Caution: This is not a story out of the travel brochure. It is not filled with exciting adventures and pretty pictures. But it is typical of what happens when you try to install something new on a boat. Every yachtie has dozens of stories just like this one!

Before we left Australia in April, we decided we finally had to upgrade the onboard computer. We need to upgrade some of our software and the old computer just doesn't have the power. We've also started to have some problems with the monitor and mouse which we think is due to a bad video board. So while at home, Bradley did some research. The computer had to have certain features, enough power, and must fit into a fairly small cabinet. He finally determined that a Dell was the best solution and that it would be better to make the purchase in the US and carry the computer over with us. The order was placed and Dell assured us the computer would arrive in plenty of time. Of course it didn't! Finally we found it would arrive three days after we departed. There is no way for Dell to ship the computer to Australia because of import laws (we'd have to pay taxes). Fortunately, Bradley's daughter Margy was coming for a visit in early July so she got the job of bringing the computer with her (you can carry the computer into the country because it is considered a spare part for a US vessel). Margy and the computer arrived on Wednesday, July 10.

Thursday we started to install the computer. It goes in a special cabinet to keep it safe during cruising. That means it’s not real simple to install. Getting at all the various cables is really difficult, but we finally got everything connected. We fired up the computer and it came up just fine. But, hey, it’s a boat so it’s not going to go smoothly. After booting up we begin to experience problems with the monitor. We have a special flat screen monitor that fits nicely into the navigation station and had not planned to replace the monitor with the new computer. We had experienced some problems before but thought they were due to the other problems we had with the old computer. Now, the monitor is intermittently dropping power and blanking out. It starts out not too bad but gets progressively worse until we finally can’t use it anymore. We haven’t even begun the installation of all the navigation software yet.

We do some troubleshooting and determine that there is a problem with the power. We think it is the AC adapter that has gone bad so we go out in search of a replacement AC adapter. Cairns has several computer suppliers, but it is not the greatest selection. Our monitor is a Philips and there is not a Philips dealer anywhere in the area. We can’t find an AC adapter that has the right output. Finally we get to an electronics shop which is able to conclusively test everything. Turns out the adapter is fine and the problem is in the monitor itself. He refers us to a monitor repair shop who may be able to help.

After spending almost all day running around we finally end up at the shop of Lothar, a German who sailed to Australia over 20 years ago! He thinks he can fix the monitor but won’t be able to do anything until the morning.

This really screws up our plans because we have an appointment with the guy who installed the autopilot to come over and test everything tomorrow. But it is dependent on getting the computer up and having all the software installed. We hoped to have that all done before we left Cairns as we were not sure we would return here. We don’t want to stay any longer because Bradley’s daughter is here and we want to get her out to the reefs for some snorkeling and fun.

On Friday we call Lothar and get the bad news that the monitor cannot be fixed. The problem is in the power supply inside the motherboard, so the only way to fix it is to replace the board. Probably not even possible since the monitor is over four years old and certainly not possible quickly.

So we go to plan B and spend all day shopping for a new flat screen monitor. After visiting every computer store again and spending a good while researching we give up on buying one today. The best option will be to order one and plan to return to Cairns after Margy goes home. Late in the day we find a special marine monitor that has a glass screen and a better peripheral viewing angle. It looks like the best solution but we need to determine if it will fit the space. The shop doesn't have one in stock and the available catalogs give conflicting information. We go to an internet cafe and try to do research on the manufacturer's web site.  But it's a Japanese manufacturer and that ends up not being too productive. So we ask the sales guy to contact the manufacturer to get the exact dimensions.

Margy is only here for a short time so we want to get her out to the reefs for some snorkeling and fun. We decide to go without the computer and deal with it when we come back to Cairns to drop her off. So after our trip to Lizard Island we return to Cairns on Thursday, Aug 1. The sales guy does not have answers but they do have a unit in stock now and they say we can take it and if it doesn't fit we can bring it back. We go pick it up on Friday and take it back to the boat.

Success! When we get back to the boat we find that the monitor does fit, though just barely. However, we now need to find a way to secure it onto the ledge where it will sit at the navigators station. The ledge had some hole drilled through it from the old monitor, but the new monitor has only a small metal plate on its bottom that is attached to the monitor by four very small screws in the plastic. Definitely not sufficient in 40 knot winds with 3 meter seas and a 20 degree heel! 

In the meantime, we attach the monitor to the computer so I can get started installing software on Saturday. The first priority is the new navigation software, Tsunami Navigator. The install goes pretty smoothly and after some testing and a couple phone calls the instruments and GPS are providing data to Navigator and all appears to be working. There is some other software I have to upgrade and I have done some research and sent out some emails. I will need to download a bunch of stuff off the internet for the next step. I start to install the software that enables us to get emails via our satellite phone. The software is on a CD and the install goes OK up to a point. But when I get to the point of installing the driver for the sat phone modem, it doesn't work. After a couple phone calls, I find that the CD doesn't support Windows 2000. So I will have to manually install the driver and define the modem. Our sat phone provider sends me instructions on how to do this and I have to download more software. A couple hours later that is done and I can connect to our provider via sat phone. But I get strange error message coming from the compression software (compression is a key element of the sat phone system as the connection speed is 9600 bps and the cost of a call is $3/min! This is intended to be mainly a light use/emergency system for use only when we are out of cell phone range). After more phone calls and de-bugging we find that the problem is a Java Script error and I will have to download a fix from Sun. Now every time I have to do a download, I have to take my laptop to the marina office and hope that I will be able to use their phone line. They are very nice about letting us use their meeting room to do this but sometimes the meeting room is in use so I have to schedule it for later. But this time I'm lucky - I get right in and get the download done (it takes 38 minutes with my dial up connection).  After installing the fix back at the boat, the sat phone email works!

