The Parts of a Digital Compass System

You are looking for a compass for your boat and are thinking about a digital compass.

You can get a digital compass that is a self-contained, one piece unit, or a compass that has a flux gate unit with remote displays.  A self-contained unit is simply mounted where you need it. The location should be a magnetically clean area. Most of these can be wired in to your navigation system giving an integrated system. 

The other type is a system that has the Flux gate sensor unit mounted in the boat in a magnetically clean area so it has as little interference as possible, from electrical wiring, motors, and such.  The flux gate sensor itself is gimbaled so the reading coils in it can stay as horizontal as possible and can give the most accurate reading. Cables run from the Flux gate unit to remote displays and to the navigation system interface. So with these systems you have the flux-gate sensor, cables, and displays. There are units that are wireless so there are no cables with these systems.

The biggest advantage to a digital compass over a magnetic compass is that they can be interfaced in to a navigation system. With a Magnetic compass you have to read the direction and manually enter it in to your Navigation system. 

The Digital Compass Systems are easy to install. For the most part you just mount the parts and plug in the cables.  Below is a picture of the KVH 103 digital compass system and it shows the basic components of a flux-gate compass system.

Sailcomp 103AC Digital Compass/Nav Repeater Features

KVH Industries, Inc.

50 Enterprise Center • Middletown, RI 02842 • U.S.A.

Phone: +1 401 847-3327 • Fax: +1 401 849-0045_

E-mail: info@kvh.com

_

____

The round can like object is the sensor or flux-gate. Then there is the digital display on the left and a Junction box / control box on the right. Cables connect the three. The parts just plug together making it easy to install.

Why is it Called Foul Weather

The Foul Weather Story

These are useful tips when boating off shore.

Sailors on the Grand Banks would take birds with them when fishing just in case bad weather suddenly closed in. To determine where the closest land was they would release a bird and then head in the same direction the bird did. That is why it was called Foul Weather. 8-)  Because the birds can lead you to land.

Sea birds can also give you an idea how close to land you are. Terns go no more than 40 miles from land. Three of more gulls tell you that you are within 50 miles of land. Black skimmers stay within 25 miles from shore.

Enjoy these foul tips.

Cast Netting for Women

Cast Netting for Women 

I wish I could use a cast net, but I cannot or have not mastered the technique of using the cast net. A friend of mine who is usually quiet and an introvert can throw one beautifully. 

 _

I will call my friend Joe Cool. If he has a few beers on board he his personality changes and he becomes Joe Cool. We both had a few beers on board and we found two young ladies trying to throw a cast net off the dock. They were doing a better job at it than I could do and I was enjoying watching them. 

Joe Cool walked up and started talking to the ladies and started giving suggestions to improve their technique. Things were going OK and everyone was enjoying themselves. Then Joe Cool said he would demonstrate his throwing technique.

He took the cast net, explained everything he did as he did it, how to hold the net, and how swing so the net would open. Then he demonstrated. It was a beautiful picture perfect throw. It went out, opened, and dropped beautifully in to the water. The net and the line you pull the net back with all sank nicely in to the water.

Whoops was more than just an understatement. The words that came out of the two women changed my mind that they were ladies. “Joe Cool” and I had to pool our money to buy a new net for the women. And after all that we were both broke and we did not catch “ladies” either.  We called it the casting for women adventure. 8-) 

_

I do not think Joe has ever forgotten to secure the pull in line since then.

Fish-finder Displays Views

Fish-finder Displays

Some of the fish finders give you a choice of the down scan image that is below your boat.  The down scan image gives you what depth and the topography of the bottom. It will let you see things sticking up from the bottom. Fish images show up as an actual size in relation to tree branches and other objects.

The 2D image display that you can view of the down scan is not as sharp but it lets you see the fish better in relation to objects. The fish images are enhanced and they are not actual size, but they stand out better.

If you are using the finder for depth navigation the first display is better, for fishing the 2D has an advantage to see where they are.

If you have a side scan unit, the side scan lets you know how far away from the boat objects are. The depth of things is not easily determined on this scan view.

If you have a unit that has all three displays, you can get an accurate view of the water around you. An now you can get 360 degree imaging from the Humminbird 360 degree imaging systems. With this you can see where fish are hiding. It is almost unfair to the fish.

