All Hands On Deck: Guys (or Gals) That Have Sailed The Bigger Stuff

[monkeyswrench]

So far, I think I've counted four actual professionals in this realm. I'm thinking there may be more, and there also may be some that have been in the driver seat, so to speak, of Navy equipment, or crewed on yachts or ships. I'd venture to say that a vast majority on the board here would be interested in how stuff works on the larger vessels. Most of us stay in the worlds of rivers, or lakes that we know. A few here run to Catalina, and some run from places in Florida to various island paradises.

So, how do these things work? It could be these mega-yachts, or a tanker...even a commercial fishing rig, what are the general operations? Do they have auto pilots? Are they GPS controlled? What the hell happens when the Garmin goes dead....and all you see is water, on every horizon . I am pretty good at navigation, but I think that's because I've always known roughly where in the country I was. Stars in my hemisphere are pretty "normal" for me, and I'm a fair judge of distance. Maps are great, but not always available. On a ship, do they still have charts? the big giant compass near the helm? Do bigger boats have depth finders, to warn of draft? How much range do the radios have, and does everyone else speak English? How long does it take to fill the tank?
Just general stuff, probably pretty mundane to those that have done it. I'll probably think of more questions, and maybe some others will too.

 

[The Prisoner]

I read this article a few weeks ago and was shocked at the size of a cruise ship steering wheel. They hardly use it. Joysticks!

Carnival Breeze Bridge Tour and Interview with the Captain

Where inside a cruise ship has a view forward, backward out both sides, and down below? Most passengers never get to see this area of the ship, and if they do may be so interested in everything el…

www.google.com

 

[jet496]

As a Boatswain's mate in the Navy, I used to steer a 365 ft, Fast Frigate (USS Bronstein) back in the 1980's & it was still pretty old school. Big ole helm, just kept spinning it (basically throwing it) left & right, steady as she goes. We did have sonar & radar though. I'll bet it's all crazy ass electronics now.

Started out as a Boiler Tech but didn't like being in the hole. I learned a hell of a lot on the deck about boats, knots & the ocean. Loved it for the first week or so at sea & then it got old after months & months out there.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

So far, I think I've counted four actual professionals in this realm. I'm thinking there may be more, and there also may be some that have been in the driver seat, so to speak, of Navy equipment, or crewed on yachts or ships. I'd venture to say that a vast majority on the board here would be interested in how stuff works on the larger vessels. Most of us stay in the worlds of rivers, or lakes that we know. A few here run to Catalina, and some run from places in Florida to various island paradises.

So, how do these things work? It could be these mega-yachts, or a tanker...even a commercial fishing rig, what are the general operations? Do they have auto pilots? Are they GPS controlled? What the hell happens when the Garmin goes dead....and all you see is water, on every horizon . I am pretty good at navigation, but I think that's because I've always known roughly where in the country I was. Stars in my hemisphere are pretty "normal" for me, and I'm a fair judge of distance. Maps are great, but not always available. On a ship, do they still have charts? the big giant compass near the helm? Do bigger boats have depth finders, to warn of draft? How much range do the radios have, and does everyone else speak English? How long does it take to fill the tank?
Just general stuff, probably pretty mundane to those that have done it. I'll probably think of more questions, and maybe some others will too.

