LinoCat

During the past year i used a ALFA AWUS036H adapter with a one feet 9dbi vertical antenna. It is soooo much better than the built in Intel chipset that i can only highly recommend it. Most of the sailors i met are using the same. They come in different versions, mainly with more transmit power. be aware that in some countries (like Germany, the transmit (TX) power must not exceed a certain limit. Also when using the adapter with the driver that allows to adjust the power, try as low as possible first. To connect it to the Laptop (i used a DELL 6400ATG and an Asus EEPc) i used a simple 5m extension cable. Here i would recommend an expensive one with golden connectors since the others rot away quickly. If you plan to sail for one year take at least 3 adapters since they are only around 30 Euro each anyway. If you leave them in the rain over night just open the housing, dry it in the sun or with a hair dryer and use it again. After a few weeks it might stop working. Also if you let it han...

T his is how it looks on the Raymarine Chartplotter when you approach Teneriffe from the north. The pink strip to the right is a traffic separation zone where special rules apply. This is usual where there is a lot of ship traffic. The red cross above that area was one of the waypoints we have used to stay out of that area. Then we changed course in a southerly direction. The yellow arrow pointing to the boat (which is black) is the winddirection. The two lines going out from our boat is the heading and the course over ground (which is the way we actually travel). The pink triangles are other big ships. There is a lot of traffic in front of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This is also the reason why you should contact port control in this area when crossing the harbour or entering it. Then they know your intention and callsign and can contact you. This is also for your own safety. The red cross with the white square around is our current destination in the course computer. The autopilot will s...

Here a view on the 3 solar panels Sanyo 210Wp. They now perfectly cover the Dinghy and the Dinghy is protecting the panels when dock in backwards with the boat and there is a pillar like there is just now in the marina where we are located.

The new Outback Flexmax60 solar charge controller does not fully harmonize with the 3 solar panels in serial. The output voltage sometime peaks to more than 145V and then the Outback switches off. So i might have to rewire it to have 2 panels serial and the other one parallel to them. But this means brining two more cables into the boat :-(

The folding bike fits perfectly under the hatch of the engine. Thats another advantage of a catamaran: You have 2 engine hatches for 2 bikes :-) The solar panel was fitted but not yet wired. The now reinforced stainless steel frame leaves a strong impression but of course has not seen any rough seas. It will get 2 more supportlegs on Monday (hopefully). On Monday also the electrician and the rigger should come. Lets wait and see. The good news is that the work they do looks good. Just the reliablity sucks completely.

This is a Kyocera 210Wp solar panel. It is now mounted on the davits of Linocat. Currently the mount is build in away that it is not adjustable. Also after havin this panel now for one year and due to experience from Rudolf and Gabriele on the Lagoon "Sunways" we decided to go for another 2 :-) But lets look at the installation now. The thick bar that connects the davits is an add on from there the solar panel is mounted. The cables are then running into the davit itself. By the way since they are open there IS acutally water inside them sicne there is no hole at the bottom to let it out again. To the left the davits are bolted to the boat. Right in the middle of this 4 screws we drileld a hole and routed the cable through after the water came out. This Votronic 225MPP solar regulator was then connected. BEFORE that please make sure to cover the solar panels so that no pwer is produced. Without a load the voltage can shoot up and you might hurt yourself or destroy things. The...

Here you can see the vertical whip on the left side of this picture. It is mounted slightly tilted backwards and fixed also to the aft stanchions. Here you can see the supporting fixpoint. The Tuner is then mounted as close as possible to the hot wire of the antenne. I have mounted it near the motor compartment where the conencting rod of both rudders is running.

Of course you need a radio first. This itself has been discussed on the internet ample times. If you do not care about money then i strongly advise to go for a professional radio like ICOM 710 or 802. Otherwise the cheapest option is an IC-718 from ICOM. I decided to go for the 706 since i want to use also VHF and UHF maybe and i can seperate the control from the backbox and it is neat and i know how to use it. It might not be the best choice though You also need a PACTOR modem if you want to use email. The box on top of the power supply is a Pactor USB modem from SCS in Germany. If you think about updating blogs via HF on the ocean you should directly go for the software upgrade to Pactor III, which is just a license key that needs to be entered. As you can see i have build up everything at home prior to the boat installation. By that you make sure that you know how it works and all cabling etc is proper. Why fumble around on the boat with basic things when you can try it out at home...

And additonal 140Ah battery is installed and a 2000W 220V Inverter plus a BTM III battery meter all from Mastervolt.

I decided to install a weatherdock EasyAIS with a splitter. It will display the AIS targets on the plotters. Due to the baudrate i was happy to have the second plotter since i switched that port to the corresponding baud rate. Check the MANY MANY AIS-Targets. When there are good conditions the max distance was over a hundred miles.

Hi, today i have installed the ACR GlobalFix 406 EPIRB. It includes a GPS, so that we can be found (hopefully) if we have to call for emergency assistance. And it is my birthday i just realized :-) The EPIRB is registered with the MMSI number 211152550 Our callsign by the way is DB3049 not to be mixed up with my amateur radio callsign DB8US.

Additional electronical Equipment for nautical purposes: 4kW Raymarine radar at mast 1 Raymarine E120 outside helm station 1 Raymarine E120 inside nav station DSM300 digital fishfinder with additional transducer on the portside hull front of the saildrive St6001 Raymarine Autopilot with gyrosensor Smartcontroller Wireless pilot Navionics Platinum and Goldchart depending on cruising area

Extras installed in LinoCat when purchasing the boat: 2 x Yanmar 3YM30 30HP Diesel engines instead of 19HP Spinaker equipment 200kg Davits for Dinghy Direct freshwater connection deckshower at the stern (warm and cold freshwater) additional seats on the bow ( a pain if using a Spinaker!!!) harken 44.2 winches instead of 40.2 bigger Lofrans Tigre 1200W windlass decklight (bowsection) extra 300L freshwater tank Manual footpumps for fresh and saltwater in the kitchen 2x90L blackwater tanks Additional 140Ah battery (3 instead of 2) (have installed yet another one later) additional 3 220V power outlets in the salon additional 12V power outlet in the outside cooler compartment (for freezerbox) Diesel eletrical Heating (1 unit used for Salon and both hulls. Lagoon provides up to 3 units for cold climate) Curtains in salon and shower/baths Radio/CD Combo with external and internal loudspeakers (CDO, not recommended) Nav Pack with ST60 instruments Raymarine Ray54E DSC VHF radio with masthead an...