Marine Equipment Technology » Boat

Sailing tips

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:55:59 +0000

Sailing might be one of prestigious sports on earth, the luxury of yacht and the all night party on boat are just few examples of the attractive living on it.

Instead of that there are several things that your should consider to have it for your own security matter, such as location of your boat dock, and some tools that you should have such as dock lighting.

Dock Lightning help you to dock your boat or yacht on the deck and also prevent your leg to trip on it, also its light could help you to found it easily. And its solar cells power doesn’t required much maintenance, its a tool that you should consider to have.

Another tips that you should consider such as:
1. always take sunblock in your pocket, when you’re sailing in the middle of the sea or ocean, sunblock is something that your skin needed.
2. life jacket or life vest is standard important things that you should have. Always put them on sight in case something happens.
3. If you brought child on board, look after their location, its better to kept them inside the cockpit, if the want to play on the deck, always give them life vest to wear.
4. Warming up in 1,200 ke 1,500 rpm of your motor before running it could help extend your battery life.
5. location for docking, its important to know it.
6. keep the environment green by not throwing can or bottle or any trash on the ocean.

That’s all the tips you should consider and knows on sailing, hopefully you could do it.

Yacht Economical Sailboat for Blue water Sailing

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:04:41 +0000

Whether used for ocean cruising or family vacations, the Yacht is a sturdy, easy to sail pocket cruiser.
The low topsides, narrow beam and 27-foot length of the Yacht, Vega certainly do not fit the image of a typical ocean-going yacht. Nevertheless several Vegas have successfully circumnavigated the globe. Dozens, perhaps hundreds more have crossed at least one ocean, and one Vega, The Berzerk, sailed through 40-foot seas to Antarctica. Designed after Swedish FolkBoats
Designed in Sweden by Per Brohall in 1964, the fiberglass-hulled Albin Vega is modeled after the narrow-beamed Nordic folkboat. Like the folkboat, the Vega was built to be a sturdy, simple, economical, and easy-to-sail family boat.

Design Features
• Solid Fiberglass hull, with cored fiberglass decks and coach roof for lightness.
• Relatively shallow draft at just under four feet.
• Keel about half the length of the water line for stability, and reduced drag.
• Hull and deck caulked and bolted every 5 inches for a strong, water-tight seal.
• Though topsides are lower than most modern cruisers, the cockpit remains dry and comfortable even in high seas.
Below Deck
Though compact, the Vega has nearly six feet to headroom in the main cabin. There is a small galley with an icebox, sink, and cooktop. A removable table fits between the main cabin settees for dining or charting, and the two settees also serve as 6 foot bunks. The V-berth sleeps two comfortably. With only eight feet of beam, the boat would feel cramped with four adults aboard for any extended period of time, but is well-suited to a small family,

The Sailing Rig
This Yacht is sloop rigged, and can be easily single-handed. The sail area is somewhat conservative for inland waters, but excellent for off-shore. Though the boat doesn’t point exceptionally high, it handles beautifully off the wind, is well balanced, and heels at a comfortable angle even in heavy winds.

Despite it’s popularity, the Vega does have a few issues:
• Random Reversing: The prop is located aft of the rudder, making backing up a bit of a challenge. Many owners have found creative ways to compensate for this quirky flaw.
• Deck Compression below the mast: The Vega’s mast is stepped on the cabin roof, and supported by a beam below deck. Some Vegas have experience sagging of the support beam. Several owners have beefed up the bulkhead and support beam over the years, eliminating the problem, but potential buyers should check the support carefully.
• Weakness of the Rudder Post:The rudder is attached to the aft end of the keel rather than a skeg–normally this is a very solid way to support a rudder, but some Vegas have had problems with the rudder post. Again, this problem has often been corrected by previous owners. To test the rudder, hold the tiller still, and try to move the rudder. If it flexes, it probably needs to be rebuilt.

