Onboard Equipment Review

We look at how different Owners choose the equipment to outfit their boat. Why do certain boats use the equipment they have onboard, and what are the benefits.

This newsletter we look at the new

J/122

These are the interesting bits of gear we saw on the J122. This boat gave us the excuse to learn some of the cool Garmin features.

Items we look at are;  Dodger quick release base,  BSI rod turnbuckles, Furlex through Deck furler, The new Garmin 5212 touch screen chart plotter which is proving very popular, The B & G 3000 instrument range and a very Effective Rubber Mast Boot. Finally the J/122 specs

J/122 SPECS

Nav Station

The nav station is simple uncluttered yet has everything you need. However there is still space for more should you need it.

Cool quick release dodger

The advantage of this fitting is its quick release function.

The fitting is released by sliding the button on the left away from the dodger. Quick and easy release, no more fiddling with small screws.

MakeFast

The fitting is distributed by Performance Textiles to canvas makers in the US. Call you local canvas maker and ask him about this fitting.

Performance Textiles,

BSI rod turnbuckles

Calibrated Turnbuckles from BSI.

Clean terminations and no rough edges or exposed pins make this a very cool looking solution.

The calibration allows you to visually keep a check on your rig tension.

Furlex Through Deck TD furler

The Trough Deck Furler gives a much cleaner look and less to catch lines on, plus it looks cool and gets you sail closer to the deck. If you set an anchor you do not have the furler drum to deal with or catch on.

Garmin 5212

This plotter from Garmin seems to be one of the most talked about new navigation devices on the market. The touch screen feature allows for more screen real estate as there are no buttons.

My only criticism is with drilling down into the pages is that its difficult to find out where you are, and how you got there. I found I would get to a place and it would take me a while to retrace my steps. At the moment you can use the home button or the menu button top right on each page and there is a back button at the bottom. I suspect this will not be an issue once you get to know the unit. But for the beginner simple breadcrumbs at the top would let you know where you are.

This is the Menu on the Home page.

Here you can touch the screen and access any of the 8 sections.

The touch is more of a TAP, so simply tap the screen to make a command.

Home page Icons;      Features on those pages

Charts                    Select for Navigation choices between Navigation & Marine Eye charts

Combinations        Here you can mix Navigation Charts w Marine Eye views

Information             Information on tides, currents, other boats, AIS, DSC

Mark                       Your Current position, lat lon

Where to                This POI feature give you course and distance to local services like Fuel

Weather                 Add XM Sirius weather for weather overlays

Configure              This Icon is for system configuration

Man Overboard    Activate for MOB position

To get to the navigate page TAP the CHARTS icon top left and you will get a choice of Navigation Chart or Marine Eye.

Selecting Navigation Chart to get to normal electronic navigation below. The standard chart is Blue Chart g2 maps and comes preloaded for the US Coast.

In the Navigation page you get the following actions

• Top left use the Blue icon to take you back to HOME

• To create a waypoint quick tap/touch the screen in the desired position.

• You will see the circle and cross as the waypoint in the position you chose.

• You can drag the circle waypoint to another position using your finger

• Once you have a waypoint use the Blue icons "Navigate to" or "Create a Waypoint"

• One feature is the little box bottom left corner. This box appear when the waypoint is off the screen showing the vessel. if you pan to the waypoint the box appears showing the boats position.

• The plus and minus blue buttons allow you to touch and zoom in and out. 

To get Marine Eye you will need to buy the optional BlueChart  g2 Vision Card to get the wild underwater and angled views below.

"Where to" Screen for Fuel

This is what you get when you select "Where To Go" on the home screen. Selecting Fuel we got these offerings of where to get fuel course and distance.

The closest was just the other side of the creek.

Just a quick look at the 5212, lots of cool features and the touch screen feature make the Garmin a really nice navigation tool.

Garmin 5212 review

VHF radio ICOM M-504

 B & G 3000

 

The latest B & G 3000 system. There are a few features about the 3000 that make it vastly improved over 2000 system.  First is the new graphics that you can see on the Graphical Function Display. All wind data trends can be analyzed by the hour which is an aid to the navigator and tactician.

 

Second due the unique construction methods the displays are much more impervious to fogging.

 

Third is the ease of installation and trouble shooting. Having talked to an installer, putting a 3000 system in a new J122 he told me the ease of install and fault finding is far superior to the 2000 system.

 

Fourth is the calibration. I like the table you can bring up which shows you all the calibration numbers for true wind. Seeing the numbers in one table is a huge help in keeping your system accurate. There are many more benefits to the 3000 to many for here.

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mast boot

MastBoot 60  home for mast boot Windblown Products


This is the best easiest to apply and good looking mast boot. You can see the black rubber material blends in perfectly with the carbon Hall Spar.

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J BOATS