Getting the Most out of the SSCA Equipment Survey Presented at the SSCA Melbourne Gam November 2013...

Getting the Most out of the SSCA Equipment Survey

Presented at the SSCA Melbourne GamNovember 2013

Copyright 2013 Sherry McCampbell

http://svsoggypaws.com

ssca.org

2Soggy Paws - CSY 44 (1981)Our boat, our home

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Our BackgroundFitting Out Soggy Paws

• Bought out of bareboat charter in 1996

• In terrible shape gear-wise, but sound hull

• Fully upgraded for Caribbean cruise

• Cruised 4 years around the Caribbean

• Upgraded again for Circumnavigation

• Still upgrading

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Soggy Paws 2007-2013 Overview

Hawaii

FrenchPolynesia

Easter I

Galapagos

TongaFiji

MarshallIslands

2013

*

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Our BackgroundFitting Out Soggy Paws

• Last 5 Years (while cruising!) Upgrades– Watermaker 2007 Guatemala– Dinghy 2008 Panama– AIS Receiver 2008 Panama– Refridge / Freezer 2010 Hawaii– More Solar Panels 2010 Hawaii– AIS Transceiver 2010 Hawaii– EPIRB w/ GPS 2012 Fiji– Arch/Dinghy Davits 2013 Fiji– Wind Instrument 2013 Fiji– New Anchor ?? 2014 ??

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Equipment SurveyPast & Present

• Past… Paper Surveys (2000, 2004)– Laborious to fill out,

compile, & publish– Expensive to distribute

survey questions– Expensive to

distribute results– Not available to

new members– Less than 200 responses in 2004

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Equipment SurveyPast & Present

• Current Survey– Major development effort

up front in 2008– Using professional survey-

development software – Survey team developed

over 300 questions about cruising gear & lifestyle

– Survey tool allows for cross-correlation of answers

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Equipment SurveyPast & Present

• Current (since 2008)– Online, ongoing, continuously available– Easy, periodic re-publishing of survey results– Immediately available to new members– Easy reference– A significant SSCA membership benefit

• 2400 Survey Responses to Date !!

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The Policy: “You Must Take It to View It”

• Forces people to contribute to the knowledge pool

• It is the only reason we HAVE so many results

• You don’t have to take the whole surveyat one sitting

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Taking or Viewing the Equipment Survey

You must beLogged in to see the Equipment Survey link

??No

EquipmentSurvey

Link

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Taking or Viewing the Equipment Survey

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Errors Trying to Access the Survey

You are not signed in

You are not signed in- or -You haven’t taken the survey yet- or -You took the survey under a different account number (spouse or renewal issue)

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Taking the SurveyStep 1

Email address is…- Optional, but encouraged- Never published- Never shared- Only used for survey support

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• You can stop any time and come back later to finish if you want. 

• "Submit this Page and Continue“– saves your input from that page– advances to the next page

• To Exit at ANY point in the Survey, click "Submit this Page and Continue" on the page you are working on & just close your browser.

Taking the Survey- Basic Instructions -

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Returning to the Survey

• On the Survey Start Page

Jump straight to where you left offOr start from beginning and review previous answers

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Taking the Survey- Basic Instructions -

• If a question doesn’t apply to you, skip itDO NOT ANSWER WITH BOGUS DATA!

• Use Back Button to go back, not browser

• At end of the survey, on “The End” page– Hit "Final Submit & Survey Completion" button– Notifies the survey team of a survey completion.

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Types of Questions

• Drop-down box

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Types of Questions

• Drop-down box

•Permits only one answer•Always has an “Other” answer

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Types of Questions

• “Radio” Button

Only one AnswerPermitted

Free-form textIf “Other” selected

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Types of Questions

• Disabled fields

Disabled, because #2 not “Other”

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Types of Questions

• Ratings

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Types of Questions

• Comments

• Comment blocks are located after every section• Comments are completely optional• Free-form text—say what you want (up to 640 characters)• Not connected with other entries• Make sure you specify the equipment you are commenting about

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What If I Don’t Own A Boat?

