Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Language Translation for a French Catamaran Site


I came across a catamaran web site that was only available in what appears to be the French Language. It is the NG Yacht Design company. I searched for translation software so that I could read the specifications on the HIVA’OA 45. As a result I found a website that is worth sharing. It is the http://babelfish.altavista.com/ This site will allow you to enter a web page URL and it will translate the entire web page to the language you prefer to view it in. Although it is not a perfect translation it does the trick. For example, this “113.8 m² GV 72.6 Solent 41.2 m² Code 0 83.5 Spi 139.8” was translated into this “113.8 m² Steam Generators 72.6 Solent 41.2 m²”. Not sure where the “Steam Generator” came from. I theorized that the Solent is similar to a Jib. Someone correct me if I am wrong. The translation site is easy to use. You simply enter the url and the from and to language and click go. Pretty cool. By the way, the HIVA’OA 45 ranks in the top two on Cat Stats Performance Ranking. This is assuming I translated the specifications properly.

I have had visitors to my site from Brisbane, Melbourne, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, France, Europe, Germany, Switzerland and of course The US and Canada and the list keeps growing. Surprisingly none from Mexico. Most of these locations are well known for sailing and manufacturing of sailing catamarans. There is a high probability that the catamaran I end up desiring will not be anywhere near my home county in the US. More likely I will find it in the UK, Australia or Africa.

Speaking of buying a Catamaran in another country. Here is an update on my comparison of the US $ to the Euro. Imagine buying a catamaran for 500,0000 Euro. As of February 14th, 2008 you would have had to pay $731,903.10 US. If you bought the same cat priced at 500k Euro today, March 26th, 2008, it would cost you $792,225.51. That is a difference of $60,322.41 US. At that rate Catamarans purchased in the UK from the US are going up in price $1,471.28 per day. The good news is, there is a hint that things are going to level off soon, however only time will tell. The US economy is looking bad. Is there a country with a booming economy? Maybe I should sail there and take up residence.


No comments:

AddMe - Search Engine Optimization