Great Holiday Gift for the Navigator!

Navigating VNS - The first training CD for Nobeltec's Visual Navigation Suite
Course Line PC offers a new way to learn how to use Nobeltec’s Visual Navigation Suite™. Get the most out of your software investment by learning the essential functions of VNS. This interactive CD-ROM covers everything you need to know about successful installation of the program, charts and other data. Also, learn how to configure the toolbars and console to fit your specific needs. In addition, learn the fantastic ways you can create a route plan using the ETA calculator saving you time and fuel insuring the best possible route. Finally, learn what you need to know about real-time tracking while under way. Add a level of confidence that comes from knowing your exact position in relation to your surroundings at all times. ORDER NOW! This great new tool lists for $149 and is available directly from Nobeltec at 1-800-598-4976. For information, visit Course Line PC on their web site at:

www.courselinepc.com

Using Nav Photo Charts
Photo charts can be displayed two different ways. You can display just the photo chart by itself or you can blend the Photo chart with your Vector chart.

To display the Photo Chart, click on the “P” icon on your toolbar. You will now be prompted to either display a Stand-alone Photo or Chart Blend. If you select Stand-alone Photo, it will display the photo charts in that area. If you select Chart Blend the Photos will be displayed and blended with the Vector charts. You will also have a Chart Blending Control. The Chart Blending Control allows you to adjust the level of the opacity of the Photo charts. By adjusting the scroll bar you can control how much of the photo chart is blended into the vector chart. Once you have it adjusted to the level you like you may close the Chart Blending Control by clicking on the X in the right hand corner. To bring the Chart Blending Control back up; go to Window | Chart Blend Settings. To go back to just Vector display, Click on the “V” on your toolbar.

RF Mouse and Keyboard
The Essential Item for Onboard PC Navigation
The RF Mouse/Keyboard combination is an essential item for your onboard navigation program. All mariners find out at some point how difficult the smaller laptop keyboards and little track pads can be in unpleasant conditions. With the RF mouse/keyboard combo you gain the flexibility to move around the vessel to any location without the restriction of wiring.

The keyboard has a sleek compact design and contains a built in mouse with left and right click features. It has a range of 100 feet and will work for 6 months on 4 AA batteries which makes this a product that you can't live without.

The mouse that comes with this product is the best RF mouse we have found to work with Nobeltec software. The mouse has large controls and a laser giving you wireless freedom up to 100 feet away.

The plug and play RF base connects into a USB port and works easily within different Windows environments. The RF base is very small which makes it easy to hide and keeps your nav station free of unwanted equipment.

$349.00 SRP Combo – Mouse and Keyboard
$249.00 SRP Mouse
$149.00 SRP Keyboard

For more info and pricing please contact your local dealer or call Nobeltec Sales to place an order at 1-800-946-2877.

Nationwide Visual Series Training Classes Now Available!
A series of nationwide training classes are now available to those wanting to learn more about their Visual Series software. Jeff Hummel of Hummel & Associates (publishers of the book, Inside Visual Series), will put on the training classes. These classes are a great opportunity to learn to use the software to its fullest extent and to get the most out of it.

The classes are taught over one or two days depending on the location and date. There is a total of 6 hours of training and 1 hour of question and answer. Attendees are sent course materials prior to the class so that they can get the most out of their class time. The class covers a wide range of topics, useful to both beginners and experts alike. The class costs $189.00, which includes course materials, a Reference CD-ROM, a Quick Reference Card to use at the helm, and lunch if applicable. The class is limited to 20 attendees. Users are encouraged to contact Hummel & Associates about new locations not on the schedule. New classes can be scheduled based on user interest.

To learn more about the 20 city seminar training classes, or Inside Visual Series, please send an e-mail to Seminars@InsideVisualSeries.com or visit Hummel & Associates website at:

www.InsideVisualSeries.com

Show Us Your Nobeltec
Ships of the Past to Help Build the Future
by Patrick Rowe
I start this story off in the 1800’s; Denis Sullivan was the captain of the Great Lakes schooner named Moonlight. Among the many great schooner captains of the time he stood out, he was successful and lived to retire. This is an accomplishment that most could not boast. Great Lakes Schooners were cargo ships and sailing these heavily laden vessels on the very unpredictable conditions of the Great Lakes was a challenge to say the least! Many died trying to deliver their cargo. Over 600 ships lay on the bottom of the Great Lakes.

