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Useful gadgets
On 24 Jan 2004 09:18:25 -0800, (Parallax)
wrote:
After many yrs of being a cheapskate sailor sailing without the
expensive gadgets thayt many other ppl have, I now find myself able to
afford to buy some of the gadgets I used to shun. All those yrs of
making do without has colored my thought processes so I naturally
avoid gadgetry. However, my recent installation of roller furling
really made sailing easier so I am reconsidering my attitude toward
gadgets. I would like input from other ppl on what gadgets really
make sailing better and what ones are simply a techno-pain in the ass.
For example: GPS is a necessity but I will keep my paper charts and
hand compass. Depthsounder is necessary. Permanently mounted VHF
necessary.
So:
My idiosyncratic answers:
I have used good and bad roller furlers, but hanks are for me. If we
had a rig with a big foretriangle and postage stamp main, a roller
would be a necessity for an elderly couple like us, but with a
fractional, big-main rig no way.
Knotlog- really useful or does the reading off the GPS suffice?
GPS suffices for practical stuff, but the knotmeter tells how fast you
are sailing. We allow ourselves a bottle of bubbly when we sail over
10 knots (in a 23-year old keel boat).
Handheld VHF- useful or not?
Useful backup when the mounted one goes down. I wouldn't be without
it.
Electronic masthead windmeter (I'd like one but am doubtful about its
robustness)- useful or not?
Nice, but I haven't fixed ours since it broke two years ago.
Radar- Takes too much power I think for a sailboat.
In New England I wouldn't be without it. Depends where you are. We
sailed without radar for 30 years, but the last 14 seasons were enough
to convince me. Not only do I want a radar, I want the screen at the
helm, not below.
Lazy jacks- (I am sure I can make my own) but really useful or not?
Not to me. I bought an expensive Harken lazyjzcks kit when we bought
Gjo/a in 1989, but after dealing with them on OPBs I never installed
it. Our main is 47-ft hoist, 15 feet foot. If it were a lot bigger, I
might rethink the matter.
Any other useful things?
Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a
"Wanting to meet a writer because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate."
Margaret Atwood
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