We've got a great new Apple iMac computer on board! We're so used to doing everything in the house on an iMac that we were wondering if it's possible to install an iMac on the boat. The standard iMac's are big devices with computer and screen integrated. Just as appropriate, but you really can't get it on a moving sailing boat responsibly. So we had to look for an alternative and we succeeded.

We replaced the screen above the chart table with a considerably larger and curved Samsung screen. This screen has the ability to easily switch between displaying navigation information (and using a separate keyboard to control the navigation if we have to stay inside in bad weather) and serving as an iMac computer screen. A Mac Mini computer is mounted in the chart table. Keyboard and mouse via bluetooth, so no cables on the chart table. 

We then connected this Apple computer to the SSB radio and the Iridium Go so that it is also our 'weather station' and e-mail system when we are on the road. To retrieve gribfiles and weather maps via SSB or Iridium Go we use the SailMail program, an e-mail program that can handle very limited bandwidth very well. For the technicians among us and to make things a bit more complicated; The SailMail program is a Windows program, so on the Mac Crossover runs which makes it possible to run Windows programs on an iMac.

In addition to Sailmail, various navigation, routing and weather programs run on the Mac, so at sea we have very limited internet via the Iridium Go. In the vicinity of land we connect the Mac via wifi with normal bandwidths.

This iMac contains all our iCloud files, so on the road we have all our private and business files at our disposal, as well as all manuals (this is 239 ...) of the SeaQuest.