Marine Electronics

Practical Sailor Chandlery: October 2011. This month reviews a pocket video, new mastclimber, and belowdeck comfort.

Most of today’s fixed VHF marine radios come equipped with Digital Selective Calling (DSC) capability, and many high-end handheld VHFs do as well. For years, Practical Sailor has recommended that buyers select a model with this capability—and for good reason: As the U.S. Coast Guard’s new marine radio network Rescue 21 becomes operational, rescue centers are able to receive instant distress alerts from DSC-capable VHF radios. However, spending the extra money to have a feature-loaded, DSC-capable VHF offers little benefit if you do not have the radio properly registered and set up. The Coast Guard recently issued a safety alert, warning that mariners were endangering their lives and those of their crew by having a DSC-capable VHF that lacks identifying information.

Not every sailor has a selection of local sailmakers to choose from. He or she must instead rely on Internet research and phone conversations to find the best sail for the best price. As most of the world’s sail production takes place in a handful of high-volume production lofts abroad (China, Sri Lanka, and Africa), U.S. sailmakers have taken on the role of sail designers—rather than sailmakers.

Practical Sailor Chandlery: August 2011. This month reviews a tiller, tool toter, and smart-phones.

Practical Sailor reports on its test of the new Lowrance BR24 broadband radar. Unlike conventional radar, the BR24 transmits a low-power, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) signal that varies in tone and frequency. It has low power consumption and is very quiet with very low emissions from its transmit power. It has a high resolution at close range, but can be less effective than conventional radar at picking up distant storm cells and difficult shorelines and has an overall limited range.

Practical Sailor reports on its test of the new Lowrance BR24 broadband radar. Unlike conventional radar, the BR24 transmits a low-power, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) signal that varies in tone and frequency. It has low power consumption and is very quiet with very low emissions from its transmit power. It has a high resolution at close range, but can be less effective than conventional radar at picking up distant storm cells and difficult shorelines and has an overall limited range.

Sealing the holes in decks where Loran and VHF antenna cables penetrate is a fairly common problem on modern boats. If there were only the cable to be considered, a hole of the appropriate size plus a dab of sealant would do an adequate if tacky looking job. But these cables in­evitably include sizable end connec­tors which require holes much larger than those required for the cable itself. Solutions include removal and reinstallation of the connector each time the cable is removed during storage or servicing, and any number of commercially available through-deck fittings or plugs. None of these solutions is simpler or better than the wood fitting shown here. It is attractive and can be made in a few minutes for a few cents.

Practical Sailor editors evaluated Digital Waves Visual Passage Planner software, which is based on the U.S. Pilot Charts and lets users plan a voyage based on historical weather patterns. Testers used the software to recreate the 1888 historical passage by Joseph Conrad. Conrads passage from Bangkok to Singapore, aboard the iron barque Otago, took an excruciating 21 days. By plugging in waypoints, location and time of year, testers were able to see wind, current, sea state, water temperature, and air temperature along Conrads route. Visual Passage Planner showed the average wind speed and direction, as well as the number of days of calm, for the area and time of year. The software is an interesting tool for passage planning, but because it uses historical rather than real-time data, it shouldnt be compared to true weather-routing software like the weather-routing module from MaxSea, which uses a boats polar data to evaluate real-time routing.

Although the ease and convenience of electronic chartplotters has ensured their place aboard most every vessel these days, the punch-and-go navigation that makes them so popular has also spawned a generation of slack-jawed zombies when it comes to even the most rudimentary of navigational skills. Prudent mariners continue to carry paper charts, both as backup to chartplotters (and their “one diode away from disaster” nature) and to have the big picture view that a plotter just can’t match.

Speed-gauging tools developed for racing sailors have moved beyond a simple display of measuring knots, and now offer heading data, course over ground, distance-to-line, and GPS speed-tracking features. Velocitek is leading the marine electronics field of handheld speed tools with its ProStart, while Rock City Marine's RockBox, like the ProStart, uses GPS satellite signals to monitor speed and performance. Testers looked at each model’s ease of installation, performance on the water, and durability. Testers also rated their accompanying software.