Victron BMS wins 2021 Husick award
31 Dec

Victron BMS wins 2021 Husick award

Tim QueeneyBatteries, Marine Technology
The 2021 winner of the Ocean Navigator Chuck Husick Marine Technology Award is the Lynx Smart Battery Management System (BMS) (www.victronenergy.com/battery-management-systems/lynx-smart-bms). The Lynx unit is a full-featured BMSystem for managing lithium batteries, with capabilities like a battery monitor showing state of charge, a pre-alarm signal, Bluetooth connectivity, local and remote monitoring using a Victron GX device and more. Husick award judge and voyager Rebecca Childress wrote in an email, “Victron makes amazing products and this one sounds like another great way to stay on top of your electrical setup!” The runner-up finalist was the Groco E Valve series with a…
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31 Dec

What is a marinized engine?

Tim QueeneyMarine Technology
In a recent issue that included a story on repowering, we wrote that Volvo marine marinizes Kubota engines for some of its engine offerings. This point brought a response from Stanley Feigenbaum, one of the founders and former owners of Beta Marine engines in the U.S., who informed us that Volvo uses a diesel engine manufactured by the Shibaura engine company as the basis for some of its marine engines. This was helpful, but it raised the question: what exactly does marinizing an engine mean and why is it important?  It’s no surprise that the marine engine market is significantly…
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Ocean Navigator is 2022 Vallarta Race sponsor
13 Dec

Ocean Navigator is 2022 Vallarta Race sponsor

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyaging, , , , , ,
Ocean Navigator is now an official sponsor of the 2022 Vallarta Race, San Diego Yacht Club's long-standing traditional event sailing to the Mexican mainland on a 1,000 nm course from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. For for SDYC, racing to the Mexican mainland goes back to the first race iu 1953. The race is set to start in three classes on March 10, 11 and 12, 2022. Currently, there are 28 entrants for the race. This ocean race is a natural event for ON to participate in as a sponsor as it promotes offshore sailing skills and voyaging techniques that…
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30 Jun
Tim QueeneyWeather
On March 22, 2021, NOAA announced that the National Weather Service (NWS) would use a new global computer model for weather forecasts. This is an “under the hood” type of improvement that most voyagers won’t see directly. If the new system works as advertised, however, voyagers should see better weather forecasts on their vessels.  NOAA says the new Global Forecast System (GFS) “will increase forecast capabilities across the U.S. These advancements will improve hurricane genesis forecasting, modeling for snowfall location, heavy rainfall forecasts, and overall model performance.” The GFS is a numerical weather prediction model that uses a mathematical model…
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02 Jan

Notable New Titles — Plunge

Tim QueeneyGood Reads, Ocean Navigator, ,
Former liveaboard voyager and self-professed “citizen of the world,” Liesbet Collaert’s memoir Plunge is, like many other voyagers’ memoirs, an account of passages made, life aboard, dealing with gear failure, experiencing tropical beauty and a freedom tempered only by wind and weather. Yet, it would be unfair to only place the book in the category of sailing memoir. Plunge is also an affecting account of Collaert’s emotional life, her evolving relationship with her voyaging husband, Mark, and the losses and trade-offs that everyone, no matter afloat or ashore, must navigate. The memoir is bracingly honest about Collaert’s marriage and the…
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