By now we've come up with a solution for securing the monitor in the nav station. But that involves affixing a new plate and drilling some holes in the base of the monitor. So we need to take it to a local welder (which we do on Monday, Aug 5). It's going to take him a couple days to complete so in the meantime I'll have to hold off on installing the rest of the software.

We pick up the monitor late Wednesday, Aug 7 and Thursday I resume installing software. By late Friday morning everything is installed - Navigator, sat phone, weatherfax (allows us to receive weather information over the high frequency radio), vessel management software. The last thing I need to do is to test the weatherfax. In order to do this I have to install a USB to Serial Port adapter because our computer did not come with enough serial ports for all the things we need to plug into it. True to form, the CD that contains the driver for the adapter does not support Windows 2000 so it's off to do another download. Finally I get the device and driver installed and all seems fine. But the when I unplug the adapter from the USB port, all hell breaks loose. The cursor goes berserk, gyrating all over the screen. The mouse no longer controls the cursor. The only option is to shut down and re-boot. But, oh no! Re-booting doesn't solve the problem.

I tried to bring it up in safe mode and was successful once. I shut down and brought it up in regular mode and the same problem occurred. Once the cursor goes crazy there's nothing you can do except a power off. One more time and it goes from bad to worse. Now Windows wants a password. I swear I did not install it with a password and if I did, it would only have been two possibilities, neither of which works. So now I can't get the system booted up at all as I can't get past the password. Finally I decide the best option is to re-install the operating system since I think something's been corrupted somewhere. I have the Windows CD so I proceed with the re-install and all goes fine until I re-boot. Lo and behold, I have the same problem with the cursor and the mouse. It's time to get help so I decide to call Dell. One reason we chose Dell was because they offer worldwide support. We'll see how good it really is.

The number for Dell Australia is a toll free number. That's actually bad news because in Australia you cannot call a toll free number from a cell phone. So in order to call Dell Australia I have to walk up to the marina office and use the payphone. I finally get through and am told that before I can get support I have to register in Australia because they do not have access to the US database. To do this registration I have to go to their website. After talking to a couple more people I finally get Andy in tech support who agrees to help me as long as I promise to do the registration afterwards. He suggests that in addition to re-installing Windows I should also re-format the hard drive. It's now Friday afternoon and by the time I reformat the hard drive and re-install Windows again Dell Australia is gone for the weekend. And yes, when I re-boot I have the same problem. But by now, Dell in the US should be awake and ready to go. So I call them and explain what's happened so far. The tech suggests I unplug everything except the mouse, keyboard, and monitor before re-booting. That does it! Turns out it was the navigational instruments that were causing the cursor problem. So now I have the operating system successfully re-installed and can boot up OK.

But now I can't get the monitor set to the proper resolution. The most it will go to is 800x600. I discover that the video driver seems to be missing - it shows as not installed. I have a Dell CD labeled Drivers and Utilities but there doesn't seem to be a video driver on that. I call Dell US again and discover that the drivers are on a different CD called the Resource CD.  I'm not sure if I have that CD and I can't go look because I can't take the cell phone into the cabin with me because I'll lose signal. The signal is only strong enough if I'm up on deck so I can't talk on the phone and do anything at the computer at the same time (but at least I can call Dell US from the cell phone!) I ask if the driver can be downloaded from the Dell website in case I don't have the CD and I get the instructions for doing that. I also find that besides the Video driver I also need the Chipset driver. Sure enough, I do not have the Resource CD so I head up to the marina office only to find that the room with the phone connection is in use so I can't do the download there. So I pack up my stuff and head off to the local computer shop which also offers internet access. I find the drivers and download them and the computer shop burns them onto a CD for me.

Back to the boat where I successfully install the drivers and now all seems OK. The system boots up, the monitor is set to the right resolution and it looks like all drivers are successfully and all devices are working. So proceed with re-installing Navigator, the USB to Serial connector, the sat phone software (including the Java fix), Weatherfax and the Vessel Management System. All seems fine. And as long as the computer is booted up BEFORE the instruments are turned on, there is no problem. If the instruments are on before the computer is booted, the cursor problem does occur but can be fixed by shutting down, turning the instruments off, and re-booting.

So now we have a fully functional computer system with all the software we need. While part of me wishes it had all gone smoothly, I also think it was good that I had to go back and start from scratch because now I am much more knowledgeable about how the system is configured and much more capable of dealing with it when we are out or range of support.

All that remains now is for Bradley to secure everything in the cabinet and to secure the monitor to it's spot. That's easier said than done because of the small spaces involved and the difficulty seeing what you're doing. It takes about an hour but finally it is all in place. We hold our breath while we re-boot for the final test and breath a huge sigh of relief when everything comes up just fine!