Are we becoming Control Freaks because of technology

[LONG_KEELER]

"Boat presentation" seems to be more of a thing than it used to be. Perhaps the closeness of berths in marinas
puts the pressure on owners to keep a smart boat.

I miss the deadly silence of a radio weather forecasts which used to feel like taking Holy Communion each evening onboard. The availability of forecasts and electronics do inspire confidence but you don't need to turn them on till you want to.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

I am shocked you missed off the bow thruster.

How could I possibly miss off my list the bow thruster.
Bow and stern thrusters provide the ultimate mooring control for anyone who wants to squeeze in tight spaces with a few inches to spare either end.

 

[Babylon]

Bow and stern thrusters provide the ultimate mooring control for anyone who wants to squeeze in tight spaces with a few inches to spare either end.

Or just go somewhere emptier?

 

[Moodysailor]

IMO, it's all about choices, and the type of boat. I enjoy knowing that I can switch (most) of it off and still get home safely, but I also don't see the need to struggle or make things any more difficult than they should be, given the choice and my preference on that day. Some boats need some of those to work, especially with a short-handed crew in a modern marina.
You can still haul an anchor up by hand if the boat has a windlass
You can still navigate by dead-reckoning if you have a GPS
You can choose to turn the radar and AIS off in fog if you want
I suppose this is the ultimate in "having my cake and eating it", but it's nice
FWIW, I don't have radar or AIS, but when I can afford it - I will

These threads always make think of that line - what did the Romans ever do for us....

 

[Blueboatman]

I see your stern thruster, Capt Fantastic and raise you :?

When I first raced aboard a rather wonderful East Coast smack and afterwards, when it came to ‘parking up’ for a beer as it were, the skipper rotated her across wind and tide fully 180 degrees ? in her own length, bowsprit and all.
Using twin Volvo sail drive legs with folding propellers , one on each quarter , one driving ahead the other hard astern and both powered hydraulically from a centrally mounted diesel engine.

I did think “ Wow, that is really quite useful” .

Or words to that effect, might have ended in “F ...Me, that works”?

 

[Snowgoose-1]

How could I possibly miss off my list the bow thruster.
Bow and stern thrusters provide the ultimate mooring control for anyone who wants to squeeze in tight spaces with a few inches to spare either end.

I really like car parking keepers.

 

[doug748]

A lot of things have got cheaper since the 1970's.

However, for me, there are only 4 innovations, I can recall right now, that I knew I must have as soon as they became widely available and I clapped my eyes on them:

1) Roller reefing foresails
2) Autohelm
3) Chart plotter
4) AIS

A lot of the rest is fluff, could be useful but a bit peripheral to the main job.

.

 

[RupertW]

We certainly like to have many more creature comforts than I could have afforded or being interested in when we started sailing as a couple in our 20s.

So a heads and shower compartment each with enough hot water for a daily shower (and more if we are in a marina), ice cubes and cold drinks a must but the true point of the fridge is fresh food lasting longer and of course the technology to let solar do all the work if we are at anchor or sailing for a few days.

But our sailing technology has barely moved on in all the years - the only major move in 1993 when we got our first basic GPS as we still don’t have or feel the need for a chart plotter, no AIS, no radar, and the second technology jump for us was in 2010 when we bought a boat with an electric windlass. Otherwise 1970s sailing rules because it still works fine for us.

 

[GHA]

Otherwise 1970s sailing rules because it still works fine for us.

You still wander up to the marina window so see the weather forecast?
Much more accurate and easily obtainable weather forecasting must be up there with ais & dyneema

 

[RupertW]

You still wander up to the marina window so see the weather forecast?
Much more accurate and easily obtainable weather forecasting must be up there with ais & dyneema

You are right of course - because the tech sits on my phone I’d forgotten about that. Makes a huge difference but of course when we happen to be in a marina I do still wander up to see. And I do have a coil of dyneema on board to act as a second Genoa forestay for ocean downwind sailing but haven’t used it yet.

I may find I’ve become a lot more modern than I had realised.

 

[Blueboatman]

S/h Haslar wind vane transformed everything for me..
Complete game changer

And was unaffected by engine non starting ( petrol days), one wimpy battery, dynamos, damp (wood) decks, uv, wind waves wet thieves etc etc
And could be fixed if necessary without specialist diagnostics nor software ?

 

[neil_s]

I have a 1980's marine time capsule ............... well there is a lap-top down there with some charts on it...........!

 

[Neeves]

I think maybe you should re-phrase the question and apply it to the simple motor vehicle or ones house.

In the 1960s motor bikes with sidecars and 3 wheelers were common. How water and heating at home was based on a coal fire. Cars did not have air conditioning, nor seat belts and airbags. And our average life span has increased since then - due to technology.

Do you really want to go back to the 1960s.

My grandchildren think that the internet (and everything that means) and hot showers twice a day are birth rights. I'd like them to enjoy sailing (in the 21st century as if I drop them into the middle of the last century they will spend their time in the mall - not enjoying the water). I confess to enjoying showers twice a day and the G&T, with ice.

60 years ago people, most of them, could not affords to sail (at all) - we have the choice (to sail or not and to embrace technical developments). 60years ago crossing Biscay to go and spend the summer in the Med was, almost, unheard of.......don't knock the benefits of modern life.

