On Jan 27, 10:36*am, "*e#c" wrote:
On Jan 27, 8:34*am, wrote:



On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:18:51 -0500, Jim wrote:
Cindy wrote:
I am looking for "accessories" for my husbands's (and mine too!) new boat.
It is a 24 foot Sundancer. *It's really not new, but a few years old,
and came without electronic stuff. *He bought the boat very cheap at an
auction.
We will be boating on Chesapeake Bay. *Not far from shore, because
we are new to boating. *We do want to do some fishing.
Should we start with a good radio or some kind of GPS?
The boat does have a depth sounder.
We are on a pretty tight budget, so I'm curious about whether or not
used electronics is a valid option.
Thank you for any advice.
First. Welcome to rec.boats and Welcome to boating.
Get a copy of "Chapman's to start with. Then get some instruction. The
Coast Guard Aux. and U.S.Power Squadron are organizations that offer
courses free or at minimal cost. West Marine is probably the best known
outfitter. You should be able to find a store locally. They also have a
pretty good product and how to knowledge base to draw from.

This boat course is free onlinehttp://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/

I think you should get a VHF radio for a start. A hand held GPS will
probably be plenty if you are just fishing. You can usually find one
pretty cheap on Ebay or Craigs list used. When I was fishing in the
bay we found a depth sounder with graphic display handy for finding
the ledges and dropoffs where the fish hang out

Dont forget that " Radio Operators License " you now need to have.

A hand compass and paper chart of your area FIRST, before ANYTHING
else. Then, I'd spend money on a compass that actually mounts on the
boat(won't cost much). You can learn far more about navigation this
way than by having a gps. Before buying electronics, I'd also buy
safety gear including flares and good life jackets. I'd buy an
inflatable life jacket you always wear before I spent money on any
electronics. Next, consider communication. You probably already have
a cell phone so VHF can wait.
My family (myself, wife and newborn daughter) sailed for years on a
23' boat in protected waters before buying any electronics but we did
have charts and compass. Do not trust gps as your primary
navigation. Instead, use your compass, charts and depth sounder as
your primary navigation.
Now, after sailing for 23 years (and going up to a 28' boat and 2 more
kids), I have no qualms going extensive cruising without gps. I now
can afford electronics and have gps, VHF and even an auto-pilot but I
rarely use them except when out of sight of land or other markers.
Enjoy the boat and wear your life jackets.