I really like this cooperation between Marinalife and Maptech. It will make life easier for boaters by integrating lots of services with Maptech's interface. I hope this is just an example of what to expect in the (near) future.
"Marinalife has created a centralized Internet-based reservation system for marinas, kind of an Expedia for recreational boaters that it calls a "cruising concierge" system. The five-person company is combining its system with technology developed by Amesbury, Mass.-based Maptech to bring a range of navigation and communications tools to boaters on the water. Maptech has consolidated and simplified a range of electronic navigation technology that enables boaters to check the weather, access radar images and send and receive e-mail with a few touches on a computer screen. By joining forces, the two companies aim to become an online travel agent of sorts for boaters. They'll be able to create navigation charts and, from the water, reserve a slip at a marina and make dinner and hotel arrangements for after docking."
Electronic chart manufacturer C-MAP has obtained ISO 19379 certification for its CM-93/3 and NT-Link electronic chart databases. ISO does not necessarily say anything about the quality of the product itself, but nevertheless it is an important step towards safer boating when using electronic charts.
"The emergence of several privately produced electronic chart databases over the past few years can give the impression to customers that all electronic chart databases are equal,” said Ken Cirillo, vice president and general manager of C-MAP/USA. “But this certification and ‘seal of approval’ from the ISO is a testament of the highest regard to a private electronic chart manufacturer, as it clearly demonstrates the level of quality of a product with this approval."
I am at the Monaco Yacht Show today and the coming 3 days. Lots of beautiful ships and electronics over here, I will report on them later. Don't expect a lot of posts this week however... To hot to carry around a laptop;-)
Still using pen and paper for your ship's log? How about this great tool that will allow you to publish all this information (even in real-time) to a website/weblog...
"GPS Visualizer supports uploaded GPX track and waypoint files, OziExplorer track and waypoint files, Geocaching.com LOC files, IGC log files, Garmin Forerunner Logbook XML files, tab-delimited or comma-separated text files, Cetus GPS and PathAway .pdb files, and NetStumbler log files. You can also enter waypoint data manually, if you just need to plot a few points."
Wouldn't it be great to watch the sun going down while listening to a mosquito powered entertainment set in your boat's cockpit...;-)?
"We know what you're thinking. A robot that totes around human sewage, digesting living beings for energy? What, you�re not inexorably excited about this? The EcoBot II (ah, what a benign, nonthreatening name) is fed flies into 12 sewage-based bacterial fuel cells, which break them down, digest them, and use the electrons released as current."
Instead of buying this extremely pricey Itronix GoBook III I wrote about yesterday, you could also take a look at how PCs are entering the automotive environment. For most boaters this will be a perfect solution to all their entertainment and navigational needs. And since the car industry is providing economies-of-scale, prices will come down very fast.
"The compelling argument comes from the fact that a modern computer can do anything a car stereo can do and much, much more. Currently you can install name brand DVD, MP3, TV, radio, XM and navigation hardware into your car, costing you thousands and the possibility that it wont all work together. A computer in your car can offer up all those options and lots more to make sure you're distracted enough to plow through a farmers market. Internet access, encoded movies, gigs of MP3s, email, web browsing, in-car gaming, and even, *gag* office applications are just some of the things that a little box in the trunk can offer."
I have to agree with Gizmodo's statement that this is not the best looking laptop I've ever seen, but I'm sure some of you might still be interested in putting this machine to work on a boat...
"I feel kind of stupid, but Itronix actually told me about their new GoBook III here about a week ago, and I kept putting it off. Easily remedied, though, and gladly, because this ugly fucker actually hides a really nice laptop - Pentium M 1.8 GHz, Ati Radeon Mobility, all that good modular radio stuff - inside the typically ruggedized Itronix case."
"Most GPS units have I/O terminals and a cable for connecting to other devices. To transmit information from the GPS to the computer, connect the GPS signal ground wire (SG) to the serial port ground wire (NMEA B line). Next connect the GPS transmit data (TXD) to the serial port receive wire (NMEA A line). If you intend to upload data, such as waypoints and routes, from the navigation software to the GPS, you will need to connect the GPS receive data (RXD) wire to the serial transmit wire. Not all navigation programs or GPS units allow data uploading. These wires are identified by color code in the user's guide."
A problem with many of today's (marine) electronics is that they can do so much. And many are simply to proud to read a manual or watch an instructual video. But if they do...
"I recently upgraded the electronics on my 20-foot Bayshore skiff with a Lowrance LCX-15MT combination GPS/chartplotter/sonar unit. The compact combo fit nicely into the helm pod and utilized the pre-installed transducer. The only trouble was that it required a new electronic chart and had more features than my old unit. Both dilemmas were quickly solved with a Classic chart from Navionics and an instructional video from Bennett Marine Video."
I'm sure these are electronics and software most of you don't have any experience with, but I would not be surprised if they will eventually come available in one way or another to amateur racing or even leisure sailing.
