I admire Brian Bell...

Re: GPS pre-1975...

Too blurry right! That Seafix thingy was better than the RDF ( Radio Direction Finding ) or ''Radio Compass' fitted in Her Majesty's old jet Canberra T4s, in which hundreds of pro navigators had to bumble about the skies, doing NavExs each month, to stay in a job.

Several of the RAFSA boats had these Seafix RDFs, and they were a darn sight easier...... But we had Consol in those day, too; another pro nav secret weapon.....

Anyone else remember Ploneis, Stavanger, Bushmills and 'the equisignal'....?

BTW, the radio beacon on Round Island, in the Scillies, was one of the most powerful around Europe, with a 'protected range' of 200nm.
 
Hi col,

How do you reconcile these two statements:

"chart plotters,radar,heating,watermakers,LEDs,all of which have become normal features on a boat"

and:

"If it cant be fixed with a lump hammer don't fit it"
 
I think you'll find that a lump hammer is the most satisfying way to deal with a pieces of modern technology that doesn't work and is giving you grief.

My subscription copy of YM finally arrived yesterday so I've been able to read the letter, and he doesn't seem to be advocating a return to the days of hemp ropes and paraffin in your tea, I think the man even admits to using GPS. He is just suggesting that things are easier to fix if you Keep It Simple.
Personally, I deal with electronics as part of my job, so I go sailing to get away from such gadgetry. Although I do have a handheld GPS these days, no other instrument on board would have looked out of place 30 years ago, except possibly the modern styled vhf. I would certainly not relish any form of centralised control or power distribution, where the failure of one component renders the rest unusable, though. Failures never happen at convenient times.
 
Fly by wire?

If I understand the term correctly, if you have flown on an Airbus you will expereienced centralised control distribution. My sense is that if the technology can work in a plane I'm more than happy to see it in a boat.
 
Re: I never did...

[ QUOTE ]
Did anyone, ever manage to get a fix with one of these things?

[/ QUOTE ]
I have an abiding memory of being embayed in Lyme bay in a southerly 9. I was wedged in the loo, the only place I could sit without being thrown across the boat, with a chart on my lap and a Seafix in my ears, trying to work out if I was making to windward. Yes, I got a fix. It told me I was somewhere in Lyme bay.

I'll vote for GPS as an improvement!
 
Re: Fly by wire?

True, except that on an aeroplane
(a) there is little or no salt water and
(b) all aircraft undergo a planned maintenance schedule of all their components based on No. of hours flown. Not many boats are as meticulously maintained. Especially mine!
 
Re: Fly by wire?

Take your point. I've just been reacting to the 'technology is bad' theme. I'd be the first to say that there is no silver bullet and that advances almost always come at the expense of further complexity.

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of the new and working out the operating parameters of a new piece of kit is extremely interesting to me, probably more than watching the flappy things flapping if I'm honest.
 
Who will pay the wages of YOUR....

...army of technicians to keep it that way on your weekender boat then?

& How many A340s operate in a salt environment 1005 of their time?

Steve Cronin
 
Re: Fly by wire?

The Airbus has three computers to give comparison and redundancy, it also has technology that may prove a tad expensive for the average yacht down there on the water.

Are you prepared to spend say twelve grand on an interface card for example....

We want gadgets for under a grand to be fair we want them for under £100, so expecting them to perform like industry equipment is stretching it a bit.

I love gadgets, but, if any fail on my boat that is it, one gadget fails.

Unlike some on here, I prefer my plotter to chart work, oh no, I can do the chart work, I do the chart work, but for day sailing or local hops the plotter makes it far more relaxing.

I prefer reading the fish finder to throwing the lead overboard.

I prefer reading the log screen to timing how fast we pass flotsam and doing the maths.

I like to listen to the radio on passage if I want to.

This harping back to 'the good ol' times is a load of rubbish'.

My 86 year old great uncle, fisherman all his life, went out fishing with his grandson. Visibility was rubbish, he told grandson that he had no chance getting all the pots in today, no watch granddad says skipper, who turned on plotter.

After they had brought in ALL the pots my great uncle was blown away by this instrument, all he could say from that day was how life for them would have been so much easier had they had half what is available today.

Would they have said no to keep it real, the hell they would!

But I agree with Mr. Bell, systems should be simple, switched power supplies to minimise looms have no place on cruising boats. A switch, a fuse, a cable.......
 
Here\'s my thought on most marine wiring

Steve and woofy,

Here's a wiring loom I created earlier

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I had all of the wiring ripped out of the boat and replaced with industrial grade looms and circuit breakers. Result no electrical problems in 10 years. However each time we add a new light or gizmo, which we all do from time to time, looms have to be split, new splitter boxes added, etc, etc. and this is on a relatively small yot. This kind of technology makes upgrades a whole lot easier. Now, scale this up to bigger yots with more cabins and toys, etc then this kind of technology makes real economic sense and dare I say it, could be a safer option.

As I said earlier it suits me and it is clearly not your cup of tea.
 
This is posted in the location for a reply to my post above it.

So why doesn't it contain a reply? Why does it attempt to start another arguement?

I posted a reply to your aircraft comparison. Why are you now talking about french knitting/cat's cradles?

Recent rersearch reveals:-

Attention span of an individual = (15 + age in years) mins

How old are you? SIX?

In that case, I'll humour you:-

How would you have fitted the new remote windlass control/changeover switch at the console I fitted last closed? I used shipwiring cable, a changeover switch and an Int/off/Int switch directly wired back to the relay. Simple, robust and nothing to go wrong.

Just take a look at that magic box of tricks Mr Calder is holding in his hands and tell me hoew you're going to tackle a corrosion defect in that - or even locate it in the first place..

Now that is seven questions. Please do not avoid
answering the first three in any reply.

Steve Cronin
 
Re: This is posted in the location for a reply to my post above it.

Steve,
OK I was being flippant and if I have upset you I apologise.

I just don't happen to agree with your hypothesis and am merely stating that I'd be happy to try the technology and neither do I have a problem with others trying it either. I'm happy to call an end to this and agree to differ.

Chris
 
Re: This is posted in the location for a reply to my post above it.

FWIW I agree with you that modern systems minimise the amount of cable running back and forth on the modern yacht. But at what cost. While many yachts day sail this is a fabulous step, if it goes wrong, get a man in when you get back to the pontoon. As long as the fault did not stop your electric winches, hoists, engine, lights etc. from working.

Go a little further, say 2 days toward the Canaries and the system shuts down. You may be able to jury by clipping cables all over the place to get your basic systems back, but then again, you may not. A broken wire to an non electrical person is a broken wire, repair it by copying what is there in the first place. If there is no reference then, oops, no lights, gps, gas for cooking (if you have shut off valves).

This is putting a lot of value and possibly safety into a few components that are not repairable at sea.

Have you never turned your car ignition key and had nothing!

I would always prefer most stuff seems ok, to nothing is working at all, can't even have a cuppa while we think about it.
 
Re: This is posted in the location for a reply to my post above it.

Upset?ME? Never happens!

No, still just waiting for a reply.

If Nigel Calder just wants to experiment, then fine but those of us who currently and in the future might call a boat "home" and don't employ a whole crew of technicians to keep it running, the ability to avoid trouble and rectify it, if it occurs, is of the utmost importance.

Steve Cronin
 
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