Are sailors addicted to TECH

[Blueboatman]

My rule of thumb
Can this boat be sailed with the batteries turned off?

some of the YouTube generation seem to manage with a couple of old gps enabled phones

 

[Moodysailor]

My rule of thumb
Can this boat be sailed with the batteries turned off?

some of the YouTube generation seem to manage with a couple of old gps enabled phones

I suppose an interesting twist of irony on this is that I have more redundancy and ways of generating power than I do replacement pencils. With handheld devices, batteries, charge banks and on board spares, I'm feeling I need a larger pencil case... ;-)

 

[Blueboatman]

I suppose an interesting twist of irony on this is that I have more redundancy and ways of generating power than I do replacement pencils. With handheld devices, batteries, charge banks and on board spares, I'm feeling I need a larger pencil case... ;-)

I know
I carried a generator for emergency tools etc
Plus all the usual ( complex) charging systems ?

Quite fancied a spring starter for the diesel too!

 

[capnsensible]

I hope you carry a spare pencil sharpener

And practice using it. Smiley.

 

[HinewaisMan]

Absolutely too addicted to tech!

I find it really scarey how many world cruisers I've bumped into, albeit usually Septics, who totally rely on their Chartplotters and GPS and carry NO charts even as backup!

And the old line that the best back up for a GPS is another GPS wears a little thin sometimes.

 

[BabaYaga]

I wonder if there are boat owners who reject marine tech/consumerism etc . I have yet to meet one.

I certainly do not reject marine tech – I am grateful it is available.
As for addiction or consumerism, I hope not.
After 40 years with the same boat, only this winter I will install my first wind instrument.
Still no plotter onboard (only GPS giving lat/long and occasional use of mobile phone to find out exactly where I am).
No AIS or radar. No windlass. No outboard for dinghy.
On the other hand I have been using a tiller pilot for over 30 years, currently on my third or fourth.
Likewise I have had electronic log, sounder, VHF, solar, fridge, AC charger for at least a couple of decades.
I have just bought things I thought I'd have good use for.
Less useful (to me) items, I have not bought.
If and when I change my mind, they will be available.

 

[franksingleton]

For us, it is partly convenience, partly necessity, partly safety.
Convenience. Even if you do not use GRIB data for weather, to be able to download and read a forecast is far more convenient than using (often forgetting to use ) the VHF. We do still listen, especially in France, to keep our hands in (ears, really).
Necessity. With AMD, an iPad is a necessity for navigation.
Safety. With AIS, I get accurate bearings on ships in the Channel. By taking screenshots, I can quickly see which might give us problems and which will not. It is far safer than a hand bearing compass or a handheld RDF. Mind you, it did help to brush up my morse code - does anyone still use morsel?

 

[dgadee]

It is far safer than a hand bearing compass or a handheld RDF. Mind you, it did help to brush up my morse code - does anyone still use morsel?

I had RDF way back in the early 80s. Never got the hang of it. Are the signals from lighthouses still sent out?

 

[Laminar Flow]

When I started sailing the height of sophistication was a flashing & spinning depth sounder. I learnt terrestrial navigation then I took a course in astro and before my first major voyage I bought a stand alone GPS and a Walker trailing log.

Until we got a couple of chart CDs with our current boat, that we ran off our laptop with a plugin GPS dongle, I had never ever used any form of plotter. All of a sudden everything was so easy. Plotting tidal vectors? Pfft, who needs that? Its like a video game where you follow the little avatar on screen and it's as addictive as crack. When I was too cheap to buy the expensive Navionics update for Denmark and got paper charts instead, I finally understood what substance dependency was and it took me a couple of days to get over the anxiety of not having access to our wee electronic guiding spirit.

I also took away the impression that GPS and plotters have encouraged a number of folk to go sailing and who really have no business being out on the sea. God help them if that little screen goes black.

 

[Blueboatman]

I had weatherfax and never turned it on either !
Do like SW radio France inter tho

 

[Daydream believer]

We cruised from ‘72 to ‘87 without a VHF, including ten years of going foreign, so I wouldn’t call myself an addict. I got Decca in 1988, radar in 2000, and a modern plotter about eight years ago, which I am very fond of. I would say that the biggest change came with the mobile phone and the ability to text-message. Previous to that, in my case 1999, the only way of communicating was by finding a call box, and with other sailors it was almost impossible unless you left a message with a harbourmaster. From 1999 we were able to meet up at random points with friends when our cruises overlapped, as well as keeping in contact generally and saving a fortune on postcards.