"During training, salient data is taken from various optical-fibre-based devices that measure strain on the boat, as well as various sensors that measure boat speed, wind speed and direction. Fibre optics change their refractive index when put under strain so the strain can be measured by measuring the change in wavelength of the light transmitted. The data is read via a wireless LAN connection into data files, which can then be quickly and easily manipulated in MATLAB on a support boat. The results can be visually displayed in a variety of different ways to help the team make quick decisions about changing the yacht’s set-up."
Over at Ocean Navigator, SkyMate's CEO John Tandler has a few things to say on the cost of using a system like theirs.
"First, SkyMate transmits text email files much more efficiently than connection-based systems. This is because satellite phone airtime is billed in one-minute minimum increments, so for a message of less than 1,000 bytes, 98 percent of that one minute of airtime is unused. With SkyMate, the user is only charged for the amount of data actually transmitted. A user sending five separate emails per day over a Globalstar phone would use about 150 minutes of airtime per month, which in the Caribbean would cost more than $120. The same usage profile using SkyMate would cost less than $70."
SAIL Magazine highlights Rose Point's Coastal Explorer in their new gear section and they seem to like it. This product was released not so long ago.
"Coastal Explorer is a humdinger of a new PC charting program. It's remarkably fast and bug free for 1.0 software, deftly handles most raster-chart flavors as well as free NOAA vector ENCs, and has planning and underway interfaces that I find both comprehensive and comprehensible."
Interesting roundup of different navigation software packages and what to expect from them in the coming months. MotorBoating takes a look at C-Map' PC Planner, Fugawi's Marine ENC, Global Navigation Software's NavPak-Lite and NavPak-Pro, Maptech's Offshore Navigator, Maxsea's The Yacht, Raymarine’s RayTechRNS 5.0, Nautical Technologies' The Capn and Voyager Mosaic/S-57, Nobeltec's Admiral 7 and InSight Radar 2, and Transas' Navigator Plus.
"Navigation programs for PCs can do a lot more than simply paint pretty pictures of electronic charts. The programs available today can download free charts to your computer. They can be platforms for your PDAs. They can work with radar sets to warn you of collisions at sea. They can overlay charts with photographs, weather images or radar targets. And they can even draw their own bathymetric charts. To fill you in on the big picture, here’s a look at what’s coming from nine software companies this fall."
There's a new manufacturer of marine computer systems, Locomarine, primarily building Centrino based 'desktop' systems. At least conceptually they have a very good understanding of the value a PC can bring to any yacht. One of the simple but innovative features is the additional 'Dashboard control' unit with power on/off button, 4 USB ports and headphone jack.
"This new series 2000 model is based on high performance ultra low power consumption Pentium M (Centrino) 1.7+ GHz processor. It offers speed and usability as the strongest desktop machines with power consumption lower than many laptop models. 2000 model is prepared for usage of up to 4 independent LCD which give you a possibility to monitor all necessary information separately (radar, chart, NMEA information, sonar)."
I visited the HISWA boatshow in IJmuiden, The Netherlands, yesterday. Can't really say I saw anyting exciting, but the one thing I noticed was a very strong trend towards in-boat entertainment. Even in small boats I saw LCD-screens popping-up everywhere, lots of (somehow all) Clarion speakers installed and marinized stereo equipment. In a couple of weeks I will be at the Monaco Yacht Show and should be able to experience some real state of the art equipment over there...
Well this sounds like the fitness equipment I would like to have at home instead of a rowing machine...
"The Virtual Sailor VS-1, which can replicate the physical stresses and technical demands of sailing in a range of typical conditions, is thought to be a first for yachting. But the simulator is also proving a valuable tool for sailing instruction, including tactics, fitness and psychology, and for simulated races, he says."
Putting Oceanics' Waterproof MP3 Player To The Test
Sep 1, 2004
Jerry Hall, Guinness world record holder for longest underwater submergence with scuba gear, will this time try to stay underwater for 94 hours and 9 minutes in Watauga Lake. He's got all sorts of underwater electronics with him, allowing him to read and play chess. And this time he will also have the opportunity to listen to music since Oceanic is one of his sponsors. And I've written about their H20 Audio product-line before.
"For this dive, I will have the use of powerful underwater speakers and an underwater MP3 player," said Hall. "I can't describe what it's like to be able to listen to music underwater. That alone is going to make a tremendous difference."
I really like this cooperation between Marinalife and Maptech. It will make life easier for boaters by integrating lots of services with Maptech's interface. I hope this is just an example of what to expect in the (near) future.
but nevertheless it is an important step towards safer boating when using electronic charts.
I am at the 
Still using pen and paper for your ship's log? How about 
Instead of buying this extremely pricey Itronix GoBook III I wrote about 
I have to agree with Gizmodo's 
A 
A problem with many of today's (marine) electronics is that they can do so much. And many are simply to proud to read a manual or watch an instructual video. But if they 
but I would not be surprised if they will eventually come available in one way or another to amateur racing or even leisure sailing.
Over at Ocean Navigator, SkyMate's CEO John Tandler has a few things to 
SAIL Magazine 
Interesting 
[1]-thumb.jpg)
I 
Well 
Jerry Hall, Guinness world record holder for longest underwater submergence with scuba gear, will this time