1. Select “None” in Boat Make

2. Put something here

3. Submit

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Viewing the Results

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Viewing the Results

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Categories & SubCategories

• Boat Info– Boat Make– Hull Design– Size/Performance– Registration/Doc– Comments

• Cruising Lifestyle– Type of Cruising– Crew Size– Mail Forwarder– Internet Banking– Comments

• Engines– Engine Make– Drive & Cooling– Performance/Failure Rate– Fuel System– Exhaust– Transmission– Shaft Seal– Propeller– Bow Thruster– Engine Comments– Repowering Comments– Prop & Bow Thruster Commts

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Categories & SubCategories

• Rig & Sails– Standing Rigging– Rigging Comments– Sail Configuration– Mainsail– Headsail– Spinnaker– Sail Config Comments– Headsail Furling Syst– Mainsail Handling Syst– Sail Handling

Comments

• On Deck– Dodger/Bimini– Windlass– Anchors– Anchor Rode/Chain– Sea Anchor– Anchor System Comments– Hatches & Portlights– Nav Lights– Deck Lights– Exterior LEDs– Mast Steps– Lightning Systems– Deck Safety Gear– Deck Comments

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Categories & SubCategories

• Energy– Energy Config– Alternators– Diesel Generators– Portable Gensets– Batteries– Battery Monitor– Battery Isolator– Inverters & Chargers– Solar Panels– Wind Generators– Water Generators– Energy Comments

• Electronics– Binoculars– Night Vision Glasses– Chartplotters– Hand-Held GPS– PC Navigation– Radars– Sonar/Depthfinders– Knotmeter/Logs– Wind Instruments– Radar Detectors– Radar Deflectors– Autopilots– Comments

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Categories & SubCategories

• Communications– Fixed/Handheld VHF– Marine SSBs– Ham Radios– SSB/Ham Comments– Telephone Systems– Satellite Systems– Tele/Sat Comments– Navtex– EPIRBs– AIS– Email Connections– Wifi Adapters– Comments

• Below Decks– Bilge Pumps– Float Switches– Bilge Alarms– Watermakers– CO/Propane Detectors– Refrig Systems– Stove/Oven– BBQ’s– Air Conditioners– Cabin Heaters– Cabin Lights– Toilets / Holding T Gauges– Comments

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Categories & SubCategories

• Getting Off the Boat– Dinghies– Outboard Motors– Life Rafts– Bicycles– Comments

• Survey Comments

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Typical Results Page- Type of Boat & Assoc Data -

Summarizes 6 Questions into one Table

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Typical Results Page - Main Engine -

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Engine SummaryBy Engine Manufacturer

• Total # of Engines• Avg Horsepower• Avg Hours• Avg Age in Year• Avg # of Breakdowns

– Per engine– Per 1,000 hours– Per year

• Subjective Ratings– Overall Performance– Service Manuals– Ease of Routine

Maintenance– Availability of

Service– Availability of Parts– Cost of Parts

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Perkins Yanmar

# Engines in Survey 356 15% 981 41%

Avg Horsepower 62 52

Avg Engine Hours 3,000 1,700

Avg Age of Engine 34 Years 19 Years

Breakdowns–Per engine–Per 1000 hours–Per Year

0.2

.06

.01

0.1

.07

.01

Perkins vs YanmarAverage Data

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Perkins vs YanmarSubjective Ratings

Ratings (1=best) Perkins Yanmar

Overall Performance 1.7 1.4

Service Manuals 2.3 2.1

Ease of Routine Maintenance

2.3 2.2

Availability of Service 2.3 1.9

Availability of Parts 2.4 1.9

Relative Cost of Parts 3.0 3.0

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Perkins vs ReplacementsSubjective Ratings

