Auto Pilot

The Simrad TP 32 Tiller Pilot is set up to drive the boat's  tiller directly from a socket mounted on the starboard stern deck or alternatively the small trim tab tiller mounted on top of the rudder as shown in the photos below.   The trim tab is part of the Freehand wind vane lower unit designed and built by Mike Anderson. The wind vane itself normally mounts to the backstay but my boat is gaff rigged with running backstays so I didn't buy the upper unit.  And besides, for the next year I will be gunkholing around here staying close to land so no urgent need for a wind vane.  But ultimately I am going to have to figure out a mounting solution for a Freehand vane. 

Onboard Computer

The computer that will crunch Rose Point GPS and a Maretron NMEA 2000 calculations and display data is from "Small PC Company". This baby computer is a fanless shelf mounted 12 volt DC model SC 240 with Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU, 512MB DDR2, 32G Solid State Drive, WinXP-PRO, external AC Adapter (12V DC), 10/100 LAN, 3 USB 2.0 Ports, VGA Port and dual HD15-VGA and HDMI video connectors. The Dimensions are 10.5" x 7.5" x 3.75".

There are other mini pcs on the market with similar features and capabilities but this one appears to be the most energy efficient. While bench testing systems I am operating through an AC adaptor but onboard the computer will be run directly off the dc side. I assume that a dc dc converter will be required.

The mini pc will drive two monitors one permanently installed on the nav station forward bulkhead. This monitor is a Viewsonic model VX1932wm-LED. The Led backlights keep the power draw down to a minimum........advertised to be 15 watts in a typical operating mode. The second monitor will serve in the cockpit as required and then down below mounted on the overhead above the pilot berth. This monitor will be a bit more high tech given that it will mount in the cockpit while underway, albeit under the dodger. The most promising candidate for this service is the new Argonaut 10 inch Tflex-G610LED with optional touch screen which appears to be feature laden and is advertised to be a power miser. We shall see once on the bench.

Electronics

Lots of challenges in this category. Maintain the traditional look and feel of the vessel, take advantage of today's technology and still keep it simple. There is certainly a limit to how many antennas, sensors and instruments one can cram on to the mast head before she loses the BCC traditional image. And yet it is not necessary to do without GPS driven information, communication or weather forecasting capability. Note to self: be careful though, keep it simple or you will end up fighting downtime and maintenance issues and if you overdo it on instrumentation the whole restoration budget will be blown.

The heart of the system will be a low draw dc powered fanless mini computer (not high dollar ruggidized) permanently mounted at the nav station with standard keyboard and mouse. The computer will drive two VGA monitors, one a 10 inch waterproof touch screen mounted in the cockpit on the portside bulkhead and the other a 15 inch at the nav station. The computer will run chart plotter software and Maretron Nemea 2000 network software. I am leaning toward the Rose Point chart plotter software as they offer radar with chart overlay support in case I decide to move to Maine. The Nemea 2000 Maretron network will probably be the world’s smallest with tri-data info, gps and tank volume data only . Redundancy when Windows XP displays the blue screen of death?........ hand held Garmin and lead line.

Communication equipment will be VHF radio and AIS receiver with one antennae and a splitter. Does AIS fall into the Communication or Navigation category?  Both I guess.  Will Rose Point display AIS info on the chart.  Maybe it would it be better to have a stand alone AIS with its own display so it does not have to rely on the PC?

Weather, I don't know yet. Maybe XM radio for the summer but they charge a fortune. Best to wait until I need to rig up for an extended cruise (outside of Galveston Bay would be a good start :-) )

Leaving for Annapolis tomorrow to attend boat show. The maritime shopping binge continues