A Cruisers Evalulation of Marine Gear
Discover the best and the worst gear one can have on a cruising yacht. After 13 years and many discussions over grear and supplies with other cruisers; the following supplies and manufactures have earned their grades. Discover the best and the worst sailing gear in the field. I have used every piece of equipment listed and if any observations or experiences have been provided by other cruisers it is noted.
Grade A: Companies that make a product with this grade produce items that can take the abuse cruising demands of it and or provide a level of service that tolerates use in a marine enviornment. i.e. respoinding to emails in less then 24 hours and / or responding politely and knowledgeabley to phone callse during normal business hours. Companies the provide excellent service and support.
Grade B: Any company that has an exceptinal product but for some reason their service falls short. Examples would include emall contacts but not responses, phone contact but you end up on hold for extended time periods. When you speak to anyone their either don't know or don't make sense. Basically, a company with a good product but something is amiss.
Grade C: Items in this category have some positives and negatives. With the right management or solid R and D, these products would or the company would be vastly improved. i would purchase these if there is not a better quality product available or I'm only looking at a single use and wish to soon discard the product. A lot of good and some bad.
Grade D: I wouldn't buy this product again. I'm not happy with my purchase and the life expectancy of the product was no where near what is advertised. I was feel like I was conned or my arm was twisted in purchasing this product. Never again. This is a purchase once product.
Grade F: Buy this or use this at your own peril. Fortunately some of these items are no longer on the market but one might find them in used yacht shops or on ebay. You must consider yourself lucky to sucessfully use this product. If any of these company logos cover any product in this list; I run away. No more; not wasting my time or hard earned money.
