Bestevaer 49ST

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Fiberglass boat, doors open, range 8-12ft. The ipad is what we use for iNavx

We expected better range from the Vesper unit.

Do you by chance keep a tinfoil hat stored behind the vesper unit?[emoji41]

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by poiu

I use INavX too, but on my IPhone 7. It works well and I like the anchor positioning feature. If I set it up in flight mode and with the screen on minimum brightness it uses about a third of a battery charge per night. I have a DC iPhone power supply, but haven't installed it yet.

Updates can be disabled.

It is important to turn on the 'disable auto-lock' in settings and leave it with the chart displayed or the app will turn itself off.

It doesn't seem to get random positions or glitches like noelex was concerned about. It shows a horizontal position error of 8m inside the cabin. 5m outside, so not bad.

Positioning under a deck hatch or an external antenna may be the solution for a metal boat.

If Noelex and SWL need any more perspectives on INavX --

It works fine on my boat. Position from either the built-in GPS, or from the boat's network via GoFree, from which it also gets wind, heading, depth, STW, and AIS data.

INavX works fine, but is too simplified and dumbed-down for serious navigation, in my opinion. I prefer remote controlling a Zeus plotter using a waterproof Android tablet (Sony Xperia), which is better to use in the cockpit than an IPad.

I have an old IPad which does only GPS and does not have EGNOS, so the accuracy is less than the boat network (which gets position from a Simrad GS25 with GLONASS, EGNOS, etc.). But the IPad GPS does not give any spikes or fluctuations so is fine if for any reason you don't want to use your boat network. The newer IPads probably have GLONASS, since Russia bans the sale of phones and mobile capable devices which don't receive it.

I do like the anchor alarm, and I keep it by my bunk like Ken does, for that purpose. But I also keep the anchor alarm set on the boat's main nav system. I use depth alarm and sometimes radar guard zone at anchor too.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

If Noelex and SWL need any more perspectives on INavX --

It works fine on my boat. Position from either the built-in GPS, or from the boat's network via GoFree, from which it also gets wind, heading, depth, STW, and AIS data.

INavX works fine, but is too simplified and dumbed-down for serious navigation, in my opinion. I prefer remote controlling a Zeus plotter using a waterproof Android tablet (Sony Xperia), which is better to use in the cockpit than an IPad.

I have an old IPad which does only GPS and does not have EGNOS, so the accuracy is less than the boat network (which gets position from a Simrad GS25 with GLONASS, EGNOS, etc.). But the IPad GPS does not give any spikes or fluctuations so is fine if for any reason you don't want to use your boat network. The newer IPads probably have GLONASS, since Russia bans the sale of phones and mobile capable devices which don't receive it.

I do like the anchor alarm, and I keep it by my bunk like Ken does, for that purpose. But I also keep the anchor alarm set on the boat's main nav system. I use depth alarm and sometimes radar guard zone at anchor too.

Thanks for the feedback.
Just as you are doing, we are planning to use a tablet (an older iPad) to remote control the Zeus from the cockpit. This will be clipped onto a RAM mount attached to one of the poles just forward of the entry. It should have good protection there, yet be easily accessible still.

An iPad by the bed will mirror the Vesper, which should make an excellent anchor alarm.

We will start with this and then modify as necessary. It will be fun playing .

SWL

[Seaworthy Lass]

This is our instrument panel that will fit on the starboard side of the pilothouse. It is 1.9m long, so there is plenty of room to later add displays as needed. The rear of this panel exists into the adjacent technical room, giving free access to the rear.

From left to right we have the Tank Tender, B&G Zeus 3 chartplotter, Vesper Vision AIS, Yanmah engine controls, Simarine Pico battery monitor and Icom M504 VHF:

[noelex 77]

Fuel filtration:

Feeding the engine with clean fuel is one one the most important things you can do for engine reliability.

There are three Racor 900 series filters. These are large filters for our sized boat, but if there is a problem with dirty fuel, large filters are valuable. For example the Racor 900 will filter over four times the amount of fuel than the slightly smaller Racor 500 series will before clogging.

I have seen boats with diesel bug problems that have needed to replace the primary filter every 15 mins of run time. Of course, it is much better to avoid these problems, but when cruising remote locations fuel quality may be poor. Large filters help buy you time and options if you inadvertently pick up dirty or water contaminated fuel.

One of the three filters is dedicated to the polishing system with a pickup at the very bottom of the tank. The second filter normally functions to filter the fuel before it enters the day tank, but if there is a problem with the day tank the engine can be fed directly from this filter. The third filter further filters the fuel from the day tank, which is then fed to the engine.

So for normal engine operation, which is via the day tank, the fuel has been filtered twice, even ignoring the polishing system, before it enters the engine and the normal secondary engine filter.

This photo shows two of the filters. These are mounted under the aluminium anodised workbench in the workshop/technical area.

[malbert73]

Why do they leave off the glass bowl on the 900s? That's one of the best features on my 500- unless I'm missing something- I can see tank contamination or water if present on my daily checks...

