Marriage Savers - do you use them?

[Pegu Club]

Originally Posted by mcarthur

I tried that with the police last time we met. Wasn't cost effective

With the PoPo I don’t do hand signals, nor do I use the phrase, “ to the best of your knowledge”

[Looking4Neptune]

We have Sena headsets and love them. Expensive but it's much better than yelling.

[SailMaravilla]

We use them on our monohull and love them. The noise cancellation on them reduces wind noise quite a bit. High recommend!

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by Franziska

.... an app called helmchat.eu.
Works without internet and hands free....

Just looked them up; the home page says it needs internet.

FWIW, we have an old set of marriage savers that we use on the Wright 10. We have recently traded the Mirage 27 for a Catalina 28 (I know...not even two-footitis) and we might use them on her.

Connemara

[x2y3z4]

We tested Helmchat and realized the app does need a internet connection.
So we switched to the app Talkie Wi&Fi Calling.

[Jim Woodall]

We have used them for 3 years and LOVE them.

1) Have a plan AND share it with crew.
2) Use hand signals
3) Use headsets

We used hand signals for 25+ years and were pretty competent with them. There was occasionally a bit of yelling, but not often.

We love the Sena headsets because they make verbal communication so easy. They cancel out most wind noise. Also, there are many times in close quarters that my eyes are not on my crew, I may be looking at different things, like the edge of the dock as I'm backing into a slip while my wife is telling me my distance from a forward piling and calling out distances. We still use hand signals, but the headsets are a great addition and do have many advantages over hand signals alone.

Something I don't see mentioned often is the usefulness of headsets while doing various boat chores:

- When crew is going up the mast.

- On our boat when filling up the diesel tanks my wife monitors the fuel gauges which are in a companionway 20 feet away to help avoid over fills.

-When one of us in down in one of our large bow compartments hoisting a sail. As one feeds the sail up through the hatch, we talk to each other and don't have to yell.

- I was in the engine compartment working a few weeks ago and my wife was at the helm turning the rudder, shifting from F to N to R, while I inspected cables etc.

The headsets aren't just for close quarters work, anchoring, mooring, etc., there are many other uses.

[MWhite]

Not on a cat, but on our 47 foot sailboat we don't leave the dock without our Sena headsets. They are complete game changers, since we cannot always see hand signals from our protected cockpit, or when it's an emergency and we have to leave in the dark. Of course we HAVE hand signals, but we use our headsets almost exclusively. There is nothing like having a quiet, calm conversation while docking a big heavy, full keel boat.

[Sea Wolf]

We cruised on a 50’ cat for 20 years (and a 33’ cat prior to that). I bought several wireless headsets and they didn’t always have a clear signal when needed and whenever there was a lot of ambient noise, they were difficult to hear. (They may have improved since I purchased ours). Sooooo… we used hand signals and, for us, that option always worked.

[Prairie Chicken]

Count me as definitely in favour of Marriage Savers. Hand signals worked for the small boat and still in some simple anchoring situations, but being able to speak clearly between the bow and helm is a game-changer. Phone apps, headsets--whatever, as long as your hands are free.

[CyKlop]

Originally Posted by Franziska

We use occasionally 2 Android phones with an app called helmchat.eu.
Works without internet and hands free.

Just a note that it DOES require a connection to the cellular system (and internet through it), so not useful in remote areas.

From the developer's comments about the app:

"... Automatic re-connection to the group of the internet connection was unavailable for a period of time"

[Mike Crothers]

We don't use them on our 40' monohull but I know people who love them. Two concerns I would have:


1) Can you hear other people around you such as on the dock or in another boat that are telling you such as "don't anchor there".


2) Can you recover when the technology fails you which it will at some point.


And don't forget the yelling is very entertaining for everyone else in crowded anchorages and marinas. It makes other glad to know there not the only ones that mess up.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by thinwater

And have a plan before you start.


Anchoring is an easy one-person job anyway.

In anchoring yes. Mooring, less so. In 10kts plus wind and currents, one man mooring is not a simple task.

[Pcpete]

We use our Sena 10’s most of the time. There is no visual aft from the command bridge making docking communication a bit of a challenge. I like to use the when we are fishing and crabbing because of the maneuvering involved.
Loud voices work, but can get misinterpreted as anger when the maneuvering plan gets messed up by misreading the wind or tide. Perhaps a crew could develop some code yells like “Aye.……up!” For forward, “R.i.g.h.t….there”, and “ho…yo” for reverse. Something kinda fun.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by Mike Crothers

We don't use them on our 40' monohull but I know people who love them. Two concerns I would have:


1) Can you hear other people around you such as on the dock or in another boat that are telling you such as "don't anchor there".


2) Can you recover when the technology fails you which it will at some point.


And don't forget the yelling is very entertaining for everyone else in crowded anchorages and marinas. It makes other glad to know there not the only ones that mess up.

Love them.

Prevented me being killed, or tossing the FO overboard, inconspicuously.

The calmness in the situation, the relationship saving, makes every dollar spend worthwhile.

And it looks professional. It assist in executing your plans.

I have no aptitude being the spectacle.

[GarryD]

We got a pair this year - really useful as my wife doesn't want to risk losing her hearing aids and doesn't wear them when we are on the boat. Not a problem when we had a sailing boat as we could see each other. Our power boat is full of blind spots. Not even sure when she is on the boat after releasing the mooring lines.

Crew says that they're great as she can shout in my ear when too far off the dock and can't get off - perhaps should include this in draw backs below??

Two draw backs -
Heavy breathing in your ear - very sexy, but off-putting!
Need to relay conversation to any guests on board, as they can only hear one side.