Category: Gear

This Man’s Work is Never Done – 2022

A new Renogy 300W solar array and a haul-out and anti-foul topped the list of jobs completed in early 2022.

Haul out at CleanLift Marine – Prince of Wales Bay

CleanLift Marine, opposite the Prince of Wales Bay Marina, provided an excellent and affordable haul-out service. Trent and his mate did great work and applied four coats of International Micron Extra 2 antifoul plus PropSpeed in two days.

Back at the marina they replaced a leaking hatch and relocated the wooden safety rails on the coach house on the third day ready for me to install the new Renogy solar array.

New Renogy Solar Panel Array

I ordered 300W (2x 100W and 2 x 50W) of Renogy solar panels plus2 x charge controllers, fuses, wires and fittings online. They arrived a week later and have performed as per specifications. On sunny days at noon with no shade they have delivered 300W of power. I couldn’t be happier and recommend Renogy to any boat owner considering a new solar system.

After the failure of my seven year old Lion batteries I replaced all my batteries with new Bosche Marine batteries.

New 12v TV in saloon

Some things in life are free! I picked up this free Daewoo 12v TV and CD combo at the POWB Marina.

Bilge Alarm

With Freebooter now on a swing mooring I though it advisable to install a very loud bilge alarm just in case the newly installed Water Witch automatic bilge pump fails.

inReach® Mini Marine Bundle:

I always get nervous when weather forecasts via mobile coverage on the water are no longer available – enter the inReach® Mini.

The inReach Mini provides Our Tommy with off the grid interactive SOS and satellite messaging capability and weather forecasting. Using Bluetooth, it pairs with my iPhone/iPad and the free Earthmate navigation app.

Unlike the Iridium GO!, data plans for the inReach Mini are affordable and can be suspended at any time.

Carolyn Shearlock in her excellent blog, The Boat Galley, writes:

“We love our DeLorme inReach for staying in touch with friends and family via text message to/from any text-enabled phone or an email address, and also being able to share our location via a track link. It works via Iridium satellite service, so there are no dead zones as there are with cell phone coverage…

[It] includes the ability to get a weather forecast. While I thought the inReach was fun and useful before, this seriously ups the usefulness factor. Since it uses satellite communications, you can get a forecast virtually anywhere.”

This screenshot shows a Marine forecast on an Android tablet.

Video Review

Location Tracking

The inReach Mini has the ability to track your location. You can log the track by saving it on your inReach, and send the track to your MapShare website page for your friends and family to view.

I’ll be putting our Tommy’s inReach Mini to use early next year when I plan to cruise into Bathurst and Macquarie Harbours where there is no mobile coverage. It would have been very useful early this year in the Kent Group and Flinders Island.

SeaBrake – when a conventional drogue and sea anchor just won’t cut it

Our Tommy has a Seabrake to assist in times of need. Born out of necessity in a life and death situation in Australia’s notorious Bass Strait, Captain John Abernethy conceived the Seabrake principle when conventional drogues and sea anchors failed.

Most importantly it can assist with control and safety in heavy seas or when crossing a river bar but, as this diagram shows, it has many other uses as well.

Seabrake, now owned by Burke Marine, is approved by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as a sea anchor: Solas certificate #4126 and is compliant with the AYF as an emergency steering device.

CEL-FI GO2 OPTUS MARINE PACK

Last year I purchased the Cel-Fi GO2 Smart Repeater marine pack for Optus to boost mobile signals on board.

Due to time constraints I haven’t installed it yet but I’m hopeful it will be useful when I’m cruising. It would have been very useful at Refuge Cove where there was no coverage unless you climbed the hill.

I’ll post a review once it’s installed and operational.

Young Tommy – SIROCCO Alloy 2.4m RIB

Young Tommy, Our Tommy’s SIROCCO Alloy 2.4m RIB tender, offers the benefits of a completely flat cockpit floor, with the weight saving and strength of an aluminium hull.  Made from ORCA® Hypalon, it features large diameter tubes, stainless steel towing eyes (tubes), welded lifting points, pinned oar row locks, extra heavy transom, and multiple buoyancy chambers.   

Hypalon RIBs stand up well to UV light, and Young Tommy can be stored either on the aft davits or secured to the foredeck for open water cruises.

