May 22, 2010 15:05
The hand crank is exactly the same thing. In the early days of autos, you needed to have the crank and a full set of tools in order to keep the car running and for safety. As time passed, the crank went away, and most people today don't even have a screwdriver in their car. Why do you think this won't happen with boating? Why do you think this hasn't already happened with boating??
It might not be the most prudent of things to just turn on your GPS and go, but the reality is that this is the environment that most boaters are in today. You might not like it or you might long for the days where you only had your sextant, but the reality is that for the most part, electronics satisfy the needs of 90% or more of the boaters out there. For most people, a chartplotter on their phone is all the backup they want (or need).
Again, I'm not saying that's how I pilot my boat. But it's what I see all around me.
And again, is redundancy of your guidebook of anchorages and marina facilities all that important? It might be true that it is possible for your iPhone to die in the middle of use. It's also possible for your Waggoner's to flip off the seat and into the drink.
And what about the used guidebook August? Do you need to buy a new one every year if that rock has been in the same place for our lifetime?
Bob - if you'd like to discuss the need to buy guidebooks, I'm all ready for the debate. But sliding that into whether I'm biased against products that don't use ActiveCaptain has really nothing to do with that and I'm going to start ignoring it in this thread.
It might not be the most prudent of things to just turn on your GPS and go, but the reality is that this is the environment that most boaters are in today. You might not like it or you might long for the days where you only had your sextant, but the reality is that for the most part, electronics satisfy the needs of 90% or more of the boaters out there. For most people, a chartplotter on their phone is all the backup they want (or need).
Again, I'm not saying that's how I pilot my boat. But it's what I see all around me.
And again, is redundancy of your guidebook of anchorages and marina facilities all that important? It might be true that it is possible for your iPhone to die in the middle of use. It's also possible for your Waggoner's to flip off the seat and into the drink.
And what about the used guidebook August? Do you need to buy a new one every year if that rock has been in the same place for our lifetime?
Bob - if you'd like to discuss the need to buy guidebooks, I'm all ready for the debate. But sliding that into whether I'm biased against products that don't use ActiveCaptain has really nothing to do with that and I'm going to start ignoring it in this thread.