Yes, I'm a very conservative singlehander. I have a lot of "rules" on my
boats (perhaps that's why I am a singlehander), and one is that nothing is
allowed in the cockpit that doesn't have to be there. Generally that means
only cushions, a monocular and without fail...my coffee. I do troll with a
fishing pole occasionally and have found it useful to leave the device
ready. Of the 6 sailboats I've owned, the Vega is the only one that acts
like it "wants" to sail. The others; I had to make them sail. If I want to
go below for a half hour, I usually can manage it by altering course a few
degrees or trimming a bit. I do tend to "baby" my equipment, including
batteries. Running the VHF, stereo, GPS and occasionally fishfinder when
sailing, lights and TV or computer at anchor for the weekend, why run the
pilot too? I don't have shore power, so every watt is precious to me. I
spend 3 days/week on the boat and use only solar.
