I thought I would gradually introduce some material on the interior of the boat starting with the ship’s office.
The office is located in the aft companionway down 5 steps from the salon. Off the companionway are the entrance to the guest stateroom and aft head and, at the aft end, to the crew quarters and engine room.
The office is a wonderful place to work as the large windows overhead make it feel like you are in an atrium.
On the forward bulkhead are the three controls for the 2 freezers and refrigerator we have on the boat. Below that is the tank tender system for measuring the amount of fuel (4 tanks) and water (2 tanks) we have aboard. Above are switches for lighting, a carbon monoxide detection system and the ship’s barometer.
Adjacent to this area there is a book shelf for all of the nautical almanacs and cruising guides we have on board. Below that is communications central. The larger box is the HF radio which we use for long distance communications including email and weather faxes which are transferred to the computer via a USB cable. Below is the satellite phone handset which works anywhere in the world. The satcom also provides internet service to the Imac computer but we rarely use it at a cost of $11.50 per megabyte.
On the counter area, we have a 24″ Imac with a wireless printer. The cheapest form of communication for us is via WiFi internet access and Skype for calling home so we have a very robust on board network using an Apple Airport Base Station as the hub. The Airport is connected to a WiFi signal booster which connects to an antenna on the mast. With the signal booster, we can lock on to WiFi hotspots up to a mile away.
The Apple gets used for everything from photo editing, email, Skype, word processing, viewing weather faxes and forecasts (and yes – blog posts).
Aft of the computer is the main 24 volt DC power panel for systems which are typically left on when the boat is occupied. There is a second panel at the helm for things that are routinely turned on and off.
The boat comes with all of the manuals and documentation for every component that is used anywhere on the boat. There is file storage in several locations for organizing all of this material. This file drawer contains roughly one half of it. We also keep copies of it all on the Imac and on an Ipad including the very detailed Ship’s Operating Handbook – all 300 pages of it.
Add a comfortable little swing out seat in front of the computer and you have a great place to work.