ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION:
Primary System
• Twin Liquid damped steering compasses – 100 mm diameter – one at each helm
• Raymarine Tridata – Log/Depth
• Raymarine ST6000 Autopilot
• Raymarine C80 Chart Plotter with Navionics Gold Card
• Raymarine Wind Instruments
• Raymarine AIS Receiver – Another wonderful device. I use it constantly when coastal cruising, whilst there are cheaper and probably equally as good systems, I made the decision to stick with just one electronics supplier and thus went with the Raymarine AIS.
• Raymarine ST 1000 Wireless Remote – The single best toy ever invented, as well as being a remote for the autopilot, its a total instrument repeater.
Backups:
• Handheld GPS (Garmin 76) – I have navigated up and down the coast with this little gadget and I just love it. It’s reliable – has a number of years of experientially entered way-points, it’s an amazing item that cost less than $300.
• Not so much a backup as a system I use for planning at home etc is a MAC book with GPSNAVX as the software. I do have a USB GPS that makes the MACBOOK an Instant Chart plotter. The Laptop also provides for internet access via WiFi when I can get it or my Telstra 3G USB Modem when there isn’t any WiFi around. It is connected to an enhanced 3G mobile antenna.
• Of course there are paper charts, and chartlet books and cruising guides and tide books always aboard. I enjoy doing the nav by non GPS means and just going back to the plotter to verify, it is good practice. One of the great things about the Seawind is the fantastic visibility from the saloon and that when doing a passage or indeed any old time, right there in the saloon and thus only 1 step from the cockpit is the saloon table with a plastic cover that enables me to slip the chart for the local area under the plastic. I always have the official chart fully unrolled at hand, thats magic and this is one of the very few boats in the world where that is possible.
