About the Ocean Angel
We have a nice selection of gear from various manufacturers, and I'll tell you what I like or don't like about all this gear. Most of the electronics are Raymarine and the following is a list of that equipment
Raymarine ST60+ Wind, Depth and Speed; we like these instruments as they are easy to read, easy to calibrate and adjust, but I don't like the multiple function buttons. There are so many options linked to multiple button pushes that I never remember them all. That's a pain, but I recommend this gear..
Raymarine ST 6002 Autopilot Control with S100 wireless remote; this gear is reliable, robust, easy to use, and the remote is a true wizard.
Raymarine Type II linear drive, short throw; powerful, quiet, and efficient
Raymarine Type 3G, gyro-enabled course computer; a short story here. After the lightning strike we jumped up two sizes to a Type 3 computer to handle higher amp loads than the original. The new computer allowed the boat to wander where the old one hadn't. I complained to Raymarine; they checked it out under warranty - no charge, found nothing wrong, but they said I might want to consider the 3G, the gyro version, for increased functionality, etc. etc. So I bit, spent the bucks, and installed the 3G computer. No more wandering. Hmmm.
Raymarine C80 multi-function display with a 2 KW radome; the display is awesome and user friendly. I find the chartplotter cumbersome, and I rarely use it. The Navionics charts are unreliable and often inaccurate. Many of our friends use this gear as their primary source of navigation, and they often seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can tell you many true life stories about this stuff. The radar display and radome is supposedly limited to 24 miles, but I can actually see out to 36 miles and track a ship all the way from 36 miles to an intercept. I'm not sure how that is, but it is.
Raystar 125 WAAS GPS coupled to the C80; reliable and accurate. All the Raymarine gear was easy to install and worked together right out of the box.
I had a rail custom built to house the ST60+ sailing instruments, and the instruments are easy to read from the helm with nice night lighting. This rail is also a sturdy handrail
Our communications equipment consists of an Icom M504 VHF Radio with a cockpit remote, and a Globalstar Satellite phone connected to the laptop. We also have a Sangean SSB receiver to listen to weather and other stuff. The ICOM is a marvel; it is tied to heavy coax and a Metz antennae mounted upside down at the masthead. Yup, upside down, and insulated from the mast with a starboard block. No loss of signal; less chance of a lightning strike. You can ask me about this little trick and where I heard about it if you'd like
I've mentioned before that the satellite phone connects to our Durabook Mil grade rugged laptop and provides us with email, internet, GRIB weather files and crystal clear voice communication. The Globalstar system is getting better all the time, and on our most recent trip, we rarely had trouble getting a signal. Email via satellite is almost instantaneous, but large data files take a while. No problem as I have unlimited minutes for $30 a month. You'll have to ask if you want to know.
Our primary navigation is the MaxSea v 12.6.3 navigation software on the laptop. This navigation software is unbelievable; nothing else comes close to the capabilities of MaxSea. You have to see it in action to understand what it can do. The software can display the following Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs): Maptech, NOAA BSB, C-Map NT+ and C Map Max, ARC, Mapmedia, NDI, Softcharts, and several others, but if these aren't enough, well, they'll get you around the world safely, and I'm not sure what else you would need. Accuracy is unparalleled. And no, I do not have a helm station mounted chartplotter. Don't want one. More stories to tell. The laptop receives its navigation data from a Garmin 152 WAAS GPS; we have a Magellan 315 GPS backup that can also drive the software. This equipment is bullet proof. At the helm is a Ritchie SP-5 Globemaster compass - an awesome compass.
Perhaps I should mention our 12-volt electrical system, just briefly. At the heart of any DC system is the batteries. For years I used Trojan 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series. They worked well on this boat and my last one also, but as they age, flooded cell batteries such as the Trojans use more and more water to replenish the electrolyte. Maintaining the electrolyte level is an absolute necessity as failure to do so is sure death for a flooded cell battery. I switched to Lifeline AGM batteries, again, 6 volt batteries wired in series, and at age 4 years, the batteries are like new. All I have to do is keep the terminals clean, and I have only had to clean them once in four years. The batteries accept a charge much more rapidly, and they hold the charge well.
I replaced the standard Motorola alternator with a Balmar 9 Series 100 amp alternator coupled to a Max Charge MC 612 regulator. The alternator is very rugged, but the regulator has its quirks, and the current regulator is the third in 10 years - not a strong recommendation..
After the lightning strike, none of the engine instruments worked. How would you like to sort out what was wrong?
When we were finished, we had a new panel complete with rubber gaskets and locks.
We still have the original 24 year old Perkins 4-108 engine coupled to a Hurth 2.14 reduction transmission, right hand rotation. I service the mechanical components religiously, even when on cruises. I have either replaced or rebuilt many of the main engine components including the low pressure fuel pump, the high pressure injection pump, the injectors, the raw water pump, the oil seals, the alternator and regulator, and on and on. Your engine's reliability will be directly related to the care you give it; when I change the engine oil, I change the transmission oil as well. We use a dual fuel filter system, a Racor 2 micron water separator, and a CAV final filter. Both, in my opinion, are easy to change. Routine maintenance results in reliability.
Below is a photo of the injection pump prior to rebuilding; access is through a 10" by 12" cutout while almost standing on your head.
When I replaced the rudder, I also replaced the propeller shaft with a 30 mm Aquamet shaft and a Gori 3 blade folding propeller. The original propeller was a 2-blade Gori racing propeller, and it had worn to the point where it rattled all the time. The process of selecting and installing a new prop was painful, costly, and still has not been resolved to my satisfaction. Gori's engineering called for a 16.25" by 10", 3 blade, right hand prop. Months after the installation I was still trying to sort out problems with the new prop overloading the engine. Only recently did I discover that Gori sent me an 18" by 10" prop; the invoice says 16.25 by 10. As yet, Gori has not responded other than to say they will be happy to sell me new blades of the size they should have given me in the first place. We are not happy with Gori right now.
I replaced the entire exhaust system, the mixing elbow, all the hoses with Vetus hose, Vetus raw water Strainer, and a Vetus water lift muffler. The system is now leak free, and the exhaust tone is slightly quieter. My next improvement to the mechanical systems is some sort of remote air intake and filter. The Perkins uses an air horn with a metal screen to keep out dirt. It transmits a huge amount of air intake noise and I want to soften this as much as possible because we seem to motor far more often than we would like.
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