[PUP] Paper Charts

[Scott E. Bulger]

Byron asked:  What planning have you done regarding lighting strikes?  I can
not see how to avoid the paper chart backup if there is a chance that a
strike will clean out the computers and the backup drives.

 

 

I'll describe how Alanui's electronic chartplotting is achieved.  

 

First, I believe in having an active Primary and Secondary chartplotter up
and running at all times when underway.  In my case I refer to the Furuno
Navnet2 system (and attached accessories) as the Primary.  A 12v automotive
computer (and attached accessories) is the secondary system.  I subscribed
to the belief that two systems should be up and running at the same time in
order to eliminate a situation I experienced with my Nobeltec laptop on a
voyage with Mike Maurice.  At exactly the wrong time my laptop with Nobeltec
locked up.  If it had been my only source of navigation I would have run the
boat up on Umatella Reef off the WA coast.  Now I wasn't in command, Mike
was, and he used his local knowledge and visual bearings to determine when
and where the boat should turn.  I was staring down at the screen wondering
why the boat had stopped moving?  I suspect this is why Mike doesn't rely on
the equipment installed on many of the boats he delivers, he even brings his
own radar aboard if the boat's equipment is questionable!  Back to the
point.  Having two systems, each with completely different software and
architectures, both telling you your in the same place delivers me a lot of
confidence.  

 

It's not enough to just have two different systems, you need to insure
you've made good decisions regarding their configurations, for example:

1.       Each system has its own accessories, such as independent GPS and
Heading Sensors

2.       Each system is powered by its own separate breakers and power
sources

3.       Neither system requires 120v power, they are 12v systems (part of
why the PC is an automotive PC)

4.       The PC system is never connected to the internet, unless I'm
performing a specific software update, and then only briefly and only behind
a firewall

5.       The PC system runs Windows XP with NO antivirus or protection
software and no other applications

6.       The accessories for the two systems are identical so they can be
used to spare and troubleshoot each independent system.  This means you
don't go out and buy te $59 bluetooth GPS, you buy the $200 Furuno GPS
that's identical to the Navnet system.  Yes I realize this exposes both
systems to a common flaw, but the GPS and heading sensor are technologies
where the risk is acceptable.

7.       The components used on the PC system are hardened.  They are
designed to run in the trunk of a car at 140 degrees F.  The hard drive is
small and expensive, but again vibration and shock resistant to 30G's.  This
is way overkill on a boat.  Worth noting is the evolution of solid state
hard drives.  At the time I was ordering my system another skipper in WA was
building his system and specified such a drive.  I couldn't satisfy my
concerns regarding the limitations in how many times a bit could be set
(10,000 w cycles) so I opted for the hardened traditional disk.   The
automotive PC was able to accept multiple serial ports so there are no USB
to serial converters, and no 3rd party drivers.  This means they are
portable between the systems.  

8.       The digital cartography for each system completely separate, the PC
cartography is installed from CD and then stored in a folder where they can
be rapidly recovered.  

9.       If we anchor and lightning is present I unplug all the physical
connections to the PC.  Since it's accessible in the pilothouse this only
takes a few seconds.  Each cable is labeled and with the exception of Serial
1 and Serial 2 you can't plug it back together incorrectly.  This is part of
the discipline in designing the system.  I can't tell you how many boats I
been on where the PC is buried behind a cabinet making it unreachable, not
to mention unserviceable.

 

Ok, so your now saying, great Scott, but if you get hit by lightning your
still going to lose both those systems.  Agreed.  So in addition to these
two systems we have two laptops on the boat.  One (the one I'm using now) is
my personal laptop that is used for communications and as the planning
computer.  I do all the course prep and planning on this system running the
same software as the Secondary PC on the boat.  A second laptop also
contains a complete back up of the PC software (Coastal Explorer) and
cartography.  Now there is a limitation to the cartography on the backup
computers.  Since Maptech only allows you to use one copy of the charts, the
two laptops don't have the purchased maptech cartography.  What they do have
is the ENC's and NOAA rasters that are free and older versions of BSB3
charts that I bought from a guy on the internet.  They aren't perfect, but
they are good enough to get me into a harbor or steer to shore.  The GPS for
these two laptops is a Garmin 12 that is stored away from the pilothouse
(although not in a faraday cage) but is known to work. I have dozens of AA
batteries to keep it working (experience tells me I get about 2 days for a
fresh set of batteries).  I make sure I plug this thing in every few months
to make sure its working.  Finally I have a hard drive that was imaged when
the software was installed.  This hard drive is packed away with some spares
and YES I know it worked when it was packed away, because it was actually
the system disk for one of the laptops.  The disk was used to build a system
from the ground up and then removed and stored away.  Oh, there are a few
things we did to insure the laptops can function effectively as backups:

1.        I turn them off and move them to the forward stateroom if
lightning is present ( note I do use this laptop with the Verizon cell card
to access NEXRAD radar from internet sites)  When the lightning arrives they
it is turned off and put away

2.       This laptop will run for 4 hours on its own battery.  After that I
use a 400W inverter that plugs into a 12v source at the helm.  I've tested
this for 12 hours and know it works.  If I loose 12v to the pilothouse
because of the strike I will only have 4 hours of navigation, which I could
hopefully extend by starting up and shutting down over a 12 hour period

3.       The 2nd laptop battery is pretty old and will only give us 2 hours
of use, perhaps it's time to replace it?

 

So in summary no system is perfect, but when I weigh these things against
what you really have to do to keep paper charts available, accessible and
accurate, I feel the electronic solution outweighs the paper version.  Think
about it, I have many, many more charts than I could ever hope to have if
they were paper.  I have money left over that I didn't invest in charts to
make sure the existing systems are built of high quality components.  I
bought hundreds of charts for the trip to the canal and only looked at them
once and only because we were having lunch and talking about nice anchorages
along the coast of Mexico.  

 

So here's the net net of my perspective.  All you guys that say you have to
have paper as a backup, will great, you go ahead.  For me (a guy who's been
in the computer industry all his adult life) I feel I can mitigate the
issues of reliability to the point the all electronic system yields a
superior solution.  It's not for everyone, but when I look to purchase my
next boat I won't be looking for 7 drawers where I can store thousands of
full size paper charts.  Oh, you don't have thousands of full size charts?
I do.

 

Scott Bulger, Alanui, N40II, Seattle WA