Now we jump forward to the early 1990’s where a small group of educators, business men, and volunteers decided that we (the public) needed to know more about the waters we live next to and use everyday. Over 20% of the Earth’s surface fresh water is in the Great Lakes. This forward thinking group set out to educate the people about this great resource that exists just outside our back door. As with any organization, they needed to come up with an innovative platform to deliver their message. How better to deliver that message than from the deck of a unique ship who’s likes had not been seen in over 100 years, A Great Lakes Schooner. Several years of research went into the design of this schooner. In the mid 1990’s construction began with mostly volunteers doing the work under the supervision of a professional ship builder. Throughout the mid to late 1990’s construction and fund raising continued in earnest and culminated in the launch of the 100’, 3-mast schooner “The Denis Sullivan of Milwaukee” in the summer of 2000. The remainder of the summer was spent installing the 95’ masts, rigging and outfitting. Below decks work progressed on the living spaces, propulsion, mechanical, electrical, electronics, and plumbing. While the ship resembles and sails much like an 1800’s Great Lakes Schooner would have, inside is a very different story. Modern systems like engines, generator, inverter, and electronics provide the comfort and safety features of the ship. On the 7th of November 2000 the ship started on its maiden voyage from Milwaukee to Florida.

The Denis Sullivan is not a re-creation of any one particular ship of the period, but more a compromise to meet several objectives. The 3-mast design was chosen to make sails easier to raise and lower by school children; The Deck House where the crews of the past would have lived has been adapted to serve as a science lab, communications, navigation stations and the captain’s cabin have been added. The area that would normally be used for cargo storage has been divided into 6 watertight compartments. These below deck areas serve as galley / classroom, engine room, and sleeping quarters for up to 26 passengers and crew. The Denis Sullivan was USCG certified in December 2000 to operate as a passenger vessel or a sail-training vessel.

It has always been the intention of the organization to build a safe ship with the best materials and technology available. White Oak was harvested for the ribs, keel and hull planking. The Menominee Tribal Enterprises donated 6 old growth northern white pine trees to be used for the masts and spars. It was also decided that in addition to the traditional navigation methods that would be taught and used aboard the ship that a state of the art navigation system would be installed. Nobeltec’s Visual Navigation series was chosen as the best solution available! Our installation of VNS is fully integrated with 2 GPS, heading sensor, depth, speed, water temp, wind, and weather information. The integration was accomplished through the use of NMEA multiplexers that combine the information from these talkers and deliver it to the serial port of the computer running VNS. We started with VNS 5 and upgraded to VNS 6 just a few days into the 2000 maiden voyage. For the past 2 years VNS has served us well by assisting in planning and as a second opinion to our traditional navigation practices. One additional feature we use is the Star Navigator to aid in teaching celestial navigation. We can print out the visible body list for our location as well as resolve star sightings. Tides and currents are not of much importance on the Great Lakes but they become very important once we reach the open ocean on our annual transit south for the winter. You kind of forget about things like tides when you don’t have to deal with them on a regular basis. VNS makes it easy to plan where tides are a consideration.

As with any complex software there is a learning curve – knowledge and trust has to be built up by those who use it. We continue to discover new tools within VNS; the one we use most is the Log function. For the first year we had it set to record information like the ship’s location, depth, course, speed, and heading once every 10 minutes. This allowed us to keep an accurate record of where and when the ship has been, and with wind, speed, and heading information we can get some indication of the conditions the ship was experiencing. This year we set the log interval to once every 5 minutes for better resolution. From time to time the files are transmitted back to the home office and kept as part of the history for the ship.

The Coast Guard states that a Captain will use all aids available to assist in safe navigation of his vessel. It is my belief that Nobeltec's VNS adds a powerful aid to the Denis Sullivan’s capability to navigate safely!

I could have never imagined how a ship from the past would change my life! I have been involved Pier Wisconsin and the Denis Sullivan project from the laying of the Keel. During construction I served as the electronics consultant and installer for the navigation and communications equipment. I served as a Volunteer crewmember on the maiden voyage in 2000 and sailed as a volunteer many times during the summer of 2001 and 2002. I just completed my second southern passage aboard the Denis Sullivan as the ships engineer. I continue to support the ship during its ongoing mission of education.

For more information about the Denis Sullivan, Pier Wisconsin or the current operations please visit

www.pierwisconsin.org

Where to Find Nobeltec at the Fall Boat Shows
Come visit us at the following September/October Boat Shows. We look forward to seeing you there.

Nobeltec Fall Boat Show Schedule Seattle Boat Show Seattle, WA Jan. 17th - 26th Booth Number: 2066 Vancouver Boat Show Vancouver, BC Feb. 5th - 9th, 2003 Booth Number: 62 Miami Boat Show Miami, FL Feb. 13th - 18th, 2003 Booth Number: 1679 Palm Beach Boat Show Palm Beach, FL March 21 - 24