On Board E-mail

Tom Maynard of Starboard Home provides information on  e-mail from the boat:

Onboard e-mail using long range high frequency (HF) radios is possible using either marine single sideband (SSB) radio and commercial frequencies or Amateur  Radio (Ham) equipment and assigned frequencies.  Both work basically the same: messages are prepared on an onboard computer, converted to radio signals via a special computer-to-radio modem (called a terminal node controller or TNC), and then transmitted by the radio to a shore station. The shore station places the message on the internet for conventional delivery. Email to the boat is sent to the shore station where it is held in individual mail boxes for pick up by the boat the next time the boat checks in.  Once the contact between the boat and the shore station is made, the transfer of messages is usually automatic.

USING MARINE HF SSB RADIO

The SailMail Association is a non-profit association of yacht owners that operates and maintains a global network of sixteen two-way, private coast stations. Sailmail is a non-profit cooperative association supported by sailors who donate their time, effort and space for the shore stations.  There is an annual user fee to defray the cost of equipment and operating costs.  SailMail provides the software and instructions to get started, but you do need a TNC - see below.

There are also full commercial services available at:

USING HAM RADIO

Ham Radio Requirements:

  • License: General Class or above.  New reduced morse code requirements (5 WPM) are now in effect making it much easier to get the license.  See the American Radio Relay League to get started. 
  • Radio: Just about any modern ham radio will work. 
  • TNCs: SCS PTC-II  Is the best, fastest and most expensive.   Kantronics, Timewave and MFJ Enterprises make units that work well, but at a slower speed..
  • Computer: You can use just about any modern computer; but Windows 95 or better is required. 
  • Software: AirMail written by Jim Corenman, is the user program.
  • Willingness to do some study and practice. 

The ham WinLink system is a worldwide network of over thirty (at last count)  shore stations called Mail Box Operators (MBOs) and a central, controlling computer, all inter-linked via internet. This capable, dedicated,  group of operators donate their time, equipment, operating expenses and space. They are supported by very talented programmers, many of whom are also MBOs. The system is constantly being improved and enhanced. At this time the system has the following features:

Email can be picked up and delivered to any of the MBOs. There is no need to have a 'home' MBO.  This makes sending and receiving very easy.

Weather products (both text and charts) can be ordered from the internet and delivered minutes later. These reports are received in perfect condition - no skipping or garbling in the text products and no fuzzy, blurred charts. Because of the file size, charts do take longer to download from the MBO,  but the WinLink programmers have been able to reduce the size of many without affecting the quality.

  • Email can be received and sent with binary attachments, including pictures.
  • Email can be picked up from the system via the internet when off the boat for short periods or redirected to conventional email accounts when off for longer periods. Also, when off the boat and connected to the internet, the AirMal program can be used directly as a mail account.
  • >Position reports, which can be accessed by anyone from the internet,  can be made to the central computer.  This can be done manually or by tie-in to a GPS unit.  Doing this while underway automatically per a schedule (say, every eight hours) will leave a 'trail' for safety.
  • A new feature has just been added that predicts the best times and frequencies to contact each MBO from your position.  This makes contacting any of the MBOs that much easier.

Jim Corenman on s/v Heart of Gold is the author of both AirMail and SailMail, a moving force behind SailMail, and an around-the-world cruiser.  He has also made available his prototype programs, GetFax and ViewFax, on his web site. These are companion programs to AirMail that run in conjunction with it. They allow the downloading and viewing of broadcast weather reports including  weather fax, RTTY, and Navtex.  An advanced feature allows the scheduling of downloading of weather reports automatically.

Peg and Tom have used onboard digital equipment for email and receiving weather reports for several years and relied on it on their crossing to Europe in 1999, while cruising the Mediterranean and crossing to the Carribean in 2005.  Most of the reports and some of the photos in their homepage were sent via  the Winlink system.

(updated December 2005)