Least popular modern gadget?

Mirelle

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Following on from Nigel Luther's thread about losing touch with the essence of boats I thought we might try a list of least desirable / most antisocial modern gadgets.

By way of a starter, I would like to consign in-mast reefing to Room 101.

Since I don't have it on my boat (a gaff cutter with in-mast reefing would be rather implausible) I have nothing to say about sail shape, effect on C of G, or anything like that.

No, its the unspeakable NOISE this contraption makes, which makes it just about the most anti-social gadget in modern sailing (along with wind generators!)

Walk into any marina and you are greeted with an ominous howling which makes you think that a hurricane is blowing. In fact the HOWLING starts at about 15 knots, and I wonder how many non-sailing wives and children have been put off the idea of a day sail by the howling of a mighty gale in the rigging.

In the early days of this gadget, the makers used to supply a sock which could be hauled up the slot to shut the thing up, but it seems people no longer want to bother with this.

Today, the tapping of un-frapped halyards, the howling of wind generators and, worst of all, in mast reefing provide each marina in the country with its very own
set of Hollywood-seamanship sound effects. Which may explain why so few people actually go sailing.

A boat that made any noise below F10 used to be considered a disgrace. No longer.

Down with noise pollution!

AARGH!

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DJE

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Eberspacher heaters.

The noise just adds insult to injury when you are moored near one in a cold boat.


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Twister_Ken

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I nominate the chart plotter, which has created a new type of screen-fixated sailor concerned with knowing where he or she is to within 5 metres accuracy at all times. No longer is it enough to know that you are somewhere between here and there, and that 'there' will eventually heave itself over the horizon, give or take an hour or two and a few miles left or right. No, ETA is required to three decimal places and if the autopilot doesn't sail you directly down the centreline between the pierheads, that is counted as disappointing and an excuse to upgrade something.

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AlexL

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This is also occurring in flying. As I rent non GPS equiped flying club cessnas and navigate by Mk1 eyeball , when I call southend Air Traffic for rejoin its inveriably with "G-XXXX 2 miles west of Bradwell, ETA about 5 minitues" or "Over Osea Island" or "nearing Burnham Marina", however the new breed of GPS moving map display pilots are obvious with something like "Southend Approach this is G-XXXX, 6.1752 miles from the field, heading 135.21 degrees, speed 104.214 knots, ETA 16:45 and 32.3 seconds"

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Ohdrat

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I nominate DSC radios made for the pleasure / small boat market.. they're rubbish.. and DSC is a half baked solution anyway..

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Mirelle

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Walking into them

I have not taken our boat into a marina for three years, but I have...

- walked into Tide Mill Yacht Hr to see Atlantic Rigging
- driven to Levington to see French Marine Motors
- ditto Woolverstone to see Volspec and Mike Bamford
- driven to Fox's to buy chandlery...

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Robin

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The most anti-social modern gizmo IMO has to the mobilephone.

There is a beautiful wooden boat in our club which has a seemingly wooden in-mast setup, in fact it is aluminium as is the boom and whisker pole but carefully painted to very losely resemble wood. I am told the reduction in the rig weight was enormous, it is a tall rig but sloop not gaff and yes it rattles a bit in the wind from the boom slide block mostly but I haven't caught it whistling.

Can't say I notice in-mast as the prime suspects for wind noise, halyards rattle whatever the type and gaff cutters have a few of them, if not put away properly and any kind of rigging causes wind noise, as do marina piles (no pun). Wind generators are unnecessary surely in marinas, why wear them out when electrics are available but that one USA thing I would agree is a menace close by.

What are you doing in a marina anyway!

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Gunfleet

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Serial Chandlerist

Blimey! You must be skint. On Tuesday French's charged me nearly £7 for a Yanmar proprietory bolt.

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Evadne

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It's not a gadget, but there is one thing I have come to loathe and detest ever since they found their way into my toolbox from a rogue B&Q batch and started breeding. Almost undetectable when dormant, they have the same plumage as their neighbours until you use them. Put them in, turn your back and all of a sudden there's red oxide dripping down the bulkhead and their head will snap off the moment you try and remove them. I'm talking about brass-plated woodscrews. Second only to galvanised jubilee clips.

