This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. Hundreds, if not more, of research papers have been published about lithium batteries, as well as numerous books. Still, a lot […]

This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. The development and mass-manufacturing in recent years of large-size lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles and grid-tied electricity storage has made […]

AIS, for Automated Identification System, is probably the most remarkable safety improvement in decades for small craft offshore. The little project presented here involved designing and building a simple, very low power alarm system to keep an AIS watch at sea. Collision Avoidance at Sea Avoiding undesirable encounters with ships in mid-ocean has always been a […]

One of the largest technological differences between fitting out the sloop Yarra in the early 1990s and launching the Nordkyn design in 2010 was the transition from halogen to LED lighting. The performance and quality of LED lights was evolving so rapidly that I literally deferred purchasing light fittings until the last moment.The following sums […]

There are lots of LED light fittings out on the market within a very broad price range. One can readily distinguish two classes of LED lights: Current regulated: those light fittings usually accept a wide range of supply voltages. Unregulated: the light must be operated close to a nominal voltage only. In order to operate […]

A certain amount of machining and engineering was involved in the construction. The machining of the rudder stock over one Easter weekend (when the workshop was deserted and quiet) was not documented, but a few other tasks were. Engineering tasks are great on a build like this. They provide a welcome break from fabrication and […]

The starting point is always the same: marine engines tend to be expensive, second-hand automotive or transportation-type diesels can be obtained for very little due to over-abundance of supply… Both are seemingly doing the same, converting diesel fuel into mechanical power – and noise – and look so similar in nature that the temptation is often […]

The keel and rudder arrangement was also constrained by the intended use for the boat. In the Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island area, dealing with floats and lines on the surface is not uncommon, especially when picking up cod or crayfish pots. This prompted for extending the keel underneath the propeller and bridging the gap […]