Boater of 50 years Jeff shares why seamanship comes before gadgets, and how to use chart plotters, AI and apps as tools, not crutches.
After 50 years on the water, Jeff has seen boating technology go from entering Loran TDs by hand to building full routes on a phone and sending them straight to the helm. He calls himself a gadget guy, and he means it. But when asked what he wishes someone had told him before he bought his first boat, his answer had nothing to do with electronics.
"Don't get too sucked into the technology and the whistles and bells and gadgets," Jeff said. "Really learn basic seamanship."
For Jeff, that means knowing how to navigate and read a chart before relying on a chart plotter to do it for you. The reason is simple. Technology is a tool, and tools fail. When they do, the boater who understands the fundamentals has a backup plan. The boater who doesn't is guessing.
Technology as a Partner, Not a Crutch
None of this means Jeff is against modern electronics. Quite the opposite. He considers the chart plotter, sonar, radar and AIS essential equipment today, simply because they are available and they make boating safer. Auto routing, in particular, has been a game changer, guiding boaters from point to point while steering clear of rocks, sandbars and low bridges.
One of his favorite tools is Garmin's Active Captain, paired with apps like Navionics. In New England, the boating season is short, and there is not much time on the water from November through May. Jeff uses those off months to build his courses at home, then uploads them to his chart plotter when the season starts.
"It's just amazing how easy that is," he said. "It saves time, so you can spend more time underway."
A New Tool in the Kit: AI
Jeff has also started using AI to plan his trip timelines, timing departures and returns around currents, tides and wind. For power boaters, he notes, wind is not a friend, and getting the timing right has given him one beautiful weekend after another.
But even the best planning has limits. On a recent run from his slip on the Danvers River in Massachusetts up to Kittery, Maine, the NOAA forecast looked perfect. Then, coming around Cape Ann, the wind picked up to 20 knots against the tide. Jeff compared the ride to driving over a washboard, and it stayed bumpy from around Newburyport all the way into Kittery Harbor.
That is exactly the point. Forecasts, apps and electronics make boating better. Seamanship is what gets you home when conditions don't cooperate.
The Takeaway
Embrace the technology. Learn it well. But learn the water first. The screen should confirm what you already know, not replace it.
The Next Boat Journey is a series from Dock Side Live Radio, where the music meets the water.