I'll jump in on this one with a fun experience I've referenced before here..... Try to kep it brief ... Buddy needed assistance bringing his yacht up from Puerto Vallarta and called to see if I'd participate. Big fancy 4 stateroom beast with stabilizers and state of art nav so full auto piloting. Its 1100 miles back to Newport and he'd run 10 knots around clock with 4 dudes driving 4 hour shifts. I said "You know I know nothing bout boats" he said you'll be fine its all automated and I can teach a monkey to do this. I had one question; who else is on board cause he said its 4 days at sea give or take and I can't hire in a helicopter if I'm pissed off by a dick. He assured me two other guys are cool and just getting some hours at the helm for licensing. I said I'd sleep on it and call in morning. I agreed to go and flew down to meet and off we went next dawn. I'm at helm first night driving the midnight to 4am shift. I'm up about 20' in air driving it from above pilot seating on some comfy as fuck leather captain chairs and going 10 knots with nothing by beautiful music going. The others are down below sleeping and I have a walkie talkie to call captain if I see anything on radar coming my way inside of 5 miles. It was real easy understanding two important nav systems... basically drives itself. The challenge when I got upstairs and sat down to take over was that there was zero visibility.... I mean no stars, no moon, nuthin.... couldn't even see any horizon. Just blackness. I was driving that bitch on sheer instruments. But after 3 beers for nerves I relaxed and trusted and enjoyed the first 2 hours. I did have to wake captain due to a vessel on radar tracking towards us and he said all vessels run auto pilot so if tracking across us inside 5 miles wake him up. The fishing ships can drag a 3 mile net. So we adjusted path and back down he went to cabin. So an hour goes by and I'm chilled out and all the sudden the boat starts shifting up and down kinda like a rocking horse.... and before I know it I'm in 15-20' seas in the Sea of Mexico. Man oh Man that thing was rolling and that bitch is making noise like some steel whale thats unhappy. I called him up and spotted his ass getting thrown in the air climbing up that beautiful wood and carpeted staircase. He got to me at helm right when she peaked on a big crest and was headed down and we both looked out just in time to see her stuff and take a 5-8' wake over her bow around 70' forward of us and it was rushing onto the deck and headed right up our way on 2nd story. We grabbed the zippers on that windshield closing it just as about a 3' wall of water slammed us. He was happy cause all the electronics were exposed otherwise. This is getting kinda lengthy and I wanted to keep short for attention span dudes so I'll simply end by saying we throttled back to 5 knots and ducked into Cabo for three nights letting storm pass and I had a blast there seeing families I've known for years. But that 300 miles across Sea of Mexico was a bitch... no sleep, no opening the fridge door to eat cause it'd rip off hinges... I had bruises on my head from being thrown across kitchen into a cabinet 8' in air.... and try taking a shit.... fuggetaboutit.

Like I said.... great story... but I ain't spoken to that dude in 4 years. He said Aprils the soft water month when yachters bring em up.... yeah right.

 

[Perlmudder]

I worked on private yachts for a while. When we were transporting the boat we would have 4 hour watches with two people. Pretty much once you are out in the open ocean you set autopilot and watch radar listen to music and hang out. The autopilot kept a heading, but would not steer to a GPS position. Sometimes depending on the current you would slide sideways and be heading parallel to your intended path, so every once in a while you correct. The radar will tell you all the information on all other boats in the area that have AIS. They give you speed, heading, closest intercept point. Sometimes you adjust a couple degrees here or there if you are going to pass a little too close. At night once something pops up on radar you can pick it up with binoculars looking for their navigation lights. The navigation lights are always important because the AIS will not tell you if it is a yacht towing a tender 150 yard back, or a tug towing a barge 500 yards back, but the navigation lights tell the story.

We always had paper charts as well marking our course. Every hour you mark where you are on the map based on the GPS coordinates. So when you are only going 10-12 knots, if all electronics went out, you still have a compass and you have a pretty good idea of where you are. You also log sea conditions, weather, etc.

We had depth gauges, and even sometimes we would send a tender out ahead to read depths if we really wanted to get into a tight mooring area. The radios reached pretty far, they say 60 miles and pretty much everyone spoke English, they could all at least answer a call on 16.

We carried 18000 gallons of diesel. We would dock at a port and a tanker truck would roll up. It usually took about 4 hours depending on how much we were taking on. It was never empty. You would legitimately have to sit on a bucket and hold a fuel pump just like the gas station but bigger. An engineer would be down in the engine room directing fuel to the various tanks around the boat. With that much fuel it had enough range to cross the Atlantic on its own bottom. Some of the much larger yachts can take on fuel much faster.

The longest distance trip I did was from Lake Ontario to Palm Beach Florida. Overall that took a few weeks, but we stopped in various ports on the way and went sightseeing. Our usual route was from Palm Beach to Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas, then out to the Exumas, then back to Atlantis. We would do a month out in the Bahamas, come back for a bit, then head out again.