Fishing reel Backlash Prevention Trick

Fishing reel Backlash

I was told by two Arkansas fisherman that is not hard to set the reel tension so you do not get backlash. The easiest way they said was first put the lure on that you want to use. Then hold the rod horizontals and adjust the reel cast control so the lure will fall smoothly but the real stops spinning when the lure hits the floor. One of the guys said it was a trick that Denny Brauer uses. 

I had no idea who Denny Brauer was, but they talked about him like he was the “super expert”, so I just acted if I knew who he was. I looked him up on line and he turned out to be a seventeen-time time B.A.S.S. winner and an Elite Series Pro. I think that would make him a super expert. 8-)

Another suggestion one of these two guys gave me when he popped the top of what I think was his 5^th beer, was I should throw-a-way that cheap aXX real and buy a good one. He is probably right but I like my old reel.

Headache Remedies

Try These Headache Remedies

I wish I was one of the 10% of the people that do not get headaches. I am not, and I have had bad headaches all my life. Remedies for headaches are very individualistic and what works for one person may not work for another.  

The two most common types of headaches are vascular and tension. The doctors say that tension headaches are the most common. A hot water bottle or heating pad applied at the first sign of a headache can help tightened muscles relax. Tight neck muscles and forehead relax with the heat.

Yoga exercises that help stretch and relax your neck and shoulder muscles often helps prevent tension type headaches.

Over the counter analgesics work for some people, like aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen and caffeine can all help.

Vascular headaches like migraines and some types of cluster headaches respond to ice packs or cold packs. The cold works by constricting swollen blood vessels. Swollen arteries in the head cause the headache.

Heat to your hands and feet can pull blood to these areas and often reduces the headache.

I use a combination of these when I get a bad headache. If I try some of these things at the first hint of a headache it will stop a full blown, dark room, no sound head cruncher where I have to totally shut down and shut the world out. 

If you fill an old cotton sock with dry whole rice and microwave it for about 30 seconds, you can have a great heat pack. It is fast, cheap, simple and reusable. It can easily mold to where you want the heat. (Use a clean sock…8-) for best results.)  

Flowers and Food on Your Boat.

Edible Gardening // flowers and food on your boat.

Gardening on a boat is challenging, and what to grow can be a hard choice. If the plants are both decorative and edible make them high on my list. Space is always a consideration on your boat.

Nasturtiums are both very colorful and edible. Both the leaves and the flowers have a spicy flavor. They are easy to grow and if you keep them well watered they will be less spicy. With variegated leaves and with white, yellow and red flowers they can add a lot of color. (Both on the boat and in the food)

Johhny Jump ups (Viola tricolor) are also pretty and edible. They have a sweet mild flavor. They are nice in salads, desserts and teas.  

Chamomile is also easy to grow, is somewhat apple like and you can make a great tea by steeping the flowers in boiling water.

NOT ALL FLOWERS are edible. Some are toxic and some are poisonous. Always check first that the flower is edible before you try it. If not sure do not eat it.

The Parts of a Digital Compass System

You are looking for a compass for your boat and are thinking about a digital compass.

You can get a digital compass that is a self-contained, one piece unit, or a compass that has a flux gate unit with remote displays.  A self-contained unit is simply mounted where you need it. The location should be a magnetically clean area. Most of these can be wired in to your navigation system giving an integrated system. 

The other type is a system that has the Flux gate sensor unit mounted in the boat in a magnetically clean area so it has as little interference as possible, from electrical wiring, motors, and such.  The flux gate sensor itself is gimbaled so the reading coils in it can stay as horizontal as possible and can give the most accurate reading. Cables run from the Flux gate unit to remote displays and to the navigation system interface. So with these systems you have the flux-gate sensor, cables, and displays. There are units that are wireless so there are no cables with these systems.

The biggest advantage to a digital compass over a magnetic compass is that they can be interfaced in to a navigation system. With a Magnetic compass you have to read the direction and manually enter it in to your Navigation system. 

The Digital Compass Systems are easy to install. For the most part you just mount the parts and plug in the cables.  Below is a picture of the KVH 103 digital compass system and it shows the basic components of a flux-gate compass system.

