Today's Sailor Is Too Electronically Inclined.

[Craig Weis]

I feel that BOAT, Break Out Another Thousand mentality has over shadowed the simple joy of sailing. I should talk. I have instruments. But the only one I really rely on is the depth and knot meter. And even the Knot meter can be replaced by the 'feel' and the 'sound' of the boat and wind and the water gurgling astern.
How many sailors look behind them to gauge the straightness of their wake?
skip. Kick back and enjoy the ride, not the electronic input.

[Bob23]

Amen, Skip:
   Here in the thin water of the Manahawkin Bay, NJ, I find myself glued to the depth sounder. We do have thin water and I have an unhealthy fear of grounding, even though I know 2 thnigs: 1. It's inevitable. 2. It's not the end of the world.
   Back when I sailed a SeaPearl 21, I could literally go anywhere I chose...and did! Canoe creeks, dead end ponds with 12 inches of water, you name it. There was a certain freedom of knowing that I could go and get out of anything.
  Don't get me wrong... I love my 23 and hopefully her and I will enjoy a long and healthy life together. And I do agree with you. It seems that some sailors like to keep West Marine in business with the accumulation of every known nautical gadget on the planet. But when you get right down to it, it's all about the joy and freedom of sailing a wonderful craft through the water, right?
   Let's keep it simple!
btw- Do you read "Messing about in Boats" or "Small Craft Advisor"? Very grassroots approaches to sailing and just boating in general. I think you'd like MAIB very much- the editor shares our common sense approach to boating, life in general and some of the stupid stuff the powers that pretent to be in Washington seem to be propagating!
Cheers! Bob23

[Craig Weis]

I had a subscription to Small Craft Adviser but I let that lapse. I found myself first looking at the craft for sail then right over to new launches, and sometimes to the features. Like the Montgomery Story, and any Com-Pac info. Then maybe a few pointers. It all became very boring as I can't make it to the sailing grounds they talk about in the magazine on the west coast.
I have read Messing About in Boats, and a fine magazine from the U.K. dealing with very traditional vessels and channel cutters. cool!

Full and By and On the Wind found in Sailing usually make good points.
Enjoy.

Bob, don't miss the SeaPearl 21 and it's ability to go beyond where any Com-Pac has yet to go too much.
I never worry about the bottom till I can see the bottom, usually about 7 foot. Smile
skip.

[kchunk]

I'll never give up my chart plotter. And besides, it was UNDER a thousand. Does that still count?

[Craig Weis]

Yes under a thousand still counts.
So what to do when the Chartplotter quits?
Just kidding. Mine still works and grabs a fix.
skip.

[kickingbug1]

   i guess i will own my cp 16 forever, ( the garage and trailering thing). but more important than that it is sailing at its simple best. no fancy rig no electronics not even a winch. just kick back and sail. like a lot of compac sailors i make a lot of my own stuff and as far as west marine goes---defender is a better choice--so is sailcare for rigging stuff. sailing is freedom   sailing is sanity.

[frank]

I fully agree with the KISS mentality. A set of reef points in a jib is cheaper and takes lees room than a 2nd smaller jib or furling. A chart in front of you,a compass and a $99 GPS for speed and "just to be sure" positions not only is way cheaper, but gives a bigger/better picture of your erea. I always joke that my centerboard is my depth sounder. A clip-on running light with flashlight batteries is way cheaper/easier than hard wired and a deep discharge marine battery. A solar yard light makes a great anchor light. A 'crank-up' radio and flashlight simplify things more and are not expensive.You can go a long way with 4 one gallon juice containers for water and unlike a built in tank...you can move them around for 'trim ballast'.Life need not be complicated.

[Steve Ullrich]

Frank - Great idea... How bright is it? Will it last all night?

A solar yard light makes a great anchor light.

[frank]

If a good sunny day....I've got up at 3am for a wee and it was still on.I'm pretty sure they won't last all night, but there's not much traffic in/out of an anchorage after midnight. None of my ideas are perfect....all are perfectly simple ;-) As to brightness...all are different...none really bright. They do reflect off the gelcoat well and would be hard not to notice. Not the light I'd want in open ocean with ships but great for an anchorage

[Bob23]

Hear, Hear men:
   I couldn't agree more. The only reason I have a built in GPS is that is was a gift. Maybe simplicity is why I like rowing. It's just you, the boat and the oars. And maybe the Piantedosi sliding rig if I bring it along. But I really favor my 7 foot Sitka spruce oars with the leather collars and bronze oarlocks. Talk about simple.
Bob23...thinking about buying an Adirondack Guideboat.

[Craig Weis]

"A solar yard light makes a great anchor light." So says Frank below in his/her post. KISS is great but can be expensive.
Yes but it's not U.S. Coast Guard approved, and quite possibly not able to be seen from two miles out, as claimed to be necessary in our state DNR boating rules.

