68 Februar y 2015
what’s new
http://www.mysailing.com.auCollar your tender for safety
The Kapten Boat Collar is essentially a life ring that is attached to a
boat giving it extra buoyancy.
The collar is made from multiple layers of different density foam
that are attached by stainless steel plates.
Cruiser Alissa Winter has been testing the Kapten Boat Collar
inlcuding an attempt to sink their tender. "We pulled out the bung and
poured buckets of water in her to fill her up and she stayed afloat.
"We figured in the event that we did need to abandon ship and
were caught in rough weather, we would use this same technique
(filling her with water) to lower her centre of gravity and make it
less likely that air could get caught underneath her and flip us.
"From the beginning of this experience, the team at Kapten were
friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. As we were trying to get away
and running out of time to do everything ourselves, we opted to
have them do the install which was done over a few days at their
workshop in Nambour, Queensland.
Aside from its possible lifesaving capabilities, the boat collar
has also improved our day-to-day life. We are able to do all sorts
on things on Dingbat that we would not be able to do withoutAnemometer redesigned for accuracy
Two years ago, SailTimer advanced sailboat navigation with its
first masthead anemometer that could transmit wind data to
smartphones and tablets, using the SailTimer app.
The company is now preparing to launch its wireless, solar-
powered anemometer. The SailTimer Wind Instrument is a
redesign of the previous anemometer.
This is the first masthead anemometer designed for
sailboats. When your boat heels over, the new wind instrument
keeps on functioning and maintains equal accuracy. Traditional
cup, ultrasonic and propeller anemometers were all intended to
be used upright, not on a heeling sailboat. They respond less
when the boat heels over and the wind approaches them from
underneath. But the blades on the new SailTimer wind instrument
have a patent pending design: they work like wind cups when the
boat is upright, but like a propeller when the boat is sailing along
heeled over. That gives you consistent accuracy regardless of the
boat's heel.
Small boat sailors will also be pleased to hear that the
anemometer has the capability of being completely submersible,
making it suitable for use on small sailboats that may flip. Dr.
Craig Summers, the head of research and development forthe company, notes that
“our new wind instrument
is another example of new
marine electronics that are now accessible for
sailboats of all sizes and ages.”
A full list of features is provided at SailTimerWind.com.
It uses the NMEA0183 format to work with many different
apps and has an optional receiver that plugs in to onboard
NMEA0183 networks.
The Sail Timer Wind Instrument is expected to be available now.
SailTimer is known for developing a navigation method for
sailboats that calculates tacking distances, to display your
optimal tacks and tacking time to destination. Standard GPS
chartplotters and mapping apps do not account for sailboat
tacking distances when calculating ETA.
http://www.SailTimerWind.com.it (or at least it makes it easier): standing up, boarding, moving
around, climbing into the dinghy from the water without flipping
it, carrying the boat, the list goes on. It also keeps us drier; the
collar deflects much of the water spray from coming up and
hitting us.
"Another bonus is that it also acts as an awesome fender
between Dingbat and Aquabat, jetties, other boats or whatever
else she may come into contact with.
"We are also that much closer to being able to get up on a plane
with two of us on board. Our outboard is only a little five horsepower
so once we upgrade we should be cruising around no problems.
There are a couple of downsides for us in using the collar but
they are not faults in the collar but more so in our application of
it on our tender Dingbat. We are slowly figuring out all potential
chafe points and sharp things that the collar can catch on and
trying to fix it that way.
"Overall we have been really pleased with our Kapten Boat
Collar and would highly recommend it.
http://www.boatcollar.com.au.