We have received a grant from the UNDP to fit out the
prototype cargo proa, set up sustainable boatbuilding courses at CATD and start plastic recycling. What was going to be the bare necessities for
navigation on the
boat, grudgingly paid for by me, has now become state of the art.
I am way out of date on what is available, so would appreciate any feedback.
The
boat will be delivering cargo to and from mostly broken
coral beaches near
remote villages, initially in Eastern
Fiji. The first
route will be Bau Landing to Leleuvia resort,which is pretty tricky at low tide, with only a couple of unlit pole markers to show the way.
The crew will be trained to use and look after the
equipment, but it needs to be 'island suitable'. ie, rugged. This is a
work boat, not a
racing or cruising yacht.
The supplier needs to be knowledgable and enthusiastic,*ideally with an agent in
Fiji and able to communicate in basic terms to the electronic ignoramus (me) who will be installing the
equipment.
What I think is required for
navigation:
i) Waterproof chart plotter with a big touch
screen, visible in sunlight, with waterproof connections,
MOB function and the ability to overlay
Google Earth and to make notes and add items to the
charts. The boat will be sailing off the beaten track, nav markers are uncommon and there are a lot of poorly surveyed and changeable areas where we want to go.
ii) Back up for the above. This should be handheld/portable so it can be used on the Mini Cargo Proas built by CATD students and used for sail
training. Ideally they use the same data (GE overlays, notes) as the main one.
iii)
Depth sounder with in-hull
transducer so there are no holes in the
hull.
For
safety:
i)Tracker to send position, speed and course to a shore based station.
ii)
Weather service. Initially, trips will be 100 miles or less, daylight only, but reliable forecasts are always good.
iii) Sat
phone or similar
iv) Personal and ship's EPIRB'sv) Flares
vi) 4 man
liferaft
vii) Sea
Safety course
Other stuff needed? Recommendations? Comments?
Thanks.
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