I highly doubt that my Davis U.S.C.G. approved light can be seen that far [2 miles] out but I carry documentation that supports this claim if ever boarded for an impromptu and unwelcome on the water inspection.

Reminds me. I was haled by the locals in a hard bottom orange outboard powered blow-up raft equipped with radar and a couple of PFD protected 'squids'  years ago while sailing at night because my un furled yacht flag on my transom mounted staff occasionally covered the white stern light mounted on the stern pulpit while flapping lazy-like. It made the light appear to be blinking in no particular pattern. So I roll her up and tie her up around the staff when sailing at night. Geeeee. I wish these people would get a job, or find something better to complain about.

We have a sailor, Bud Evenson who moors his Cape Dory on his own mooring ball off his beach and he received a $287 DNR ticket for improper anchor light. Not even near the boating channel or close to the nuns and cans marking the deep water.

I don't really know what the light was he was showing at night, I know it is electric, not oil fired, but the violation was reported in our local Sturgeon Bay Advocate Newspaper. Right there in black & white. "Bud Evenson-67-$287 improper anchor light violation." After paying the fine Bud installed a Davis anchor light. Pulled his mast down while on the water in our Wa-Ma-Lama lagoon.
skip.

[robb_black]

My experience with this has been on the receiving end of someone who had is nose in his GPS.  Instead of paying attention to what was going on around him, he was focused on his damn GPS/electronic chart screen.  It was an area that you can easily navigate by markers.  It is a wide channel and easy to understand.  It is also a high traffic area.

His sailboat was twice the size of mine and I had the right of away.  I had to make a quick tack in order to avoid collision.  As we sailed by I could see him staring intently at his electronic screen.  It was as if he was playing a video game instead of sailing a boat.  He never ever knew I was there.

[Steve Ullrich]

I never force the right of way issue either.  I'd rather be safe than right.  I do keep the air horn handy though.  I like to make a bit of noise from time to time to keep folks like you mentioned on their toes.

My experience with this has been on the receiving end of someone who had is nose in his GPS.  Instead of paying attention to what was going on around him, he was focused on his damn GPS/electronic chart screen.  It was an area that you can easily navigate by markers.  It is a wide channel and easy to understand.  It is also a high traffic area.

His sailboat was twice the size of mine and I had the right of away.  I had to make a quick tack in order to avoid collision.  As we sailed by I could see him staring intently at his electronic screen.  It was as if he was playing a video game instead of sailing a boat.  He never ever knew I was there.

[frank]

quote author=skip link=topic=2608.msg15826#msg15826 date=1248662692]
"A solar yard light makes a great anchor light." So says Frank below in his/her post.  "




Well skip.....for starters, Frank is a "his"  ;-). If you read that post you will see that I say it's not the light I would want offshore. Seems I should have further clarified... 'or busy traffic ereas'. I was referring to the shallow protected anchorages 'most' of us trailersailors spend our nights.I also stated "none of my ideas are perfect". I just got back from a week on Moosehead Lake in Maine. Both of us found solar lights...although 'not legal'...comfortable in the shallow little secluded bays we were in. We've (by 'we' I mean several small boats) used them on Buzzards Bay cruises,Chesapeake Bay cruises,North Channel cruises,Ottawa River cruises,Lake Champlain and so on. Like many here, my boat lives on a trailer between trips to explore ....where ever. Hope that clarifies both my gender and the nature of my post.

[Steve Ullrich]

Hi Frank - I walked by a display at Menards yesterday and picked up a handful of solar landscaping lights at $2.98 each.  I put a couple around the front walk, a couple on the stone path to the hot tub, and I put a couple in the boat for back up anchor lighting.  I've yet to test how long the rechargable battery will hang in there with a full charge but I did note that the battery is AA size.  A regular AA battery will outlast a rechargeable but I'd test that too before I ever counted on one to stay on all night. 

As for three mile visability...  When I was in SE Asia we would black out all lights on base when we were on alert or under attack.  That included matches as lighting a cigarette could lead to getting shot in the face.  The English blacked out all lights, including candles, during the German air strikes for the same reason.  You can see a candle or a match at night for over three miles from the air or on the water.  http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070915112857AAj3LzU. 

A solar light isn't what I'd want either on Lake Superior, or any body of water with traffic,  but it might just work fine for watching the fireworks on the 4th of July on an inland lake.  It might also come in handy as a back up system if you lose the bulb on the mast head light or have wiring problems materialize while out at anchor.  It is a good idea Frank.

If a good sunny day....I've got up at 3am for a wee and it was still on.I'm pretty sure they won't last all night, but there's not much traffic in/out of an anchorage after midnight. None of my ideas are perfect....all are perfectly simple ;-) As to brightness...all are different...none really bright. They do reflect off the gelcoat well and would be hard not to notice. Not the light I'd want in open ocean with ships but great for an anchorage