Tv on the boat
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I'm in a Houston marina with a 20" flat panel connected to wireless DVD player running off marina internet connection for Netflix, etc. Wifi signal was so/so. Purchased a wifi booster and now have excellent receiption along with using a digital TV antenna for local stations with good reception. suggest checking out marinas for good wi fi connection and keep existing flat panel or use funds to purchase wi fi booster (or better yet, search the forum for earlier posts on making your own)
Hey Phil, don't you think that the TV satellite dish creates a lot of potential windage on top of your mast? I would be wary of it on a mast sized for the C 22 through C 27. Really I wouldn't want it on top of any mast. Remember it is a sailboat after all. I do also love electronics to imrove the boating experience, but I gave up on trying to create a house on water a long time ago. A 12 v. TV/DVD will kill a typical group 24 marine battery pretty quickly.
Windage? Nope. Cross-section of the antenna, (just a UHF UFO antenna, not satellite) when on the resting on her lines is less than a spreader. Think about all the other stuff world cruisers hang up high; this antenna is nothing.jrowan said:
Kill a group 24? Maybe. That is why I have a large house bank built from group 27 cells on the C27, to power the AV system with surround sound and subwoofer, as well as the pressurized water, galley sump, LED mood lighting, electric head, running lights and instruments.
I sailed the C22 for three seasons and charged with nothing but a 1.5A solar panel. The TV was used freely with never a depleted battery issue and that boat was equipped with a single group 27.
Be a purist, 'cause I am too. When I am sailing, you know what? I am sailing. I have a tiller boat because I want to feel the wind and water; feel the experience of working with Mother Nature. When I am drinking a beer, by golly, I probably will have two. When I am on the hook though in the fall and want to watch my OSU Cowboys on local network TV I am gonna.
Does it take power? Yea, but so does an anchor light when camping overnight on the hook. So does any other "luxury" use of battery power. Plan for it and execute your plan. If you know you are going to watch TV, just build your system around knowing you will as well as how much. At the dock on shore power? Who cares!
I digress, but back to point. In scope and scale of the dynamic elements, the masthead antenna does not noticeably affect anything in terms of heeling, weather helm, or windage. You are talking about something that would have about the same effect as a Wal Mart sack stuck in your rigging.
Sorry you gave up on "creating a house on the water". I hope it wasn't a dream quashed or unfulfilled. It is a challenge, but it is fun for me. Adding creature comforts to make the boat more enjoyable when I am not sailing is a nice diversion. I still have that goal of installing the ice-powered AC by the way.... I know, I may need to add to the house bank, but i do so knowledgeably in consideration of the probable load.
Don't talk me out of my inspired goals and I promise to continue to share my successes, as well as my "that didn't work so well" moments...
Nah Phil, I wouldn't want U to give up on building your "marine Shangri-La" (sp?) LOL.
Believe me, if you've seen my boat pics on my page, the amount of electronic stuff I've got on the boat is on the verge of being ridiculous for a 30 footer. I just mean that I do actually try to get away from all the junk at home whe I go cruising. that's why I have a love & hate relationship with I phones & the like. People cruising out of reach of Wi Fi & cell towers don't realize the blessing. I've read about a cruising couple that actually sailed the world without even using an an auxillary engine. That is going to the extreme, but at some point I finally said no to having A/C on the boat, a water maker, Gen Set, etc. I actually gave away the Cruise Air A/C unit with my last boat. It did work at the dock but the bloody thing was so heavy & cumbersome that we rarely ever even used it. Just sayin, different strokes for different folks....
Believe me, if you've seen my boat pics on my page, the amount of electronic stuff I've got on the boat is on the verge of being ridiculous for a 30 footer. I just mean that I do actually try to get away from all the junk at home whe I go cruising. that's why I have a love & hate relationship with I phones & the like. People cruising out of reach of Wi Fi & cell towers don't realize the blessing. I've read about a cruising couple that actually sailed the world without even using an an auxillary engine. That is going to the extreme, but at some point I finally said no to having A/C on the boat, a water maker, Gen Set, etc. I actually gave away the Cruise Air A/C unit with my last boat. It did work at the dock but the bloody thing was so heavy & cumbersome that we rarely ever even used it. Just sayin, different strokes for different folks....
I sometimes need to remember many don't know this is sorta what I do for a living; I design marine audio products and systems and manage sales to the OEM boat and RV manufacturers for a national brand. My last powerboat had 1500 watts of power, 6 in-boat speakers, dual subwoofers, and horn-loaded aft-facing speakers, (on one-off windshield mounts) for swimming off the back of the boat...jrowan said:
To that end, often when people ask why, the answer is "because I can...".
I don't need a TV but it is fun, and I do enjoy using it on the occasions we do end up watching it.
I suppose if my profession was selling fire extinguishers I would have a killer engine room fire suppression system; that is kind of a fair analogy...
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