What item could I buy now that would serve for my future sailing boat?

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Don't feel alone. I'll admit my trig. is rusting with age and it's been awhile since I've had one. I would love a quick explanation.

Its a type of running fix.

You are sailing past a point of land/lighthouse/steeple/radio tower/silo, or other non moving landmark which is ahead.

Take a bearing with your trusty hand bearing compass. Knowing your heading, and the bearing, use simple subtraction to calculate the angle off the bow.

Note your speed, or better yet your odometer reading (on your speed/log instrument).

Continue sailing along.

When the angle off the bow is DOUBLE the original angle, the distance run equals the distance off. Its an isosceles triangle....two sides have the same length. One side is the distance run, the other the distance off. They are the same. But no need to remember all that...just : when you double the angle off the bow the distance run equals distance off.

No its not magic, just trig. But its a handy trick. You don't need anything except your speed, your watch, and your compass. Even if you aren't precise, you can get a pretty good fix without lifting a pencil. If you actually lay it off on a paper chart it will be surprisingly accurate. Especially if you can combine it with a depth reading.

And just for you newbs who have only ever used GPS...the most common "fix" requires taking bearings off three points. A running fix requires only one. Sometimes you only get one.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by hamburking

Its a type of running fix.

You are sailing past a point of land/lighthouse/steeple/radio tower/silo, or other non moving landmark which is ahead.

Take a bearing with your trusty hand bearing compass. Knowing your heading, and the bearing, use simple subtraction to calculate the angle off the bow.

Note your speed, or better yet your odometer reading (on your speed/log instrument).

Continue sailing along.

When the angle off the bow is DOUBLE the original angle, the distance run equals the distance off. Its an isosceles triangle....two sides have the same length. One side is the distance run, the other the distance off. They are the same. But no need to remember all that...just : when you double the angle off the bow the distance run equals distance off.

No its not magic, just trig. But its a handy trick. You don't need anything except your speed, your watch, and your compass. Even if you aren't precise, you can get a pretty good fix without lifting a pencil. If you actually lay it off on a paper chart it will be surprisingly accurate. Especially if you can combine it with a depth reading.

And just for you newbs who have only ever used GPS...the most common "fix" requires taking bearings off three points. A running fix requires only one. Sometimes you only get one.

Depending on most peoples knowledge of there true speed. I wish them luck.

Thanks for the explanation. It expanse the side needed for the trig..

[ericoh88]

Hal Roth.

Read his book page to page till I got my own boat.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Sail-Arou.../dp/0071429514

Eric
ps. I wish I did not buy so many stuff on land because I have no place to keep them since I liveaboard.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by fernandosmooth

I want to buy something, that would be long lasting, an investment that would serve to a better life on the ocean. Something that would be useful.

A Rocna-Anchor (would last forever probably) or a PFD - if you intend to sail in the next time perhaps?

[a64pilot]

I’d say not the anchor, they don’t always fit, and may be the wrong size, plus for all we know the latest, greatest must have anchor may come out next year
However a good harness, or weather gear">foul weather gear will come in handy if /when you get to crew on other boats. I’d stick to personal safety gear, maybe a good set of binoculars etc. that you can use now.

[rchou]

niice comments. a good coffee maker, lest we fall asleep until the boat and the property with a boat shed happen, with all the reading up till then

+ bialetti brikka 2cup, tiny gas percolater; 2bar espresso from fresh grounds; the first time, i made a 3cuppa before sundown, could'nt fall asleep until 4amish

+ dessini double grill, pressure pan; flip 'n cook in a double sided frying pan

+ pressure cooker (covered in #10); got a 44yo tiny 1L preston, cant find it online anymore; good for roasting coffee beans and peanuts too with the gasket&whistle removed, just flip every thirty seconds

say whats a good manual water desalinator, for daily use? did some reading up, seems seafaring folks are a small community, that electric ones seem way up there in prices and manual ones are low volume survival types still seem expensive. did see a gas fired water distiller, that seems to set the lower bar on water purifying appliances.

Aloha,
Rahul

[Scout 30]

I think that getting boat specific items like an anchor would be a mistake. Sometimes boats come with a ton of extra stuff & they always come with anchors. The foul weather gear is a good idea. If you're going to be sailing up north a good wool sweater or coat would also be nice. If you watch for sales you can find a deal on a good inflatable PFD with a harness and they have rebates on PLBs pretty regularly.
I'd also consider an Off Center Harbor membership for access to a really informative video library. If you love boats you'll love their videos & I guarantee you'll learn a lot watching them.

https://www.offcenterharbor.com/tour/

[Hobie_ind]

It's anachronistic and everyone will tell you you'll never need one, but pick up a book on celestial navigation and learn the basics, including the fundamental checks on a used sextant. Then keep your eyes open in antique stores, etc for a good deal on one. That's half the fun.

I happened to find a really nice Weems & Plath sextant, complete with it's bakelite box and all it's original documentation in an antique shop in Jakarta, Indonesia in around 2000 for $150 (I probably overpaid for it!). A couple of quick checks showed it had virtually no error and was in great shape. The mirrors were a bit tired, but $30 or so later from a source in the US and I had a complete new set to install in the mail.

Flash forward to 2014 and I'm taking noon sights periodically on our South Pacific crossing between Galapagos and the Marquesas, while teaching my daughter how to take them. LOVED it.

Now it sits on a shelf in the living room beside my stack of cruising guides, begging me to plan the next........