There appears to be an endless supply of widgets available to us boat owners; walk through a tent at any show and you’ll discover all sorts of things you didn’t even know you needed, but now must have. I’ve succumbed to the same urges as everyone else walking those aisles, and almost always met with buyer’s remorse just a short time later. The trouble with boating is that you have to find a storage location and then carry that trinket’s dead weight out on the water. Having everything often makes life more difficult, not better.
This year is going to be like last year, the year before that, and the year before that; some revolutionary gadget will come on the market guaranteed to make your life easier. The trick is figuring out the difference between need and want, that choice between if not now, when? Since no boat is the perfect solution for every day on the water, it seems we’re all in search of something to fill our voids and lockers. But now, I’ve developed a madness to my methods, simplifying my decision making: any gadget has to have two (or more) positive points of personal return before purchase. More points mean a higher priority on my Christmas wish list.
For instance, underwater lights have a cool factor, but wouldn’t make my life any easier, don’t offer safety underway (I’d argue the opposite), put holes in the hull, need to be cleaned regularly once installed, and consume energy that must come from somewhere (fuel); they get a “minus three” on my list. A new anchor might have better holding power, but if the one I have works, it just becomes added weight and lost storage as a spare; I’d give it a “plus 0” (versus a negative) because of the added safety only. As a general rule, if I already own something that gets the job done, it’s an automatic “no” purchase decision.
RADAR is a no-brainer: cool factor, collision safety, navigation safety, weather safety, nighttime anchoring safety, easily moves this “plus five” to the top of anyone’s list. Same-goes for FLIR; I’ll generally add extra points when ranking safety-related items. Update to LED lights if extended battery life is necessary. VHF radios without DSC fall into the must-modernize category, while new flares, medical kits, and fire extinguishers are continually required.
Although fuel prices are the lowest in years, focusing on purchasing gadgets that pay for themselves is always my main focus. The time and money I spent installing fuel monitors has already paid dividends, teaching me what to and (more importantly) what not to do with my go-levers. If your boat spends more time at the gas dock than underway, purchasing fuel-flow monitors (older vessels) or engine gateway systems (computerized engines) offers the biggest bang for your bucks.
B.O.A.T. by Mike Edick
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 08:45
There appears to be an endless supply of widgets available to us boat owners; walk through a tent at any show and you’ll discover all sorts of things you didn’t even know you needed, but now must have. I’ve succumbed to the same urges as everyone else walking those aisles, and almost always met with buyer’s remorse just a short time later. The trouble with boating is that you have to find a storage location and then carry that trinket’s dead weight out on the water. Having everything often makes life more difficult, not better.
This year is going to be like last year, the year before that, and the year before that; some revolutionary gadget will come on the market guaranteed to make your life easier. The trick is figuring out the difference between need and want, that choice between if not now, when? Since no boat is the perfect solution for every day on the water, it seems we’re all in search of something to fill our voids and lockers. But now, I’ve developed a madness to my methods, simplifying my decision making: any gadget has to have two (or more) positive points of personal return before purchase. More points mean a higher priority on my Christmas wish list.
For instance, underwater lights have a cool factor, but wouldn’t make my life any easier, don’t offer safety underway (I’d argue the opposite), put holes in the hull, need to be cleaned regularly once installed, and consume energy that must come from somewhere (fuel); they get a “minus three” on my list. A new anchor might have better holding power, but if the one I have works, it just becomes added weight and lost storage as a spare; I’d give it a “plus 0” (versus a negative) because of the added safety only. As a general rule, if I already own something that gets the job done, it’s an automatic “no” purchase decision.
RADAR is a no-brainer: cool factor, collision safety, navigation safety, weather safety, nighttime anchoring safety, easily moves this “plus five” to the top of anyone’s list. Same-goes for FLIR; I’ll generally add extra points when ranking safety-related items. Update to LED lights if extended battery life is necessary. VHF radios without DSC fall into the must-modernize category, while new flares, medical kits, and fire extinguishers are continually required.
Although fuel prices are the lowest in years, focusing on purchasing gadgets that pay for themselves is always my main focus. The time and money I spent installing fuel monitors has already paid dividends, teaching me what to and (more importantly) what not to do with my go-levers. If your boat spends more time at the gas dock than underway, purchasing fuel-flow monitors (older vessels) or engine gateway systems (computerized engines) offers the biggest bang for your bucks.
B.O.A.T. by Mike Edick