marriage savers

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Lemme see if I can make it clearer.
Single handed, secure one end of the spring line to the boat. Toss the spring line over the dock cleat, pull the line tight and secure it back on the boat. Clear?

Unless you are adept at lassoing a piling (I am not), move the bow or stern, throw the line around the piling, capture the other the other end and cleat it off.

BUT, if you are doing well with your method of docking and handling lines single handed, don’t listen to me. You have the procedure down.
 
I have the sena over 1 ear. Full headset though and it never comes close to falling off.


Whatever you use though - before you start discuss what you expect from using the headphones. This with any crew not just the married type. I've found new crew expect to get orders but not volunteer information. Go over what information you expect. For example telling me to watch out or that I'm getting pretty close is not helpful. Telling me I have three feet to the piling or boat is. When the last line comes off tell me. When I clear the slip tell me. If you aren't sure of the answer say so. Don't say "hold on" or not answer. Give direct information. Don't say "You're good" Say exactly what you mean.


When docking I make a point of saying exactly what I am doing - example " I'm going to get the port bow line now". The nice thing about the headsets is you can speak in a calm even voice at all times and know you are being heard.



And finally - always have the headsets on and working well before you get to the dock.



Well worth the cost.
 
Marry the right woman and no tips or tricks are needed! Sorry if it's too late for that...
 
Eartek ultralight single ear, 2X spare batteries. Order direct from Eartek. Tell them they are for you boat and ask for lanyards. They will include the lanyards free of charge. The sound quality is very good. Pairing takes practice, but is really just a matter of turning them on and waiting a few seconds.
 
Your significant other should do nothing in the "work" mode for or aboard the boat. You clean, provision, cook, cleanup, and make sure there is plenty of hot water. She must feel the boat is a vacation, a time away, and adventure. All will be well.
 
  1. Name it after her.
  2. Give it to her for her birthday.
  3. Tell her it's a valentines present to the 2 of you.
  4. If those don't work go into full on Jake Blues mode: "I ran out of gas! I got a flat tire! I didn’t have change for cab fare! I lost my tux at the cleaners! I locked my keys in the car! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN’T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!"
 
I can tell you from 11 years of living on board, that you need to make her comfortable. While the yelling and communications that have been discussed are vital. Another issue is that while most men are enjoying the time aboard, many women are performing the same tasks that they do at home. Namely cooking, serving and cleaning.

Boats, however, do not have the space or conveniences of the home. If you want your better half to stay interested in the boat and cruising, then I would suggest that you make her life easier. There are many things that you can do, participate more in the prep and clean up of course. But you can also bring some of the conveniences into the boat. I brought in a larger double bowl sink with a high faucet and spray attachment. Seems minor but you would be surprised how much affect it had on the overall situation.
 
Rough Magic said:
Your significant other should do nothing in the "work" mode for or aboard the boat. You clean, provision, cook, cleanup, and make sure there is plenty of hot water. She must feel the boat is a vacation, a time away, and adventure. All will be well.
Click to expand...

I'd never get away with that. My wife insists on knowing everything I know and has done everything from changing injectors and impellers to helping me haul out the tranny and reinstall it after rebuild. She also does terrific epoxy and paint work and looks great in her Tyvek bottom painting suit :).

There are no his / her tasks on our boat.
 

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Tried to sets of Sena's. Range only about 25', despite their claim of hundreds of yards.

Got the Eartecs and they are great.
 
JustBob said:
Tried to sets of Sena's. Range only about 25', despite their claim of hundreds of yards.

Got the Eartecs and they are great.
Click to expand...
I have a set of Sena's that are 2 years old & have worked great! From flybridge to Engine room, clear communications. Also from flybridge to dock. My only gripe is that they are uncomfortable when attached behind my ears. My question is: Other than over the head attaching, how do the Eartecs differ from the Sena's?
 
43 years and over 100,000 miles of boating together, and we are still each other's friends.

1. Involve the wife in every decision. From design of boat to purchase of even small items.

2. Wife must be competent at handling, navigation, docking, anchoring, and maintenance.

3. EarTec. We did use hand signals for many items, but there are some things the direct communication is better.

4. Joint decisions on trip planing. Ask her where she wants to go.

5. Be willing to change your plans, based on what your wife thinks. Often women have intuition or awareness we may miss as men.

6. Be as cool as possible. There are going to be times when upset happens. Don't say anything until you have analyzed what went wrong, and then discuss. Don't do it in a critical way.

7. Early on I involved my wife both in all maintenance, but also in boat building. We were building a 38 foot cutter, and after the hull was laid up, she worked every day alongside as we put the deck on, thru the finally rigging.

