Is your boat high tech or low tech?

[Phil Herring]

It's no secret that WiFi, Bluetooth, miniaturization, and efficient battery power have changed almost everything these days... and that includes your sailboat.

It's heaven for early adopters and a nightmare for traditionalists. Where do you fall on that spectrum?

Is your boat decked out with all the latest digital conveniences? Or is your sextant as cutting edge as you care to be?

What's your most useful digital device aboard? Or is the old way a better way?

 

[deltaten]

Old school luddite here. The most hi-tech I have aboard is an early gen, B&W, handheld Garmin GPS, used mostly for speed. T'was a gift from fellow boater that took pity on me not having something to navigate ala mod. Might also consider the digital CD/radio; but it, too, is early and a gift. I do have small scale solar. Does that count?
Now windless, roller furler, self-tailers, water maker, gen set or 12v reefer.
I don't feel under equipped.

 

[Hydro Therapy]

I would say my chartplotter/sonar combos is the most important electrical feature on my boat although it’s not really high tech. I still have to hit buttons not like the newer touch screens. I did add a portable refrigerator/freezer this year. Im really impressed with how quite and efficient it is. So I guess I’m mid tech.

 

[garymalmgren]

Wotchu need, baby I gotit.
You need to know in what direction you are heading. = compass, Boat speed app, C,Maps . compass indicator on Tillerpilot.
You need to know the depth (coastal sailing) = Hook fishfinder. Also tells me water temp and battery voltage.
You need to know where you are in relation to the coast = C maps on dedicated $100 Chinese tablet and smartphone.
You need to know the weather = Windy app on phone and tablet.
You need to know the tides = Tides app on phone and tablet.

No really sure if you need to know your speed, I can pretty well guess but I have Boat Speed app on phone and tablet.

No VHF radio. No one in Japan has a radio.
No EPIRB. Never heard of them in japan.
No Radar. too expensive and a real power drain.
No AIS. All of those small to medium sized fishing boats whizzing around do not transmit.
No wind direction indicator. Windex and pieces of wool on the shrouds and sails do the job.
No wind speed indicator. If you can't work out which direction and the speed of the wind something is seriously wrong.
No wi fi connected to the bilge float switch to tell me from 100 miles away that I have left a cock open.
No am/fm radio. It's all BAD NEWS anyway.

gary

 

[Justin_NSA]

Latest tech, no. But not 8 track era either. My newest (digital) equipment would be my ProCharger and my music head unit. My Alpine has Bluetooth and USB.

 

[jssailem]

No VHF radio. No one in Japan has a radio.
No EPIRB. Never heard of them in japan.

Oh Gary....
While I "RESPECT" your style - Natural Sailing.. Me thinks though dost protest a bit...

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VHF radios and even the manufacturer of EPIRBS have a strong concentration in the Asian manufacturering world. To imagine the Japanese sailors have their heads in the sand is a little bit of a stretch...



But I enjoy your enthusiasm.

 

[Kings Gambit]

My newest and most modern digital device installed is me Bluetooth-compatible stereo receiver w/remote that I installed early in 2018. Before that, the hand-held Standard Horizon VHF HX870 (GPS & DSC), and before that the Garmin 76cx GPSMAP which I have to say is the most useful of those. But, I also have two fairly new sails (UK Genoa & Quantum mainsail), and within in the last two yr—hydraulic back-stay adjuster, a Selden whisker pole, aluminum RIB inflatable plus 8-hp Honda outboard, and a Wichard boom brake, etc. That’s generally where me upgrades go. Radar is analog but also new; AP, weather station, & depth transducer original. ST speed log replaced with same. So, I‘d have to say overall-low tech-but not ancient mariner either!

 

[jssailem]

My boat is a bit of both ideals. While I have a transmitting AIS, Indoor plumbing, EV100 AP, and a VHF radio, I still have a traditional compass at the helm, paper charts, and all my halyards terminate at the mast. I still gauge the wind by watching the water, feeling the breeze on my neck checking a windex and monitoring the strips of cloth and yarn on the sails. Sure I can look at my phone and get information which is claimed to be current based on spinning whirligigs, but so too can I apply my own personal sensors. I have upgraded my "Mark 1 eyeballs". We now employ the latest invention in soft contacts. Oh wow are they too cool. I can see for miles, and my peripheral vision has greatly improved. No more salt spray fog on the front of my spectacles. Yeah.