Waterproof Marine GPS System

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:02:42 +0000

A waterproof marine GPS system is available in both a handheld version and a version that is mounted on your boat. And it does not matter if you have a tight budget or if you want to spend a lot to get what you want. Handheld models that float start under $200 and will provide the ability to save up to 500 of your favorite places in memory and chart a straight-line course to your destination. These units are also IPX7 waterproof to endure an accidental dunk in the water. They come preloaded with numerous cities worldwide combined with marine navigation aids like day beacons, lights, buoys, and sound signals. Whether you are boating, hunting or fishing, you have tide information, sunrise and sunset information, celestial data and a hunting and fishing calendar right at your fingertips. They are also WAAS (wide area augmentation system) enabled for precise accuracy to within 3 meters.

A waterproof marine GPS system can also be used in your automobile. Although these units are more expensive than a handheld, it can save a lot of hassles when deciding on a GPS system. The pre-installed auto-routing basemap will guide you on your way on major interstates and highways. An optional automotive kit that includes City Navigator® detailed maps, an automotive mount, and a data card to help you easily navigate on land. This kit, once loaded will provide voice-prompted turn-by-turn guidance to millions of addresses and points of interest. Maybe you are looking for a hotel restaurant, gas station or the nearest marine. No problem. You will find it.

A waterproof marine GPS system can combine a color chart-plotter and automobile navigation system that is perfect for wet or dry applications. Use it on your boat and then transfer it to your car. Now that was easy. When you are out on the water the sun can be strong so these navigators come with a TFT display that is easily read in bright sunlight. For extra-precise navigation a Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) that is normally found in aircraft, is included on some models. You will quickly be advised if you have gone off your chosen course, and will be guided back on track. You can also track external NMEA sources for water characteristics like temperature, speed, and depth.

The Biggest Boat

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:01:57 +0000

Have you ever seen the big boat in the world? Passenger Boat or Cruise ship?
New boats are constantly being built, and boat makers are constantly pushing the envelope of size. For the time being, though, the largest seafaring vessel by size ever built is the MV Mont (formerly the Knock Nevis). At a massive 458.45 meters (that’s 1504.10 feet), the boat is over a quarter mile long; it is 68.8 meters (225.72 feet) wide. The MV Mont’s gross tonnage is 260,941 tons, and its capacity is 564,763 deadweight tonnage. This is the highest deadweight tonnage of any boat in history. The boat was built in Japan in 1979 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
It was so large, with a 24.6 meter (80.7 feet) draught, that it couldn’t pass through many of the world’s major shipping passages: the Nevis could not sail through the Suez Canal, the English Channel, or the Panama canal. The ship was capable of a sixteen knot speed, powered by steam propulsion. The ship has been renamed the MV Mont by its current owners, who have deliberately beached the ship and intend to junk it.
Though the Knock Nevis is the largest ship by size, it is not the largest ever by gross tonnage. That honor belonged to members of the Batillus class, four of which were built (Batillus, Bellamya, Pierre Guillamat, and Prairial). Prairial, the last remaining ship in the class, was scrapped in 2003. Ships in this class had around 275,000 tons in gross tonnage.
With the Knock Nevis scheduled for decommissioning, the largest active ship is now the Emma Maersk. The Emma Maersk, a Danish ship, is a container ship with a length of 397 meters (1,302 feet). Its deadweight tonnage is 156,907 tons, and is sailed by a crew of just 13 (though it has a capacity of 30). It is capable of travelling at a speedy 25.5 knots.
The largest cruise ship is the Oasis of the Seas, a cruise ship in the Oasis class. The Oasis of the Seas was finished in 2008; it is 360 meters (1,181 feet) long, 60.5 meters (198 feet) wide at its widest point, and has sixteen passenger decks. The Oasis of the Seas has a capacity of 5400 passengers, with a total capacity of 6296 people.
Another ship in the Oasis class, the Allure of the Seas, is currently under construction. The ships are built by STX Europe, the makers of the previous largest cruise ship (Independence of the Seas), in Finland. The Oasis of the Seas holds another record: most expensive commercial ship, at 1.24 billion dollars. The boat features Central Park, a tropical garden; a rising bar, and seven different neighborhoods.

