waterproof remote moonitors?

[tcm]

Re: luddites and gizmos

Dangerous. The best solution of course would be to wire the boat with computer cabling and have nice sockets and a reasonable portable as the server so you could tap in anywhere on the boat and keep watch from in bed using a small camera and hauppage tv adapter in the portable. Line-of sight comms will allow allow you to locate and appear on the screen of passing ships, identifying yourself as the Zefender and demanding to know what they are doing in this sector of the galaxy.

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[zefender]

Re: luddites and gizmos

Nah, ultimate plan is to connect satellite coms to steer boat from mooring and undergo strenuous passage, remotely, keeping seamanlike look out from workplace PC to ensure I keep up to date with other technological developments at the same time. Thus severe linear galley problem sorted entirely.

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[Twister_Ken]

Philosophy

Point for discussion.

How important is it for a small boat sailor to know exactly where he or she is all the time?

My contention - doesn't matter very much at all until the last 100 yards of the trip, by which time there are plenty of visual clues. I'm happy being able to say "I'm about 5 miles east of St Albans Head, steering roughly 220 degrees."

Agreed in fog or deepest darkest night other rules apply, but then exisiting nav techniques work, even shorthanded (takes me about 5 secs to transfer a GPS reading to a paper chart and I can do it in the cockpit), and I'm not likely to want to make an inch-critical landfall in those conditions anyway.

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[zefender]

Re: Philistines

OK, let's take a longish passage. You may not need to know precisely where you are for most of it - but it's nice to know - "are we halfway there yet"? "what's our ETA", "why do we seem to be losing depth suddenly?" etc etc

At the end of a passage, entering a harbour. You could sketch out/list the buoys/landmarks/lights etc. But not so easy if its dark and dang, reading glasses are down below anyway. Bring chart or pilot book up to cockpit? But its pissing with rain and hands are cold - whoops there they go, overboard.

Alternatively, "Oh look, here we are and we should expect to see green No3 in a minute - oh there it is. We now turn to starboard and we should see the white sector of a light flashing 3secs and, behold, there she is. Simple innit?

Of course, you could turn up the zoom and, on being allocated berth B3, continue up the marina fairway and know exactly where to park, but that would be silly of course.

Agree that you need to have more precision at the end of a journey and that you don't 'need' to for much of it. But I find I want to know, or other crew do. Also, if you have the technology to know pretty much exactly where you are, you may as well apply it rather than relying on rough estimates which could, should circummstances change, put you in peril.

Finally, at the end of a longish passage, I'm often tired yet am about to experience the most dangerous part of it - the end bit, perhaps into a strange harbour. With a PC nav system, there's no illogical error, no miscounting of buoys, etc. I believe it is more reliable than I am 12 hours into a passage.

I'm not saying paper is'nt a sensible back up procedure to have ready prepared. But I feel more confident trusting the robotic insomniac as a guide than relying on my tired wits alone.


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[MainlySteam]

Re: Philosophy

I contend the same Ken.

Deteriorating conditions, proximity to dangers or unfamiliar water I tighten up. Otherwise, as you say if the nearest danger is 4, 5, 6 miles thataway, not much point in getting too fussed about knowing ones position within a mile or so when in pilotage (10 minute run at 6 knots).

John

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