This Website was created at zero cost, in April 2001, using a Toshiba 2130CT with an Intel 486 processor, running Windows 3.11 - nothing sophisticated.
My Webspace is provided free of charge by Indigo, which is now part of Eircom.
The original HTML coding was done using an unsupported freeware WYSIWYG HTML editor called HoTMetaLô, from SoftQuad. HoTMetaL only allowed HTML 2.0, but that was okay - this Website was intended to be functional, not pretty. The editor was easy to master and using an older version of HTML maximised cross browser compatability, giving the site the widest possible audience. Eventually, I succumbed to the temptation to use frames and in October 2001 I started using tables, so it was time to say "Goodbye" to HoTMetaL and "Hello" to Webford Version 2.01, available as freeware from www.jwalsh.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/webford/webford.htm. It wasn't WYSIWYG, but it was more versatile.
The original figures and diagrams were either scanned in as Black and White Windows Bitmaps (using a borrowed scanner), or drawn as Windows Bitmaps using the Paintbrush programme in Windows. The .bmp files were then saved as .gif files and resized, using Microsoft Photo Editor on a borrowed computer.
I used another unsupported freeware program, a 16-bit version of WS_FTP LE, from Ipswitch, to upload the files onto the Website.
Later, I converted to a broadband Internet connection, which the old Toshiba couldn't handle, so I switched allegiance to an old Apple Macintosh PowerPC 8500/180 (rescued from a skip (dumpster), which has a built-in Ethernet connection.
This is one of two websites that I operate; the other supports Prospect Manor Neighbourhood Watch, the local crime prevention scheme where I live.
You may use any of the popular browsers. The site works with Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later, but Internet Explorer 4.01 or later makes slightly better use of some of the features. At first I avoided using frames, but the site became too big to navigate easily, so I eventually dropped that policy and created a Navigation Bar (which you can see at left if your browser uses frames). I deliberately avoided using features of HTML that are listed as "deprecated", i.e. out of favour because they are not likely to be supported as HTML develops beyond HTML 4. Unfortunately, some of the sites to which I have linked are not cross-browser friendly, or require the latest version of one of the popular browsers, with or without a variety of plug-ins. That, alas, is outside my control.
And last, but not least, how did you find this site ? I put a series of keywords into a Meta element in the Document Title of the Home Page and then I submitted the URL once to each of several Search Engines (all free of charge). You can see these keywords for yourself by using your browser to view the source code. Altavista was the first search engine to list the site, about a week after I had submitted the URL. It took slightly less than three weeks before the site was listed by both MSN and HotBot. Google listed the site several months later.
Since the site became better-known it has been listed on a number of other sites. In particular, Vire 7s were installed as standard on many C&C yachts, so there is a link from the C&C Photo Album & Resource Center. Later, this website was listed on www.marineengine.com.