Mark's Weblog http://blog.pdxt.com/ en Copyright 2006 Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:40:23 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Bon Voyage Estrella We spent what was probably the last overnight weekend of the season in St. Helens last weekend. No real wind to speak of, but The higlight of the trip was seeing Adam and Kristina heading out on thier 1+ year voyage aboard Esrtella. Good luck guys, we'll be watching your site for updates.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000027 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000027 Sailing Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:40:23 +0000 Sail Racing Mobile Software In my spare time i've been developing sail racing software for windows based handheld devices. Development is in the early stages, but the wind module may prove useful if you're looking for that little edge for your crew. Please email me at mbnelson@europa.com if you would like a free beta copy for testing or find the latest builds here.

pod.png

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000026 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000026 Sailing Mon, 04 Sep 2006 23:56:42 +0000 Engine Coolant Continued... After more investigation, the engine coolant problem was more serious than just air in the internal coolant loop. It turns out, after having a local radiator shop look at the heat exchanger, they found a leak! After the repair, we re-installed over the weekend and all seems fine as no trace of coolant in the engine compartment. We still need to take another trip to perform more thourough testing. Maybe a trip to Beacon Rock will sufice. In my investigation of marine cooling systems, I found they are very similar to a nuclear power plant cooling system.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000024 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000024 Sailing Mon, 21 Aug 2006 06:32:30 +0000 Coastal Explorer - Google Earth I just learned of a new feature today in Coastal Explorer. You can now export almost all navigation objects to Google Earth. This has many benefits including the ability to plan and plot routes with real time weather, see conditions at noaa bouys, and share your route information with friends and family.

To export navigation objects to Google Earth, simply click file->export, select the objects for export and select Google Earth KML file as the file type. Double click on the KML file and you will see all of your exported Coastal Explorer objects in Google Earth.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000023 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000023 Sailing Mon, 07 Aug 2006 06:41:13 +0000 Engine Coolant mark_helm.jpgmark_helm.jpg For the 4th of July we took a trip to Cathlamet Washington. The weather was nice, but unusally cool for this time of year. The marine layer bunred off about 1pm for the 3 day trip. We did encounter a small problem when we took the sails down as the winds were building to 30+ knots. As soon as we started the motor, the engine heat light came on so we put the headsail back out and made our way to the best anchorage we could find just east of cape horn. After checking the raw water strainer, themostat and installing a new impeller we found the problem to be air in the coolant system. We bled the air out of the system, had dinner and drinks and pulled anchor in the morning and headed to St. Helen's for the next night.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000022 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000022 Sailing Sun, 09 Jul 2006 08:31:17 +0000 C# at Government Island
C# at Government Island
Originally uploaded by nelsonmb. We finally have a name on the boat!
]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000021 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000021 Sailing Tue, 13 Jun 2006 05:25:27 +0000 MacENC I've been very busy with the NavSoftware store lately, adding several new products. First is the low priced AIS hardware from Smart Radio in China. I've added 2 of thier models - SR161 and SR162. The SR161 is a single channel receiver that scans one channel at a time at roughly 1 minute intervals choosing the channel with the best reception. The SR162 scans both AIS channels simultaniously for a 30 second refresh rate. See them on the SR161 and SR162 product pages.

Another new product is MacENC. MacENC is currently the only widely available marine navigation software for the Mac. A big thanks to Rich Ray at GPSNavX for allowing me to offer MacENC.

Lastly, I've added a DVD of the latest NOAA ENCs and Maptech RNCs (BSB3). Those with super-fast connections can just download the regions needed, but I'll only be able to update these every couple of months as time allows.

It's been a busy week!

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000020 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000020 Sailing Thu, 01 Jun 2006 06:06:30 +0000 Blogs talking about Coastal Explorer I found another blog that talks about coastal explorer.

http://www.navagear.com/navigation/index.html

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000017 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000017 Sailing Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:28:30 +0000 Sailing in February Well, we took advantage of another rare dry day in February. Had a hat overboard that was quickly recovered using the quick stop method and the river current.

View sail track

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000016 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000016 Sailing Sun, 12 Feb 2006 01:13:38 +0000 Out on the river in January mark_eliana.jpg
Well, after 30+ days of rain Doug, Eliana and I made it out on the river. It was dry all day with just a little sun for about 30 minutes. We're looking forward to a trip down to Cathlamet, WA on the next dry weekend.






]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000014 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000014 Sailing Wed, 25 Jan 2006 02:43:53 +0000 Electronics Stack on C# Marine Electronics Stack

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000013 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000013 Sailing Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:04:25 +0000 First Offshore Voyage
We finally took our voyage to Barkley Sound Canada during the last week in August. It was a great learning experience and very enjoyable. We saw 3 humpback whales, a pod of dolphins, sea otters and of course sea lions.

We one small mis-hap when the radar came off of the mount on the backstay in 25+ knot winds and 7-10 ft. seas, but we got it lashed down and made it into Nea Bay, WA for a quick remount and then continued on to Canada.

See some of our photos of the Barkley Sound trip.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000012 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000012 Sailing Mon, 05 Sep 2005 20:02:33 +0000 Coastal Explorer Coastal Explorer Image - Offshore Leg

I found what is probably the the best Marine Navigation Software package available anywhere!

Coastal Explorer is the easiest to use and most feature rich navigation software package that I have seen. The most valuable features include marpa targret display, ais display, automatic satellite photo downloads with adjustable opacity. route obstacle alerts as well as direct integration with major autopilots.

We plan to use Coastal Explorer on our upcomming trip from Portland to Barkley Sound Canada.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000011 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000011 Sailing Mon, 25 Jul 2005 10:19:53 +0000 Life changing event Well i've decided to make a life changing decision. A new house, new car, the south beach or atkins diet? No, I've severed ties with comcast and cable tv. I've subscribed to a video on demand service for $10 a month and will choose what i watch (if anything) whenever I want to watch it. The first on my list to watch is sail.tv. Although I already watch it on the laptop, It will be nice to watch it on the 32" toshiba. :)

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/general/#000010 http://blog.pdxt.com/general/#000010 General Tue, 24 May 2005 21:58:26 +0000 A must read for anyone starting out in sailing Chapman Piloting & Seamanship 64th Edition : The Boating World's Most Respected Reference, Completely Updated & Revised with New Charts, Photographs & ... Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling)

This book contains all of the essentials regarding design, navigation, and most importantly SAFETY.

]]> http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000009 http://blog.pdxt.com/sailing/#000009 Sailing Mon, 23 May 2005 20:23:15 +0000