cruising guides, satellite and photographic images that are integrated and geo-referenced on a single plug & play cartridge. Great stuff indeed NEW WEBASTO AIRCON SYSTEM Webasto have a new and innovative air conditioning system and this is the first to have central cool air supply. You can cool several cabins from only one compact air conditioning unit, this supplies cool air for up to six blower modules. MULTIPLEXED POWER MANAGEMENT The Moritz Aerospace, Inc. company which is a subsidiary of Carling Technologies, Inc. has launched the OctoPlex™ Shipboard Multiplexed Power Management and Monitoring System. This offers intelligent monitoring and control of boat systems, as well as provide total control of all AC and DC circuit protection from any location. Interestingly this enables remote mounted circuit breaker panels which optimizes cabling. The system software is also capable of updating as each new NMEA 2000 component is installed. NEW SMALL ELECTRIC WINCH FROM LEWMAR Lewmar launched the world's smallest electric winch, the L34 as part of the new Stretch Winch range and designed for small sailboats in the range 9.8m-12.2m (32ft-40ft) in length, and available in manual and electric versions. NEW VETUS THRUSTER WINS BIG AWARD The EPS Silent Thruster from Van Den Velden Marine Systems (VETUS) of the Netherlands was the overall winner of the Design at METS awards. I have had a lot to do with thrusters in the commercial maritime world and have a thruster on my own boat. The innovation starts with the elimination of the traditional arrangement of a central hub and gearbox. The new design features exchangeable blades connected to an outer ring. This floats on ceramic bearings and is powered by an integral electrical motor in the casing. AIRCON HEAT EXCHANGER INNOVATION Another exciting new innovation in the contest was the Peltech Geotronic T8LL-24V Pisolo air conditioner heat exchanger, from Gallinea Srl of Italy. It cleverly uses Peltier cells instead of the conventional compressor and refrigerant arrangement. This significantly reduces size, weight and vibration. Clever stuff! Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! IBEX INNOVATION AWRDS The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Boating Writers International (BWI) gave IBEX Innovation Awards to Auto Anchro Systems for a Panel Mounted anchor Rode-Counter system. Mercury Marine's Shadow Technology Digital Throttle & Shift system also won an award. Another very interesting product was the AvXcel Inc. TropiKool 40 marine refrigerator which uses a reverse Stirling cycle engine and natural refrigerants that include helium and carbon dioxide and it has just two moving parts. Blue Sea Systems Dual Circuit Plus Battery Switch won the Electrical Systems Category and this simplifies switching between two battery banks. John C Payne