 

[Gonefishin5555]

i took the graveyard shift on my buddies fishing boat out to the cortez bank and ended up in the middle of navy exercises. They chewed my ass out pretty good over channel 16. Vessel you are in a restricted area with an active live fire exercise change your course immediately and exit the area. It was like 3am. Uh is he talkin to me? Oh sorry. I remember I hooked a big hammerhead on the bank and the waves were breaking on the rocks out there and we had to cut our anchor loose as we got it stuck. We got our asses kicked so to speak.

I've also piloted around Catalina in the middle of the night it gets super dark and spooky and there are a few rocks you can hit. I like to stay pretty far off the island it is straight blackness sometimes that or fog very nerve racking stuff. We always plan around the weather so I've never been in anything too hairy as far as waves or wind.

One day I'd like to crew on a mexico trip from PVR or Cabo back to Cali. I'd have to troll the whole way looking for some sushi.

 

[mbrown2]

Great thread...love these stories...

 

[RiverDave]

So I got a yacht story for ya.

About six years ago a well to do friend of mine called me up and said “hey Dave pack your bags and fly to Cabo.. I gotta bring my yacht up to California. The crew is on it you, and your wife can go and it’s your boat for a week. Want to fish? No problem, stop at a port? No big deal Just go and have fun. Boats loaded, private chef etc and bring the boat back!”

I’m like . Hell to the yes!! This is the kinda shit I dream about!

I tell Stacy I’m off like a prom dress and if she can get a babysitter she can come too!

She gives me the and calmly says “it’s summers birthday in a couple days”.

I respond “she’s gonna be three. She doesn’t know when the f her birthday is, we can do it now or when I get back”.

She says “it’s her birthday and you aren’t going.. I’m Sure there will be another opportunity we know “_______”. Pretty well we will do it next time.

I’m trying to explain to her that if you say no there ain’t gonna be a next time..

She holds firm.. why I didn’t just grab my bag and leave I don’t know.. total bitch move on my part.

Well anyhow this guys big ass yachts have been back and forth to Cabo I’m guessing six times now.. know how many times that offer has been extended again? 0. Lol

If your reading this, give me another shot coach! I won’t let ya down.

 

[Swain]

So I got a yacht story for ya.

About six years ago a well to do friend of mine called me up and said “hey Dave pack your bags and fly to Cabo.. I gotta bring my yacht up to California. The crew is on it you, and your wife can go and it’s your boat for a week. Want to fish? No problem, stop at a port? No big deal Just go and have fun. Boats loaded, private chef etc and bring the boat back!”

I’m like . Hell to the yes!! This is the kinda shit I dream about!

I tell Stacy I’m off like a prom dress and if she can get a babysitter she can come too!

She gives me the and calmly says “it’s summers birthday in a couple days”.

I respond “she’s gonna be three. She doesn’t know when the f her birthday is, we can do it now or when I get back”.

She says “it’s her birthday and you aren’t going.. I’m Sure there will be another opportunity we know “_______”. Pretty well we will do it next time.

I’m trying to explain to her that if you say no there ain’t gonna be a next time..

She holds firm.. why I didn’t just grab my bag and leave I don’t know.. total bitch move on my part.

Well anyhow this guys big ass yachts have been back and forth to Cabo I’m guessing six times now.. know how many times that offer has been extended again? 0. Lol

If your reading this, give me another shot coach! I won’t let ya down.

Pic of the Yacht so we can really get a feel what you missed. LOL

 

[Maw]

My youngest son had a similar offer to Dave's. A neighbor was flying back to Fort Lauderdale to pick up his new (to him) 130' Westport. They were bringing it back to SoCal and needed a minimal crew in transition. I tried to convince him it would be a great experience and way of learning how the boat's system all interacted. He passed on it, but now regrets that choice since our new venture is back in that field. To quote Red, "Dumbass"!

