Personal Gear to bring for charters

[Zhent]

This year, my wife and I will be taking our ASA classes and getting out of the water. The company that teaches the classes also lets us join a boat club where we can take their boats out for the rest of the year.

I'm sure the boats are fully provisioned and have all the gear necessary to sail, and they are only day sailers we need to have back at the end of the day, but what sort of gear should I be looking at to bring personally from boat to boat? Especially as we consider expanding next year into chartering a boat?

VHF Radio, personal GPS receiver, PFD's, solar charger for phones... any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[dave948]

Is it Black Rock?

[soares29]

I like to also take a first aid kit, Bluetooth speaker, 12 v usb charger, home made frozen dish, flashlight, mask/snorkel.

[Pete17C]

bring charts, real ones!!

/I also have iSailGPS on my iPhone
//cheap app with free NOAA charts

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by soares29

I like to also take a first aid kit, Bluetooth speaker, 12 v usb charger, home made frozen dish, flashlight, mask/snorkel.

home made frozen dish? he's going day sailing

He's in Boston, on the water, most of the year (all but 2-3 days) it'll take a week sitting outside to thaw anyway.

[Zhent]

Originally Posted by dave948

Is it Black Rock?

Yes it is!

Originally Posted by soares29

I like to also take a first aid kit, Bluetooth speaker, 12 v usb charger, home made frozen dish, flashlight, mask/snorkel.

Thanks, these are great suggestions, adding them to the list. First Aid kit especially.

Originally Posted by Pete17C

home made frozen dish? he's going day sailing

He's in Boston, on the water, most of the year (all but 2-3 days) it'll take a week sitting outside to thaw anyway.

Aww. But true

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Zhent

This year, my wife and I will be taking our ASA classes and getting out of the water. The company that teaches the classes also lets us join a boat club where we can take their boats out for the rest of the year.

I'm sure the boats are fully provisioned and have all the gear necessary to sail, and they are only day sailers we need to have back at the end of the day, but what sort of gear should I be looking at to bring personally from boat to boat? Especially as we consider expanding next year into chartering a boat?

VHF Radio, personal GPS receiver, PFD's, solar charger for phones... any other suggestions?

If it's day sailing only...

• confirm beforehand what the boats have (VHF, GPS, etc). If they don't have a VHF, your own handheld would be cool.
• For a daysail a GPS might be overkill. We have a handheld GPS on our boat, it's certainly fun to capture our track, but it's unnecessary for navigating our home waters.
• a chart is nice, but again - once you know the area it's not essential unless the waters are tricky
• It's worth having your own quality inflatable PDF. They aren't cheap but with care and maintenance they last a decade or more
• Phones rarely run down in a day. If anything, bring a cheap 12v to USB adaptor to go in one of their "cigarette-lighter" 12v sockets
• You didn't mention clothes! A good hat! Even if you're sailing in shorts weather, bring a light waterproof jacket in case it's cool or wet, some lightweight long pants
• if it's nice enough, wear your bathing suit and bring a towel so you can swim off the boat
• some people like sailing gloves
• sunscreen!
• water, and maybe a snack/lunch
• a camera if you're not taking pictures with the phone
• A dedicated water-resistant knapsack to carry it all

[requiem]

I'd start with a good waterproof duffel to hold everything. Here's a rough list of what I currently have in mine (which some would consider overkill):

• Foul weather gear (if starting out, this might only be rain jacket/pants)
• Warm fleece, warm hat, and gloves
• Sun hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen
• Navigation kit (if starting out, this might just be a phone app)
• Compass, whistle, and headlamp
• Sailing knife or multitool
• Utility cord (and likely some zip ties / tape should be added)
• Snacks, electrolyte tablets, and basic seasickness / headache meds.
• Travel towel and blanket
• Handheld VHF radio
• Binoculars
• Inflatable PFD and sailing gloves

I usually don't bring a first aid kit since most of the boats I'm on have a far larger one already. A quick survey will also let you know if you should pack TP, hand sanitizer, and similar toiletries.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Zhent

VHF Radio, personal GPS receiver, PFD's, solar charger for phones... any other suggestions?

