OceanLines » Technology

Torqeedo Launches Next Generation of Tiller-Control Electric Motors

Editor — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:01:37 +0000

Torqeedo Cruise 4.0T Electric Outboard System

Torqeedo, which I’ve talked about a lot here on OceanLines, has launched the next generation of its tiller-controlled electric outboard motors. The company says the new Cruise 2.0T and 4.0T are “stronger, faster, more robust and more efficient.

Torqeedo says the motors have a new, innovative display on the tiller, which shows information regarding battery charge status, remaining range, speed over ground and input power. A 4AWG plug-and-go cable set, including fuse and main switch should make the motors more comfortable to use.

Some of the specs:

Operating on 48V with 8-9.9 hp, the 4.0T motor only weighs 40 lbs.
The smaller Cruise 2.0T operates at 24V with 5-6 hp and weighs 39 lbs.
Both models are offered in short and long shaft versions.
Torqeedo’s new Cruise 2.0T is priced at $3,299, while the Cruise 4.0T is $3,799.

I think Torqeedo has provided one of the two best technology paths for future tender and small-boat propulsion. Most cruising powerboats have plenty of excess electrical generation capacity and keeping some Torqeedo batteries fully charged for the tender shouldn’t pose any kind of real challenge. The benefit is clean, reliable and efficient propulsion. I’ve always wished someone (Evinrude, are you listening?) would develop a new-generation diesel outboard, but I may opt instead for a Torqeedo electric.

Northport Systems Announces Fugawi Marine 5

Editor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:37:31 +0000

New Fugawi Marine5 Screenshot

Northport Systems announced that its newest marine navigation software, Fugawi Marine 5, will be available at the end of March for new purchase and upgrade from Fugawi Marine ENC. According to the company, Fugawi Marine 5 takes advantage of the latest Windows technology, including a touch-screen control optimized for use with Win 7 and 8 tablets.

New Fugawi Marine5 Screenshot

Northport Systems said the new software includes several specific new features including:

Marine Touch™ — touch-screen control optimized for use with Win 7 and 8 touchscreen tablets.
ClearChart™ — “ultra fast, smooth and brilliantly clear chart presentation.”
SurePlanner™ — “simple, intuitive and efficient route and waypoint planning.”
ClearDash — “instrument display for sophisticated and versatile instrumentation that integrates with the Actisense NGT-1 NMEA 2000® gateway or stand-alone instruments via NMEA 0183.”

Here’s a link to the full press release, which has lots of specific details about supported file formats, chart compatibility and instrument display options. It looks like a great package for cruisers using PC navigation and planning, especially since the user license explicitly allows the software to be installed on two different PCs, say one at home for planning and one aboard for navigation.

ActiveCaptain Expands Dramatically with Routes and More Reviews

Editor — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:53:28 +0000

ActiveCaptain logo

ActiveCaptain.com, the crowd-sourced database of local navigation and cruising knowledge, has been expanding its offerings over the last couple of months with some significant new capabilities. The two most important, in my view, involve route-sharing and an allied site devoted to captain reviews of boating-related services. Here’s a quick rundown on some of the new developments.

ActiveCaptain

Route sharing is now active in the Interactive Cruising Guidebook section of the ActiveCaptain website. Several thousand pre-plotted routes, posted by ActiveCaptain community members, are available. They’re saved in a file format (GPX) that is compatible with most updated navigation products. There are several different ways of searching and exploring routes which make it easy to both find something specific and just browse interesting places. Route sharing is a logical extension of the original premise of ActiveCaptain, which is to take advantage of that huge database of “local knowledge” that exists in the boat cruising community. Highly recommended! Upload your own routes to contribute to the community and explore more at the website.

One other thing to note is the number of external software/hardware packages that now support ActiveCaptain. The total is up to 14 and includes some of the most well-known nav packages, as well as tablets and smartphones using all the major operating systems. I use Nuticharts Lite on my Android-powered Droid X. Catch up with the latest on this page.

