Technical Stuff

For the budding circumnavigators who are interested in the more technical aspects of attempting to take a yacht around the world I will enjoy telling you about the really good gear the O.K. stuff and the really crap things that I should never have spent money on. O.K. I know that we have only been going for 2 and a 1/2 months but already I have my list of the things that are indispensable and a few expensive things where money would have been better spent.

First Up ........ The Good.

WIND VANE(ours is a Cape Horn) but there are plenty of good ones on the market. Why you would go blue water cruising without one of these is beyond me. It steers your boat without complaint thru all weather and uses no power! I have stood in the companionway at night, during a full moon, 30 kts of wind and 3 meter swell, it’s like being on a rollercoaster as the wind vane effortlessly keeps the boat on course, but beware these things only work well if they have been installed correctly. Fortunately ours was installed by someone with far more patience and skill then myself.

HONDA GENERATOR AND 40AMP XANTRAX BATTERY CHARGER
I thought long and hard before purchasing these two items. I wanted a way to charge the batteries and produce electricity when required. I also wanted to be able to run power tools when needed. I don’t have the money or the space for a diesel generator so this is the next best thing. Don’t get me wrong solar panels and wind turbines are great (we have both) but for when the sun don’t shine and the wind don’t blow we need something else .

The Honda EU20i is a real pearler and makes us feel like we are right at home (is that a good thing?). In fact my wife loves it so much she even made a cover to keep it warm.