 

[stephenkatsea]

When delivering a yacht between Cabo and Panama particular attention must be paid to Gulf of Tehuantepec, at the extreme south end of Mexico. The mainland shrinks down in that region and weather systems funnel through there from the Gulf of Mexico and exhaust out into the Pacific. The safest way to transit that area is staying close to the coast. It can be tempting to just run straight across point to point. But, the weather can quickly go from flat calm to blowing 65+. If you're hugging the coast that extreme N to NW'ly wind will blow right over the top of you. It can be blowing 80 knots, but you're in 3'-4' seas. I knew a guy who sunk in a yacht when they tried to run across Tehauntepec point to point. Extreme winds hit them out in the middle. They didn't make it. 55' yacht. They spent 13 days at sea, adrift in a life raft. They were miraculously spotted and picked up by a small freighter.

 

[rivermobster]

@OCMerrill might know a bit about this. He actually let me drive his boat one time!

All he said was....

See this screen?? Keep the boat right "here" on the screen. Coulda been pitch black out, wouldn't have made any difference. The radar and depth finder kept you right on course.


Then there was another time I almost killed him, but that's a whole different story, where I learned how sensitive electronic throttles are!

 

[Lavey5150]

GPS? True Virgins Make Dull Company After Weddings. Don't ever leave a Soda Can next to the Compass, you'll end up at Santa Barbara Island when your goal was Two Harbors.Parellel bars and Charts.were the way.I grew up a Sea Explorer in Newport Harbor,our greatest tech before I moved on from the Sea Base was the Loran.Charts and Bars should be taught and known if you are travelling the high seas IMO. The yellow/black mile marker is still at Newport El where I drop my kids for school on the peninsula, that we used to calculate our knot speed the old way. We used to slay a lot of fish back then,what a world of knowledge I gained from that program.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

So I got a yacht story for ya.

About six years ago a well to do friend of mine called me up and said “hey Dave pack your bags and fly to Cabo.. I gotta bring my yacht up to California. The crew is on it you, and your wife can go and it’s your boat for a week. Want to fish? No problem, stop at a port? No big deal Just go and have fun. Boats loaded, private chef etc and bring the boat back!”

I’m like . Hell to the yes!! This is the kinda shit I dream about!

I tell Stacy I’m off like a prom dress and if she can get a babysitter she can come too!

She gives me the and calmly says “it’s summers birthday in a couple days”.

I respond “she’s gonna be three. She doesn’t know when the f her birthday is, we can do it now or when I get back”.

She says “it’s her birthday and you aren’t going.. I’m Sure there will be another opportunity we know “_______”. Pretty well we will do it next time.

I’m trying to explain to her that if you say no there ain’t gonna be a next time..

She holds firm.. why I didn’t just grab my bag and leave I don’t know.. total bitch move on my part.

Well anyhow this guys big ass yachts have been back and forth to Cabo I’m guessing six times now.. know how many times that offer has been extended again? 0. Lol

If your reading this, give me another shot coach! I won’t let ya down.

Yep... these offers aren't often. Gotta say yes and deal later with fallout.
Something around 80-85' but I recall the 145K lbs she weighs. Beast and even with those monster swells I never felt in danger of sinking.

 

[Buddy]

Leaving Ft Lauderdale now on a new Ferretti 100. Headed to NY.
I have guys begging to be asked along on these trips!

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Leaving Ft Lauderdale now on a new Ferretti 100. Headed to NY.
I have guys begging to be asked along on these trips!
View attachment 1125925

Nice... thats tight... hope no breezes lol

 

[stephenkatsea]

Ships today. Some dripping with electronics, some not. Magnetic compass still required, but all work done via gyro compass (true headings and bearings). Helms are small or non existent. Usually 2 radars minimum. Some with true motion collision avoidance. Max range usually 48nm. Auto pilot, which holds a heading but not a track unless interfaced with other electronics. AIS, Plotter, Sounder, GPS, VHF and SSB radios. Weather Fax. GMDSS suite. NAVTEX. Nav Lt panel. Eng Rm alarm panel. When underway bridge watch is mantained by a Master/Mate and AB helmsman - always 2 persons. Engine room has Engr/Asst Engr on watch - 1 person. Manning requirements determined by USCG. Charts electronic and paper. Bridge officers must be proficient in celestial navigation when sailing with Upon Oceans endorsement.
Fueling is accomplished via truck, barge or dedicated fuel facility. Slowest is via truck, gravity fed. Barge and fuel facilities pump fuel aboard at various rates. When speaking ship to ship or ship to port facilities, English is typically spoken. Numerous other bridge electronics and Sat Info and Coms depending on vessel tasking. Dynamic Position Consoles, controls, displays and sensors are found on the bridge of some vessels.