Sailcomp 103AC Digital Compass/Nav Repeater Features

KVH Industries, Inc.

50 Enterprise Center • Middletown, RI 02842 • U.S.A.

Phone: +1 401 847-3327 • Fax: +1 401 849-0045_

E-mail: info@kvh.com

_

____

The round can like object is the sensor or flux-gate. Then there is the digital display on the left and a Junction box / control box on the right. Cables connect the three. The parts just plug together making it easy to install.

Jealous Wolf

A Jealous Wolf I Have!

I was going through some old photos and I found some that dated back to the time I when I had just met the woman I married a few years later. At that time my best friend and roommate was a 140 lbs. white wolf. Little Sherlock and I were always together and did everything together. Then Wendy came into our life.

Little Sherlock was jealous of this new person that I was spending his time with. It was not too bad if all three of us were together; it was when I took “her” out without him that when the jealousy started to show up. I took Wendy out for dinner one evening and we did not take Little Sherlock. When we got back and I opened the door, little Sherlock had ripped open a down pillow and shaken it viciously and there were little white feathers all over everything. He was coated with feathers like everything else. He knew he had done something bad and was trying to hide behind a chair. He looked so pitiful all we could do was hug him. It took weeks to clean up all the feathers and we would find feathers in odd places even a year later.

Another time Wendy came over to me and started to give me a kiss. As she leaned in Sherlock stood up and gave a threatening growl. She pulled back and Sherlock sat down. When she leaned in again the same thing happened. I thought it was funny, Wendy did not. Little Sherlock did have 30 lbs. on her.

Another time Wendy asked if she could walk Sherlock. I said OK, but I warned her not to let him get on a run or you will not be able to stop till he wants to. About 15 minutes went by and Sherlock and she returned both covered with mud. She said he started to trot and then took off. He headed across a mud hole and Wendy said she dug in her heals to stop. She said she thought she skied about half way across the mud hole before she lost it and was drug most of the way through the mud hole before she got him stopped. Sherlock thought it was fun and wanted to play. She said “I got him stopped”.  I had fun hosing them both off. 8-)

The two of them worked out an agreement to share me. I sure am glad.

Old Home Remedies

My Sister Collected Old Home Remedies

I found many books and notes on old home remedies that my sister had collected. Some were from my grandparents, others from books and magazines and the like. My sister was an Ar. Master Gardner and her nickname was “Farm Girl”.  I had a quiet chuckle about that because we never lived on a farm. My Mother was the old farm girl, but my sister use to tell her co master gardeners she was “just an old farm girl”.

The woman next door said that my sister could come up with an old home remedy for almost anything. For example, to keep ticks off her pets she would dry rosemary sprigs, strip off the leaves and grind up the leaves to a powder. The powder then could be rubbed in to the cat’s fur and the dog’s fur and sprinkle the powder play areas. 

When she transplanted a plant from one area to another she would add a small handful of oatmeal to the soil and mix it in when replanting the plant. She would it prevents the plant from going into shock.

She would save her egg shells and recycle them in a few different ways. One way was to crush the shells up and soak them for 24 hours in a bucket of water. Then she would water her tomatoes and peppers with the calcium rich water. The shell pieces then went into the compost pile to finish breaking down. I found a clipping that said you could start seedlings in egg shell ½s by putting a hole in the bottom of the shell, and putting potting soil in the shell and planting the seed in that. After the plant has germinated the plant and shell could be transplanted to where you want it, and the shell could be cracked when you transplant it.  An egg carton could be used as an egg pot holding tray.

I could see my sister telling anyone “you need to try this…for your…”.

Fishing Reel Backlash

Reel backlash can be country boy ugly

I have a big problem with backlash on my reels some days. My wife knows she needs to stay quiet and away from me at the other end of the boat when backlash strikes. My wife seems to have little problem with it and that drives me crazy when it happens to me and not her. 8-)

There are a few things I need to remember that can help prevent backlash.  First, if there is a wind I try not to have to cast in to the wind. I cast, the lure goes out and the wind slows it down and the reel spins fee and Gosh Darn I have backlash. I do not seem to ever find the right spool tension setting to prevent the spool from spinning to freely or preventing a nice long cast because the tension is too high. I have also found that if I use a sidearm or low trajectory cast I get less backlash.