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Capt_Marlinspike

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In defense of in mast reefing

I have behind the mast reefing on my 25 year old boat. It makes no noise at all.
It makes single handed sailing much easier for the older sailor. It may give a poor sail shape but I get there in the end.

The worst gadget is the modern through hull padle wheel log. So totally inaccurate as to be useless.

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Talbot

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Definitely DSC. A gadget that was introduced as a means to make life saving easier, but does precisely the opposite. It might be feasible for a merchant ship to be able to look at all the alerts (I doubt that they do) but the average yachty responds by turning it off. How can that be a safety improvement. I will not change to one of these unless forced, and will then try to disable the alarm (or just turn the radio off) At the moment I will always listen for maydays, and have responded on several occasions. What will be the next looney improvement?

BTW my inmast reefing makes less noise than before I fitted it.

You can complain about the noise from my eberspacher as much as you like, SWMBO will only come out to play provided she is warm. my heater unit is within 6" of my head when asleep (other side of the bulkhead) but does not disturb me when asleep. The exhaust exits between my hulls for minimum impact on other boaters.

All this fuss about the GPS, I can remember the same on the introduction of yachty versions of Decca, but all but the most oil tarred die-hard still fitted and used them. Personnally I reckon the plotter that I have fitted is the most useful gadget I have on-board.

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tome

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Bow thrtusters

Not that they are a bad thing, but they are noisy and I frequently hear them used un-necessarily. Watched a sailing boat exit our marina the other day. As he reached the hammerhead on his way out, on went the bow thruster. He had plenty of way on and the turn wasn't tight or difficult.

Other than that, agree with Ken about being glued to a chartplotter screen.

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Mirelle

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No fair!

Of course I'm skint - I've got an old gaffer eating me out of house and home - when did you ever see an old gaffer owner driving a decent car - there is a connection!

That list of chandlers visited was over the last three years!

(the really dangerous places for the old gaffer are Classic Marine in Woodbridge and either or both of James Lawrence in Brightlingsea or North Sea Sails in Tollesbury!)

PS - Volvo thermostat £29 @ Volspec, £18 @ French's - swings and roundabouts but they get you in the end!




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Ships_Cat

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<<<screen-fixated sailor concerned with knowing where he or she is to within 5 metres accuracy at all times>>> 5 m accuracy on a 5 inch screen /forums/images/icons/smile.gif.

I'll nominate two least popular with us - on board barbecues and on board portable generators.

PS - Twister_Ken there is a nice approx 40 foot Kim Holman yacht on the hard in our marina at the moment. Powder blue hull with varnished cabin trunk, if is still there on weekend will have a closer admire of it while it is out of the water.

John

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Mirelle

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The tally so far:

The leading contenders are DSC, on board generators, on board barbeques and chart plotters, each with two votes.

Paddle wheel logs, Eberspatchers, bowthrusters, in mast reefing and brass plated screws get one vote each.

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flaming

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Re: The tally so far:

I'll second the vote for in mast reefing.
And log paddlewheels.

Slighly off topic I know, but I'd also like to nominate boat builders who stack a boat full of all the latest electronic gismos and then supply one tiny battery.

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Mirelle

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Lies, D*** Lies and Paddlewheels

I wonder why I ever bought one! Actually I know; I had a half baked theory about wanting to use a towed generator which would get in the way of the trusty Walker Excelsior. Then GPS came along.

The thing has one achievement to its credit; at anchor, at 02.30 am on a calm moonlit night it woke my wife and I up by spinning in the Spring ebb tide and making the only noise on the boat!

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BustinAround

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I got a good one: ENGINES!

I learnt to sail on a yacht without one and I'm a better sailor for it! Not only are they expensive, but they're noisy, smelly and polluting. And they take up loads of space too. And the prop slows you down. See?

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