New electronics

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

I tried a leadline for while when my old sounder died. Absolutely a pain in the .... When trying to find a good anchorage in waters you don't know well. I now have two, to fit, one as a backup.

But generally I prefer sailing without instruments in my face. I find the numbers distract me from the moment. Instead of just enjoying the way she is sliding through the water my eye goes to the speed to see what it says, somehow that number then defines the experience.

Likewise wind, I can look to windward, feel the wind blow past my face, look at the way the waves are forming, looking for the tells that indicate the changes in force, judge this against the heel and power of the boat for the amount of sail I have up and the point of sail. Again I don't know for sure the "exact" number for the wind, but I know exactly what it "is".

One of the great things I learnt as a kid when racing dinghys was to sail to windward with my eyes closed. Our trainer followed and helped guide us. It was interesting how your body's other senses started to make it work well. Instead of watching the telltales, you started feeling everything. A good lesson.

One day DH, try switching everything off, sail the boat by feel, and sight. You will feel a bit blind at first, your eyes will keep flicking to those dead instruments, and you will experience a sense of loss. But maybe after a while you might start to "see" everything else...

Enough philosophy for now, needless to say I was always impressed by the Bernard Moitessier school of sailing!

Or maybe I'm just on too much of a budget?

Well, to each his own, of course!

My first decade of sailing I had not a single instrument, not even a permanent installed compass. I had a windex at the masthead and bits of twine on the shrouds. So you don't need to tell me anything about sailing the boat by feel BT,DT.

I don't think I've lost my feel for it. To that I like to add (not substitute) as much data as possible.

So what I have on my own boat goes far beyond the modest recommendations I made on here as fulfilling average needs.

I very much like the SailSteer screen on the B&G Zeuses, so much so that if I had space I would have a second Zeus displaying just this. I'm actually eyeing the new 5" Vulcan and wondering if I could find room for it.

Then there are the marvelous EDO instrument displays:



Oh, my.

Unfortunately haven't yet figured out a way to have this at the helm in a reasonably robust way, for all the reasons discussed in this thread.

[Snowpetrel]

Ah, DH that looks like some flash kit! I must say I have enjoyed using wind speed/direction gear that had a half hour graph feature. I kind of liked that display, because you could track the patterns and trends pretty easily.

But I personality look at that screenshot of yours and see it as some sort of nightmare of distracting numbers for me..

What makes me chuckle is the way you gulp at the cost of two very nice remote release clutches to help adjust your sails effectively and safely, but are looking to add another electronic gadget, that I am picking is way more expensive. I'm not really knocking you mate, each to there own.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Ah, DH that looks like some flash kit! I must say I have enjoyed using wind speed/direction gear that had a half hour graph feature. I kind of liked that display, because you could track the patterns and trends pretty easily.

But I personality look at that screenshot of yours and see it as some sort of nightmare of distracting numbers for me..

What makes me chuckle is the way you gulp at the cost of two very nice remote release clutches to help adjust your sails effectively and safely, but are looking to add another electronic gadget, that I am picking is way more expensive. I'm not really knocking you mate, each to there own.

No electronics on "The List" this year.

There's always intense competition for the boat budget, which is why I always try to spend the money wisely. $300 for two clutches I don't really need, to save a little bit of crawling out of the cockpit, has been scratched off. Just a few of the things on The List for this spring:

1. New jib sheets ($450 each so far), new dyneema furling line, new preventers, new dock lines, new jib car and traveler control lines.

2. New life raft (about $2000), service all life jackets, new MOB beacon, new VHF handheld, replace grab bag contents, replace danbuoy with updated model.

3. New trash pump, hose, nozzle, junction box (about $500).

4. Cut off spin pole (about $500) and new spin pole car (about $400).

5. Replace first aid kit contents (all expired; about $800).

6. Fuel tank clean out (about $500).

7. Professional rig inspection and tune (about $500).

8. Haul out, antifoul, replace bearings in Autoprop, replace one sea cock (black water tank discharge) (about $2000).

9. Update/replace charts, almanacs (about $1000).

I've already spent a couple grand on redesigned stanchion gates, permanent padeyes for jib sheet leads and barber haulers, teak work on the rail, etc.

and it goes on and on and on and on . . . as every boat owner knows

[Snowpetrel]

Ouch Dock, kind of glad I only have a 40 footer! Sounds like you are keeping her very well maintained.

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Ouch Dock, kind of glad I only have a 40 footer! Sounds like you are keeping her very well maintained.

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Hole in the water you throw . . .


But they all are, of whatever size