1. Weather - I use a weather router on long voyages with  daily contact- 

Hi John: Thanks for your response. This is just the kind of info I am seeking. WX - I too use a router; in my case, Herb. He's good anywhere in the North Atlantic and even tho' he does it free, I usually send him $100. soon after I arrive. I am fortunate to have a TT-3022D Inmarsat C/GPS Fishery Capsat unit which came with the boat. This is a wonderful resource; as you say, getting the NOAA text forecasts as well as the navaid advisories is invaluable, as is the distress function. Paravanes - I'm with you on the fish vis-a vis fins - actually one reason I bought the boat. I have a pair of Kolstrand 300 sq in. fish, a pair of 300 knock-offs and a pair of 192s. The K 300s have six holes and according to Beebe's book, the speed settings are, from the rear forward, 4,6,7,8.5, 10 and (no number) knots. There are no instructions. These are the same "stock" Kolstrand fish Nordhavn uses on the 40 and 46, according to both Nordhavn and Kolstrand. As a matter of fact, I could have sworn that I saw a photo of your wife holding a six-holer aboard your boat in Circumnavigator not long ago, but if you say five, then five it is! My 192s have 5 holes, but I have no info on them except to say that they are too small for my boat under normal conditions. Anything over 8 feet on or aft of the beam is cause for deploying the 300s. The 192s are the ones Beebe "wished for" when running downwind in the trades, and I will put mine to the test in about a month when we come back to Mayport, FL direct from the VI. I will also say this. I was expecting a much greater roll reduction the first time I tried the fish until I realized that my boat, "unstabilized," inherently rolls less than a conventional "trawler" hull, due to her full-keel sailboat hull form and 7.5' draft. So, the roll reduction is not as noticible as it would be in a conventional trawler hull. In fact, I was disappointed at the roll reduction until I read an article somewhere which stated this; it makes perfect sense. I spent a lot of time researching the Nordhavn setup, which is built by, and was at least partially engineered by, Forespar. The PO bent the outriggers more than once, and I determined to find out how to prevent that, and now use the same "fuse" Nordhavn uses. Here's hoping I'll never need it. AIS - Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree that the ability to know a ship name immediately is a boon. Now, I use the ARPA generated target on the e-chart but of course then I have to go through the "ship in position XY heading ABC at Z knots" and wait for him to figure out it's him you're calling. Sometimes, they don't! Many mfrs. seem to be introducing these units, and although I'd like to get one soon, I'm not the kind to Beta test a Version 1 for anybody! I'd be pleased to hear more from you when you have time; I understand your preparations demand your attention. Regards, John John Harris wrote: 1. Weather - I use a weather router on long voyages with daily contact- i.e. weeks, I use the NOAA internet access for shorter voyages, i.e. days, and I always review the 4 times a day weather report from Inmarsat which tracks all gale and larger storms world wide. 2. I use paravanes about 80% of the time - they work very well and never leak or overheat. I am not familiar with your term "8.5 knot" hole; I use the center of the 5 holes available. Please educate me on what the instructions say since I do not have any instructions for mine. 3. I do not have AIS but I am very inclined to add it to my equipment. I traveled through the Straits of Gibraltar at night with 12 boats one of which was equipped with AIS in 2004. It was mostly a night passage in clear but very rough (gale) conditions. The vessel with AIS did most of the traffic control work for the group. The group were in a cluster about 2 miles wide and 3 miles long so were a significant obstacle to traffic. We traveled off the northern edge of the defined traffic lanes where there were lanes but where the lanes end on the western end ships spread out over 120 degrees to head for their destinations. I believe the ability to communicate with a ship BY NAME on the first call and know within seconds when he changes coarse or speed is a tremendous asset. It is a vast improvement over the delayed information analysis available by radar and a skilled operator, and virtually eliminates the greatest risk of collision i.e. communicating with the wrong vessel and finding it out to late. In heavy traffic channels like the Straits there are usually 4 to 8 ships in or near avoidance range that need to be considered. This is no time for wasting 5 minutes in communication to the wrong ship. I would be happy to expand on any of the above but at the moment I have limited time as we are packing up and headed to Turkey for 4 months in 9 days. I will have periodic internet access while there and some long watches to consider comments. Regards, John Harris World Odd @ Sea - Nordhavn 46