CaptainRated logo

CaptainRated

This is the related website that takes advantage of that same knowledge universe, but this time captures data on services not necessarily tied to a specific chart location. As an example, the first categorites open for contribution — others will open over the next year — include boat brokers, surveyors and transporters. Future categories include products, resources and retail organizations. There’s a good load of initial information in the database and room for an infinite number of captain contributions, all conforming to the same factual, honest format of the original ActiveCaptain chart-related knowledge base. Check out CaptainRated and let other boaters take advantage of your experiences with the services we all rely on for our boats and cruising.

Nobeltec Releases Admiral and VNS 11.1 Service Pack

Editor — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:36:51 +0000

Nobeltec Screencap Showing Charts + Furuno DFF1 Sounder Integration -- Image Courtesy of Nobeltec

Nobeltec said today it has released a free service pack update for users of the new (January 2011) version of Admiral and VNS. The service pack offers integration with Furuno’s popular Digital Fish Finder (DFF1) Sounder, as well as a number of NMEA 2000 integration improvements. While I don’t often simply reprint a press release, Nobeltec is a pretty straightforward company and it makes more sense to just quote it here. I am also planning a full review of the Nobeltec TimeZero Trident software, to which I believe most boaters will eventually want to move.

Herewith the Nobeltec News:

“Nobeltec announces new hardware integration and software functionality with the service pack release of Admiral 11.1 and VNS 11.1. VNS and Admiral are optimized for safe and accurate navigation on recreational boats, commercial vessels, and mega yachts. This newest service pack adds value to Nobeltec navigation systems. One of the most significant updates to the marine navigational software is the ability to integrate with the Furuno Digital Fish Finder (DFF1) Sounder.

“Integration with the Furuno DFF1 sounder is a natural addition to our Nobeltec software suite,” Nobeltec General Manager Bill Washburn said. “We’re glad boaters can take advantage of the integration of two great products: the Furuno DFF1 Sounder and Nobeltec VNS and Admiral software.”

Improvements to NMEA 2000 integration also enhance functionality in the Admiral and VNS software. The new release supports NMEA 2000 AIS Device Priority, and the real time weather functionality has been upgraded to include Pressure, Air Temperature and Humidity inputs from NMEA 2000 sensors.

Admiral and VNS 11.1 showcase improved AIS target filtering. In the Admiral software, the service pack adds the ability to filter AIS targets based on class and both VNS and Admiral offer the option to display a target’s class (A or B).

The latest version will also, for the first time, include NV. Charts digital chart integration and support. These raster charts cover Europe, Bahamas, Cuba, and other areas in the Caribbean. The integration of NV. Charts digital charts is in addition to many other types of raster charts as well as C-MAP® MAX Pro™ vector charts already supported by VNS and Admiral.

This is the first service pack for the software since the successful release of Admiral 11 and VNS 11 in January 2011. The new release is available as a free download to customers currently running the latest version of Admiral or VNS. Customers can visit the Nobeltec website (www.nobeltec.com) to access the new service pack.”

Mac User Looking for Better WiFi on the Boat?

Editor — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:09:48 +0000

RogueWave WiFi Antenna and Network Bridge

My fellow Write on The Water blogger, Christine Kling, has another fabulous tech piece on the blog today about a WiFi solution for her boat. Christine is a successful published author (I LOVE her Seychelle Sullivan mystery series), and she did a great piece for us here on using your iPad onboard the boat.

Christine settled on the RogueWave WiFi unit, which met her needs for a simple, plug-n-play installation and setup. Her comment was, “The set up of my new antenna and router could not have been simpler. Plug and play really is an exact description of how it works.”

Have a look at the full piece over at WOTW and let us know if you have some other good wireless solutions for the boat.