No VHF!! It was great going into Ostend with those balls, cones & diamonds hanging off the signal station at the end of the pier. Then finding a ferry coming the other way, (in reverse) because port control has not passed the info to the bloke on the pier. Then going up the high street to the GPO building by the tram station & park to use the phone home. Try telling the kids of today that- They will never believe you

 

[Elessar]

Yes, and nothing wrong with it in my view. IMO, dependency is the issue as I'm of the Personal belief that you should still be able to navigate and/or find your way to a safe haven if the tech dies.

I usually have my calls, emails, messages etc muted when on board, but still like to play music from my phone to the boat stereo. The 4G WiFi router we had on our previous boat not only provided a way for me to get navigation data at the outside helm, but also meant I could work from the boat if I want to, or stream a movie if the weather is rubbish and we were confined inside.

We had a high-end plotter, but also sailed with a paper chart out and would reference both. I practice DR and plot hourly more to 'keep my hand in' than anything else, but it's fun.

Tech is fun, so is knowing you can cope without - but don't have to

Spot on.

Ive 3 plotters on my boat. All integrated to wind, pilot, radar etc etc. And linked to tablets too. I enjoy using them.

But twice a year I go out with it all switched off. So I don’t forget.

I came back from France in a new to me boat late last year.

No electronics, I taped a small stand alone eBay purchase to the dash. And did my first shipping lane crossing with hand bearing compass, pad and paper for years! I enjoyed that too.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

I member having an odd feeling on a friend's boat seeing our moving position on a chart plotter for the first time. I now have it on a tablet and a phone ....

Shortly after finishing years of RAF training on some of the most advanced avionics in the World I found myself in the Electronics Bay at RAF Lossiemouth -where the LRU (black boxes or Line Replaceable Units) were sent for repair after being swapped out of an a/c. The first piece of kit I received to work on was a Global Position Indicator - from a Shackleton. It was made in 1931 and basically was a bulb in a box. The box had a hole in it so that it shone an arrow on the chart it was mounted over. The box could be rotated on it's mounting to set the track accurately and a clockwork motor would drive the arrow along the track, the speed being controlled by a simple friction mechanism. A few years later I got to fly on Shackleton and the Nav told me they were surprisingly accurate.

 

[Elessar]

I hope you carry a spare pencil sharpener

Electric. Controlled by Alexa. ?

 

[LadyInBed]

And practice using it. Smiley.

After having read the user and health and safety instructions.
Then carried out a risk assessment including the carbon impact implications regarding the wood and graphite shavings!

 

[Concerto]

My chart table is very high tech. I filled over 90 screw holes from old redundant tech whilst refinishing the lacquer.



Certainly not addicted to technology. My regular instruments are B&G from 1996 and still work, just been fitted in the new console. I have a chart plotter and autopilot, plus the main DSC VHF is at chart table, so never use it. The handheld VHF is far more useful.

Naturally I have a mobile phone which I use to hot spot my laptop and veiw ship details via ShipTracking.

Nearly forgot I have two compasses, are these high tech?

 

[johnalison]

No VHF!! It was great going into Ostend with those balls, cones & diamonds hanging off the signal station at the end of the pier. Then finding a ferry coming the other way, (in reverse) because port control has not passed the info to the bloke on the pier. Then going up the high street to the GPO building by the tram station & park to use the phone home. Try telling the kids of today that- They will never believe you

Being tied to the telephone for 24hrs each day at home, I resisted the idea of being in communication with the world when on holiday for as long a I could. It was only when I got my Sadler 29 in 1987 that I succumbed, and had the pleasure of hearing Dagon and Wildwind forever calling each other on Ch16 every weekend on the Blackwater.

 

[Blueboatman]

Electric. Controlled by Alexa. ?

I thought Alexa is the navigator and helmsperson these days ?
Multitasking eh

 

[dune16]

I love tech and ticked pretty much every option on the latest boat. I do always have at least 3 independent devices for gps and do remember most of the dayskipper level nav basics should I lose everything but to be honest we are mostly within site of land and night passages have been minimal so far. I rarely use our axiom plotter for actual plotting, mostly I just use Navionics on my phone. Does this make me unsafe? I don't believe so

 

[Elessar]

My chart table is very high tech. I filled over 90 screw holes from old redundant tech whilst refinishing the lacquer.

View attachment 126924

Certainly not addicted to technology. My regular instruments are B&G from 1996 and still work, just been fitted in the new console. I have a chart plotter and autopilot, plus the main DSC VHF is at chart table, so never use it. The handheld VHF is far more useful.

Naturally I have a mobile phone which I use to hot spot my laptop and veiw ship details via ShipTracking.

Nearly forgot I have two compasses, are these high tech?View attachment 126925

I really like your set up. I can never see the logic of a chart plotter that is inside and not outside. You have everything where it should be. Perfect.

With that plotter you can mirror it to an iPad at the chart table (or dining table) when passage planning. And you can remote the buttons to your phone so you can control it from your steering position.

Looks lovely.