Ratings (1=best) Perkins Beta Cummins

Overall Performance 1.7 1.4 1.3

Service Manuals 2.3 2.2 1.9

Ease of Routine Maintenance

2.3 1.6 1.8

Availability of Service 2.3 2.0 2.0

Availability of Parts 2.4 2.1 1.9

Relative Cost of Parts 3.0 2.2 3.1

Also… check out the “Repowering” Comments

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Unstructured Comments

• Located at the end of every topic

• Allows free-form comments on the topic

• Interesting reading and can be insightful

• Searchable text

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Comments Pages

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Searching In Comments

Search Box

Ctrl-F opens…

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Searching in Comments

• Open with ctrl-f (for find)• Location on browser screen varies

– Chrome upper right, IE upper left

• Find any specified text on current page• Great for browsing comments for specific info

Browser“Search” Box

Go to NextOccurrence

Go to Previous

Occurrence

Number ofOccurrences

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Searching in Comments

Jumps to the next occurrence of “Irwin” and highlights it

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Water Generator Example

• Water Generators Costs $1,000-2,000

• Should I buy one?• Which brand??• What should I look for

when buying?

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Water Generator Summary Page

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Water GeneratorComments

“Hamilton Ferris Towed-Water-Generator, works great.....but does take sometime learning how to rig/deploy in changing weather/sea conditions....

But, Worth every dollar!!!”

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Water GeneratorComments

“Hamilton Ferris water generator: - 4-5 amps at 5.5 kts boat speed-10-plus amps at 6.3 kts boat speed and above.

It can put out so much, even with 4Kw radar, nav lights, GPS and nav instruments, I have had to turn it off for an hour to prevent overcharging. (Output is unregulated)”

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Water GeneratorComments

“I have had very good luck with this device and it is easy to use. It is a favorite on sailing passages as I usually don't have to run the engine for charging if boat speed stays above 5 kts.

Hamilton Ferris was very helpful and quick to supply what was required to convert from wind to water generator.”

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Water GeneratorComments

“Just purchased Hamilton Ferris Next Gen Generator--needs a little more development to become a workhorse.”

“I have a Redwing water

generator that I didn't use

on my last trip because it

puts noise on my ham radio.”

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Water GeneratorComments

“On my previous boat I had a Fourwinds II wind and trolling generators - they were very good. The down side was the need to anchor in windy spots and when boat speed was greater than 8 knots the trolling unit would not stay in the water.”

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Water GeneratorComments

“The Hamilton Ferris towed water generator twisted the tow line in loops with the regular prop on my 50 foot boat. I replaced with low rev prop. The connection of the line at the prop sheaves itself to death after a while. The edge of the fitting is too hard and will eventually break the line. Replaced with loop sewn together. The line is too firm for splicing.The magnets broke inside and I had to remove loose pieces.”

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Water Generator ExampleSummary

• Numbers indicate how popular option is

• Be wary of ratings on items with few responses (one response can skew)

• Understand that new items will be under-represented

• Comments can be invaluable

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Known Issues with Current Survey

• Some questions need updating– Power cruiser questions– New electronics & communications questions– Remove obsolete and add new equipment options– Review “other” answers and incorporate into the

mainstream

• Automatically correlate comments with user’s equipment

• 300 questions is A LOT– But what would you leave out?

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Known Issues with Current Survey

• 2008 Data is obsolete for some equipment– But not for others (obscure Bluewater cruising

equipment)– It is possible to filter out old responses before

publishing the results (but we’re not doing that now)

• No correlation by type of cruising– Casual vs Circumnavigator

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Issues with ExistingSurvey Tool

“Survey Crafter Professional”

• Requires someone to retrieve new survey data, check it, and publish new report

• Requires an expert in the tool to formulate new questions and data correlations

• Extremely difficult/impossible to change questions once you have existing data

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Future Plans

• Update question pool

• Add a structured query capability for existing data– Select by boat type/make/model– Select by cruising style– Select by date range of responses– Similar to Amazon selection

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58The End