 

[OCMerrill]

My youngest son had a similar offer to Dave's. A neighbor was flying back to Fort Lauderdale to pick up his new (to him) 130' Westport. They were bringing it back to SoCal and needed a minimal crew in transition. I tried to convince him it would be a great experience and way of learning how the boat's system all interacted. He passed on it, but now regrets that choice since our new venture is back in that field. To quote Red, "Dumbass"!

Its difficult to convince the younger generation of anything that seems important to their parent.

We are moving back to HH from Dana. Perhaps I can buy you that beer.

Were down from 36 to 12 on the waitlist. I do not want to live through Dana's expansion and Newport Beach priced slips.

 

[rivermobster]

Its difficult to convince the younger generation of anything that seems important to their parent.

We are moving back to HH from Dana. Perhaps I can buy you that beer.

Were down from 36 to 12 on the waitlist. I do not want to live through Dana's expansion and Newport Beach priced slips.

Capt. Ron @ your service Sir.

 

[OCMerrill]

@OCMerrill might know a bit about this. He actually let me drive his boat one time!

All he said was....

See this screen?? Keep the boat right "here" on the screen. Coulda been pitch black out, wouldn't have made any difference. The radar and depth finder kept you right on course.


Then there was another time I almost killed him, but that's a whole different story, where I learned how sensitive electronic throttles are!

These guys are dealing with a few more zero's Josie. My measly 30k lb vessel could be a nice dinghy for these bots.

The bigger you are and the heavier you are the more CG rules you get.

And yes that night with Tom and Anne GPS and Auto Pilot drove us home. Radar so you could see if we were going to get plugged by any commercial traffic.

 

[RiverDave]

Pic of the Yacht so we can really get a feel what you missed. LOL

I’ve never seen it.. lol. But I can tell ya it’s bad ass

 

[rivermobster]

These guys are dealing with a few more zero's Josie. My measly 30k lb vessel could be a nice dinghy for these bots.

The bigger you are and the heavier you are the more CG rules you get.

And yes that night with Tom and Anne GPS and Auto Pilot drove us home. Radar so you could see if we were going to get plugged by any commercial traffic.

Remember it like it was yesterday.

 

[stephenkatsea]

These guys are dealing with a few more zero's Josie. My measly 30k lb vessel could be a nice dinghy for these bots.

The bigger you are and the heavier you are the more CG rules you get.

And yes that night with Tom and Anne GPS and Auto Pilot drove us home. Radar so you could see if we were going to get plugged by any commercial traffic.

Many here may not realize the Tom and Anne you mention, were the infamous Tom Brown and his wife. If I recall, after all the legends he brought with him, Tom and Anne were a pleasure for you to have onboard. That may have been their first time on the ocean?

Ya but, there was that fence deal at a muffler shop in the Vegas area . . . Believe that may have occurred on the same trip? Without a doubt, Tom Brown was cut from a different batch. But he was well spoken, intelligent, clever and could be funny as hell. Hope he's doing well.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Ships today. Some dripping with electronics, some not. Magnetic compass still required, but all work done via gyro compass (true headings and bearings). Helms are small or non existent. Usually 2 radars minimum. Some with true motion collision avoidance. Max range usually 48nm. Auto pilot, which holds a heading but not a track unless interfaced with other electronics. AIS, Plotter, Sounder, GPS, VHF and SSB radios. Weather Fax. GMDSS suite. NAVTEX. Nav Lt panel. Eng Rm alarm panel. When underway bridge watch is mantained by a Master/Mate and AB helmsman - always 2 persons. Engine room has Engr/Asst Engr on watch - 1 person. Manning requirements determined by USCG. Charts electronic and paper. Bridge officers must be proficient in celestial navigation when sailing with Upon Oceans endorsement.
Fueling is accomplished via truck, barge or dedicated fuel facility. Slowest is via truck, gravity fed. Barge and fuel facilities pump fuel aboard at various rates. When speaking ship to ship or ship to port facilities, English is typically spoken. Numerous other bridge electronics and Sat Info and Coms depending on vessel tasking. Dynamic Position Consoles, controls, displays and sensors are found on the bridge of some vessels.

