Gadgets & Apps
On Wednesday 27th November members came along to share items & apps they couldn't do without on their boat. What a great selection we got.
We were asked during the evening if we could share links of some of the items. So we have tried to note as many as we could and include links with each one.
Thanks to everyone for bringing these great ideas along, I know I will certainly be buying quite a few of them.
Gadgets up first
Visiting Cards
A great way to give your boat details to marina's, especially where there might be a language barrier. It's also great to have to hand when you meet other sailors who you'd like to stay in touch with.
The Cruising Association
This was recommended by a few of the members present. It's great for advice on sailing areas, legislation all over the world and meeting like minding sailors wherever you may be sailing. The cruising association also has a great app called "Captains Mate". The app contains useful information about marina's and anchorages and up to date and useful comments from other members, which make it very useful when coming into a new port or anchorage. You can get a discount when you join if you get a recommendation from someone who's already a member, so if interested, get in touch with Monica or Shaun and we'll point you to an existing member.
Endoscope
This great little endoscope is perfect for all those small spaces you can't get to on your boat and let's face it there are loads of those. It is attached to it's own little screen and comes with a nice long cable, so no faffing about with a mobile phone as some of us have frustrating experience with!
Endoscope on Amazon
Buoy Catcher
This makes mooring onto a buoy an absolute breeze. With a little demonstration on the arm of a chair we got to see the magic of threading the line through the buoy and bringing it back to the boat. I must admit this model was especially good.
Espresso Machine
Who doesn't want to have a lovely little espresso after dinner. This is totally achievable with this little portable espresso machine. We were given a little demonstration, although I note the coffee wasn't shared around
Espresso Machine on Amazon
Leatherman
A stainless steel Leatherman's (or equivalent) are a must have gadget to hand on a boat to get out plenty of sudden emergencies. You never know when you will need a sharp knife and all the other little useful tools it has. We were told of a few times this little Leatherman had recently been used to help another boat out, who didn't have a sharp knife.
Leatherman on Amazon
Bluetooth Headset Intercom
These are great for communicating on the boat without having to shout from one end to the other over the noise of the wind. Suddenly mooring or anchoring is a quiet and calm process. You find yourself communicating more, making the process far smoother. You might even start getting compliments from others on how professional you look.They aren't cheap, but if you look out for a deal you can get them at a more sensible price. I also know from personal experience that the cheaper ones with wires often don't get used, as they just add to the extra things to get caught up on.
Bluetooth Headset Intercom on Amazon
Electric Lighter
These are great little lighters.They are rechargeable so no need to scrabble around trying to find lighter gas to refill the old gas lighters. They seem to be more reliable than the gas ones too.
Below are a couple of examples on Amazon, which have not been tried and tested, so buy whichever one takes your fancy on Amazon or any other site.They are usually sold in chandlers too.
Electric Lighter on Amazon
Electric Lighter on Amazon
Other gadgets mentioned, that are really useful whilst cruising, were a pressure cooker, an air fryer, a remote control windlass and a fender board for protecting fenders.
And finally not one to buy but something to make and what a great idea.Get yourself a piece of marine ply, cut it to the size of your hob, and place locking blocks below to slot to your metal framework below. Then put holes to hold your mugs, hey presto, somewhere safe to make tea whilst sailing!
Apps came Second
Bloc Marine
This is the French equivalent to the Reeds Almanac. These almanacs are sold in all the chandlers in France, which is definitely recommended if sailing there. However they also have an app, which is completely free and it gives information on all the marina's in France (and other countries including UK). It gives aerial views, which is great for coming into a marina you don't know, along with photo's so you can see what the pontoon numbers are. It also has lots of other useful information, such as contact details, number of visitors berths and where to go on arrival.
Bloc Marine on Google Play
Bloc Marine on Apple Store
Navionics
Most of us know about Navionics and if you don't it's a great purchase. It was also pointed out once you buy an area, all the maps already downloaded remain accessible, even once your subscription ends. This avoids you paying each year if you don't use all the functionality.
One other little tip was the SonarChart, which is data received by all the users and shows a more detailed and up to date depth picture. In tight spots it's worth having your nav on the usual charts and a phone view on the SonarCharts. That way you can see anything that might have changed or if you need more detail.
Navionics on Google Play
Navionics on Apple Store
Antari Charts
This is great for anchoring in Scotland, it has really detailed charts of lots of anchorages. Only £20/year.
You go buy the charts on the website below, then download another app such as Memory Maps to access them on your mobile.
https://www.antarescharts.co.uk/
Savvy Navy
This is an alternative to Navionics with some extra functionality. You can get it to make a passage plan for you, which we were told was quite good. Obviously you'd still do your own passage plan, but it's good for quickly assessing different options.
Savvy Navvy on Google Play & Apple Store
If you buy it via our website you can get 20% off, see below the location on our home page or click here.
Imray Tide Planner
This is a great app showing you tides along with the tidal curve calculations, tidal streams and tidal atlas charts for the whole of the UK and some other countries too. All at very decent prices.
Imray Tide Planner on Google Play & Apple Store