Solar Panels on Boats

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:00:24 +0000

Advantages of solar panels on boats include their ease of use, lack of maintenance, and longevity (some types last 20 years or more). Disadvantages include difficulties finding places to mount a large array, their weight (depending on the type chosen), and their bulk. In addition, large solar panel arrays require extensive electrical wiring and a solar regulator to prevent excess current from overcharging the boat’s batteries.
Solar panels produce DC electricity, so boats that require household-type AC electricity to run microwaves, stoves, or other systems (such as marine air conditioners and heaters) would need either generators or inverters to convert their solar-generated DC power into AC.
Rigid Solar Panels Feature Long Life Spans
In considering whether to add solar power to a vessel, boaters can choose between two main types of solar panels: rigid crystalline panels and flexible panels.
Rigid panels such as those produced by Kyocera Solar Energy, BP Solar International Inc., and Sharp Electronics Corp. are standard equipment in shore-based solar panel arrays. These solar panels generally are made of heavy glass and aluminum; because they are so large, bulky, and inflexible, they can be difficult to mount and to stow. Most boaters mount them permanently on a fixed structure such as a deck or a cabintop.

However, rigid solar panels require no maintenance beyond occasionally checking the electrical connections for corrosion, and they have a very long lifespan — warranties typically run two decades or more. In addition, they are less expensive than newer types of flexible solar panels, and they are more effective in bright sun conditions.
Flexible Solar Panel Benefits: Light Weight, Stowability
Development of flexible “thin-film” solar panels, such as those produced by PowerFilm Inc., has accelerated in the past five years, and the larger sizes now offer electricity generation that’s comparable to rigid solar panels in an extremely lightweight, easily stowed package (PowerFilm’s largest panel weighs just 2.6 pounds and will fit folded into a bag just three inches high by one foot square).
Flexible panels also are more effective in cloudy conditions than crystalline panels. However, convenience comes at a price: they are up to twice as expensive as rigid panels for the same output, and they wear out far faster. Warranties for thin-film solar panels generally only cover two to five years.
Solar Panels Measured in Watts
Manufacturers report solar panel size in watts and amps, which can be confusing for those who aren’t used to the terminology. For example, a large Kyocera 65 panel (one that measures 30 inches by 26 inches and weighs in at more than 13 pounds) is rated at 65 watts and 3.75 amps, and retails for under $400.
In practice, this large solar panel might produce about 3 amps of 12-volt electricity per hour for five to eight hours on a typical sunny day. This is enough to power a laptop computer for up to four hours to run navigation software, or to run four halogen lights all evening. Two of these panels could run a very small, extremely well-insulated marine refrigerator, although more typical marine refrigerators likely would require three or four of these panels to stay cool.
PowerFilm’s largest foldable solar panel, which measures 60 inches by 42 inches, is rated at 60 watts and 3.6 amps — about the same output. It weighs 2.6 pounds and retails for about $700.
This explanation from boater advocacy group BoatUS illustrates how to determine solar needs on a boat.
Marine Solar Panels: A Do-It-Yourself Project?
It’s certainly possible for a handy boat owner to install and wire solar panels. The first step is to determine whether to purchase flexible solar panels (which can be thrown over a bimini cover or rolled out on deck) or rigid solar panels. If the choice is rigid panels, then the boat owner will need to devise a mounting system.
Most systems also require a solar controller. The solar controller, which may not be necessary for tiny “trickle charge” solar panels but is needed for any array larger than about 10 watts, will moderate the electrical current produced by the solar panels so that the batteries do not become overcharged.
All in all, solar panel installations can be complex and costly. However, once the installation is complete, boaters can enjoy green, silent, simple electrical power, in some cases for two decades or more.
On smaller boats that spend significant time away from the dock, solar panels can produce most or all the energy needed to run the vessel’s systems. On larger boats, an extensive collection of panels can reduce or even eliminate the need to run the engine or generator. In addition, adding such energy-saving devices as LED lights can help make the solar panel system even more effective in meeting the vessel’s energy needs.