Marine Electronics

Special Report: How to Prevent AIS and VHF Antenna Malfunction

Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) ships-including tankers, passenger vessels and cargo ships over 300 gross tonnage-must be equipped with Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). In the U.S., carriage requirements also includes vessels over 65-feet. AIS can allow you to see a distant ship, but is not a substitute for radar.
Vesper Marine WatchMate 850 is an class "B" AIS transponder system that lets boats know your location and, at the same time, lets you know which boats are around you. Photo courtesy of Vesper Marine.

Vesper Marine WatchMate 850 and Icom M91D: Where Credit is Due

AIS (automatic identification system) transponders put out a signal that describes your boat and what it is doing to other ships. It also receives...

How to Create a Bullet-Proof VHF/SSB Backup

In this short article I want to chat about ideas for making the radio bombproof in an emergency. I haven’t “invented” any of these...
AquaMaps with Bob’s blue tracks and my green tracks at the start of the ICW with bridge arrival times. (Image/ Alex Jasper)

Tips From A First “Sail” on the ICW

My dream to sail from New England to the Bahamas involved a trip down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), also known as “the ditch”...
Make sure someone is always keeping a lookout on the horizon while the tillerpilot is engaged. If there are a few crew onboard, it helps to rotate who is on watch so everyone else can relax.

Tillerpilot Tips and Safety Cautions

Autopilot is not autodrive. The International Rules of the Road (COLREGS) makes your responsibility clear: You must keep watch. There are no exemptions for...
Irwin Vise-Grip Wire Stripper. (Photo/ Adam Morris)

Best Crimpers and Strippers for Fixing Marine Electrical Connectors

If you own a cruising boat, you will have to learn to be an electrician (in addition to a painter, a detailer, a mechanic,...
600-watt solar panel system on Summer Twins 28 sailing catamaran Caribbean Soul 2. (Photo/ Clifford Burgess)

Thinking Through a Solar Power Installation

The practical aspects of your solar panel system will be governed by the design and size of your sailboat, your overall project budget (%...

How Does the Gulf Stream Influence our Weather?

“Big High, Blue Sky, Goodbye…” All you need to get started, right? ...Not so fast. Heed another quote from Captain Ron, hero of the 1992...
A lithium conversion requires a willing owner and a capable craft. Enter the Privilege 435 catamaran Confianza.

Can You Run a Marine Air-Conditioner on Battery Power?

Our 16,000 BTU MarinAire A/C is sufficient to maintain our Privilege 435 catamaran at under 26.5°C (80°F) on days up to around 35°C (95°F)....

Preparing Yourself for Solo Sailing

Last week, I covered some of the things I suggest you need to think through on the boat before heading out solo. Now, what...

Carl Alberg’s Family Sailboat for the Ocean – Alberg 37

Are you looking for a family sailboat that can cross the ocean and sail the Caribbean in safety and comfort? Carl Alberg designed the...

Latest Sailboat Review

Hunter 45DS Used Boat Review

Hunter Marine unveiled its latest large cruising monohull, the Hunter 45DS, in late 2007. The boat is essentially an upgrade of the 44DS, with twin wheels, a new transom, new styling, and a roomier, reconfigured interior. Hunter has sold 152 hulls since the boats debut, making it a fairly successful endeavor. To increase the Hunter 45DSs interior volume, designer Glenn Henderson opted for relatively high freeboard and additional length. Henderson also matched a nearly elliptical rudder with a smaller keel. The 54-horsepower Yanmar auxiliary engine moved the Hunter through calm water at 8 knots at 3,000 rpm. Testers sailed the 45-footer in flat water and 13.5 knots of wind, making 5.8 knots and were able to tack through 110 degrees. The current base price of the Hunter is $268,990.