Time for a Satphone – KVH Shipping TracPhone V3 Mini-VSAT

Editor — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:52:30 +0000

New KVH TracPhone V3 Mini-VSAT

One of the more significant news items from the recent Miami Show was the announcement from KVH of its new mini-VSAT package, the TracPhone V3, which is the smallest Ku-band maritime VSAT antenna in the world at just 14.5″ (37 cm) in diameter. The company said today that it has shipped the first fully FCC-licensed units to customers.

Maybe even more important to cruisers and passagemakers are the airtime costs with this system – including simple, straightforward metered service at just $0.49 per minute for voice calls worldwide and $0.99 per megabyte at the fastest speeds available on the network. That’s pretty much unheard of in the satcom biz and it means that this kind of communications capability is going to be available to a huge new potential customer base for KVH.

Are airtime costs the main reason you haven’t considered a sat phone option on your boat? Do these kind of rates change that for you? Tell us in the comments.

Simrad Yachting Launches Broadband 3G Radar

Editor — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:57:16 +0000

Simrad Yachting's New Broadband 3G Radar

Simrad Yachting this week announced a significant upgrade to its “”broadband” radar capability with the “Broadband 3G Radar,” which increases the range of its not-so-old BR24 Broadband Radar. I wrote about the BR24 when it was demonstrated at the Miami show last year and decided it was the real deal for short-range, high-definition radar detection. At the time I thought it would make the perfect second radar unit for a typical trawler owner, who would probably have a high-power, open-array unit for long-range detection and surveillance.

Simrad's New 3G at Left, and BR24 at Right

As you can see in the photo above, at a 6 NM range, the new Broadband 3G has much better detection but appears to maintain the same level of high-definition target discrimination, compared side-by-side with the “old” BR24. Although the folks who develop and program this technology really could be rocket scientists, the latest improvements derive mostly from a doubled RF transmit power. You might recall that one of the really nice features of the BR24 was its incredibly low RF output, which meant that antenna placement wasn’t really critical anymore in terms of radiation safety. Well, upping the power by a factor of two for the Broadband 3G really doesn’t change that; it’s still less than 1/10th the energy of a mobile phone, and 1/20,000th the energy of a traditional pulse radar.

Another really cool feature of this FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) radar is it’s incredible near-field detection capability. Objects as close as 2 meters can be detected and displayed. Ben Ellison noted that a demonstration unit he saw at a Navico press event last month clearly displayed someone walking toward the bow of the boat he was on.

Simrad Yachting says the unit will have a suggested retail price of $1,699 when it is available in June from authorized dealers and distributors in the United States and Canada. And here is a copy of the press release issued this week.

Simrad Yachting Launches New Touch-Screen MF Displays

Editor — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:46:09 +0000

Simrad NSS Sport Family Displays

Simrad Yachting last week announced a new series of touch-screen multifunction displays — the NSS Sport Series. Available in 7-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch models, the NSS Sport units feature LED backlighting and allow the user to control the display with the touchscreen, keypad and/or the “Simrad Yachting-signature” rotary control knob.

My friend Ben Ellison at Panbo was one of a special group of marine journalists invited to the product unveiling in Palma, Spain, last week and he’s got lots of details and thoughts on the overall Navico product strategy. I haven’t had a chance yet to test the new MFDs but when I do I’ll report here on them. In the meantime, here are some of the details from the Simrad Yachting press release:

The Simrad NSS Sport range features high-brightness (1200 NIT) bonded LED displays in 6.4-inch (VGA), 8-inch (SVGA) and 12-inch (XGA) diagonal screen sizes. All support NMEA 2000®, SimNet and composite video input. The NSS series uses little power and is designed for use in 12 and 24V DC power systems. The system has an operating temperature range of 5 degrees to 131 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees to 55 degrees Celsius); like the NSE and NSO multifunction displays, the NSS Sport is waterproof to the IPx7 standard, and protected by a two-year limited parts and labor warranty. The new Simrad NSS Sport is also covered by Simrad Yachting’s 24-hour exchange program. In the unlikely event that the device is identified as defective within the first year of warranty, Simrad Yachting will ensure shipment of a replacement device within 24 hours.

