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Ouch!

 

Now you are talking to someone who has a boomless, spreaderless rig, and a very unusual helm set up. I'm not one to accept any convention because that's whats' always been done before!

For hull materials yes I would use 'approved' materials. But in not structural areas such as wings for solar panels, or large hard tops that aren't walked on, I wouldn't hesitate to use such cores as polystyrene or polyurethane foam as they are lighter and cheaper, for example. 

No development would get done in yachting if we waited for approval.

Having said that, almost no mid sized yachts get built in NZ anymore because of cheap imports. Our local builders and designers are seen as too expensive. Conventional marine electronics brands are perhaps facing the same thing.

 

Back to the point. AIS is an international convention. If the unit didn't comply, it would either not work, or send out such interference the local radio authorities would track it down and confiscate it. 

Now I happen to know someone at the MED that tracks down radio interference, so I have asked him for clarification on exactly this. I will return with an answer.

 

The real point of this thread (I hope) is that one could go offshore on $5k worth of electronics, or $20k. The view at the tropical anchorage at the other end will be the same. The skippers risk vs cost analysis, vessel and seamanship skills will result in a successful ocean crossing, or not.

 

Many more people dream about going offshore than actually do it. Cost is one of the real barriers. Let's sensibly look at all options as a forum...

 

 

Would you build a boat with materials that only "might" be up to the task, as they are untested?

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Sure Tim absolutely right! :-)

 

I have nothing against unusual setups, as long as they work! I actually have pretty uncommon electronics on my boat - no conventional plotters, 1/2 of a Navico radar setup, open source software etc for exactly the same reasons. My boat systems are worth probably 1/2 of a conventional electronics package, yet provide all the functionality, plus some. I have chosen all high quality, certified receivers/transmitters/transducers, so I know all signals sent or received by my boat are how they should be. It is what I choose to do to display/process those signals that is a bit unconventional!

 

I'm certainly not saying don't consider everything that is available, just to consider it in an informed way. It takes some time and effort to do that. If that time and effort is too technical or expensive for an individual, they are probably better looking at mainstream products. If not, then you'll find out what suits you. Informed decision is not "buy this, it's cheap".

 

Re Asian non approved hardware - there are a few that work fine, and probably some I don't know about as well. The issue is trust - when they publish an incorrect CE (Notice they don't have FCC?) certification, or none at all, how do you KNOW the unit works well, all the time?

 

In the analogy of the boat materials above, if they are not up to the task, they break, and it becomes apparent. With the AIS, maybe you don't receive all he signals you should, or perhaps it does not transmit as strongly or as often as it should. It can be hard to know, and you are already in the situation where you may not be able to have faith in the manufacturer.

 

Like all risks for offshore sailing, you must weigh the risks, and decide your preferred outcome. As BP says, you can go with only a cellphone or tablet - you will most likely get there!

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