Electric Alerion Express 33, geek green
How about three cheers for Vincent Argiro, and guys like him willing to enthusiastically test the bleeding edge of marine technology. That’s his first boat above, an Alerion Express 33, which is also the...
Category: Electrical & Engines
Gizmo’s halo, hello Lightning Electrotechnologies
We’ve had a run of interesting new products this week, but this may be the topper. That cast-aluminum “wheel” — wrapped with I’m not sure what and threaded for a stainless steel masthead mount that’s grounded to a Dynaplate — is a new lightning protection technology called a Streamer Inhibitor from a new company called Lightning Electrotechnologies. I’ve posed it with the Lightning Master Static Dissipater which generated a fair bit of skeptical commentary when I took it off Gizmo’s masthead last summer. The Inhibitor seems to be related to the Dissipater, but different. Understanding lightning and how you might avoid it is very challenging, and I have yet to form strong opinions one way or another…
Genasun & Victron, power to spare?
That’s a pair of Genasun LFP Lithium batteries that weigh a small fraction of what similar sized regular marine batteries would and offer a lot more usable power than even their 760 amp hour rating would indicate, because they can endure truly deep discharges and accept massive recharges. Combine these with no less than four Victron MultiPlus inverter/chargers, which can automatically kick in extra AC when shore power or the generator can’t carry the load, and you’ve got power to spare. Yes, this is a high end project, but note the gray diagonal planking seen behind the lithium batteries…
RMC Island 40, off the grid house boating
That somewhat odd looking “waterborne structure” is Robinhood Marine Center’s first Island 40, designed to give renters who may only have small boat skills a wicked nice Maine cruising harbor experience, as in swinging on a mooring with seals, osprey, lobster men, and cruisers for neighbors, with good exploration possibilities in all directions, and with a pleasant “destination” marina nearby. And it’s a hoot! I’m sitting at the Tessie Anne’s spacious aft dinette right now, enjoying a cool sea breeze and the use of a well thought out battery/inverter/solar panel system…
Paneltronics AC load shedding, smarter power
Paneltronics new load shedding system is somewhat related to my battery/monitor/charger travails. Boaters of all sorts are struggling to management their electrical appetites and the line between electrical and electronic is getting fuzzy indeed. And there are all sorts of us; I have no need for AC load shedding personally, though this device is unique in that it’s aimed at boats like Gizmo…
Gizmo 12v power issues, dumb questions?
There’s no such thing as a stupid question, right? Please? Above is the only label on each of Gizmo’s main bank 8D batteries, and though it says AGM in big letters upper right, I’m...
Gizmo fixed, thanks to a crack mechanic/technician
That big fella scrunched alongside Gizmo’s Volvo Penta diesel is the new love of my life 😉 It’s hard to imagine a better engine guy experience than what I got this week from Pat Ricci, proprietor of Thomaston Boat and Engine Works. When I called him on Tuesday, after Monday’s somewhat traumatic break down, I knew there was a major fresh water coolant leak somewhere around the exhaust manifold, and an engineer/sailor friend who had a look predicted a two phase repair — dissemble and diagnosis, then parts ordering and repair — that would total several days labor and several large boat bucks. But Pat did the diagnosis right on phone and said he’d order parts and do the whole repair in a half day, soon. Which is exactly what he did, and more…
M/Y Adastra, a win for Palladium
Regardless of anchoring acrobatics — and just how the heck do you tie this 146′ tri alongside a dock, with a line throwing gun? — M/Y Alastra joins the short list of exotic vessels I’d love to cruise around Penobscot Bay, if only briefly, and if only to freak out the traditionalists. And you can bet there will be some pretty interesting systems on board; in fact, I heard about this creature because Palladium Systems just announced the monster gear contract they’ve won. It includes not just their Ethernet/Windows-based SiMON monitoring system — with some 269 data points reporting to wheel house and engine room, and probably various iThings as well — but also their new Titan electrical system…
NoLand RS11, analog to NMEA 2000 engine monitoring
What follows is a first time guest entry by regular commenter Adam Block, who is planning a 2011 Pacific
crossing aboard his Nordhavn 47 Convexity. Adam says “hehad no idea what he was getting into when he started a recent electronics upgrade,” but he did manage to convert analog engine data into NMEA 2000 for display in the N2KView software above and elsewhere. He’s also written a clear explanation of the options available for this tricky task, and the specifics of the NoLand RS11 he used…
Minn Kota’s i-Pilot robot, & Geonav for real
The Miami demo of Minn Kota’s new i-Pilot technology got somewhat humorous. After some time with that trolling motor head turning this way and that as it automatically retraced a GPS track or pulled us along to a waypoint — where it could even maintain station — I started thinking of it as a faithful, friendly robot. If I owned one, I might paint eyes and a smile on it to heighten the sensation. And in retrospect it might have been whispering, “Hey, bub, I represent Johnson Outdoors technology prowess; wait until you see Geonav!”
