To our grandkids, GPS may seem quaint

July 2004

By Tom Snyder

There are innovations in the world of boating that are so remarkable, so clever, so ambitious that even sensible sailing purists have to grudgingly admire them. To mention just two examples that get me shaking my head in wonder, consider first the carbon fiber mast. It stands at enormous heights, ridiculously light, and often needs no shrouds or stays! This is a material unthinkable a few generations ago.

Or consider the navigation computer aboard many sailboats today that gets the GPS unit gossiping with the boat speed sensor and the fluxgate compass. Then, doing a string of trig and algebra, it tells you how fast and in what direction the tide is moving your boat.

I love such innovations, even if I decide never to use them. Their mere existence makes the winter months fly by. In the 50s my Dad also used to pore over boat magazines in the winter, shaking his head at Eisenhower-era innovations. Then he would tell me about this thing called fiberglass that might have extraordinary properties. Recently I spotted and then stole from his library a book that he bought when he was a young, first-time boat owner. This book about cruising yachts was written in 1936 and describes the innovations of its day.

One realizes immediately that the book was written in a very different time. The dedication is “to Frances, a swell shipmate.” So much was different.

The economy was different. The author suggests that a good way to estimate the cost per year to maintain a yacht is to multiply the length of a boat times $12. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that boat ownership was available to the average guy — his advice for the first-time boat purchaser is to think of it like the first time you bought an aeroplane.

Gender roles were different. He claims that the ideal guest crew for a day sail would be this couple: “He is strong and husky and would pull and haul when told to – she would sit exactly where she is requested, and when mealtime came around, she is right there…”

Etiquette was different. He explains that, “It should be the duty of the owner to man the gangway to receive guests. If your yacht is of modest size, under 60 feet, no women are welcome wearing spike heeled slippers. And don’t wear your filmiest frocks if you are going for a sail – I know of nothing that annoys the owner more than to spoil a grand sail because a member of a party would ruin their clothes from a spot of spray…”

Décor was different. “Even a few cigarette ashes on the carpet or linoleum will spoil the effect of a neat cabin.” (Whatever happened to the Milton Berle era cozy notion of linoleum in the salon?)

Safety awareness was different. “Every man who hasn’t cruised in the ocean seems to think that it is necessary to carry a lifeboat of some kind…”

But back to the innovations of 1936. Here are my favorites as described by the author.

Now available to private boat owners are exciting new bottom paints that release copious amounts of lead and mercury into the surrounding water. This lethal chemical mix will stop any living creature from taking up residence on or in your hull. (Those must have been heady days when sailors could actually do something to easily protect their wooden hulls with just a can of paint. I assume that if there was any paint left in the can it could easily be disposed of in the local estuary.)

There are now running lights that give sailors a built-in backup against failure. Exploiting the best of the worlds of electric batteries and kerosene oil, these new lamps place an electric bulb right next to an oil wick. You get to choose which fuel you will use. (Combining two existing things to create a new product is a classic area of innovation that gets sailors slapping their heads saying, “Why didn’t I think of that!”)

New developments in fabrics and fillers now give us a marine sleeping mattress that actually discourages vermin! (I can imagine the back orders at the West Marine of the day. How is any captain not going to lay down $1.50 for a set of four of those mattresses – especially captains who are expecting guests wearing slippers and filmy frocks.)

An innovation debate goes on about the relative merits of the Marconi and gaff rig – no two men will agree what is best. In the end, however, there is seldom an argument for converting from gaff to Marconi, especially on cruising boats. The fact is, Marconi is still a new and untried idea. (Some innovations are simply too radical for all but the geeky early adopters.)

I wonder how long it will be until our innovations of 2004 will seem quaint. I enjoy imagining my great grandchildren laughing at an ancient article explaining to eager boaters that email can actually be sent from anywhere in the world by satellite phone. They will read this aloud to their friends and wonder what kind of simple people would be excited by such an obvious development. And they may even be purists who still in 2070 insist on sending their email by satellite, not just to be like great grand-dad, but because it feels swell to do it the old-fashioned way.

Tom Snyder sails out of Peaks Island, Maine.