Practical Boat Owner – May 2018

86 Practical Boat Owner • http://www.pbo.co.uk

Here’s just a selection of the latest questions from

PBO readers. Email or write to the address on

page 5 and our experts will answer your queries

Got a question? Email [email protected]

WEATHER FORECASTING

THE PBO EXPERTS To ask a question email [email protected] and include your address. Pictures are helpful

CRUISING

Stuart Carruthers

is the RYA Cruising

Manager and has

sailed extensively

SAILS

Ian Brown of the

International

OneSails loft group

is an expert on sails

ELECTRICS

Paul Holland is

part-chair of the

BMEEA and MD of

Energy Solutions

(UK)

MASTS & RIGS

Mike Coates worked

in the spar and

rigging business for

many years

ENGINES

Stu Davies has

a background in

engineering in the

coal and oil field

industries

SURVEY AND

CORROSION

Colin Brown runs

a marine survey and

consultancy company,

CB Marine Services

SEA SAFETY

Keith Colwell is

author of the

RYA Sea Survival

Handbook

SEALING AND

BONDING

Gareth Ross is

Sika UK’s Marine

Market Field

Specialist

Which is best: Navtex,

SSB or satcomms?

Q

Having done a
‘round Britain’
circumnavigation in 2015
and another long trip in
2017, I hope soon to head
off again to pastures new,
including Biscay.
Whilst currently replacing
all the electronics I am
considering what I should fit
in order to give me reliable
weather information. I think
there are three options, but I
cannot decide on which. I
can’t afford them all!
As I see it my options
include the following:
■ Navtex – preferably a
permanent dual-frequency
unit such as the ICS Nav6 V2
Standard. I have read the
October 2016 PBO article
about whether Navtex has
had its day and it seemed to
suggest that it has not, at
least for my intended use.
■ SSB – a cheap reliable HF
SSB receiver such the NASA
Target with an active
antenna. I am not inclined to
fiddle around with laptops at
sea, but do wonder if the HF
unit could give me weather
information itself? I also like
to pick up radio stations for
entertainment.
■ Satcomms – Garmin/
Delorme satellite phone. My
wife understands weather

and would happily text

forecasts to me.

Which do you suggest might

suit me best?

John Willis, email

ANDY HAINES REPLIES:

Navtex certainly hasn’t had

its day as such and is still

very much a GMDSS

requirement, but the number

of Navtex units we supply to

leisure craft these days

has virtually dwindled to

zero. This is almost

certainly because today

everyone has a mobile

phone with access to the

Internet which, for

English Channel sailing,

is generally good

enough as you are

unlikely to be out of

range for more than a

few hours.

In addition, the

weather forecasting on

Navtex was never one of

its strong points. Yes,

you will get a forecast

twice a day at ranges up

to 100 miles (more at

night), but I have heard

many complaints over the

years of the forecast being

out of date (up to six hours

old when transmitted).

With an HF Receiver the

biggest problem is who are

you going to tune in to unless

you opt for Weatherfax, but

you will have to couple the HF

Receiver to a laptop with a

Weatherfax software package.

There is a lot of ‘fiddle factor’

involved with this method.

A better option for

Weatherfax would be a

dedicated Weatherfax receiver

(an all-in-one

receiver and

printer), but this

is now ‘old hat’

and the only

units available

these days are for merchant

vessels (units are big and

heavy). Frankly, I’d rule out

this option.

Satellite Phone is slightly the

most expensive option and

you will need airtime as well,

which is typically the biggest

expense, as you will be

looking at somewhere

between $25 and $35 a

month. However, your wife will

be able to text you the most

up to date weather

information she can find and

as often as you want it.

There are other huge benefits

with going down the satphone

route – you can text her so she

knows where and how you are,

it will give you a ‘back up’

GPS and has built-in digital

compass, barometric altimeter

and accelerometer. You could

also set up tracking if you

wanted and, more importantly,

trigger an interactive SOS to

the 24/7 search and rescue

monitoring centre.

My choice would be for the

satellite phone. The Garmin

inReach Explorer Satellite

Communicator offers so much

more than the other two

options. Navtex is likely to

disappoint (especially in the

middle of Biscay) and, though

Weatherfax is superb for

weather forecasting, you will

need a laptop and it does

require a lot more expertise

to operate – apart from

anything else tuning the

receiver is critical.