Help!! emergency (cybergeek) power issues

[funkystupot]

Hi all,
I have a major problem and i need help. I am about to become a crew member on a 45ft sailing yacht going from the BVI across the atlantic. I have just been told by the bugger of a skipper (my old man) that i will not be able to take my laptop as there will be nowhere to plug it in!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif There must be a way i can get power (solar, wind something) i case you guessed yes i am new to sailing (but not to the sea or spending long periods in it, im a commercial diver!) I had planned to use this tool to learn languages, watch movies, store photos etc. I know it sounds sad but i am a little lost without my notebook of joy. This must be a common problem surley someone has sorted this sort of thing. The laptop runs off mains but the output from the adapter is 18.5v 3.5A SOMEONE PLEASE EITHER HELP OR PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY. Anyone telling me to take a book will get a grrrrrrrr /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Cheers

 

[webcraft]

Your old man is pulling your chain. Huge numbers of yachts use laptops as the primary navigation tool. Power can be provided via the manufacturer's car adapter (there are nearly always 12V lighter-type sockets on a boat) or via a 150W or 300W inverter, which you can buy from Maplins or Ebay for £30 or thereabouts.

A 45ft yacht will almost certainly have ample domestic electric power and charging systems to run this.

Feel free to show him this post and let him comment - perhaps he is a purtitan and has even less electrical capacity on board than our little budget 27-footer - I always take my laptop on long trips, and it is no problem at all.

I think it is more likely that this is a ploy to wean you away from the machine and put you more in touch with nature, which is no bad thing. I only take my laptop because I need to keep in touch with clients - you could probably live without it.



- Nick

 

[Anonymous]

As webcraft has already said, it is easy to obtain 12V to 18.5V converters (though check the connectors before buying and make sure yours is included, mine wasn't) or, as he says, use a 12V to 230V inverter, which the yacht probably has.

I have a lot of sympathy for your skipper in that he will have carrried out power and energy calculations to ensure that all of the yacht's navigational and domestic equipment can be supplied by the power available - solar, wind, engine or generator. A laptop is very power hungry compared with other electrical equipment - it is comparable to a fridge/deep freeze and he might have worked out that it will just not be safe. Using the laptop for any length of time might require the generator or engine to be run for an extra hour a day - this could cause resentment in the crew if your laptop is seen as just a toy.

However, if he has solar or wind, there might be times when there is genuinely 'free' electicity available to charge the laptop but those times might be few and far between. Why not ask his permission to take it along on the strict understanding that it will only be charged when he has free power available? It would probably be unreasonable to expect him to fit solar or wind just for you and it wouldn't be possible to take your own - the size of solar panel needed would be pretty big and need a lot of deck space.

I hope that you enjoy your passage whatever the outcome, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Talbot]

A good source of DC/DC converters (better and less power hungry than an inverter) is from http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/laptop-car-adapters.htm Make sure you get the correct one for your laptop as the end connectors are all different!

Maplin can also provide the dc/dc converter, but you may well need to buy additional end fittings to make sure you get the right one from them.

Get your father tuned into laptop passage planning, and he may change his mind about having it onboard - see http://www.digwave.com/products.htm

 

[MedMan]

Lemain has hit the nail on the head. The problem is not how to plug it in - it is providing sufficient power: laptops are very power-hungry. We took lots of Reference CD's with us when we set off long-term cruising but we can only use them when in harbour as we cannot afford the amp-hours to power the laptop when sailing or at anchor. However, as Lemain says, there are times when power is available such as during a prolonged spell of motoring so it might be reasonable to ask to use the laptop then. The question then is, can you be trusted to stick to that? Maybe your old man knows you too well!!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[funkystupot]

Just to say thank you to all who replied, i have been looking at various solutions and the best i have come up with is a lightweight high capacity external battery fot the laptop (mine is not too power hungry as it is tiny). One of these will provide ten hours of use with my laptop so i can use it for about an hour a day for ten days then recharge when at our resupply points.

Thanks again and happy sailing!

This must be the longest competent crew course ever BVI-Spain !!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[funkystupot]

Talbot: I think if i even mention passage planning on a laptop to my old man he would have a fit, he is only happy arm deep in charts rulers and sextants! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Talbot]

I am not adverse to the use of sextants and even have one myself. However, long range passage planning needs input from wind and current information. This can be extracted from "Ocean Passages of the World" but it isnt the easiest approach. This software provides the same functionality , enables choice between rhumb lines and great circle routes and provides a truly neat optimisation tool to check your manual choice. Show it to him and see what his response is, there is a nice demo package that only works on a single month, but is free (and chart level of detail is much coarser).