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Thanks for the feedback.
Just as you are doing, we are planning to use a tablet (an older iPad) to remote control the Zeus from the cockpit. This will be clipped onto a RAM mount attached to one of the poles just forward of the entry. It should have good protection there, yet be easily accessible still.

An iPad by the bed will mirror the Vesper, which should make an excellent anchor alarm.

We will start with this and then modify as necessary. It will be fun playing .

SWL

I do that sort of in reverse, IPad at Nav desk, Zeus in cockpit.
Old picture, couple years old, but it works well.
Excuse Nav desk, was in work so to speak then

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I do that sort of in reverse, IPad at Nav desk, Zeus in cockpit.
Old picture, couple years old, but it works well.
Excuse Nav desk, was in work so to speak then

It is always interesting to see other's choices. All sorts of useful ideas can be gleened as well.

Location of displays and circuit board have been a juggling exercise for us. The ideal set up would have severely compromised the layout otherwise, so we have needed to work around this. We have also tried to keep the displays inside for longevity.

We have opted to have many of the displays on the starboard panel. A rear facing 22" LED screen attached to the horizontal pole at the foot of the port pilothouse settee will be used for Open CPN or to mirror the Zeus. Closer to the hulls on both sides we are thinking of later fitting a couple of Garmin GNX 120 rear facing masthead displays (or alternatively 2 Tritons) that will permanently show depth, speed and wind. These will be easily seen from the cockpit and will have a screen visible in sunlight. A couple of rear facing iPads at the rear of the pilothouse (that could also be twisted inwards if sitting in the pilothouse) will be accessible from the cockpit and could mirror the Zeus or Vesper or display independent charts.

The circuit panel simply didn't fit in the pilothouse (it is about 600 x 400 mm) , so this is on the forward wall of the technical area, again with all wiring directly accessible from the tech area.

Chart work has taken a back seat, but the set up should still be reasonable. This will be at the saloon table two steps down from the pilothouse. The LED screen at the foot of the port pilothouse settee can flip down 180° so that it is adjacent to the table for this. Charts and other items will be held in place with a couple of elastic straps passing around the table top.

For now, those are our plans. It will be far easier to decide exactly what is needed having sailed and lived on board. We will have the winter to set things up properly before heading off in spring.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Thanks for the feedback.
Just as you are doing, we are planning to use a tablet (an older iPad) to remote control the Zeus from the cockpit. This will be clipped onto a RAM mount attached to one of the poles just forward of the entry. It should have good protection there, yet be easily accessible still.

An iPad by the bed will mirror the Vesper, which should make an excellent anchor alarm.

We will start with this and then modify as necessary. It will be fun playing .

SWL

Sounds like a plan.

The tablet remote is really useful. You'll enjoy being able to keep an eye on everything from your bunk on the off watch. Or basically from anywhere. It unties you.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

It is always interesting to see other's choices. All sorts of useful ideas can be gleened as well.

Location of displays and circuit board have been a juggling exercise for us. The ideal set up would have severely compromised the layout otherwise, so we have needed to work around this. We have also tried to keep the displays inside for longevity.

We have opted to have many of the displays on the starboard panel. A rear facing 22" LED screen attached to the horizontal pole at the foot of the port pilothouse settee will be used for Open CPN or to mirror the Zeus. Closer to the hulls on both sides we are thinking of later fitting a couple of Garmin GNX 120 rear facing masthead displays (or alternatively 2 Tritons) that will permanently show depth, speed and wind. These will be easily seen from the cockpit and will have a screen visible in sunlight. A couple of rear facing iPads at the rear of the pilothouse (that could also be twisted inwards if sitting in the pilothouse) will be accessible from the cockpit and could mirror the Zeus or Vesper or display independent charts.

The circuit panel simply didn't fit in the pilothouse (it is about 600 x 400 mm) , so this is on the forward wall of the technical area, again with all wiring directly accessible from the tech area.

Chart work has taken a back seat, but the set up should still be reasonable. This will be at the saloon table two steps down from the pilothouse. The LED screen at the foot of the port pilothouse settee can flip down 180° so that it is adjacent to the table for this. Charts and other items will be held in place with a couple of elastic straps passing around the table top.

For now, those are our plans. It will be far easier to decide exactly what is needed having sailed and lived on board. We will have the winter to set things up properly before heading off in spring.

So you don't have an actual nav table? That wouldn't work for me at all, even without using paper charts, but everyone works differently, of course.

I have seen boats with pilothouse helm positions and separate nav stations below - weird. Bigger pilothouse boats (like a Swan 90 I spent some miles on, but also one of our guys here with a 60' Vantaa Helman schooner) have pilothouse helm station and separate chart table with chart drawers - luxury! I would want to combine it all in one station, in the pilothouse, no wheel, but plenty of working space for passage planning as well as chart work. But to each his own.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

So you don't have an actual nav table? That wouldn't work for me at all, even without using paper charts, but everyone works differently, of course.

I have seen boats with pilothouse helm positions and separate nav stations below - weird. Bigger pilothouse boats (like a Swan 90 I spent some miles on, but also one of our guys here with a 60' Vantaa Helman schooner) have pilothouse helm station and separate chart table with chart drawers - luxury! I would want to combine it all in one station, in the pilothouse, no wheel, but plenty of working space for passage planning as well as chart work. But to each his own.

