T&T: iBoattrack...

[Jeffrey Siegel]

We were supposed to untie the lines today and start heading south.  The bad
news is that Mother Nature had other plans with the weather.  The good news
is that we got to install a new gizmo onboard aCappella!

Horizon Marine sent me an iBoattrack transponder for testing.  It is a small
waterproof enclosure with Velcro/sticky tape.  There is nothing to connect,
nothing to wire.  The replaceable battery inside is good for 12-18 months.
You just peel the backing off the tape and press it somewhere outside.  It
has a GPS and satellite link inside that provides your position and updates
a web site.  It is amazingly small - 6.5" x 9" x 1".  It is laying flat on
our flybridge right now.

iBoattrack set up a web page for our boat.  It shows our current position
and will track our movement as the boat moves.  It sends an updated position
every 2 hours when moving.  I think it is a nice safety device and lets
friends and family watch us.  I'm quite impressed by the size and how easily
it just works.

Check out our position:
http://charthorizon.com/m/cz/map?vessels=aCappella&history=2007


I'll use it for the next three months and post a final report when we're
back in Maine.


==================================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine

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Cruising blog to Abacos & Maine:
http://mvacappella.blogspot.com