Since we have the Whisper Quiet (TM) MD17C on the WillieC, and we have the radio mounted on the wall to the right of the wheel,
I had moved my old VHF over to the side like that too, as can be seen in some of the photos in earlier posts. But this new radio has all that extra screen display stuff, whereas the old radio didn't have much more than channels displayed, so it's handier to have it back up on the dashboard. One drawback with the old radio mounted off to the side was that you had to be sitting at the wheel to use the radio, and the mic cord didn't reach very far. That old radio was truly a POS, & if I had it to do over I should have bargained harder on the price of the boat due to the lack of up to date electronics.
Why isn't there any rainwater on the dash?
Funny you should ask. It's actually pouring rain here with thunder & lighting tonight (yes I left the VHF antenna disconnected), between a quarter to a half inch accumulation expected, all from that same big storm system that brought horrendous mudslides and road closures to fire ravaged Southern California. Maybe 3 inches or so of snow up in AZ's high country around Flagstaff. I feel bad for those poor folks in SoCal. First drop of rain for us since August 23rd. Won't last though, should clear out by tomorrow with a few lingering clouds, and the rest of the week will be back to clear skies & sunshine with highs in the lower to mid 70s, lows in the upper 40s. By next month winter as we know it will be effectively over. This is the time of year we live for in these parts. Ordinarily our boat is completely water tight fore and aft. Will take a ride over tomorrow & check for leaks, but don't expect any. Couldn't have said that with the old pop top that came with the boat, but my hard top project of a couple years ago cured that problem.
Surely somebody on Lake Pleasant has an AIS transponder.
Hey! Don't call me Shirley!
There is that cruise tour boat on the lake that should have AIS transponder, but they're on winter hiatus right now & not running tours again until January 20th. There might be one or two boats in our sailing club that have DSC & MMSI, as well as some of the big motor yachts that inhabit the marinas. Yes, there are not only 60 foot houseboats, but also fancy 35 and 40+ foot motor yachts on our lake. Most of the time they never leave their covered slips & the owners come out on weekends to party on the docks & get sloshed. At planing speed those fast movers can get from one end of the lake to the other in 10 to 15 minutes or less, and pass anything but a fuel dock. Honestly, if all we ever did was putt around the lake I wouldn't bother with any of this. But coastal cruising, especially in the often rough Strait of Georgia up in BC, is another matter.
I did try out the new radio, listening to the weather channel. This Standard Horizon unit has a speaker built into the microphone, so if your engine is loud you can hold the mic up to your ear to hear better. Not sure what it is about those MD17C engines. Sunsetrider's is loud too. How much of that could be helped with a CV joint/thrust bearing setup (because in that case you have soft vibration isolating mounts on the engine & thrust bearing carrier) I'm not sure, but that question is probably moot for the MD17C anyway since it doesn't seem there's enough room in the engine bay for one. Some of it might be that VP engines are just plain loud.
