Question for Long-Term Cruisers: What Are Your 'Top Five' . . . ?

[Bash]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

As this is my third shot at this anwer it could be considered my top fifteen, but let me take a different approach.
1) Reliable crew
2) "do it yourself" independance
3) Adaptability
4) Amiability
5) Recognizing that exotic destinations are only a day's sail away

Amiability. Yes. Can that be found in the West Marine catalog?

[Bluefuss]

Thanks Bash,
Are they expensive? Compicated to install? How do they differ from radar?

[wolfenzee]

An AIS transponder receiver shows you all the info (bearing, speed, description of vessel, call sign, etc) about all the commercial vessels alot further away than your radar could pick up and with the right workings/software puts it on your charts on your laptop.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by FLKokopelli

The three things I would wish for are
A Ham & a license to use it
A new radar
A Combo of solar panels,wind& water generators & a manual water maker..

Have fun..Linda S/V Kokopelli

I'll never forget the time when we happened to run into some friends of ours had left for cruising a couple of years before us. They had returned to town and when they saw us they said,
"Please don't tell anyone we're here. We told everyone we were going to cruise bare bones with a sextant and not deal with refrigeration, and other goodies, but we WERE going to take a manual watermaker. The watermaker was going to be our excercise!

We're now in town to buy a refrigeration system, solar panels, a chartplotter, and a MOTOR for our watermaker! Our arms are tired!"

That was 1991. This is the first time I've told anyone.

Steve

[wolfenzee]

Yes I believe in the KISS principle and yes I believe that people should not put them selves in a position where they rely on electric/electronic gadgets and gizmos. But I still have radar, am going to get a wind generator, have electronic charts on laptops w/nav software, refrigeration (mainly because of being a live aboard at a marina in the states)and lots of batteries.....and paper charts, a sextant I know how to use. Everything that can be done manually on my boat is and in some cases the electric/electronic is also present. I do know peopel that travel extremely bare bones...boarder line survivalist.....and people that have ever gadget and gizmo they can think of, enough to get there boat as close to a land house as possible and make up for any short comings.
I do what is comfortable for me and suggest everyone find there comfort spot.....the path I follow is one I have picked up from alot of old school cruisers, that plus avoiding all the fancy gizmos it what makes cruising possible for us "po' folk"