I use a laptop with magical software too route and track my cruises. There is even tidal arrows on the map that grow and shrink indicating the direction and relative strength of the currents. I take pencil notes and mark a chart as I pass key points along my cruise route. My depth sounder is a transducer that came with my 1974 boat and only recently did I remove the oscilloscope display and wire the unit into my new NMEA 2000 backbone, that came with the AP. I have a IR temp gauge which supports my "Class A Hand" sensor. Much better use of tech to inspect engine exhaust temp.

We are kind of a blended family SV Hadley and Me.

 

[Justin_NSA]

My boat is a bit of both ideals. While I have a transmitting AIS, Indoor plumbing, EV100 AP, and a VHF radio, I still have a traditional compass at the helm, paper charts, and all my halyards terminate at the mast. I still gauge the wind by watching the water, feeling the breeze on my neck checking a windex and monitoring the strips of cloth and yarn on the sails. Sure I can look at my phone and get information which is claimed to be current based on spinning whirligigs, but so too can I apply my own personal sensors. I have upgraded my "Mark 1 eyeballs". We now employ the latest invention in soft contacts. Oh wow are they too cool. I can see for miles, and my peripheral vision has greatly improved. No more salt spray fog on the front of my spectacles. Yeah.

I use a laptop with magical software too route and track my cruises. There is even tidal arrows on the map that grow and shrink indicating the direction and relative strength of the currents. I take pencil notes and mark a chart as I pass key points along my cruise route. My depth sounder is a transducer that came with my 1974 boat and only recently did I remove the oscilloscope display and wire the unit into my new NMEA 2000 backbone, that came with the AP. I have a IR temp gauge which supports my "Class A Hand" sensor. Much better use of tech to inspect engine exhaust temp.

We are kind of a blended family SV Hadley and Me.

LOL. I like the idea of upgrading yourself! I had contacts until I got RK surgery in the early 90's. Now I have old man's vision and need glasses to read. I hate glasses. I've never looked, no pun intended, into whether contacts would work today.

 

[TomY]

It's no secret that WiFi, Bluetooth, miniaturization, and efficient battery power have changed almost everything these days... and that includes your sailboat.

It's heaven for early adopters and a nightmare for traditionalists. Where do you fall on that spectrum?

Is your boat decked out with all the latest digital conveniences? Or is your sextant as cutting edge as you care to be?

What's your most useful digital device aboard? Or is the old way a better way?

View attachment 179137

I think the new tech is a boon for everybody.

People like me with simple boats can enjoy the new tech; smaller, wire-less devices often adaptable to devices we already have, and cut our DC charging/storage needs because the new tech is more efficient. And we don't need to blast holes in bulkheads for various dials, screens and readouts. You've got screens everywhere, even in your pocket.

For somebody like me the power savings result from using Nav ware on my devices, combined with LED bulbs has set a new level of freedom to sail more.

Traditionalists love simple to install new tech. They can use tablets, phones and smaller onboard screens for many purposes these days.

My most important device today would be my phone. Safety, convenience, navigation, photography, weather, SBO, Cruising Guide, charts, music/media, it's is a great tool.

I have no idea what that gizmo (above) is, or does, Phil.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I’m a technophile. I’ve got an NMEA2000 network for all the instruments to talk, and a chart plotter that makes all that data available over WiFi. I added a Raspberry Pi and some Arduinos to log all the NMEA data and things like battery voltages, amps, tank levels, bilge pump activity, and organic vapor levels. The Pi “phones home” every 10 minutes so I can keep an eye on the data, and emails me if anything strange happens. At the end of a sail I can download my tracks with all the NMEA data to look at over the winters and analyze.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I’m a technophile. I’ve got an NMEA2000 network for all the instruments to talk, and a chart plotter that makes all that data available over WiFi. I added a Raspberry Pi and some Arduinos to log all the NMEA data and things like battery voltages, amps, tank levels, bilge pump activity, and organic vapor levels. The Pi “phones home” every 10 minutes so I can keep an eye on the data, and emails me if anything strange happens. At the end of a sail I can download my tracks with all the NMEA data to look at over the winters and analyze.

you won at Raspberry.

 

[JRT]

@Davidasailor26 you want to do consulting work in Lake Guntersville AL? Love the idea of tech and monitoring just lack the time to figure it out. I did add a second hand Galaxy Tab A with Navtronics to my cockpit. It is nice to have the depth of the lake now and was a major help returning in the dark with no moon out last year too.

