We have gotten a lot of emails since we left to go cruising six months ago, people asking if we really needed this piece of equipment or that. So after some thinking I decided to write my opinions of what I thought was good equipment to have, things we’re glad we brought along that have made the cruising life easier for us. Though these are primarily our thoughts many of the cruisers I spoke with here share very similar perspectives. Something to keep in mind is that everyone will have different priorities and cruising grounds can make a difference as well.
Portable Generator
Pressure Cooker
Radar
Cockpit Light
Anchors
Portable Generators - Now, we did compromise and ended up purchasing a small portable gasoline generator. It’s a very small and light Yamaha 1 kw portable generator. We have used it for a variety of reasons including jump starting other boats when their batteries go dead, running our battery charger when it’s cloudy and there’s no wind for long periods of time and running household appliances such as irons and power tools. It’s light, small and fairly quiet. Best of all the fuel consumption is about a 1/2 gallon of un-mixed gasoline per 10 hours. Though our solar panels and wind generator are the primary means of keeping our batteries charged there are times when it remains cloudy with no wind for days, it makes more economical sense to run our portable generator than our engine to charge the batteries. At a cost of about $400 it was much less expensive than installing a large inverter, a bit more versatile too. We also found that there are quite a few cruisers that have one of these small portable generators, either from Yamaha or Honda. After cruising with it for six months I wouldn’t go anywhere without it, for us it’s a must have.
Radar - Our JRC 1800CP combination radar/chartplotter unit is another piece of equipment that is considered to be a valuable item aboard our boat. Chartplotters have come down so much in price now that almost everyone has one so I won’t cover this feature of the 1800CP unit. The radar feature had been indespensable. At night while sailing offshore we can easily see other ships and even rain squalls, during the day we can also see the same things but it allows us to ensure we are not on a collision coarse with another ship or to adjust our coarse around storms. While sitting here at anchor in Isla Mujeres we have been through some strong thunder storms, the radar shows us the progress of the storm. At times we can see the ocean swells, wakes of large ships and even clusters of birds feeding on bait fish. It’s also useful in seeing where you are in relationship to the shore line either in a large lagoon or while sailing off the coast. Our radar has helped us see the navigation buoys while making a night approach into harbors. After having the radar on the boat I can’t imagine not having one, they really have a lot of uses and come in handy. But those that don’t have one are content in not having one, guess you can’t miss something if you’ve never had it to begin with. For us it’s a must have.
Pressure Cooker - Another must have piece of equipment for us. Using the pressure cooker allows us to cook faster thus using less propane and also keeps the heat down in the cabin of the boat. We actually have three pressure cookers of different sizes, each of them the right size for different needs.
Cockpit Light - When anchoring it’s always important to ensure that your anchor light is on so others can see you. We found out that if you anchor in a place that has a lot of traffic such as busy harbors or rivers, it can be hard to see the anchor light at the top of the mast. The light at the top of the mast can easily blend in with the stars, and most fisherman moving about fast in or near the anchorage typically looks ahead of them, not above them. So a good cockpit light that can be seen at eye level comes in very handy in lighting up a boat. We have both a 12v light and a high pressure oil lamp. When we anchor in high traffic areas it gives us peace of mind knowing that we’re a bit more visible.
Anchors - Having sufficient ground tackle to keep you boat safe is one of the most important things to bring along with you. Also having anchors of different styles because what might work well in mud might not work well in sand, and so on. We carry four anchors including a CQR, Bruce and Fortress. Our primary anchor is an aluminum 33 pound Spade anchor. It is actually way over sized for our boat but that’s what we wanted. Having an anchor designed for a boat twice our size gives us much more peace of mind when the wind picks up. The Spade anchor has worked well for us in all types of bottoms and we have never dragged anchor yet. The Spade anchor is one of the most cherished items on our boat. Having anchors of inadequate size can pose many problems for the cruiser. We have seen dozens of boats drag anchor here in Isla Mujeres when the winds pick up to more than 20 knots. Most of the issues seem to be anchors that are too small for the boat it’s being used on and not enough chain in the anchor rode. So many boats here only have 20 feet of chain, I would not carry less than 50 feet and feel that more is better if your boat can handle the additional weight. Our primary rode consistes of 200 feet of 5/16 high test chain and 250 feet of 5/8” line. Our secondary rode consists of 50 feet of chain and 250 feet of line, we have never had to use our secondary anchor and rode yet. Of all the places to spend a few extra dollars this is the place, your ground tackle is the best insurance policy you’ll carry for your boat.
Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006 S/V Bruadair. No reproduction without written consent.