You did not mention the size of the boat. If it is a small vessel this looks good. Except, delete the solar charger and add a spare or buddy battery. The GPS or iPhone plotter app is important as it helps you with sail trim. "Oh my I trimmed the main and we are going slower!" It isn't perfect as there are several variables, but it is a good tool.

Add waterproof coat- the weight of the coat will change based on the weather forecast. Add swimsuit--- or not--- towel, and the usual- hat, sunblock, yada yada.

Most boats from 27' up have a VHF, enough battery storage to charge a phone, and a chart plotter.

[Suijin]

I’ll second the advice to bring binoculars. One might think you use them mostly offshore but the contrary is true; I use them continuously in coastal waters.

Sun protection, thermal protection, and hydration. New sailors underestimate how strong the sun can be due to reflection off the water. Hiding under a bimini is not enough. And it can be significantly colder on the water certain times of year.

[Zhent]

Thanks everyone, this is a great list. Many things on here that didn't occur to me. GPS, VHF, and PFD's are more in line of future cruising as well - better to get quality gear now than replace it all in short order if everything works out.

I'm sure it will adjust as we take our 101 classes as well, but it's good to have a starting point. Plus it gives us something to do for the next few months while we wait!

[Ken Z]

Foul weather gear,hat,food,water good boat sneakers, sunglasses, option.a open mind.

[Sailnav]

Just got back from a week-long cruise aboard a 47-ft. catamaran hired from Dream Yacht Charters in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Some observations:

- We brought our own inflatable life jackets. (They were in carry-on bags and their CO2 cylinders caused a bit of a stir through the TSA X-ray system.) Turns out that our cabin was equipped with a pair, so they were totally redundant.

- I brought a handheld VHF radio, thinking it'd be useful to communicate with the mother ship when some of our party went ashore on a dinghy. Good idea. The rental catamaran---a 2017 Fontaine Pajot---did not have any VHF radio at all. My handheld became the ship's radio. (For dinghy-to-mothership comm, we used text messaging.)

- Cell-phone chargers. The boat had one USB port in each stateroom and at the nav station. There was one 12-volt cigarette-lighter-type port at the nav station. All other electrical outlets were European style 240-volt.

-- Flashlight. Switchable red/white beams would be good. Also, one with a lantern-style 360 beam could help, as it seems not one dinghy in the Carib is lighted at night, and the popular harbors can get very dark when there's no moon.

-- Water shoes. Not all dinghy beaches are soft sand. Plus, there are sea urchins.

-- Snorkeling gear. Our charter company had dock boxes jammed full with face masks/snorkels/swim fins, so we did not need to carry any through airports. But not all firms supply them.

-- Sharpie felt tip marker. To label your own water bottle.

-- Beach towel: Not needed. Ship supplied enough towels.

-- Burgee. Nice to fly one's own club flag from the port spreader. (Plus it helps identify your own boat from lookalikes in a crowded anchorage.)

Best advice we were given before departure: "Bring half the clothes and twice the money!"

[dave948]

The reason I asked if it was Black Rock is because I have first hand knowledge with them. In my opinion you couldn't have picked better instructors, they are great.

The boats you will be using in the club program are small (22-26 feet) day sailors, they will have the basic safety gear onboard. You can only use them in the harbor and the time blocks are 3 or 4 hours at a time. With that in mind you don't need much. If you plan on sailing in the spring and fall buy some weather gear, the boats are a wet ride. Waterproof backpack with a change of clothes, water, snacks, sun block and a charged cell phone is all you need. If your looking to spend some money buy your own inflatable life vest and some wet weather gear.

[StevenMeredith]

I would add polarized sunglasses to the list. I think most important on a daysailor is a good sandwich and good company, and all the safety stuff listed above,