The Simrad NSS7, NSS8 and NSS12 have suggested retail prices of $1,895, $2,845 and $3,995 US, respectively, and can be purchased from authorized Simrad Yachting dealers and distributors throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on the Simrad NSS Sport touch-screen navigation system, or the entire line of Simrad Yachting professional-grade marine electronics, contact 800-628-4487 (toll-free) in the USA or visit www.simrad-yachting.com.

Maybe You Don’t Need 3G on Your iPad 2?

Editor — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:14:25 +0000

iPad 2 3G Version -- Photo: Verizon Wireless

Brian Chen, at Wired, has a piece today that suggests a clever way to avoid having to pay the extra money for a 3G version of the iPad 2 just to get GPS and phone data network capability. The solution basically involves using your current Smartphone as a wireless hotspot.

Here’s an excerpt of his piece:

GPS transplant

The Wi-Fi iPad doesn’t have built-in GPS, but if you want to use that beautiful Maps app for navigation, you still don’t need a 3G iPad, so long as you have an iPhone. It turns out that if you hotspot with an iPhone, the connection transfers the GPS to the iPad.

Just connect the iPad to the iPhone’s hotspot, then launch the Maps app, and you’ll see the blue dot tracking your location.

(We’re not sure if this works when hotspotting with an Android phone — if you can confirm, let us know in the comments.)

For the complete article, visit the Wired article here.

There are some questions still. For example, if the GPS data is being imported by the tethered iPad, can it be used by other nav programs instead of the Maps app? I’m betting so, but I need to hear from somebody with the gear who is willing to experiment with it. My best sources for iPad info are Jeff Siegel at ActiveCaptain, Christine Kling at Write on the Water (an amazing writer/sailor/geek), and my friend Ben Ellison at Panbo.

Routes Function in ActiveCaptain Will Change the Game

Editor — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:06:54 +0000

Screen Capture of New ActiveCaptain Routes Editing Function

I know that’s a bold statement, but when I can have access to a library that will eventually likely hold many thousands of already planned (by me AND other boaters) routes, and then someday soon use those routes with more ActiveCaptain technology to tell me what’s up ahead, I will be in a different place than I am today with my capable but largely uncooperative navigation technology. I’ve been talking to Jeff Siegel, who, with his wife Karen Siegel, is the developer of ActiveCaptain, and it’s clear to me that the live database technology of this website has reached a major new milestone. The fact that many navigation software programs will update their ActiveCaptain integration with a live Internet link is valuable itself, but the new Routes function within ActiveCaptain is going take us much farther.

Let me back up a bit. On April 1, ActiveCaptain will roll out a new Routes capability to the ActiveCaptain experience that will allow you to upload, modify, save and share (sharing will start in May), GPX-formatted routes. Virtually all computer-based navigation software can export a route in this format, and although few chartplotters are also capable, you can use software such as GPSBabel and GPS Utility to translate your equipment’s native file format to GPX.

Screen Capture Showing GPX File Upload to New ActiveCaptain Routes Function

The routes will all be shared with the community — after all, what’s there to hide; your route to the floating Hooters? That means that, within a short time, given the 100,000 active users currently on ActiveCaptain, there will be routes for many, if not most, of your typical trips; or at least for some part of them — like entering and leaving ports and harbors.

There are a number of significant advantages to this. First, you will have yet another good way to back-up all your own meticulously planned routes. If a belt AND suspenders are considered redundant, then you can add the elastic waistband to the mix and have yet another way to keep your trousers up. (wow, the analogies just don’t flow some days…).

A second advantage derives from the fact that other key components of the ActiveCaptain database — that IS what ActiveCaptain is; a gigantic community database of navigational information (a Wiki-Nav?) — can tell you how good that route is for your situation. For example, you can factor in your refueling requirements with up-to-date pricing info. You can take into account the latest info on local hazards reported by other captains.

In fact, there is more technology coming from ActiveCaptain that will make the underway integration of all this planning capability even more impressive.