alan_d
Well-Known Member
How about the Corum Admirals Cup Challenge 44? At 97K you could buy it instead of a boat (or in my case about three and a half boats).
Sailing Watch Recommendations
- Thread starter chart5011
- Start date
planteater
Well-Known Member
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
So what do people look for in a sailing watch?
Here are a few possibilities -
No base metal parts in case or strap
Night light
Tide display
Compass
Barometer
Thermometer
Countdown timer
Stopwatch
I think that covers it for most but some like to have-
Rotating bezel with compass markings
Hours marked with international code flags
I never buy a watch that has a plated brass case as my sweat dissolves them so it has to be stainless or plastic. Plastic straps break after a year or tow and are expensive to replace.
The most vital thing when out on the boat is to be able to read the time at night without getting out a torch.
Some say tide indications are waste of time because you always have tide tables to refer to. I find it handy as I live in an area surrounded by sea and it can be useful to have a quick indication of tide state when I'm away from the boat.
A compass is another nice-to-have, not on the boat but out and about.
The barometer function is another thing that probably isn't necessary on the boat as most of us have a barometer anyway. They generally have an altimeter function too but again, that's something you're likely to have already if you need to know altitude.
The countdown timer is OK but the standard 10-5-0 seems to have gone by the board at a lot of events. In any case they are seldom easy enough to read in the heat of a start.
I always keep a stopwatch on board for timing light chartacteristics and using a sextant on deck. For sextant work the spilit time function is very useful so you can time a series of sights in one go. The trouble with wrist watches is that I use the stopwatch so seldom I struggle to remember which buttons to use for start/stop/lap/reset. On board I use an old mechanical starting watch form my windsurfer & Laser days.
The analog/digital question is tricky. Digital can display more data, not all of it useful but many, me included, find analog easier to read at a glance, particularly in poor light, rain or without the right pair of specs.
Here are a few possibilities -
No base metal parts in case or strap
Night light
Tide display
Compass
Barometer
Thermometer
Countdown timer
Stopwatch
I think that covers it for most but some like to have-
Rotating bezel with compass markings
Hours marked with international code flags
I never buy a watch that has a plated brass case as my sweat dissolves them so it has to be stainless or plastic. Plastic straps break after a year or tow and are expensive to replace.
The most vital thing when out on the boat is to be able to read the time at night without getting out a torch.
Some say tide indications are waste of time because you always have tide tables to refer to. I find it handy as I live in an area surrounded by sea and it can be useful to have a quick indication of tide state when I'm away from the boat.
A compass is another nice-to-have, not on the boat but out and about.
The barometer function is another thing that probably isn't necessary on the boat as most of us have a barometer anyway. They generally have an altimeter function too but again, that's something you're likely to have already if you need to know altitude.
The countdown timer is OK but the standard 10-5-0 seems to have gone by the board at a lot of events. In any case they are seldom easy enough to read in the heat of a start.
I always keep a stopwatch on board for timing light chartacteristics and using a sextant on deck. For sextant work the spilit time function is very useful so you can time a series of sights in one go. The trouble with wrist watches is that I use the stopwatch so seldom I struggle to remember which buttons to use for start/stop/lap/reset. On board I use an old mechanical starting watch form my windsurfer & Laser days.
The analog/digital question is tricky. Digital can display more data, not all of it useful but many, me included, find analog easier to read at a glance, particularly in poor light, rain or without the right pair of specs.
