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On 14 Nov 2004 17:38:05 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:
I thought I'd have left on my cruise by now but am still finishing my
nesting dinghy so while that is happening, I am wondering about taking
a computer. Is a computer really desireable on a cruise?

Absolutely, I never go anywhere without at least one, usually two.
I'm a computer junky of course.

I like to do
weird calculations with spreadsheets and work out bizaare optics for
fun and profit. Supposedly you can watch a movie on a computer
although I have never done so and am almost unable to watch movies but
a cruise on a sailboat has a lot of free time.

With some external speakers, a DVD drive (and videos), and a
collection of MP3 music, a laptop makes a great entertainment center
on a small boat. With the right cell phone and software you can also
access the internet for EMAIL and weather reports.

I would never trust my
navigation to computer charts so that isnt a reason.

Why not, as long as you have paper charts for backup? I've been doing
it for over 5 years and would never go back.

Is being in
touch via e-mail and news groups really desireable or even practical?

It's easy enough to do. Desirable depends on the group :-)

At work, we have a plethora of new computers but all are too big and
run on 110 volts. My electrical capacity will be limited to when the
engine is running, whatever charge is in my 2 batteries, and whatever
my 10 watt solar panel makes. This argues for a laptop.

I agree. Any laptop I've seen will work just fine from an inexpensive
inverter.

My last experience with a laptop had me trying to get it stolen in
airports but nobody ever took it. Even though it had a damned crappy
power supply, I kept it going far longer than I should have by
open-chassis surgery and soldering iron. When it finally did die, I
gleefully extracted its hard drive and installed it in an adapter for
my current home computer so that every time I see it I imagine it as a
brain in a jar and I have gotten my revenge. I can almost imagine it
saying "Dave, I know we have had our problems but.....Daisy,
Daisy...."
So, what do y'all think?
Is there any practical way to do e-mail while underway?

Easiest way is with a cell phone connection: Verizon, Sprint PCS and
T-Mobile are some of the possibilities.

Should I just go back to using my slide rule for calculations?

Your laptop will be happier on a boat than a slide rule but neither is
fond of high humidity. Someday I'm going to donate my slide rule to a
museum.