Marriage Savers - do you use them?

[TPG]

Just wanted to ask other cat owners if you and your crew use wireless headsets when docking, anchoring, etc. When we had a monohull it was somewhat practical to just shout but not on our cat.

[Franziska]

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

Add two simple headsets to the phones and your done.

Much cheaper than dedicated hardware. We had the headsets and phones already. The app is free.

[Tetepare]

Hand signals

[SailFastTri]

Yes! Love them, we got by for many years with hand signals and yelling but it’s a game changer. The type of nuanced communication you can get from talking really brings the communication up several notches.
I expect luddites will weigh in on this thread and say it’s not needed or express condescending opinion that it’s not good seamanship to depend on technology, and that’s fine for them. They won’t miss it if they don’t want or need it. I want all the help I can get to make things easier and safer, and have a happy crew/admiral.
I chose the Sena brand because the headband goes behind the head so I can still wear my hat with it.

[JPA Cate]

I'd advocate both hand signals, which do for simple things, like "slow reverse", for instance, but we like our walkie talkies for when Jim's aloft and wants to tell me, "I need the 6 mm Allen wrench from the forward under the cockpit locker in the kid cabin," or something similar. We have hand signals for some things. Shouting is intrusive for others, and usually unnecessary.

Now, as we are well known for frugality, I best fess up that we got ours from Toys R Us, about 20 yrs. ago.

I'm thinking Franziska's solution is way more elegant than our "intergalactic communicators."

Ann

[wingssail]

Hand signals and preplanning.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Hand signals

And have a plan before you start.


Anchoring is an easy one-person job anyway.

[raingolfer]

We have a set of the Bluetooth SENA headsets and use them all the time. We're a monohull, I can't hear anything forward of the cockpit very well. Hand signals can work for some, but they don't work for us. Hand signals also don't work when someone is up the mast, because of our bimini and the halyards run to the cockpit.

The headsets are VERY helpful/beneficial for us.

[Wolfe10]

Yup, talk it out beforehand so everyone is on the same page/crew know what you want and use hand signals. After awhile no more hand signals 80% of the time.

[Marathon1150]

We have some handsfree, duplex devices (Eartech) that we used to use and they were very handy but finicky. They are more than 10 years old and still work well once they are working. We now use a reliable set of hand signals and they have worked well in most conditions. If there is a third person on board, that person can also relay the hand signal from mid-ship to the helm.

[sailjumanji]

Yes, we use them and love them. Purchased a set at the boat show">Annapolis Boat Show in late 2018. Used them in 2019 and 2022 cruising seasons (4 months), but otherwise sat stored in the house. Disappointment this year - 3.5 year old set that's only seen about 8 months use - is that one of the mics has a short, and the other unit has a battery that won't hold a charge long enough to use. Am going thru Sena customer service now but slow process. I know they are out of warranty, I just want them to sell me a replacement mic and batteries. So far they've given me instructions to reset, for a different model than we own. I'm hoping this gets better, because as much as we like them, the very little use we got out of them is very expensive.

[nwdiver]

Sailing solo, does that mean I have to talk to myself? I dock solo all the time so with crew I just have them sit and watch……unless they are very experienced, then I let them help.

[Jammer]

We have a pair of Standard Horizon HX380 portable marine radios that we use for that. They come set up with the standard marine channels, and I have also programmed in the MURS frequencies for use away from the water or for situations when it is preferable not to have everyone with a marine radio listen in.


They're really well made and worth the money. We use them for all kinds of things, not just anchoring/docking/etc. Dinghy to mother ship, group of canoes or kayaks, someone walking from the boat to the store for supplies.

[GreenWave]

We have a set of the Sena communicators. Use them occasionally usually when in unusual or abnormal conditions/locations. At home dock rarely cause we have that choreographed well.

[dcondit]

We have a set of SENA SPH10s. They have been nice on really windy days, especially on a big cat. Not really necessary, but they are nice to converse when things get complicated (anchor chain issue, aiming for a specific clear spot in the grass, etc.) For us, the name "marriage savers" says it all. Yelling makes it tense. Hand signals are awesome, but a pleasant whisper in your ear sets the tone for the anchorage.