The METS show has been on in Amsterdam this month including the Design Award METS (DAME Award). The following are some of the nominated products for the award. The awards jury does an assessment of the products based on several key criteria such as the overall design, functionality and materials use, and this also includes innovation and originality, ergonomics and that very important price/quality ratio. The shortlisted companies and marine electrical and electronics products are: Airmar Technology with the Ultrasonic Weather Station; Autonnic Research for the Wind Vector Module; Carling Technologies for the Octoplex; Interphase Technologies and the iScan 180; Navman and the Autopilot Display; Raymarine and the Smartcontroller, SmartPilot IPS, and the S100 Autopilot Controller; Belship and the Black Magic Dimmer; Besenzoni and the Electrical Lateral Door; F.lli Razeto & Casareto for the Free Go Leo, Free Go No Shock lighting; Frensch and the F-6 LED Spotlight which is great lighting development; Gallinea and the GEOtronic T8LL-24V Pisolo; Veco and the Vega MK II Air-Conditioning Control system; Willdo and the Pump Out System; Scubar/Iris Surveillance and the Scubar Underwater Camera; Simrad and the SA50 Search and Rescue Transponder; Amartech and the innovative Retractable Propulsion System for Sailing-Yachts; Blue Sea Systems and the clever Dual Circuit Battery Switch; Mastervolt and the very good Frequency Isolation Transformer; Minn Kota/Johnson Outdoors and the Engine Mount (EM) Trolling Motor; Sigmar Marine and the Water Heater; Van der Velden Marine Systems and the EPS Silent Thruster and finally Navionics and the very good Navionics Platinum. Stay tuned for the winners! Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! ACR European EPIRB US-based ACR Electronics has launched the AquaFix 406 P-EPIRB (Personal Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) in Europe and it is available in the UK, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Spain and Ireland. It allows broadcast of GPS coordinates for SAR services which will increase emergency response times and accurate within 100m. Readers should note that from February 1, 2009 EPIRB’s will be required to change to 406 MHz if they are to be satellite detectable with 121.5 MHz frequency remaining as a homing frequency. Good products and good to see them available Europe Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! Navman Latest Navman have really made an impact on the marine electronics scene. They came out with some new products at METS that included a new line in grayscale fishfinders that have improved display resolution and a 200% increase in the ping rate. The new FISH 4400 series range comprises 4 four models. Another new item is the TrackFish 6500 which is a feature packed combination unit on a 5-inch screen. It also features a WAAS-enabled GPS chartplotter all preloaded with a 32MB world map. The depth range is up to 305m (1,000ft). If that isn’t all they have also come out with the Tracker 5380 which has a 3.8 inch TFT daylight viewable screen, and the 5430 features has a daylight-viewable four-level grayscale screen with 360x240 resolution. Navman are very busy people indeed. Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! ICS Navtex Being a big fan and owner of an ICS Nav 6 this is interesting product. New is the McMurdo's ICS Nav 7, which is a dual channel NAVTEX receiver that also has a large, easy-to-read, daylight viewable color LCVD screen. This is great as I have my screen in the cockpit with all of the data being interfaced and it does get hard to read sometimes. also they claim being the first NAVTEX that uses a landscape screen format that gives a a paper-like image. Of course it supports reception of all three IMO NAVTEX frequencies, and that includes inshore forecasts and three-day weather outlook for the UK and Europe. Good stuff McMurdo! Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! John C Payne

NEW LED BOAT LIGHTING Danish LED navigation light manufacturer Lopolight has received MCA type approval for the whole range of Lopolight LEDs. So this should see a drastic reduction on sailing yachts of power consumption, no more shaking and breaking bulbs and improved reliability. INMARSAT LATEST Inmarsat have launched the second Inmarsat-4 satellite. This launch of the second I-4 satellite gives Inmarsat the world's most sophisticated commercial network for mobile voice and data services, This gives broadband connectivity virtually anywhere in the world. Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! IRIDIUM NEWS They have announced that the total number of marine industry subscribers has increased by 30 per cent this year. It offers most boaters a wide range of voice and data applications. It is a good alternative for ocean voyagers. YACHT MONITORING Spanish company EMMI Network has launched a new yacht control system. The Albatross Control System allows users to monitor and control a yacht systems status both onboard the vessel and remotely via the Internet through its website. The system also gives GSM, GPRS, Wi-Fi or satellite communications between a yacht and land. User selectable device monitoring is possible via the sensor network connected though NMEA 2000, with information on the onboard computer and or transmitted to land via Internet. The sensor data converted to NMEA 2000 signals includes battery information, electric current, motor status, bilge monitoring, tank volumes, temperatures, pressures, levels, navigation lights, fuel consumption. John C Payne

About LED Lighting for Boats I am a big fan of this newer technology and are happy to see the slow demise of incandescent lights which have served us so well for more than 100 years. Sailnet is marketing the Orca Green Marine Technology LED Navigation Lights. These are the only USCG approved LED-based Tricolor and Anchor combination light available at this time. That’s right! beware of LED navigation lights that don’t carry the appropriate national approvals. The power consumption is 6 Watts (0.5 amps) which is around half the incandescent rating in a night that is around 5 amphours of battery capacity saved. Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! Whirlwind in China sinks 109 Boats! A whirlwind (I guess that’s the same as a tornado) sunk some 109 fishing boats and three larger vessels this week. That is some powerful tornado! Gipsy Moth IV is sailing once again The famous 54ft ketch which Francis Chichester become the first to sail alone round the world in 1966-67, has been re-launched after a 5 month restoration. Like many I visited her where she was moored in concrete in Greenwich in England, close to the equally famous Cutty Sark. A lot of serious work has taken place and she also has new winches, sails, standing and running rigging. Do you want some comment on something special in this blog? let me know as it's your blog! Bookmark this blog for further marine technology updates! John C Payne

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