B&G electronics suite

Our Tommy was refitted in 2019 with a range of B&G electronics:

Zeus³ 9 chart plotter

The Zeus³ 9 fitted a navpod at the aft helm is a complete chartplotter navigation system designed for blue water cruisers. The ultra-bright, wide-angle display combines an all-weather 9-inch touchscreen with a rotary dial and keypad for ultimate control in all conditions. Sailing features include SailSteer, Laylines, and RacePanel. Its built-in Wi-Fi connects with online services and my iPad and integrates seamlessly with the B&G AIS/DSC VHF, Triton display and forward seeking sonar. It also integrates with Our Tommy’s autopilot and PredictWind.

Our Tommy’s Navpod at the aft helm with the TMQ autopilot (left) and bow thruster controls (right)

Zeus³ V60-B VHF Marine Radio, DSC, AIS RX/TX

Features a built-in GPS and a full Class B AIS transmitter and receiver, which allows Our Tommy to see and be seen by nearby AIS-equipped vessels and her 3 rescueME MOB1 beacons fitted to the lifejackets.

This radio integrates with the portable wireless handset mounted in the wheelhouse (right).

Triton² Digital display

Our Tommy’s Triton² Digital display is mounted in the wheelhouse and has a 4.1-inch colour screen, optically bonded for zero condensation and featuring trans-flective LCD technology for exceptional contrast and visibility in all lighting conditions. It connects the entire electronic suite via Our Tommy’s NMEA2000 backbone.

ForwardScan Long Stem Transducer

Our Tommy’s ForwardScan sonar allows her skipper to know what lies ahead by displaying on the Zeus³ 9 a clear two-dimensional image of the bottom in front of the vessel thus allowing me to navigate shallow or poorly-charted waters with confidence. It has real-time updates and a forward-looking view of up to eight times your current depth.

WS320 Wireless Wind Pack

This high precision wireless wind sensor, mounted atop the main, provides exceptional data accuracy and aerodynamics.

Seagull IV chemical free drinking water purification system

Our Tommy has 800 litres of fresh water storage below decks. I I have installed the Seagull IV X-1F system which changes “virtually any treatable non-salt water into delicious drinking water that is both safe and enjoyable to consume.

Seagull IV X-1F drinking water purification system

Because the Seagull IV X-1F unit was developed with aircraft, yachting and recreational vehicle applications in mind, it is especially rugged, dependable, simple, and easily serviced. It requires no addition of chemicals and no electricity. The Seagull IV X-1F is a chemical free drinking water purification system

All Seagull IV purifiers are certified to meet US EPA Guide Standard for Microbiological “Purification” for the removal of bacteria, pathogenic cysts and virus.”

Chief Engineer, Paul Saunders, installing the new Seagull IV under the galley cold water tap. The filter only needs to be changed every 1000 litres or once a year – the picture below shows the old filter on the left after one year of filtering plain tap water on Our Tommy.

Spry+ waterproof drone with 4K video Sony camera

My Spry+ waterproof drone/camera arrived today. I purchased it from Fishing Drones Australia and it arrived by free Australia Post in two days! Here’s the manufacturer’s promotional video to introduce you to this drone.

“The aircraft and remote controller of Spry+ are totally waterproof and corrosion-resistant, so that you can bring the drone with you when surfing or in any weathers. Even when you throw the drone and the controller into the water, they can safely float. Landing and taking off from the water with 100% peace of mind, dunking under the water for a quick adventure, Spry+ opens your sight to the limit.”

Needing a drone to record my sailing adventures made finding a completely waterproof drone imperative. Waterproof drones tend to be expensive and the range is small but the price tag for this unit of $1,380 beat both the Spry Store and Harvey Norman by $200.

Before buying any technology I always research the $#@t of it first and I quickly discovered the Spry+ has been very widely, favourably received – such as in this video review from Captain Drone.

I found the set-up and calibration straightforward and it was ready to fly after less than an hour. It doesn’t come with a microSD card so I picked one suitable for large 4K video files from JB Hifi on the way to the park for my first flight.

It flew perfectly and operation was simple and intuitive. Unfortunately none of the batteries or the remote had much charge so I couldn’t fly for very long. Each battery provides 15-20 minutes of flying time so I bought an extra two to stretch my time to 45-60 minutes before recharging.

The video quality is excellent and the 4K Sony camera provides high resolution and fantastic colour saturation. Here is a video of my first test flight. Unfortunately, I cracked the protective plastic camera dome by incorrectly securing the drone in the travel case so you will see an imperfection later in the flight. It’s not expensive to replace and I have ordered a replacement.

The replacement arrived after 2 days by express post – great service again from Fishing Drones Australia. The dome was easy to replace and here is my first test flight over water with some iPhone footage edited in for good measure,

Video Tutorials (7 in this playlist)

https://www.swellpro.com/spry.html

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