The best preventative for me is to tighten the tension down on spool and use a heavier lure with a side arm cast. Since we often fish off our sailboat that means I can only fish from the bow or from the starboard side easily.

But when you do get a back lash that looks like a something a bird would like to nest in, open the bail and let all the line out in the water off the end of the boat and troll slowly away. Then reel it in with just the water resistance on the line and this should get rid of the loops.

PS. Keep the line out of the trolling motor prop.  (Not that I have done that neat trick more than once or maybe 3 or more times.) This can be real ugly. If you do… it is time to replace the line on your reel anyway.

My Sisters Cat !

My Sisters Cat is Training Me!

Graccon, one of the cats my sister left us with is training me to his needs. My sister though Graccon as a girl so she named the cat Grace. She learned about the difference when she had the cat fixed.

The cat was a little standoffish. We would see him early in the morning when he would eat and then he was out the cat door to important cat business till about 6:00 PM when he wanted food.

He is a cat that wants to be touched with just one hand. If you reached out with both hands he was gone, but you could pet him with just one hand. 

The cat comes and goes on his own schedule through his cat door. I have just let him come and go and let him get use to me on his own way. Everything changed last week when we had a heavy rain storm.

He came through the cat door, wet to the skin and upset. I go a towel and he let me dry him off to a point. He sat near drying out. Everything was peaceful till a big old, fat, gray, stray cat came through the cat door. A cat fight erupted under the table I was sitting at. Little Graccon was not holding his own. He was ½ the size of the other cat and has no claws in the front. I was able to get the Big Cat off Graccon with a pillow I had been sitting on and get it into the laundry room and close the door trapping the big cat.

Graccon was out the cat door in to the rain like a flash of lighting. I waited a few minutes before I let the big cat out of the laundry room, and he went out the cat door into the rain. Graccon came back about an hour later. He let me dry him off and he sat on my lap the rest of the evening. I have started closing the cat door at night to keep the old cat out.

The big old cat must have been coming in on a regular basis to eat. I though Graccon might have worms from amount off cat food that was disappearing. I would put dry food out at night and it was gone the next morning. 

    

Now Graccon demands me to get up at about 7:00 am to be fed. He now stays around off and on most of the day and he knows the sound of the refrigerator door opening and the sound of the microwave door opening. He is right there for a hand out. Since the cat fight I am Graccon's “good buddy” and a big Bubba protector. He now will let me pick him up. It is OK to be a Cat Buddy.

Old Fishing Lures

Old Fishing Lures...I have a few in my tackle box.

I saw an article in Bass Master Magazine about what old fishing lures could be worth. I could have a few hundred dollars of what I thought were trash in my tackle box. They have been there for years and I have just been too lazy to clean out the box. 

The article told of lures that sold for 50 or 75 cents and are now worth 50 to 75 dollars. Who would have thought these old thinks could have generated a value like that. I have thrown old lures away or lost them on a snag and have not given them much thought. 

Some old fishing reels also have also an increased value. These I can see. The old reels often work better than the new ones, and you can clean and service them yourself. The old reels are not “over engineered” like many of the new ones and you do not need specialty tools to work on them. I still have a few reels left over from when I was a kid over 45 years ago. I still use them.

Venison on the Grill

I am still working my way through all the things my sister had collected over the years. I thought I was a pack rat but I have to give my sister credit, she was better than I am. I will say she was much better than I am at neatly packing things away. When she moved to this house she was able to pack everything from the larger house in to this one and still make it look neat and orderly.

The woman and her daughter next door have gone out of their way to help me as I am working through all “Miss Jane’s” things. It catches me off guard when they call her “Miss Jane”.  As Jane’s little brother my thoughts were more along the lines of “the meanest big sister anyone could have”.

Misty and her daughter brought a meal over for me last week end. They brought a meal of venison, fried potatoes, fried okra, and corn. Not a meal that I would have ever expected. Misty said “Miss Jane” had a venison recipe that was “real gooood” for venison steaks on the grill that she wished she had.

