BruceDanforth
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure the definition I have applies any more.
Yes if my recent experience with Stowe is anything to go by.I have a couple of obsolete Stowe instruments, 24 years old and still working well - is that tempting fate?
Obsolescence management for electronics is a big problem. Suppliers stop making key components and the replacement may not perform in you bit of kit as well as you need. Low volume suppliers, and the marine trade is low volume compared to many other markets, are very vulnerable to component obsolescence and the cost of support quickly becomes extortionate or impossible. Whilst full support may not be practical the kit may well work fine for years, solid state electronice is very reliable, but when something does fail and available spares are used up there is little the supplier can do.
It generally isn't cost effective to try & repair any electronic items anyway - at least not the high volume kit.
'Obsolete' doesn't mean it's useless or ineffective (while it's still working). But each bit of a boat has a 'life span' after which it's hard to assign any residual value to it when computing how much a boat is worth.
For instance, all electronics are written down in four years.
The wire rigging is written down in ten.
The sails are written down in 12 or so.
The engine in 15, etc.
Now there are plenty of people using stuff much older than this, but as a rule of thumb, it gives an indication of their 'commercial life span'. It also allows comparison between similar boats on the market where one has a new engine, 15 year old sails, etc, versus another with new rig, original engine and two sails, three years old.
My Consol chart became obsolete when Bushmills & Stavanger stopped transmitting on long wave ....