Garmin! Garmin! GARMIN!

[Roger Long]

I just returned from a short and very satisfactory sea trial of Strider. Everything in functional and ready for the trip.

I've been wondering how the Garmin radar / GPS overlay would work on a fairly quick turning boat. I was watching the radar as I was wandering around a bit more drunkenly than usual adjusting things, getting sails up and down (single handed), etc. It is absolutely astounding how fast the system re-orients the radar image properly over the land mass. Downright spooky. In any situation where radar was critical, you wouldn't want to be changing course 1/10 that fast. I love it.

It would still be nice to have a heading sensor for the advanced target tracking the unit is capable of. I looked at one but decided that the straw that breaks the camel's back costs about $250. I also don't have another day to install it and get it running and tested. I'll track the old fashioned way this year.

The end of the sea trial was the only rough spot. I had two more missed dock approaches today than I did all last season. I don't know why a two reef breeze blowing straight off the dock along with the current should cause me a problem on my first docking with wind of the season but, it did. I guess we get rusty more over the winter as we age. When I was flying, they said being a good pilot doesn't mean sticking every landing but knowing when to bail and go around while you can still do it gracefully. I almost managed that part. A little wax will take care of that small scuff on the stem.

 

[kloudie1]

Great, Roger. Those Garmin folks make some really fine devices. Again, best of luck, Bon Voyage!
With a little luck, ya won't be near a dock for a while! :~)

 

[Bad Obsession]

I have always liked Garmin Products. They seem to have a good product that works well.

Glad to hear that the sea trial went well. As far as docking attempts, I know what you are talking about because I usually come in single handed and in certain conditions it takes me a few attempts to get into the slip.

 

[paulj]

Roger Long
Someone has to provide dock entertainment.....


paulj :troll:

 

[Tim R.]

At least you have the current moving fore or aft. The folks next door to you have to deal with cross winds and currents as their slips are situated 90° to yours.

BTW Roger, we are neighbors. My boat will be within spitting distance on it's mooring after this weekend.

 

[Roger Long]

At least you have the current moving fore or aft.

Actually, the current piles up against the old railway and turns to run surprisingly crosswise to the slips.

 

[Tim R.]

Nevermind. ;-)

 

[sailaway78]

I'd laugh

If I had never done this, I would laugh at you, and say beginner. But since I have done it, more than once, I won't. Noticed no one else did either. We have all missed on more than one occasion. Kind of like running aground. If someone tells you they never have they either don't sail their boat much, or they lie.

 

[Tim R.]

I have to confess. I have lots of trouble pulling in or out of a slip. I rarely do this and can count on 2 hands the numbers of time I have. Face docks are no problem but the bow of my boat is a big sail and gets pushed around very easily. Even backing when setting anchor is a challenge. She does sail like a dream though! Only touched bottom twice in Maine as long as I have been cruising. One hard on my old boat and one soft on current boat. Actually just added a small furrow to a small sandbar in my anchorage on a rising tide. Never actually got stuck. I call it cleaning the growth off the bottom of my keel.

 

[kloudie1]

Yup.. I haven't replaced that deformed stanchion since it is a humility lesson for me!
It is gonna happen .. there are those who have done it and there are those who will do it .

 

[BobM]

Just glad it wasn't me...

Roger Long
Someone has to provide dock entertainment.....


paulj :troll:

For me it is another good reason to keep my boat on a mooring. Otherwise I am sure I'd be the king of dockside entertainmaint and I'd hate to give the powerboaters a free show.
:theman:

 

[Roger Long]

I have to confess. I have lots of trouble pulling in or out of a slip.

There's nothing like having to go in and out of a slip every time you go sailing.

More important than being able to make the landing, is knowing that it isn't working out early enough to go around and try again gracefully. Pilots assign zero negative points for doing that and boaters should do the same. Of course, the dents in planes are bigger when a poorly set up landing is pushed too far I was only about 6 inches too late on my go around decision this morning which isn't too bad for early in the season.

Today was about as tough as it gets. I've single handed into slips in much stronger winds but everything was just lined up wrong this morning. I'm also in the temporary slip I rented to prepare for the trip. My old one (next door) had full fenders I0 put on it. The new one has rusty bolt heads and metal plates for a fendering system which made me a bit shy about getting right in there fast enough. I finally just let the wind push me over to the other side of the slip and then sweated the boat across.

 

[sailingdog]

Sound like a good place to have a fenderboard.

Today was about as tough as it gets. I've single handed into slips in much stronger winds but everything was just lined up wrong this morning. I'm also in the temporary slip I rented to prepare for the trip. My old one (next door) had full fenders I0 put on it. The new one has rusty bolt heads and metal plates for a fendering system which made me a bit shy about getting right in there fast enough. I finally just let the wind push me over to the other side of the slip and then sweated the boat across.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I will be watching your trip on spot. Glad to see all your work over the winter is all working beautifully.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Those Garmin folks make some really fine devices

Once they figured the keypads out and got them to work without going through eighty five menu pages like on the old Garmin 72s. The newer 76Cx we have is just fine. I hate(d) that 72 that my friend Dave has, yuck, hardest to use thing I've ever seen.

 

[Bad Obsession]

All docking really is is a controlled crash landing!