NASA intruments

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MS_Adventure

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Hello All, does anyone have any experience with NASA Clipper instruments (Depth, WInd, Speed)?
I am pondering purchasing and fitting them on a 38ft Moody (just purchased). Logic being:
- current instruments not working (Stowe from many years ago)
- given its a new yacht (to me), I am not ready to invest full-on into a high-end fully integrated plotter/instruments/radar etc. setup (maybe in 12 months or so, but not now)
- NASA seem to be reasonable value (ca. 120-150GBP per instrument) compared to Raymarine/B&G etc.
- I understand that wind/speed fittings can fail for many reasons - and NASA parts are inexpensive in relation to Raymarine/B&G etc.

Thanks for any comments/thoughts!
 
I had them on the old boat, worked well.

I have Stowe on my current boat and am replacing my wind and water instrumentation, I am fitting Garmin so that they can feed the chartplotter.
 
I fitted NASA Clipper instruments to my boat in 1997: a depth sounder and repeater, and a speed log. They are still in use.

The depth sounder display has needed one repair in that time, the depth repeater one, and I have replaces two log paddlewheels.

None of the repairs cost much.
 
Poignard said:
I fitted NASA Clipper instruments to my boat in 1997: a depth sounder and repeater, and a speed log. They are still in use.

The depth sounder display has needed one repair in that time, the depth repeater one, and I have replaces two log paddlewheels.

None of the repairs cost much.
Click to expand...

Is the fitting of the transducer in hull & log straightforward? Can the paddlewheels be replaced in situ?
 
On my old boat I had NASA Clipper Duet speed/depth, GPS cockpit repeater, AIS radar and Navtex. I actually bought all of them second hand on here apart from the Duet. Everything worked really well...the only issues I ever had were a missing magnet from the log paddlewheel and eventually a faulty echo sounder transducer. Cheap to buy (even new), reliable, easy to install and interface with other equipment, and does what it says on the tin.

My one complaint is the lack of one way valve on the log transducer. My current ST60 setup with the valve that stems the flow to a trickle, compared to the column of water on the NASA, makes clearing the log a far less stressful experience.
 
MS_Adventure said:
Is the fitting of the transducer in hull & log straightforward? Can the paddlewheels be replaced in situ?
Click to expand...

I fitted the depth transducer inside the hull. It is in a plastic tube epoxied in place. The tube contains castor(?) oil. Fitting was very easy.

The log transducer requires a hole drilling through the hull. It was along time ago but I don't remember it being a difficult job. I would have sealed the exposed edge of the hole with epoxy.

The log transducer can be pulled inboard for maintenance or to clear obstructions.. Some water comes in but not much if you're ready with the blanking cap. I pull the transducer out with my right hand, put my left palm over the tube, put the transducer down, pick up the blanking cap, take my left hand away and screw the blanking cap on. It's quicker to do it than describe it!

The paddlewheel spins on an axle that simply pushes out from one side.
 
I've had the NASA Depth, Log, Duet and Easylog. All worked well, the Depth works well through the fibreglass hull unless you're crossing the path of a ship when the wash disturbs the depth readings for a minute or so.

All worked fine except the Log when the (inevitable really) paddle wheel got covered in weed and barnacles after more than 2 weeks.

I'd not hesitate about buying them again when I would buy the Depth and Easylog. If I bought a boat with the Duet fitted (or space for only 1 instrument), I'd buy the gadget that fastens to your onboard GPS that creates the paddlewheel-like pulses for the log, then remove the paddlewheel fitting & glass up the hole.

I'm not a fan of the NASA through-hull fittings (having had 2 crack and leak, with the risks that this offers...) so my first action on any boat I own is to have the hole glassed up.
 