Yes, we all work differently. I thought some people may be horrified by not having an actual table at the main nav location (pilothouse in our case). We had a huge nav table on our previous boat with everything all laid out together. For the entire decade we were on board we did not use the table itself at all for passage planning. Not once that I can recall. Nor did we ever sit and work at it. Its main purpose was additional bench space for the galley.

I think I will have adequate galley benches this time around , so a nav table has been eliminated.

SWL

[Seaworthy Lass]

On the subject of galley benches, our stainless steel ones have just been secured down and the long handrail on the central bench attached. At the rear the handrail curves around, mimicking the curve of the bench.

A lip extends all the way around each bench itself. This will mean any liquid is contained. There is nothing worse than something like milk spilling and finding its way into the bilge. It also means that next to adjoining vertical surfaces no sealant is required. Sealants inevitably deteriorate with age and start to look unsightly.

We peeked under the cover to take these photos:

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Why do they leave off the glass bowl on the 900s? That's one of the best features on my 500- unless I'm missing something- I can see tank contamination or water if present on my daily checks...

The Racor turbine series of filters are available in three different sizes (500, 900 and 1000) and each of these is available with three different types of bowls: a clear plastic bowl, a clear plastic bowl with a metal shield around the lowest part, (the metal shield increases the time before the the plastic bowl melts if there is fire) and the version shown here with an all metal bowl.

The plastic bowl enables any water accumulating in the lower part of the filter to be seen without draining a sample from the bottom tap. It is a great feature. We had the plastic bowl version of the Racor 900 filters on our old boat and it is very reasuring to see nice fuel in the bottom of the filter. It is something I will miss, although we never detected any water in the fuel in 10 years.

However, as with every equipment decision, there are pro and cons. The plastic bowl does occasionally crack, mostly if the filter is accidentally knocked, but they seem to become a bit more brittle with age. You also have to be careful with the torque of the bolts when the filter is resembled after a thorough cleaning.

Problems are not common, but with the aim of installing the most durable, fuss free, and dependable fuel system, the rigid and durable all metal bowl has some advantages. The filter can take a beating and the all metal bowl is safest if there is a fire. The assembly of the metal bowl is less critical. The bolts holding the lower bowl in place can be tightened to ensure an air tight seal (diesel has an incredible ability to find the tiniest gap) without a risk of cracking the plastic bowl.

The drawback of the metal bowl is convenience. To check the fuel you need to loosen the nut at the bottom and collect a sample. While this is more trouble than looking through a clear bowl it has the advantage if you decant into a clear glass jar that you can more easily see small amounts of water and contamination and also better judge the clarity of the fuel, which can be hard to see when through the thick, curved, tinted plastic bowl.

To offset this inconvenience the filters in the new boat are very easy to access. They are mounted in the technical area/workshop rather than the engine bay. So taking a sample should be as easy and quick as checking the engine oil.

The polishing filter takes fuel from the very bottom of the tank and filters much more fuel. Perhaps a hundred times the amount of fuel the other filters process, so this filter will show problems well before any of the others. If there is no water and crud in this filter it is hard to imagine a mechanism that would cause the other filters to be worse. Normally this would be the only filter that needs checking. The polishing sytem is seperate from the engine supply so if any air is introduced when the fuel sample is collected it cannot effect the main running of the engine. The all metal bowls mean I dont need to be concerned about knocking the filter or something falling against the filter and breaking the bowl.

Even with the plastic bowl models I still took a fuel sample from the bottom of the filter once a month to better check for the earliest sign of a problem, so I don't think a weekly, or even daily fuel sample will be much extra work, given the filters are so easy to access. Time will tell if this was the right decision.

[daletournier]

Hi Dh, why do say iNavX is to simple and dumbed down for serious navigation?

Dont want to start a tablet vs chartplotter debate, genuinly intetested in why you think the zeus plotter is better than downloaded apps on your sony, seeing your looking at your Sony tablet anyway.

I don't use iNavX. This year is the first year i haven't used a dedicated plotter, Im using navionics and iSailor on the tablet as well as opencpn on the computer, they seem comphrensive enough to me.

Cant justify splurging for a new plotter and associated charting when the tablet navigation seems adequate. My current plotters are old Raytheon, chart costs were ridiculous.

[a64pilot]

RE, chart table.
I have never used mine for its intended purpose, first it's always too cluttered, secondly within a meter of it, there is this large drop down table that is much bigger and you can walk around it if you desire. The dinner table is better for charts than my chart table
In truth I have gone away from paper charts, mostly because they are so difficult to find.

My background is not Marine, but to do low level night flying, it always started out laying out charts, taping them together, drawing a course line, then lines 5 km wide on either side of course and studying and making cheat sheets of hazards and landmarks.
We stored maps in old used rocket tubes, and usually had around 100 maps that we took to the field with us.
So my background is paper, and I naturally gravitate back towards it, but they are expensive and becoming unobtainable.

Later of course it became possible to "fly" the mission on a computer and paper maps slowly became obsolete