How much wind did we actually have and when exactly did we activate the autopilot? Only those who keep a meticulous logbook can reliably answer such questions even days or weeks after the trip - or use the data logger called Voyage Recorder from Yacht Devices. The little device is barely bigger than a AA battery and is simply plugged into the NMEA2000 or SeaTalkng bus.
The logger then records all the data records available in the network. This means that, depending on the boat's equipment, not only the GPS position, wind direction and speed, depth, speed over ground and through the water as well as the courses are saved, but also the positions and courses of other ships in the vicinity received by the AIS as well as status changes of the autopilot or engine data.
MicroSD cards with a capacity of up to 32 gigabytes are used as the storage medium. Depending on the size of the network, 100 to 200 sailing days should fit on a 16 card. The supplied software can be used to export and analyse the stored data in various formats, and a logbook can also be generated.
The Voyage Recorder is available in two versions with connectors suitable for NMEA2000 or SeaTalkng networks and will cost 189 euros.
Purchase and further information via www.busse-yachtshop.de.
Hauke Schmidt
Test & Technology editor
