The Cruisers Essentials List

[s/v Beth]

Atoll, I will place "epoxy and basic repair kit- personalized for boat" under essentials. I can't argue with your logic. We are trying to make the list smaller :0 I thought.

[jm21]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Having a computer on the "optional" list makes it clear that this list is of times past. Let's call it the "old folk" list and make a modern one next to it for the next generation cruisers. Computer: essential. Autopilot: essential. Windvane: nostalgic. etc.

cheers,
Nick.

I'm very curious about this. I have been looking at the price of windvane steering and cringing. Are you saying that a good modern autopilot negates the need for windvane steering, or...?

[Bash]

A lot of the items on the list display preferences for one system over another. For example, SSB is on the essential list, satphone is not, even though, clearly, many contemporary cruisers opt for the latter rather than the former if they are limited to one system. Bat cars are specified on the optional list, even though a growing number of cruisers are opting for in-mast furling, especially on larger boats. The navigational gear is even more skewed toward specific gear decisions, starting with the metal sextant. (Metal vs plastic seems to be a bit of snob appeal here, especially given the absence of a nautical almanac, star charts, calculator, et cetera.)

I'm aware that a relatively small boat has been specified for this list, a cruiser in the 30-35' range. Do people cruising boats that small really carry folding bikes? I have to go back four boats to remember cruising anything in that range, but this list seems to contain an awful lot of gear for a boat in the low 30s. Is it possible that the list has been geared for a larger boat than the one specified? For example, it would be the rare 30-footer that would equip itself with a radar, roller furling sails, a high-output alternator, et cetera.

Finally, I can't help reflect that cruising waters have a lot to do with gear decisions. People cruising high latitudes consider a dodger much more critical than people cruising the tropics, as has already been demonstrated by the conversation. Similarly, a radar becomes far more important for someone who sails through fog than someone who never leaves the Caribbean. For me, hearing that the Carribean sailor doesn't consider radar or a dodger essential doesn't have much bearing at all on whether I'll include such gear on my own list. And my Caribbean friends probably could care less whether the high-latitude sailor considers cabin fans important.

[bobconnie]

I would say I lean toward more towards Atoll then Nick on this list stuff! Ive always carried repair items as Atoll do ! Ive never in 50 + yrs of sailing had an Epirb, or a life raft, but did have a hard dink with lots of flotation LOL always a ditch bag, and do have a hand held water maker!! and always a SSB/Ham never Owned a wind vane, but sailed with them and like them always had auto pilot (wood freeman) LOL no plotter ect ect Im really old fashion and I know it ! But we can cruise and live well with out a big bunch of the stuff listed!! as My Old daddy said Ya need what ya need to stay alive but a little comfort don't hurt !! Just my 2 cents

[Bash]

Originally Posted by jm21

I'm very curious about this. I have been looking at the price of windvane steering and cringing. Are you saying that a good modern autopilot negates the need for windvane steering, or...?

The larger the boat, the less likely you are to see a windvane bolted to the back. There's a reason for this.

[Bash]

Items on my list that don't appear on Newt's:

Emergency rudder
Head + sanitation system
Stove/Oven + galley gear
Spinnaker + gear
Wind generator
Winch handles
Sail repair tape
Splicing fids + marlinspike gear
hand-bearing compass
field guides (birds, fish, marine invertibrates, cetaceans)
Rules of the Road (required gear on larger boats)
parallel rules, dividers, protractor, and other nav gear
fishing gear
PLB + strobes for crew

gear on Newt's list that I don't bother with:

Radar reflector
bat cars
storm trisail
sextant, metal or otherwise

[Cheechako]

Dominican Rum..... strictly for medicinal porpoises of course!

[Tbrad]

Uh, hey guys; did anyone bring a life jacket???????

[s/v Beth]

Emergency rudder- will add, thank you.
Head + sanitation system I was thinking of a couple of buckets, one for sanitation
Stove/Oven + galley gear- galley gear I agree, thank you. Built in oven stove optional? How about just a white gas/butane camping stove?
Spinnaker + gear- have never cruised with a Spinnaker. Drifter yes, but why the big pole?
Wind generator-this needs to be discussed. One of the three- generator/solar/wind gen probably needs to be on the list- but which one?
Winch handles will add, thank you (duh )
Sail repair tape- in sail repair kit?
Splicing fids + marlinspike gear will add.
hand-bearing compass-already on list.
field guides (birds, fish, marine invertibrates, cetaceans)- optional but very cool.
Rules of the Road (required gear on larger boats)will add
parallel rules, dividers, protractor, and other nav gear will add.
fishing gear- on list
PLB + strobes for crew- how many of you use these in addition to the life preservers?

gear on Newt's list that I don't bother with: have removed the trisail, will put question mark on all the rest (negative vote)

Radar reflector
bat cars
storm trisail
sextant, metal or otherwise

Tbrad- I did add life preservers.

[Liltttzr]

This is great. Just started to outfit our cruiser. Now I have a "have" and "I want list" keep it going...

[mrm]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Stove/Oven + galley gear- galley gear I agree, thank you. Built in oven stove optional? How about just a white gas/butane camping stove?
Wind generator-this needs to be discussed. One of the three- generator/solar/wind gen probably needs to be on the list- but which one?

Newt,

while the idea is great, I would phrase some entries in a bit more universal fashion. For example, the above could be written as:

• some means of preparing food (eating is essential)
• some means of bank recharging - depending on cruising area's prevailing conditions (windy/sunny) (and personal preferences).

This way important aspects will not get lost, while a 'which one is best' argument might be avoided.


Marius

[jm21]

Does price come into consideration at all?

We have been pricing out various systems, and unless you don't have a laptop or tablet, chartplotting software seems the cheapest route for most places, as compared to GPS or sextant or pretty much anything else. Maybe certain cruising grounds a handheld gps would be more affordable but for our planned trip (PNW to Hawaii to AUS) using our laptop or a tablet would save us several hundred dollars over a handheld GPS. Even if you had to buy a tablet it seems like it would be cheaper, and would provide other functions as well (particularly holding ebooks and other instructional/safety guides). Plus extra reliability because you can buy spare USB GPS receivers for far less than a second handheld GPS.

We have a handheld GPS from my old boat and will bring it along, but I don't see us using it much outside the PNW due to how expensive the maps are for it.

It might actually be cheaper now to have a tablet with navigation software than buying the paper charts...we haven't really looked at that comparison as much.

[s/v Beth]

Marius- great idea. I will run with it.
Jm21- I was thinking of those little Garmin Gps with paper charts to do all the work on. GPS would just give cordinates. Used less than a 100 usd, chart used cost? depends on how well you get along with other cruisers. Charts also do not depend on electricity, which puts them down one level in complexity (see post #1, general rules)

[Bash]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Wind generator-this needs to be discussed. One of the three- generator/solar/wind gen probably needs to be on the list- but which one?

A lot depends on latitude and sailing season here. I would go with solar only if I tended only to sail the tropics, or tended not to sail higher latitudes in the winter months. In my home waters, however, it makes a lot more sense for year-round sailors to go with a combination of solar and wind, especially those of us who make night passages.

I can't see much reason for a diesel generator other than to run air conditioning. Again, this might be more a consideration in lower than higher latitudes. For me, using cabin fans a few weeks a year at most, there's no need for the air conditioning, therefore no need for a diesel generator.

[atoll]

i would consider a pole of some sorts an essential bit of kit,whether it is bamboo or alloy spinaker pole.
the spinaker you can do without,but head sails collapse if not held out

sailing downwind is very difficult without one!
also usefull if you go aground,
if you lose your rudder,
need a jury mast,