I found the recipe for her and passed it on. I guess we could call it "Miss Jane's" recipe for Venison"

Here is the recipe:        Venison Steak for the Grill

               2 Venison Steaks

               2 tbsp. vegetable oil

To Marinade: Put the Venison Steaks in Marinade for 4 hours in the refrigerator. Turn at least once.

To Grill: Remove the steaks from the marinade, Dry with paper towels. Brush with the 2 tbsp. oil. Grill over hot coals, turning once. Brush with marinade while grilling. Grill 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Note: Venison should be served rare; do not overcook. It needs to be served hot because Venison fat melts at a higher temperature than cows or pigs fat and if the venison gets cool it may seem waxy.

The Marinade:    For meat or fish.

               ¼ cup Wild Turkey Bourbon

               1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

               2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

               ¼ cup salad oil

               2 tbsp. soy sauce

               ¼ tsp. black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a glass bowl and mix well. This yields about ¾ cup marinade.

I am not sure where "Miss Jane" came up with the recipe. But Misty said it was "Real Gooood"!

Some Salt Superstitions

Some Salt Superstitions and folk lore.

Salt was often thought to have magical qualities. It preserved food from going bad, it kept people healthy and it could cure some ills. One superstition was that if you accidentally spilled salt you would have bad luck if you did not throw a pinch over your left shoulder. One tradition has it that good spirits stand behind a person’s right and bad spirits on the left. By tossing a few grains of salt over your left shoulder in to the eyes of the bad spirit, it will distract him from any evil he might be planning.

Salt could also protect you from evil. If you wear a sachet of salt around your neck, evil spirits will be kept away. Salt tossed at a vampire will keep it away. It is also said that if two people eat salt together a bond is formed. Arabs have a traditionally used salt to seal a bargain.

Most cultures have superstitions dealing with salt and terms like “worth his salt” or if a person is “below the salt” (a person of the lower class) are quite prevalent. You can take this blog “with a grain of salt” if you like, but there are a lot of salty phases out there. 8-)

Caribbean Style Popcorn

Spiced Salt Popcorn…Caribbean Style

Try this Caribbean popcorn treat: 1 tablespoon salt, ¼ teaspoon five-spice powder,1 teaspoon toasted and ground peppercorns. Mix all the ingredients well.  You can store in an airtight container for use anytime.

Put on the popcorn like you would add regular salt. It gives the popcorn a Caribbean flair. Add Jimmy Buffet and some beer and be a Parrot Head!

Bluenose, Bluejacket, and Blue Peter.

Bluenose, Bluejacket, and Blue Peter. <!-- Place this tag where you want the +1 button to render -->

A Bluenose is the name that was given to the men and vessels of Nova Scotia.  There are two origins for the term. One is the cold weather gave the seaman a bluenose, and the other is for the Nova Scotia Bluenose potato. I like the potato origin myself. I can see a cold nose looking like a potato.

After both the US and the British Navy enlisted seaman began to wear uniforms with blue jackets one of the nicer nicknames for the enlisted seaman was Bluejacket.

  

The Blue Peter is the mariners’ nick name for International Signal Code “P”.  When the Blue Peter was flown from the signal mast on a British ship it indicated that the ship would sail that day. It was a sign for any sailors on shore to conclude whatever they were doing and return to the ship.

Pigs on a Boat

Pigs on a boat

On a large sailing ship of old they did transport livestock either for cargo or meat. A pigsty rail or a pigsty bulwark was a high rail or bulwark with open planking that gave good drainage. These pigsty rails are still seen on fishing vessels. These rails allow wave action to keep the decks well washed down where livestock was penned.

Many of the sailing vessels that needed ballast would carry cast metal lead or iron blocks called pigs. Pigs were poured and cast in a form called a sow. The vessels would be said to have pigs in their hold. The lead could be used to make shot and other things since the lead could easily be melted and cast.

.

A piggin was also found on board many boats. It is a small bucket shaped hand bailer and it is a term that comes from the Gaelic.

Do you know a scrimsbander?

Scrimshaw

A scrimsbander is a person who does scrimshaw work. The word scrimsbander possibly has its origin from the word scrimsbanker, an old man-o-wars man’s nick name for a shirker. Scrimshaw was theoretically done on a man’s leisure time.

