Arthur Ransome's sailing yacht Nancy Blackett featured as Goblin in his classic children's book We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, part of the evergreen Swallows and Amazons series.
Recently rescued and restored, Nancy Blackett is now preserved and maintained by the Nancy Blackett Trust, and is regularly on show at maritime festivals, as well as sailing hundreds of miles each year, crewed by Trust members.
They face a dilemma, wanting to keep the historic yacht as authentic as possible - but also wanting the benefits of up to date electronics, safety equipment and so on. And so an interesting compromise has been reached.
The 28ft 6 in 7-ton Hillyard cutter, built in 1931, will be fitted with Tacktick's wireless Micronet speed and depth systems, complete with three wireless displays. In addition she will be fitted with a Micronet Wireless NMEA Interface to display GPS navigation data on the displays, which can be fitted anywhere in the boat or even held in the hand.
Tacktick will additionally be donating a fluxgate compass for the system - somewhat more modern than the original compass featured in the book which was viewed through a bulkhead porthole and lit by candle!
All the Tacktick Micronet instruments are being fitted to a detachable board built to fit over the hatch so that the boat can be returned to her original 1930's state in an instant.
Bill Wallace-King from the Nancy Blackett Trust said: “Tacktick's wireless electronics are ideal for fitting to classic boats like Nancy Blackett. Their wireless capability makes them quick and easy to fit without interfering with bulkheads, cabin roofs etc and we can remove them in an instant to restore the boat to its 1930's state whenever required.”
Tacktick offers a full range of wireless networking marine electronics for sail and power boats of all sizes.
For more information visit www.tacktick.com
and www.nancyblackett.org
