Projects - SeaBits

Rendezvous Internet Setup for 2020

This is my Peplink and Poynting based internet system for 2020 aboard Rendezvous using LTE and WiFi sources, and marine grade components

Projects

Engine and power dashboards

I have discussed my weather dashboard before in Real-time weather from the boat, but I have always wanted more visibility into other areas. I have a couple of new dashboards for engine performance and the electrical system.

Projects

Isolating AC power

You may notice that this article is quite short. After a few comments (scroll down) and a number of email discussions on the side, I decided to remove the content of this article and replace it with this info.

Projects

Real-time weather from the boat

Getting real-time weather data from the boat is now possible using SignalK and some plugins, plus beautiful dashboards in Grafana, with the data stored in Influx

Projects

Docking and engine room cameras

Docking my boat is much easier with a camera looking at the dock, and visible from all driving locations. Finding one proved to be easier than I thought.

Reviews

Wakespeed WS-500 regulator review

The Wakespeed WS-500 regulator is super programmable, has a ton of features, and can be used for dual engine, LiFePO4 banks, and smaller engines very effectively.

Projects

Upgrading VHF and AIS antennas

I have wanted to update my VHF antennas for a while, specifically to get a dedicated AIS antenna for my Class B transponder.

Projects

What's on your boat server?

Servers are more common on boats today than ever before. Having some sort of system to run SignalK, a dedicated alerting system, or some other service has become just as integral as having a chart plotter or VHF radio.

Projects

Victron + Wakespeed + Battle Born power system

I upgrade my power system with Battle Born batteries, Balmar alternators, and Wakespeed regulators to give me way more power and longer time at anchor.

Internet

Rendezvous internet setup

Having a reliable setup has always been one of my top goals, usually leveraging several technologies. This article covers the tech that I used on my boat.

Projects

Boat piano and storage

The Yamaha P-125 piano is super light, has an excellent action, a few great piano sounds, and is perfect for my boat. I also built a system to store it in a closet.

Projects

The anchor project

After months and months of troubleshooting problems, changing chain and anchors, I finally have an anchoring system that I feel very confident in.

Projects

Final project push before summer trips

A sneak peek at some of the projects I am finishing up. Includes a new LiFePO4 battery bank, water pump, lights, and more.

Projects

Rendezvous initial networks

In the last 4 months, I have been developing my overall network on board Rendezvous. I wanted a good WiFi/Ethernet network to connect me to the outside world, as well as a well developed NMEA 2000 network for marine equipment while underway. So far, here's what I have...

Projects

Diesel tank monitoring with Maretron TLM

Monitoring my diesel tank level is much easier now that I've installed a Maretron TLM ultrasonic tank sensor.

Projects

Seaview - more than just mounts

As part of the project to update Rendezvous electronics, I planned on replacing the older Furuno open-array radar, which required looking for a new mounting solution on my arch. I started searching for mounts, and came across a lot of solutions.

Projects

New LED lighting everywhere

Updating your boat to LED lighting is an easy way to make it feel more updated, livable and safe. MarineBeam, SuperBrightLEDs and Dr. LED converted me fully to LED.

Projects

Installing and using a Victron LiFePO4 energy system

With my LiFePO4 power design complete, I was excited to install and use the new system for most of this sailing season. The installation took longer than a traditional battery installation, and had more complexity, but turned out to be a fantastic setup for the longer trips I went on this summer.

Projects

Correcting the list - LiFePO4 power system design

Due to weight and features, I decided to convert my sailboat power system to LiFePO4. This article covers the design which settled on Victron components.

Projects

Improvements with a new propeller

Grace came with a factory prop when I purchased her - it was OK, but after 3 years of using that prop, I felt that I could get better speed and potentially other benefits.

Projects

Major mast work

In the last year I have had a number of issues with items in or on Grace's mast. During a recent trip to Blake Island, the anchor light stopped working, and that was the last straw. It was time to dig deeper into fixing all of the issues.

Internet

Modular, cheaper boat internet solution via Netgear and MikroTik

I've written a lot about my boat network, and in particular, Peplink products that offer a ton of functionality and features. For the last 6 months, I have been playing with configurations and hardware that cost less, but still provide flexibility and features that more expensive solutions offer.

Projects

Using an Intel NUC as a powerful boat server

I use an Intel NUC as a boat linux computer to run Grafana, SignalK, Zabbix and many more tools.

Internet

Best LTE antenna and booster for the boat

For almost two years I have been testing, re-testing, and re-wiring my setup on Grace in an effort to find the best LTE antenna configuration.

Projects

Completed navigation panel

I redesigned my nav and electrical panel, and finally got the parts to put it all together. A fun and beautiful project!

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