Crews Letter 2011 04 A New
Gipsy and a Flabbergasted Phyl and Fred
Good morning Crew,
The
steering computer problem was judged fixed on the
second day. No sea trial was performed.
The
sporadic behavior of the GPS with her new antenna culminated on the morning of
the 5th day with, “It cannot be fixed.” That was Friday. By the time we decided to buy a replacement
late Saturday, it was too late to ship a needed interface from Istanbul until
Monday.
Raytheon
Marine Electronics re-branded itself Raymarine about the same time Perception was commissioned. All
of Perception’s original electronics are Raytheon, in other words, Raymarine.
Some
considerations before making this buy:
The
Raymarine salesman points out that other companies’
products may not interface to existing equipment as a Raymarine GPS will. Does that force us to consider Raymarine
only?
Which Model?
Where
will it fit in the NAV Table?
Configuration Before Now
Do
we really need a GPS? Interfaced
with Auto Helm?
The new
A70 Chart Plotter, without Fishfinder, was installed Wednesday afternoon. It told us where we were. No “No Fix” and No “Lost Fix”.
Thursday
afternoon we took her out for a sea trial.
Gipsy Two worked great. Otto and
Fluxgate had all the same problems. A
call to the salesman brought two techies to the
boat. We took them out for a sea
trial. For this, they had no magic
touch. After three hours of exuberant
racing up and down the companionway, diving into the starboard bunk to disturb
the computer, connecting, disconnecting and several calls to the in-house guru,
they accepted that it did not work.
Computer
techs are often accused of having their own language
to keep the customer in the dark. That all of the analysis was conducted by two Turks in Turkish
doubled the dark cloud of confusion. In
the computer biz, we both have noted that when confronted with a serious
problem lousy techs race around like chickens with their head cut off, good
techs slow down and get quiet, great techs stop dead in their tracks, become
very methodical and deliver the solution.
The greater the activity and noise, the less the speed and effectiveness
of the solution is the general rule.
Unfortunately,
many managers, the higher up the more likely, prefer activity and noise, a
conspicuous sense of urgency, rather than the quiet, methodical approach.
We
docked and the steering computer was taken to the
shop.
The
next morning they were back with Perception’s computer, the shop’s computer and
a new fluxgate. The frantic try this,
then that started all over again. To add
to the confusion, the failure became sporadic.
Sometimes and in some directions, it worked and then it did not. No one was keeping a record of what was
changed. When it worked, the conclusion
was whatever we just changed must be the fix.
At one point, they disconnected the old Fluxgate and connected the shop
one. The autopilot worked. The compass was in the aft end of the
starboard cabin.
“Your
old compass is in the wrong place. We
will move it to the cabin’s aft bulkhead.”
“It
was mounted in the locker by Raytheon (re-branded Raymarine) in 2001 and has
worked well since.
What has changed? No, you cannot move it.”
He
picked up the phone. We are certain he was
calling the guru to have him tell us we must cooperate or they will abandon the
effort. Fortunately
at this moment, Otto lost his mind and Perception started to spin in a tight
circle.
After
two hours, no improvement. It is lunch time. We head for the dock. Hüseyin, the lead tech, slows down, gathers
in some calm and takes on a different attitude.
He retrieves the computer, planning to take it back to the shop.
The Steering
Computer Hüseyin
When
they come aboard for the afternoon they reinstall the
computer and leave the GPS off. When we
clear the harbor, Hüseyin asks Fred to try the autopilot. It works….it still works….it is still
working. Hüseyin then turns on the
GPS. Autopilot does not work.
Remember
the statement and the question:
Other
companies’ products may not interface to existing equipment, as a Raymarine GPS
will. Does that force us to consider
Raymarine only?
Disconnect
the wind data interface between the computer and the GPS. It works.
Hüseyin tells us that the only thing we lose is wind direction and speed
on the GPS display at the NAV Table.
We are
setting waypoints, following a route and everything is working.
Phyl
and Fred are thinking, “When do we need wind info at the NAV Table?”
Hüseyin
and his partner are enjoying victory, as well they should.
We,
collectively, declare success and head for the dock.
“When
do we need wind info at the NAV Table?”
The
answer comes to us. We need them on
nights when we anchor and the weather is strong. We take watches monitoring wind speed, gusts,
direction and boat location. In these
situations an anchor can break loose, You can find your boat in 100 meters
of water and only 70 meters of chain to an anchor not touching ground or worse,
the keel is bouncing on the ground. Changes in wind speed and/or direction break an
anchor loose.
We tell
Hüseyin about the anchor watch issue and ask, “Can there be a toggle switch to
connect wind data when needed?” Hüseyin
will ask.
There
it is.
The Wind Data Disconnect
Real
Downer
Raymarine
does not keep database for their technical people to report symptoms, problems
and resolution.
Fred
“Will
you report this event to Raymarine?”
The
Raymarine manager “No”
Fred “Surely other customers have
or will have the same problem. It would
make your life easier if there was a database to consult.”
The
Raymarine manager “It could help, but
it doesn’t exist”
A tight luff for windward,
Phyl and Fred
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