I've had NASA instruments and found they worked well although the speed paddle needed replacement quite often but were cheap. The latest version includes a NMEA 0183 output but earlier versions are completely stand alone. I'm glad to see they have rectified this omission whilst retaining their very competitive prices but check the spec before you buy.
Another plus point for NASA is their after sales service. Always friendly, knowledgeable telephone response - I can't vouch for email response as I prefer the personal approach. I understand that other manufacturers are not so good at this.
 
If you are thinking about latter fitting different instruments ie a networked NMEA 2000 with chart plotter etc then check out the size of the NASA through hulls if memory serves correct they are different than the ones used by other manufacturers and whilst it can be done enlarging existing holes is a bit of a faff.
 
That new log looks the business! All paddle wheel logs suffer from fouling to some extent so it's great to see different technology applied. Wonder if it's NMEA 2000 compatible. Very affordable too.
doug748 said:
I have never used their sailing instruments but have had a lot of other stuff over the years, Navtex, AIS etc. One Navtex went down after 10 or so years and they gave me a good deal on a new model, so always very happy.

I would be very keen on this bit of new kit when it is available:

https://www.nasamarine.com/product/electromagnetic-log/
Click to expand...
 
doug748 said:
I have never used their sailing instruments but have had a lot of other stuff over the years, Navtex, AIS etc. One Navtex went down after 10 or so years and they gave me a good deal on a new model, so always very happy.

I would be very keen on this bit of new kit when it is available:

https://www.nasamarine.com/product/electromagnetic-log/
Click to expand...

Very tempting, especially if it will fit in the existing hole for the paddlewheel transducer.
 
I have always found NASA equipment excellent value and well generally well made. My echo sounder has given many years of service and just keeps working. I've now given up with the log and infilled the hole. It worked well but I just got fed up with having to keep cleaning the paddle wheel. If you do fit one, glass the through hull fitting in as they say in the instructions. The plastic is prone to failure which does concentrate your attention!
I've also retired the Navtex, the internal battery needed replacing and I found that I used Navtex less & less nowadays.
NASA service is excellent, don't expect slick salesmen, just proper engineers. Even when I had a lightning strike they gave me a good deal on replacements for my boxes of cinders.
 
+1 for their customer service, I managed to put 24v on a 12v AIS engine. One phone call, £15 and a week later and I had a working unit back! Can't fault them.
 
I've had NASA instruments log & depth on my boat for years and there's nothing wrong with them, but if you're thinking about going for an integrated system on a year or two, why spend several hundred pounds on instruments that won't talk to that system?

By all means, fit a depth sounder - that's important if you aren't keen on unscheduled stops, but you don't need a log unless you're racing; the GPS in your phone will tell you how fast you're going, and the only use for a wind instrument is bragging rights in the bar - "There I was in wind over tide, the windex gave up at 55 knots... ". A multihull might need one, but your boat will tell you very clearly when you're over- or under-canvased and a simple arrow on the vhf antenna will tell you the direction if you need a hand with sail trim.

A plotter app on phone or tablet is something I would invest in now. It won't be dear and will serve you now as well as make a useful backup to your all-singing all dancing system when you get it.
 
Having now read the full spec, it's not NMEA 2000 compatible but only 0183. Doesn't look as if it'll fit existing hole but still very attractive package if you want to know speed through the water (which I do but some are happy with SOG).
 
I've had the duet on two boats. Both worked as well as can be expected for the moderate price. Both easy to fit. The depth works well in shallow-ish water but the software could be updated for deep water. Once in more than, say, 50m I don't need to know that we are in 54.7m, no 54.9m, no 54.3m every second. And once in over 1000m it seems to get confused with older sonar pulses as it quite often reads 'Out, 2.6m, out, 3.5m etc. I would like an option for it to say 'Deep' at a specified (optional?) depth.

The log works well but I did find it lost accuracy after 8 months at sea ;). One bit of scraping and it recovered.

Apart from the compass that's the only instruments I have. I find that, as previous post says, I can tell the wind by feel, sight and sound (and taste when that slap on water on the bow hits me in the face).
 
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