Most scrimshaw was done on whaling ships. Etched drawing and carvings of scenes and designs were done on sperm whale teeth, whalebone, and ivory. The etched areas had India ink wiped over them so the etching would stand out.  

I like scrimshaw and I was trying to tell the 8 year old girl that lives in the house next to my sister, what scrimshaw was.  I found a small piece of scrimshaw in my sister's house and showed it to her. She liked it as well as I did. We went on line and found pictures of scrimshaw. It is nice to see a young person show interest in things like that. 

Marlinespike Seamanship...Splices

Marlinespike seamanship

Splicing and splices like knotting is an art in itself. With a knife and fid one can splice a laid line. The principle is simple: three strands are tucked over and under so they interweave with three other strands. If you are splicing two lines together in what is called a short splice, the resulting splice is thicker than the rope that is spliced together. The splice will not go through a block of the correct size for the diameter of the line.

A long splice is a solution to the block problem. Part of each strand is taken out and the tapered result makes a thin splice. The long splice is not as strong as a short splice but it will go through a block.  

An eye splice can be made on the end of a line so the eye can be slipped over a cleat or piling. It is done like a short splice by interweaving the lade line strands.

A back splice is a splice done at the end of a line and it results in a neat end of the line that does not unravel.

You can find excellent illustrations that show you how to splice a line in Chapmans Piloting & Seamanship or go on line and get an illustration on how to splice. It is not hard, but it takes practice.

I was practicing splicing an old piece of rope I found in my sister’s barn. The 8 year old girl from next door was watching me and when I was done and was tugging on the splice to check it and tighten the strands, she checked the splice out. She said: “Neat, but why didn’t I just tie it together with a knot”? 8-) 

What could I say but: A spice is nice!

Signal Flags

Our Set of Signal Flags!

My wife had told me a number of times that she would like to have a set of signal flags for her boat. It was one of those things that went in one ear and out the other without making “a signal in my head”. My own thought was we have a vhf radio, a cell phone, a distress flag, and flairs and signal flags were not needed.

Signal flags are not only used for signaling but also for decorating your boat for special occasions. There is a complete set of rules that should be followed when using signal flags, and after receiving a set of flags I was told by the wife that we should and needed to display them correctly when we used them.

I found more information in Chapman’s on signal flags than I thought there would be. It really was informative as well as interesting.

I just wish I had gotten her the set of signal flags that she had expressed interest in. The flag set was given to us by her X, who said that it was one thing that my wife had always wanted. *-)

It was a really nice gift. It also signaled to me I need to listen better to my wife.   !!!

Boat Electrical Connections

For marine applications, you should not just wind a bared twisted wire around a terminal post screw, a circuit breaker, or bus bar screw and tighten it down. The preferred and the industry standard for making electrical terminal connections are to employ a flanged fork, spade or ring.  These are less likely to corrode or loosen from vibration.

Wire connectors can be soldered to the wire, but crimp fittings are acceptable. Crimp fittings are tinned copper fittings with a tubular shank with a plastic sheathing. The fittings must be of proper size for the wire used.

The stripped end of the wire is inserted into the tubular shank of the crimp fitting and then the shank is squeezed or crimped on to the wire with a crimping tool. If the wire is too small for the crimp fitting the connection will corrode and often wiggle or vibrate apart.

If the stripped end of the wire is pre-tinned, and the proper size crimp fitting is used, the potential for corrosion is minimal.  There is no need to add solder to this type of connection.

Where added corrosion protection is wanted, a liquid vinyl compound can be put on the connection or heat shrink tubing may be used to seal the joint.

Butt connectors can be used to join wire ends and these crimp connectors can and should be covered with heat shrink tubing.  

   

By making connections on your boat this way, it makes hooking up to terminals quick and basically corrosion free, as well as in line with industry standards.

Recommended Marine Wiring Color Code For DC Wiring

Recommended Marine Wiring Color Code

There is actually a recommended marine wiring color code that should be used when wiring a small craft. If it is used it makes tracing an electric circuit a little easier.  It also gives you a heads up on what a specific wire would go to.

With this color system you have an idea what wires go where. Too bad it is not used more often.

It would make the wiring on my boat a lot simpler.