Choosing and Configuring a Computer for a Boat

Michael Moradzadeh, PCYC Communications Chair.
Former Director of Home Architecture at Intel Corporation

We've come a long way from kerosene lamps and Morse Code. Eric Steinberg and Ben Mercer provide an overview and helpful advice on choosing, installing, and maintaining your important electrical infrastructure.

The Equipment Rules mandate that your VHF be of a minimum wattage (25W) and that the connection to your masthead antenna not lose more than a stated amount of that wattage due to cable loss, dirty connectors, or other factors.

SSB? Satphone? Go? SailMail?

How to stay connected offshore has challenged sailors for years. While the advance of technology has created many powerful and overlapping options, sorting through them can be a chore.

Marine electronics veteran Eric Steinberg of Farallon Electronics sorts it out for you. Ultimately, the decision will come down to what you want to spend your time and money on, but armed with the information in Eric's attached article, you'll be better equipped to make your choices.

Updated Satphone Tricks  

	With a bit of planning before the race, you can use your Iridium satphone to get all of the data and weather information during the race that you could get using a broad(er)band Inmarsat Fleet Broadband terminal, e.g. Furuno FleetBroadband Satellite terminal or a KVH VSAT TracPhone. You can get the same data quickly and at much less expense without the weight, cost and power consumption of the broad(er) band equipment.

SSB: Some Simple Benefits

Aboard Cayenne, which has raced in four Pac Cups – and placed in two, we have a simple slogan that represents our hierarchy of values: “Safety, Friendship, Performance.”  As it turns out, when we are in or near first place, we are willing to swap the last two, but safety is always first.

The marine SSB we have on board is not only a race requirement, it fits into all three of these values.

 By Shea Weston, addendum to Jim and Sue Corenman’s Communication Article

For an ocean racer’s communications needs there are basically two choices; a SSB radio or a satellite phone. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages and the well equipped yacht should consider carrying both for redundancy.

The following material on communication has been taken from a 2006 update to the Pacific Cup Handbook by Jim and Sue Corenman; editorial comments by Steve Chamberlin.