Great gadgets

[Lawrence Leonard]

Heat

The best gadget we ever bought is the "Oringo Heat Pal". The little alcohol heater will burn for about 7 hours full-blast on "Soot-Free" alcohol and really toast our 35.5. When you boat this far north, it's not uncommon for the nights to get down into the 40's even in August. What a difference heat can make to you when your whole boat cabin is at 50-40 degrees. We've extended our sailing season by at least a month (2 weeks start and finish). We start seeing ice on Lake Champlain as early as November and it is usually April before it's gone. An extra month of sailing up here is a big deal. My only regret is that we didn't get one sooner!Fair winds & Smooth sailing,Lawrence Leonard "Elle & I" 1990 35.5

 

[Bad Mojo]

Alcohol Heater

Where can I find out about this alcohol heater?I just installed a 2k radar on Sea Hawk- P30 # 656, and did a good job riviting the radom to the mast. Tricky but used a safety harness.Can't wait to try it out in the sealanes. But iinterested in the alcohol heater.Ben

 

[k9piper]

Well Now

Fred,All I cvan say is F R E A K E N F A N T A S T I C M A N !

 

[Bruce Bates]

Great boat stuff

The best gizmos I have put on my Beneteau 430 (besides my UK Tape Drive sails)are my new Sae Frost refrigerator and my Garmin GPS Chart Plotter. The Color Chart Plotter is so good it's scary and the Sea Frost(which is self intstallable) is much better than my old Frigoboat which came with the boat when I bought it.

 

[John R]

Simple pleasures

I have a little Catalina Capri 18 and not much room in my pocketboot for very many gadgets. Nevertheless GPS with graphics is too cool to do without. I bought a Uniden Mystic combination VHS (with DSC) and GPS (which gives me a cool speedometer that I wasn't expecting). Bought it online for about $315. When I lost in in a widstorm, I simply bought another. Also an iPod attached to a Cambridge Soundworks portable amp and speaker setup adds greatly to the fun factor - best of all, I already had both so it was like getting a free onboard stereo - can't wait till the nice weather arrives!

 

[George]

Gadgets

"Gadgets" like a depth sounder, knotmeter, and vhf really don't count as most boats come with them as standard equipment. When I bought my GPS, I thought it was a nice to have, not a must-have, gadget that I could have fun with since all I do is day sail and some coastal cruising now and then. Since that time, the GPS has guided me safely through some dense fog and so it wins my vote hands down as the most useful gadget aboard.

 

[Bill hamilton]

dido's

Total dido's especially on single handed moorings

 

[Jim]

My favorite gadget is....

... my recently installed microwave! This small, low power unit is fantastic. Makes popcorn, heats soups or coffee, cooks frozen stuff in a few minutes.

 

[gene]

trailer sailor gadgets

I trail and rig/derig every sail, so the Johnson backstay adjuster has made attaching the forestay easy. I used to fight with it. I usually sail alone. I have a forespar tiller extention and a lockbox to install. I have seen it used on another boat and that sold me.gene P-18

 

[James]

Gadgets

I really like having a hand-held VHF radio as an emergency back-up in the cockpit. These wonderful radios are now available for less than a $100 and worth every penny of it.

 

[Steve Korich]

the indispensible autopilot or sexy chartplotter?

While the Autopilot is my most useful tool making single-hand sailing possible for days at a time, my favorite "gadget" is the chartplotter. Like your own personal genie, the graphics are highly useful and it answers every conceivable question, where am I? How fast am I going? How long to my destination? What is the true direction of the tide current? If I sail past dark, will I be in the doghouse when I get home?

 

[Ryan Tuohy]

Windlass (sp?)

electric windlass w/ 250 ft of chain and my 45lb plow anchor. if i think about anchoring, i usually do it.

 

[George]

My Gadget...

... is my self-tailing winches. As a mostly solo sailor, these wonderful devices make sail handling fast, safe, and much easier.

 

[George S]

Digital Music Player - MP3

I like my Dell DJ, Digital Music Player. I have it networked into the boats onboard stereo. I currently have about 6,000 songs - Abba to Zevon, digital quality in the palm of my hand.Rob

 

[BBC16385]

Electric winch handle

Battery powered, powerful [my wife can send me up the mast with it], I use it to unfurl and furl the main and the jib on a P42, and it raise the drifter. Love it. Also love autopilot [its my crew] and charting GPS [Garmin 182C]. AND the davits for my air floor rubber boat and motor. AND the XM satelite radio. Not to mention the generator and central heat and AC.. . . [Did I mention the DVD player?]

 

[Pete M.]

My Favorite Gadget...

...is my Garmin hand-held GPS. This little beauty does it all. Whata bargain!

 

[Ron]

roller furling

My roller furling is the most practical gadget on my boat. It sure beats having to change fore sails every time the wind conditions change. It's a cruiser's delight for sure. I sail more and motor less, as a result. My next boat will have a furling main, as well.

 

[Walt Pierce]

TAKING CARE OF THE INNER MAN

On the forward end of the port cockpit seat of my Mariner is the galley. The pride of the galley is my bulkhead mounted Sea Swing stove. Tea to soup or bacon, egg & cheese on toast in the morning, that little stove is a jewel. Never fails to light instantly, adjusts the heat perfectly and it matters not how rough the water may be. Just keep the pots and pans down to eight inches.

 

[Walt Pierce]

WARMTH

I've spent weeks in my Mariner with nights into the twenties. Buttoned up tightly, that little cuddy cabin warms right up with just the Trawler, Jr. lantern. With the inner warmth, however, the hull is almost as wet inside as it is outside. A drop of condensation plopping on your nose in the wee hours is a sure wake up call. Do you have this problem?

 

[Parry]

Air conditioning

My boat came from Florida..I guess it gets hot there. Anyways, my boat came equipped with a heat pump that uses lake water to either cool or heat the boat. Fantastic...