I think it was you that mentioned doing "sea trials" off of San Diego. How big of boats (probably more accurately "ships") did you sail on? Seeing the post above of the bridge, weird to think of a "dual helm" or triple I guess, where the helms could be almost 100ft apart .

On "sea trials"...is that something they only do when the ship is new? Or is it like a mechanic taking a car for a test drive after repairs? I watched a show on re-powering a cruise ship...hadn't given it much thought, but all hell would break loose if something went south after that much effort.

 

[stephenkatsea]

No, the 'Sea Trials Off of San Diego' post wasn't me. But, sea trials are typically conducted, among other situations, upon new construction and propulsion/control refits, Yes. "Helms" - control stations, can be many feet apart.

I was Captain/Master of vessels from 65 - 300 ft in length. To me, they're all boats. USCG uses an obscure terminology of Gross Tonnage when classifying the size of vessels. It has obsolutely nothing to do with the weight of the vessel or its length. It is more of a calculated cubic foot, cargo carrying capacity. It has many non included/special circumstance considerations. Honestly, Gross Tonnage is industry friendly when it comes to licensing of crew and classification of a vessel. At times a 65 ft vessel can seem large and in very big seas a 300 ft vessel can feel very small.

 

[monkeyswrench]

There are people here that are very accustomed to operating 40-50ft power boats. To me, those seem massive. My boating has been primarily on the Colorado River, so to me, they are huge.

It's really all relative though. In a river only a few hundred feet wide, a 50ft boat is pretty big. At sea, a 500ft boat is like a grain rice, floating in the center of the lake. The absolute enormity of the Pacific or the Atlantic are really hard to wrap your head around if you've never been across, or in the middle of them.

 

[OCMerrill]

Many here may not realize the Tom and Anne you mention, were the infamous Tom Brown and his wife. If I recall, after all the legends he brought with him, Tom and Anne were a pleasure for you to have onboard. That may have been their first time on the ocean?

Ya but, there was that fence deal at a muffler shop in the Vegas area . . . Believe that may have occurred on the same trip? Without a doubt, Tom Brown was cut from a different batch. But he was well spoken, intelligent, clever and could be funny as hell. Hope he's doing well.

He's on facebook under his name. Still funny a hell.

 

[fmo24]

I’ve said this in other threads but the knowledge and experiences shared by the inmates absolutely fascinate me. I love reading and learning so when a thread like this comes along it’s one I check back in regularly

 

[Racey]

Most of the newer high end 60+ yachts run a very small steering wheel or in some cases none at all. Most dock maneuvering is done with the shifters and thrusters, so not a big need for much wheel input. I think alot of this stuff is DBW now so there is no point to a big wheel anyway. Big wheel on a manual hydraulic helm means you have some leverage if you lose your power assistance, if you have DBW the manual steering is in the engine room at the tillers, so no need for a big wheel at the helm.

Yeah almost everything has autopilot now, even smaller sailboats, They can do waypoint, heading, or even angle of wind navigation.

Once you are out in the open ocean autopilot is on and you are on 'watch'. Almost everything is runnin AIS which is basically a chart tracker where your boat shows up to others on their chart plotters, and vice versa.

As far as navigation goes, i think most people are reliant on GPS navigation, many people probably don't even carry true charts (unless its on an ipad or something). It's easy to have redundant GPS though, your only problem is if the entire GPS system takes a shit from space.

