Necessary or Nice: Infinity Water
It had been days since my routine AIS checks turned up a new target on the multifunction display, now caked with minute nodules of salt spray from the rambunctious sail south out of Sea Otter Cove on the northwest tip of…
Necessary or Nice: Who’s Steering This Thing?
We were supposed to be sailing west: due west, in fact. Yet when I popped up into the cockpit for the pending watch change at the top of the hour, somehow, we were sailing… north? It didn’t make any sense. We’d been sailing…
Necessary or Nice: Cruising With a Code Zero
Wonderful, Fussy, Mostly Unnecessary
Sea…
Necessary or Nice? Voltage Sensing Relays
An Automatic Charging Relay (ACR) in its…
Necessary or Nice: Bow Thrusters
Is it cheating… or just smart? The wind was up, the slip was tight, and the peanut gallery of marina neighbors had assumed their usual spots. Perched in cockpits, coffee mugs in hand, performing their silent critiques. As I…
Radar: Necessary or Nice?
Being cruisers and captains, we often emphasize the importance of integrating radar into a vessel’s navigation system as a cornerstone of prudent seamanship. Thankfully, the days of massive, power-hungry radar domes are…
Introducing Necessary or Nice: Full Enclosures
Welcome to the first installment of Necessary or Nice, a new column where we tackle the age-old question for cruisers and sailors alike: Is a particular “thing” truly essential for cruising, or is it a nicety that makes life…