"Parallax" wrote in message
om...
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?

Yes.

I like to do
weird calculations with spreadsheets and work out bizaare optics for
fun and profit.

You can do that on a calculator.

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.

We brought a collections of DVDs but found it easier to watch them
using a DVD player and a TV. Our laptop is able to play DVDs but
we rarely used it for such.

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

Using a computer for navigation is a great asset. But all our charts
are backed up by paper charts.

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

E-mail is a great asset and easy if you are a ham or pay a small fee
for a service via marine SSB. Newsgroups are harder and much more
expensive. If you have a cellphone then access is cheap and easy for
both, pretty much the same as dialup but faster.

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.

True.

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?

Having a computer along is a great asset for a number of reasons.

Is there any practical way to do e-mail while underway?

If you are a ham then Winlink is free and great. Sailmail is available
for marine SSB but costs $250/yr. Once again, if you are within cellphone
range then that is a great option.

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

Only if don;t have a life