I've built several boat pc's and tried a few laptops. I have gradually
come to the realization that there is no optimal solution. I currently
advocate computer fair parts and ebay bargains for one reason; Rather than
waste a lot of time trying to marinize a computer, build one that is cheap
to fix. Instead of researching thermally transparent coatings for your
motherboard, and hermetically sealed card edge connectors and cable ends,
just buy cheap spares. Back up everything to an inexpensive CDrw
frequently. When some cheap part succombs to the maritime environment, just
throw it away and pop in the other one you bought at the same time! Spend
your real money on a daylight readable display, and guard it with your life!
If the boat is going to bounce around a whole bunch, just go with an older
ruggedized laptop, like a Panasonic toughbook, even if the display fails to
deliver as advertised. I had been very happy with an HP Omnibook 800 until
software got too demanding for a 166 Mhz Pentium. I could not read the
screen in daylight though. I'm still looking for a 10.4" 800 x 600 svga LCD
monitor with 1200 nits and a 400:1 contrast ratio that doesn't need to suck
air inside to keep itself cool. I want it to cost less than $1000 and run
on ragged 12vdc sailboat batteries. Ha!

Epitaph: You drive the boat from the helm station. That's where you should
be navigating, not moving in and out of a dark, dry cabin, risking your
night vision or waiting for your eyes to dark-adapt, and risking being away
from the helm at the wrong time. Just from the aspect of safety at sea, why
aren't you spending the money on a self contained, water resistant, and
extremely reliable all solidstate chart plotter?


"Jim Pook" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone:

I'm trying to come up with a solution to run a GPS with electronic
charting
on my boat.

The boat is a 24' Campion Haida. To see pictures: www.jimsfishing.com

I have enough cast-off computer parts to completely build a desktop
computer
tower that I could fit somewhere on the boat.

My main two concerns are to protect the Hard drive from shock (pounding
into
waves at 25 knots), and to protect the electronics from moisture while at
the same time providing cooling.

I am thinking about putting the HD in a foam lined box. It would be
mounted
in a normal metal HD rack from a computer box, and that would be fitted
with
a soft foam about 2" thick all the way around the rack. That in turn would
be enclosed in a wooden box with a small fan for cooling.

The place where I am thinking of installing the computer box is in a
cupboard in the rear of the cabin in order to place the computer as close
to
the stern as possible. I would then run extension cables up to the front
for
monitor, mouse and keyboard.

Do you think this would provide enough cushining for the HD?

Jim Pook
Tahsis, BC Canada
www.jimsfishing.com