Jonathan

 

[DJE]

In the 1960s motor bikes with sidecars and 3 wheelers were common. How water and heating at home was based on a coal fire. Cars did not have air conditioning, nor seat belts and airbags.

Sorry - couldn't resist it!

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Technology is a wonderful thing and has given us the opportunity to purchase luxures and toys for our boats even more so.
We want the engine to start at any time under any conditions at the turn of the key, full control any time and why not
Instant hot water the moment we turn the tap on
Cabin heating and air conditioning control
The beer has to be cold in the fridge and always ice cubes for the drinks
And always plenty of fresh water in the tap not just for drinking but for hot showers as well
TV on when at anchor and naturally access to internet and wifi to control the entertainment
Adjustable lights for better control
Able to see in an instant who is within proximity on a dark misty night by turning on the radar and AIS
Knowing at any instant in real time, where we are, displayed in a multitude of fixed and portable screens
Too hard to turn the manual winch, electric gives easier control
Remote control for the anchor windlass allows easy control of anchor when singlehanded
Controlling the main by using in-mast electric reefing and similarly for the genoa
Plenty of electric power to keep all those gadgets going

So, are we becoming control freak yachties, (unlike the well know "control freak" personality disorder) or are we just enjoying the available technologies. I think, the majority of us enjoy being in full control of everything around us on a yacht, with the exception of people, I hope.

You've obviously not been on my boat. I fear you may find it a tad old fashioned. I like it that way.

 

[Blueboatman]

Things I have removed over the years and never replaced, but not all from the same boat, obv.

Inboard Engines.

Engine bits like draggy propellers, drippy prop shafts and stuffing boxes, hose pipes , exhaust pipes , traps vents waterlocks puddler tubes, filter bits , filter units , soundproofing , looms, dials , gauges, boxes of spares, sealants, goops, gaskets, exotic oils and anodes, tools.. weight?
Fuel tankage
Water tankage
Holding tankage
And associated plumbing eew
Electric pumps
Through hull fittings, multiple ..
Go faster/ closer/ windier/squawkier/talkie/electricery displays
Charge faster electricery
Fridge
Windmill ( I mean wind so called charger )
Toilet
Privacy Bulkheads and doors
Boarding ladders
Furry flooring coverings
Ebertrickery blown air heating and tubings
Speakers , boom boxes
Saloon tables
Folding dinghy
Rigid deflatable dinghy
Life raft
Flares
Stacking cookery pan sets ( the worst )
....
Weight?
———
I have added though
Bookcases
Oil lamps
Drip feed heating
Anchors
More chain
More sails
Nice sailing dinghy
Better coffee making
Etc etc
Might be an ‘ ages of man’ thing? ?

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Things I have removed over the years and never replaced, but not all from the same boat, obv.

Inboard Engines.

Engine bits like draggy propellers, drippy prop shafts and stuffing boxes, hose pipes , exhaust pipes , traps vents waterlocks puddler tubes, filter bits , filter units , soundproofing , looms, dials , gauges, boxes of spares, sealants, goops, gaskets, exotic oils and anodes, tools.. weight?
Fuel tankage
Water tankage
Holding tankage
And associated plumbing eew
Electric pumps
Through hull fittings, multiple ..
Go faster/ closer/ windier/squawkier/talkie/electricery displays
Charge faster electricery
Fridge
Windmill ( I mean wind so called charger )
Toilet
Privacy Bulkheads and doors
Boarding ladders
Furry flooring coverings
Ebertrickery blown air heating and tubings
Speakers , boom boxes
Saloon tables
Folding dinghy
Rigid deflatable dinghy
Life raft
Flares
Stacking cookery pan sets ( the worst )
....
Weight?
———
I have added though
Bookcases
Oil lamps
Drip feed heating
Anchors
More chain
More sails
Nice sailing dinghy
Better coffee making
Etc etc
Might be an ‘ ages of man’ thing? ?

I think there is also a movement similar to the above , to do away with the clutter .

Difficult to implement though if you want other members of the family to come with you.

There was a piece on R4 today suggesting that technology stops us thinking as we rely on what it is saying and it's making us mentally lazy. Also mentioned that Socrates was against the introduction of hand writing and would lead
people not to remember things.

 

[Concerto]

You've obviously not been on my boat. I fear you may find it a tad old fashioned. I like it that way.

Less things to go wrong, hence more time to enjoy sailing, and more money left in your pocket.

 

[langstonelayabout]

Less things to go wrong, hence more time to enjoy sailing, and more money left in your pocket.

I can certainly relate to this. Simpler is usually better. Less to confuse or to go wrong and less to shell out at the chandler.

I have found it bemusing peoples reactions and comments when I sold my last boat which didn't have a wind indicator instrument.

'How do you tell the wind direction or know when you are close hauled'? came the questions.

Clearly, not all of us learned to sail on a boat with no instrumentation whatsoever (apart from a protest flag).

 

[TLouth7]

I don't relate to this at all, partly because I don't have most of the technologies listed, and partly because most of them wouldn't be relevant to a day sail in familiar waters anyway.

Having been sailing without an engine for most of the season, I would say that the only truly indispensable technologies are the echo sounder and the kettle.

For passage making GPS has of course changed the game, and chart plotters have revolutionised pilotage, but how often do most of us undertake long passages without visual aids, or enter unfamiliar harbours in less than ideal conditions?