Expeditionyacht.org

During the last year, I have been scouting the Internet for a well-developed software package to keep track of maintenance and spare parts and allows you to document maintenance and overhaul procedures.  Have the software be accepted as a planned maintenance tool by the class societies was also on my wish list.

It’s not a crowded market!    On the one end I found a product called NS 5, developed by ABS (American Bureau of Shipping)  affiliate ABS Nautical Systems LLC.   It looks very comprehensive and if you want an American product or are under ABS class, the choice is simple.    Another product out of the class society world is MsLS GL Shipmanager, a Germanischer Lloyd company product.   It seems very up to date and comprehensive and at least one engineer highly recommended it.  Documentation can be found on their website.  In the commercial sector I found a suite of programs by Consultas Maritime Software Solutions from Norway.  Their software runs under XP and has over the years been approved by the leading classification societies.  They claim  that now more than 2000 vessels have been equipped with a Consultas software. 

Bassnet, also from Norway offers a comprehensive suite of ‘future proof’ products and it has the approval of most class societies but it may be a little too much for one yacht.  German company Spectec offer its range of AMOS software and has a large installed base.  But they also offer a more suitable product for the yacht industry (see below).

In the yacht market I found Triton Administrator by Great Circle Systems.  Unfortunately, there’s nothing on their website that shows how the modules interface looks like.  The only pages that’s really comprehensive is their bug fix pages.  Nothing about number of installations or compliance with planned maintenance of class societies.  A little scary!

A new product but more geared towards the under 100 ft. market that looks very promising is Seakits. The SeaKits “Marine Maintenance System” is web-based and was named the Best New Boating Product at the 2007 Newport International Boat Show.  Being web based has some obvious advantages but unless you have a satellite broadband on board, you have to carry all data ashore.

Somebody on Yachtforums.com also mentioned a program called COGZ, “if you are looking for something a bit more simple and more engineer oriented.  I know of a couple of MCA compliant yachts using it”.   I had a look at it and while it looks capable enough, it’s certainly not geared towards the yacht market.

The only serious contender I have found in the yacht segment is a German product by Idea Vio software.  It looks up-to-date, has a comprehensive website with many screenshots so you can see what you’re planning to buy. You can even download a demo on your computer.  And I’ve received very good user feedback.

According to the company, Idea Vessel Management Software is installed today on more than 250 Super yachts, such as: Le Grand Bleu (12th largest yacht in the world), Indian Empress (17), Alfa Nero (29), Amevi (32), Constellation (33), Haida G (36), Princess Marianna (41), Ilona (46), just to name a few.

It’s also the only yacht-market product that has received the “Certificate of Operation of an approved Machinery Planned Maintenance Scheme” by Lloyds Register. The system allows the crew to carry out large parts of the class inspection themselves while operating the ship. This brings both a reducing in costs and downtimes related to inspections by the classification society.

Idea Vio was taken over by Spectec recently which suggests they will be well funded in the future to continue to develop their already impressive product.

Update October 21, 2009: Idea Yacht now offers a ’light’ version of it’s software for Euro 490.  It’s misses a few modules but it’s a great deal for the basics.  And of course you can migrate with all your data to the full package.

Keeping class clean and clear in a saltwater environment takes regular cleaning, which means: (less than exciting) work and (expensive) fresh water use.   If you can avoid cleaning the windows you save time and natural resource$.  Last year at SeaTrade I ran into a very interesting product by British manufacturer Ritec called ClearShield.   It can be used to keep glass clean and clear for years with less effort.

Glass Corrosion
Just as metal rusts, glass is subjected to a corrosion process caused by reactions between the glass surface and gases in the atmosphere. Even a single droplet of moisture on protected glass can produce sufficient damage to be visible in good lighting:

As the image to the right shows, the surface of glass is not smooth and consists of microscopic peaks and potholes. Both organic and inorganic contaminants fill these potholes and chemically react with the glass, firmly bonding to the surface. Because of this, cleaning glass becomes more difficult and visibility deteriorates.

If you would like to know more about the process of glass corrosion, why not take a look at the specialist article (PDF) written by Ritec International’s MD Stephen Byers.

But to see that it works, just have a look at this little video.  It’s truly amazing!  

Check out the website of Ritec for more information on this amazing product.