That being said, i can't imagine that qualified captains don't have to learn and test on paper charts, and time based(east west), and astronomy (north south) navigation.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Celestial Navigation - Most may not realize, a traditional 3 body position fix (bodies include stars, planets and the moon, although the moon is seldom used) can only be conducted twice a day, prior to sun rise and after sun set. Reason, you need a clear, distinct horizon, to use a sextant when shooting celestial bodies. Running fixes, and noon fixes of the sun can be conducted throughout the day, assuming the sun is visible. Celestial navigation also requires a known height of eye above the sea, index error of the particular sextant used, the exact time of day to the second converted to GMT, a nautical almanac, sight reduction tables and a chart or Plotting sheet for your area. The process takes a while to complete. Practice improves speed and accuracy. We would occasionally cover up the GPS unit displays and take sextant observation position fixes. Good way to pass the time during an open ocean transit. Although it's not USCG required, it keeps your skills sharp.

GPS - At one time there were two GPS positions offered by our US GPS satellite system. There was a civilian position, it was intentially slewed. And a precise military position, it was not slewed. During the Clinton administration the US Gov opted to provide the exact military GPS position to all GPS receivers. I questioned that decision. The previous slewed civilian position was very adequate for safe navigation. Assume the US Govt retains the ability to again slew that signal, if they would desire.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

No, the 'Sea Trials Off of San Diego' post wasn't me. But, sea trials are typically conducted, among other situations, upon new construction and propulsion/control refits, Yes. "Helms" - control stations, can be many feet apart.

I was Captain/Master of vessels from 65 - 300 ft in length. To me, they're all boats. USCG uses an obscure terminology of Gross Tonnage when classifying the size of vessels. It has obsolutely nothing to do with the weight of the vessel or its length. It is more of a calculated cubic foot, cargo carrying capacity. It has many non included/special circumstance considerations. Honestly, Gross Tonnage is industry friendly when it comes to licensing of crew and classification of a vessel. At times a 65 ft vessel can seem large and in very big seas a 300 ft vessel can feel very small.

I've heard some make references in two catagories; Glass vs Steel

 

[n2otoofast4u]

Who was it on this forum that sailed South, through the canal, end ended in NY I think it was. It was one of the best threads on here!

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

There are people here that are very accustomed to operating 40-50ft power boats. To me, those seem massive. My boating has been primarily on the Colorado River, so to me, they are huge.

It's really all relative though. In a river only a few hundred feet wide, a 50ft boat is pretty big. At sea, a 500ft boat is like a grain rice, floating in the center of the lake. The absolute enormity of the Pacific or the Atlantic are really hard to wrap your head around if you've never been across, or in the middle of them.

Man that is the truth.... I never felt that 80' monster get so small as that night in Sea of Mexico 300 mile crossing @ 5 knots.

 

[Racey]

GPS - At one time there were two GPS positions offered by our US GPS satellite system. There was a civilian position, it was intentially slewed. And a precise military position, it was not slewed. During the Clinton administration the US Gov opted to provide the exact military GPS position to all GPS receivers. I questioned that decision. The previous slewed civilian position was very adequate for safe navigation. Assume the US Govt retains the ability to again slew that signal, if they would desire.

They do, there are actually 2 signals from the GPS sats, the Civilian and the Military. The civilian one can be rolled back at any point to low accuracy or even turned off.

There is also very strict control of who manufactures the GPS chips. Civilian chips are either made in ultra high accuracy, very low speed (Surveryors), or Lower accuracy (a couple meters) and medium update speeds (between 10 and 100 times per second). Civilian chips will also stop outputing data above 1,000mph iirc. The military chips are the best of both, and can do extreme precision with extreme speed (many hundreds of times per second, maybe even into the 1000s)

If you are a hardware engineer integrating GPS into a piece of hardware (like a phone for example), you never get to see the actual software doing the position calculation, that remains internal to the actual GPS chip you have mounted to your circuit board, which spits out serial data in a common format that you then integrate into your product. The decoding of the signal is a highly regarded secret, it's an encrypted signal from what i understand, and only a handful of chip MFGs like Garmin have access to the decoding keys.