Vesper Watchmate XB-8000 smartAIS

AIS

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a shipboard broadcast system that acts like a transponder, operating in the VHF maritime band.  AIS has been around since the 1990s when GPS for civilian purposes reached global coverage.  In 2002 the International Maritime Organization mandated that passenger ships and commercial vessels should carry AIS transceivers. In a […]

Feeling smart

Shore power. Everything’s great as long as it works.  When it doesn’t (best case scenario), you have to go up to the dock panel and reset the breaker.  Worst case, your boat catches fire and slowly sinks to the bottom of your slip (along with all your worldly possessions).  Not smart.

Almost Civilized

We installed the potable water system this weekend.  What a huge difference running potable water makes!  The well water in the delta is pretty foul.  It smells weird and has nasty floaties in it, so for months we’ve been carting drinking water in a 7-gallon jug back and forth from the condo to the boat. […]