8. If she says "no". Say "yes dear".

9. Dinghy--small ones, Torqeedo electric outboard. Big: electric start outboard.

10. Tell her how much you love her, and give her a big kiss and hug each day--and say "Thank you!"
 
Boat appreciation tips

I push her into the cold water every chilly morning and make her swim back onboard - it's amazing how much more she appreciates the boat now - she never wants to leave the galley anymore!:rolleyes: That was just a joke.:flowers:

As for the EarTecs, we have the double cups (both ears covered). I like them because I can hear, regardless of outside noise (wind, inside my engine compartment, other loud boat engines, LOUD music, etc.). It's true, you cannot hear deckhands (or other things you may want to hear); however, in those instances, temporarily sliding one ear cup off one ear solves that issue. Raising the mic boom up, shuts off the mic, so you can yell to someone on shore, dock, etc. and not blast her ears off (don't forget;)). It's way more calm and peaceful using some sort of communication device.

Todd
 
We have had Sena Expands for 2 years now and are very happy with them. Loud and clear. No problem with distance on our 40 foot Mainship. No problem using VHF and hearing for me with the double earpieces but Gillian says she pushes them up to communicate with dock hands. Agree that no replaceable battery is a negative but not yet a problem for us. Paul
 
iPhones with ear buds

We’ve used the Eartecs and while they work the wire from unit to headphones get caught on things or are just a nuisance. HeadphoneS can fall off and get tangled and always when something is not going as planned.
Our solution is the wireless ear buds and iPhones. We just call each other on our iPhones, can do it hands free too. Ear buds come in a variety of shapes so choosing ones that will stay in or on your ear should be doable.
The downside is using this setup when their is no cell service.....

Don
 
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The downside is when there is no cellular service available.

Don
 
PaulB. said:
We have had Sena Expands for 2 years now and are very happy with them. Loud and clear. No problem with distance on our 40 foot Mainship. No problem using VHF and hearing for me with the double earpieces but Gillian says she pushes them up to communicate with dock hands. Agree that no replaceable battery is a negative but not yet a problem for us. Paul
Click to expand...

I bought a set of Sena on eBay that claimed only one pair worked. Opened up earpiece and found a bad wire. Noted that the battery had its specifications on the battery and were available on Amazon. Very simple to replace if one has a pencil soldering iron. Not like iPhone battery replacement which I attempted on old iPhone with disastrous results.
 
I'm surprised by some of the comments about SENA headphones and distances. At least once I've walked down the dock several hundred feet and was still able to talk to wifey onboard...

-Chris
 
dkwills said:
We’ve used the Eartecs and while they work the wire from unit to headphones get caught on things or are just a nuisance. HeadphoneS can fall off and get tangled and always when something is not going as planned.
Don
Click to expand...

Interesting, mine have no wires exposed anywhere. But if they ever do fall off I'm sure it'll be in deep saltwater and they'll sink like a rock. :eek: So far, so good.

Todd
 
Marriage Savers

EarTech all the way. Have used ours for 3 years now. Get additional set of batteries, always have one set charged. If you put on a baseball cap then your headset won’t slip off. Wouldn’t dock or undock without them! Great for transiting kicks as well. Gold Great Loop, DownEast Circle and Triangle.
 
JustBob said:
Tried to sets of Sena's. Range only about 25', despite their claim of hundreds of yards.

Got the Eartecs and they are great.
Click to expand...

Very odd. We have the SP10's and can talk to each other hundreds of feet away. Like while in the marina office paying for fuel.

Remember to disconnect when you use the head!!:D
 
Maybe a better idea is not always being able to talk to wifey! lol
Not sure what this thread is about. It started as "marriage savers" and devolved into headset reviews. Maybe it's just me, but I'm lost. If we need a thread to discuss personal communication devices, maybe someone should start that. For us, hand signals work fine and the only shouting is if she is doing something very wrong that could cause injury or damage. Luckily that's a rarity.
 
backinblue said:
Maybe a better idea is not always being able to talk to wifey! lol
Not sure what this thread is about. It started as "marriage savers" and devolved into headset reviews. Maybe it's just me, but I'm lost. If we need a thread to discuss personal communication devices, maybe someone should start that. For us, hand signals work fine and the only shouting is if she is doing something very wrong that could cause injury or damage. Luckily that's a rarity.
Click to expand...


Headsets for 2 way communication are called "Marriage Savers"
 
Have had bad luck with both Eartech and Sena.

Our Sena set bought last summer just crapped out today for the second time in less than a year. Also, static prone and fussy setup/controls. Only good thing is they stay on better when bending over.

As for our Eartechs, the microphone on one of ours stopped working last summer after 2 years. We had the single earpiece which were prone to falling off. Used a lanyard to save them from falling in the drink but found the whole thing cumbersome.

Overall better satisfaction from the Eartechs. Going to sent the old pair in for repair today. 5 day turnaround, they don't charge for labor so we pay shipping and parts.

We have gone back to hand signals when anchoring so the falling off problem will be less of an issue.
 
No static, no picking up baby monitors, no wind noise, no batteries to replace, no falling off........ Hand signals.

If your hand falls off you have bigger problems anyway.
 
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