Minimal Electrical Equipment for Offshore

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

Required? Why? So we will have more bureaucrats and controls? Do we not have enough already? Good to have, but required. OMG.

Too late, mate! In Australia, an EPIRB is now and has been for some years required in ALL vessels going even slightly offshore... like (IIRC) two miles. And several small SE Asian countries now require AIS transceivers in their territorial waters... rules with teeth in them and enforced. I expect this idea to proliferate widely over the next few years.

So, your OMG is whistling in the wind!

Jim

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Too late, mate! In Australia, an EPIRB is now and has been for some years required in ALL vessels going even slightly offshore... like (IIRC) two miles. And several small SE Asian countries now require AIS transceivers in their territorial waters... rules with teeth in them and enforced. I expect this idea to proliferate widely over the next few years.

So, your OMG is whistling in the wind!

Jim

Whistle in the wind is one of the things I do while sailing. Fortunately, I sail out of a place where the rule is not in place, and I have no reason to visit Aus ever again. Still a good idea though (the device, not the rule), the AIA is as well, but....

[Maui Papi]

What's a good site to get info on use of sat phone to receive weather data
Grub files etc?

[Amani Jnana]

Hi Philip,

Just got through planning a trip from East coast of USA to Thailand and I have been trying to answer the same questions. Here's my take if you are on a budget:

Skip the radar.

Epirb a must.

AIS transponder mandatory if sailing in Thai waters (plus its not a bad thing to have anyway).

Another must for me was a wind vane steering system. Autopilots cannot be relied on for long voyages.

Get either an Iridium Go with Predict wind weather package ($2,900 for set up and one year use) or get a Garmin Inreach Explorer ($1820 for initial purchase plus one year use. Feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to give you more details. OR get an SSB (one of the three is a must as a minimum).

Just my two cents worth. BTW- I'm still looking at solutions from Seven Seas, Peters and May, Seven Stars yacht transport companies.

My goal is to enjoy sailing in Asia. I figure it will cost me $26,000 in gear upgrades and travel expenses (not including food or missed wages) to get my boat to Asia myself. If I can save some $ by transporting it, I will take that route. If not, I'll man up and enjoy a trip of a lifetime.

A.J.
sailingyarn.com
crystalbluevacation.com

[Bulawayo]

Some interesting observations.......Jim Cate also mentions obligatory EPIRBS for some locations. I was not aware of that so its a good heads up. Years ago, when we started out, our arsenal was dictated between having 'toys' or food. It was obvious which was critical so we left with our version of basics - sat nav was in its affordable infancy so we went without. We had wind, log, depth, two autopilots (catamaran; both fitted, one functioning and one standby), VHF and a second hand SEA SSB that never seemed to do its job. We had put money into solar panels and I still consider we made the correct choice.
Fast forward to today and to our basics we added chart plotter, integrated radar, AIS, EPIRB, Iridium sat-phone, electronic barometer and a working SSB/ham radio. With our solar array and wind generation, we do not have any power issues. A while ago someone wrote a critical response to me because I did not know about being able to use an iPad to receive navigation. That person clearly did not realise that whilst they were sat in their armchair reading about sailing that some people were out on the water doing it and therefore do not know, or even concern themselves,with keeping abreast of technology. I like to know but will not dash to follow trends until I am ready.
We have never had a diesel gen-set / air conditioning etc. We have bought boats with these on board and they quickly get sold. its suits many people but not us.
We met a boat, not long ago run by a young Aussie couple. They had a hand held VHF, a hand held GPS, a compass and a single 85 watt solar panel. That was it. Importantly, they were were thoroughly enjoing themselves.
If our circumstances dictated it we could also revert to our starting point.