The Things I Never Leave the Dock Without

When people buy a boat, they usually shop for the fun things first.

The speaker.

The cooler.

The comfortable chairs.

The things that make a boat day look good in photos.

The funny thing is...

after enough time on the water, your priorities start changing.

The purchases I value most now aren't necessarily the exciting ones.

They're the ones that prevent little inconveniences from becoming big ones.

The ones that let me relax because I've already thought through the "what ifs."

Looking back, those have become the things I never leave the dock without.

The App That Changed How I Boat

If you boat along the Crystal Coast, you learn pretty quickly that memory isn't always enough.

Our shoals move.

Channels shift.

What looked perfectly safe a month ago can become surprisingly shallow.

The biggest change I've made isn't actually buying a phone mount.

It's what the phone mount allows me to do.

I keep my phone mounted beside my Simrad and run Aqua Map every time I'm on the water.

The feature I rely on most is the ability to record my tracks.

When I go places with other more experienced boaters or I’m training with my favorite, Captain Carolyn, I record the trip so I can look back on our route later.

The next time I'm there, I don't have to remember exactly how I came through.

I simply follow my own route.

That has given me far more confidence to explore places I probably would have skipped before.

Sometimes the best navigation tool isn't the newest electronics.

It's your own experience, saved for later. And the phone mount helps keep everything in my line of sight - and never falls off.

The First Thing I Turn On... Or Leave Off

The JBL Charge speaker is one of my favorite things to bring on the boat.

Some days it's playing before we even leave the marina.

The right playlist makes the ride out feel longer and the ride home feel a little slower.

But here's something I didn't expect.

Some days I don't turn it on at all.

After a busy workweek, there are afternoons when the engine, the waves, the birds, and the occasional whoosh of a dolphin surfacing beside the boat are exactly what I need to hear.

I've learned that boating isn't always about adding more.

Sometimes it's about finally having enough quiet to hear what's already there.

The Thing That Stays Dry No Matter What

Boats have a way of making everything damp.

Morning dew.

Salt spray.

Wet swimsuits.

Unexpected rain.

My dry bag has one simple job.

Protect the things that absolutely can't get wet.

Phone.

Wallet.

Keys.

It isn't exciting.

It just works.

That's exactly what I want from it.

The Water I Always Pack Too Much Of

I've completely stopped trying to pack "just enough."

If it's just me, there's always a bottle of water within reach.

If friends are coming, a half-gallon RTIC jug comes too.

Somebody always drinks more than expected.

Somebody always forgets theirs.

And somehow, boat days almost always last longer than the original plan.

I've never once wished I'd packed less water.

And it’s always good to have in case of an emergency.

The MVP Nobody Talks About

If I had to guess which item gets used the most, it probably isn't the one anyone would expect.

It's the microfiber towel.

I've used it to dry morning dew off the seats.

Wipe down the helm.

Clean sunglasses.

Dry my hands.

Dry myself after a swim.

I originally bought it for a trip to Iceland.

Now it permanently lives in the boat bag.

It takes up almost no room, dries incredibly fast, and somehow manages to solve whatever small problem comes up next.

The Battery I Hope I Don't Need

A year ago, an extra battery pack meant I wouldn't lose my music.

Now it means something much more important.

My phone is backup navigation.

Weather radar.

Communication.

Emergency contact.

Running out of battery isn't just inconvenient anymore.

So a fully charged power bank permanently lives in the boat bag, too.

If it comes home with a full charge every trip, that's perfectly fine with me.

The Thing I Hope I Never Use

A dive knife wasn't on my shopping list when I first started boating.

It is now.

Not because I expect something to go wrong.

Because I know that sometimes it does.

After hearing about someone in our area who became entangled in an anchor line and wasn't able to surface, several of us bought one.

Mine stays exactly where I can reach it.

I hope it stays there forever.

Some purchases aren't about expecting the worst.

They're about making sure one bad moment doesn't become something worse.

The Best Boat Days Begin Long Before the Boat Leaves the Dock

The longer I've spent on the water, the less interested I've become in buying things that simply look good on the boat.

I'd much rather own the things that make the day easier.

The app that lets me follow yesterday's safe route.

The speaker that's just as good at filling the boat with music as it is reminding me to enjoy the quiet.

The dry bag.

The extra water.

The towel that somehow ends up being useful every single trip.

The battery pack.

The knife I hope never leaves its sheath.

None of those purchases make boating look more glamorous.

They simply let me spend less time worrying and more time looking up.

And in a place as beautiful as the Crystal Coast, that's where I'd rather keep my attention. -LME

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