 

[dLj]

I am rather old school at the moment. I have a depth sounder that is from 1977, but runs very well and is actually calibrated. But I also have a lead weight and a line with markings for depth measurement. My anchor rode likewise has flags at defined distances - measured. I do have a VHF, it is from the 80's but still works very well. I have an electric bilge pump. Hate it, wish I had a manual bilge pump but i'm not adding that to this boat anytime soon.

Paper charts and compass. I will get a hand held GPS unit but I don't have one yet . I do have a sextant. I also have a cell phone, but I don't use it on the boat. I'd like a knot meter that tells me miles traveled, the one I have is not working. And I have a Windex, great device! The rest is by feel and observation. Gets me where I'm going...

I'm not opposed to high tech, just don't want to pay the price for it as I really don't need it for anything.
dj

 

[Jackdaw]

Good data is information. And Information is power. Shared information is power^2.

The tech I have with me when sailing depends on what the program is, but it's normally HIGH. Offshore the sky is the limit.

On BlueJ we focus on solid music when cruising, and race data when cruising.

Music is a Fusion with BT capability unit linked to my phone and controlled by a ANT-based remote in the cockpit. Or an apple watch.

Race data is centered around the mast-mounted Racegeek D10, which is interfaced via NMEA to all the boat's sensors. It then mixes that data with its own 9-axis sensor suite data, and then displays the most relevant information based on current sailing mode. It also shares that info via a WiFi hotspot it creates, allowing remote repeaters and remote controls.

The D10 streams boat telemetry to the attached app (again by WiFi) which uploads to the cloud via cellular in real-time for sharing (if enabled) or detailed review post-race.

 

[LloydB]

hi tech: dyneema keel cable so if it gets broken again I can swim under the boat tie it back on without cutting my hands on broken steel strands, waterproof pouch with a neck lanyard good for 10 feet deep for my phone, my fish Finder is still in the box at home after finding one on sale five years ago but the 6 foot cast iron depth finder seems to work pretty well at the moment. Sometimes I wanna go a little quicker or with no wind so iron Jenny with electric start and electric lift. It's a freshwater boat but if I get into salt I'll add a radio and autopilot then carry my laptop computer along.

 

[FDL S2]

I'm a Luddite on the boat. The highest tech I have on board is a Bluetooth radio with exciter speakers in the cockpit.

A Standard Horizon knot meter log, Standard Horizon depth finder and a handheld anemometer are the only other instruments I have on the boat. I am thinking of getting a handheld GPS so I can mark bouys for racing, but I'm still on the fence about that.

And I still use an iPhone 6 as my personal phone.....so I guess I really am a modern day Luddite

 

[WayneH]

So, yeah, my boat now has a NMEA2000 backbone because my old Signet instruments were failing. The new system has built-in WiFi that connects to our 1st generation Ipad. Which caused the Admiral to fall in love with the new system as she can have the nav system up close on the Ipad and make whatever changes she wants to. We have an AIS-B transmitter and a Furuno 1623 radar that is not connected to the backbone.

The autopilot has not yet been upgraded from the Auto Helm 4000 wheel pilot. I haven't gotten brave enough to suggest it to the Admiral who likes to hand steer.

But my forward looking sonar? It's good for a couple of boat lengths and 6 feet of water. It's a hack I learned from Charlie Jones. I have a fishing rod with a non-weighted cork and a lead weight about 6 feet below the cork. Cast it out and if the cork is upright I'm good to go. Cork floating on its side, STOP!!!! I used this set up a lot with the old instruments because the depth finder would go wonky as we were coming into a new anchorage. If the depth finder indicated 1.6 feet, the boat would be aground. Using the fishing rod, we eased into an anchorage while the depth finder indicated 1.2 feet. When we dropped the anchor, it went straight down 10 feet before hitting bottom. I think but am in no way certain that all the fresh water in the bay was causing the depth finder to read the halocline instead of the bottom.

 

[Alan Gomes]

Oh Gary....
While I "RESPECT" your style - Natural Sailing.. Me thinks though dost protest a bit...

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Panjiva provides data that powers global trade. Using information from 30 sources, we have shipment and customs records, company overviews and contact information on over 10 million businesses worldwide.

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VHF radios and even the manufacturer of EPIRBS have a strong concentration in the Asian manufacturering world. To imagine the Japanese sailors have their heads in the sand is a little bit of a stretch...

View attachment 180959

But I enjoy your enthusiasm.

Just as one case in point: My Standard-Horizon radios are made by Yaesu.

 

[Meriachee]

While there are a number of candidates on the boat, its a tossup between the NoLand engine monitor and the SH ram series mic in the cockpit.
convenience and data.