Gear We Are Glad We Had in the Bahamas

Now that we have been home a week I thought I would do a review of some of the gear that we were glad we had with us in the Bahamas. The list is in no particular order.  

Water Maker 

We purchased a rainman water maker for the trip. We recognize that it makes very expensive water but it was worth the added convenience for us. That said, it appeared that water was available throughout the Bahamas and it was often free. In some places you could fill your tank at a fuel dock but in other places (like George Town) you have to take jerry cans to the water filling area. It really is a matter of personal preference. 

Solar Panels

We were happy to have our 4 Renogy semi-flexible 100 watt solar panels but they did not keep up with our energy needs. 

Honda Generator

We purchased a Honda 2000i Generator and had it shipped to us in the Bahamas because our solar panels were not keeping the batteries sufficiently charged. Before we did that we were running the engine to charge the batteries while at anchor.  It is not good for the engine and isn't pleasant to sit at anchor with the engine running at 2000 rpm. 

Autopilot Remote

We recently purchased an autopilot remote control for our Simrad autopilot. It was fantastic!  We used our autopilot a lot, especially on longer passages and the remote control made driving that much easier. 

Microfiber Towels

We really enjoyed the quick-drying microfiber towels that we used as bath towels. We had terry cloth towels for guests but they take way too long to dry. We replaced those as well. 

Dive Skin

I purchased a thin nylon dive skin from Amazon and would often use it for sun protection while swimming and snorkeling. 

Short Wetsuit

The snorkeling in the Bahamas is great and we snorkeled whenever we could. I had a short wetsuit but George did not. Even though the water is relatively warm he would have to stop snorkeling because he was cold. He now has his own short wetsuit. We may also each buy wetsuit vests to give us more options. 

Luci Lights

We had two inflatable solar Luci Lights and they were invaluable. The frosted white light was used in the cabin or cockpit. The colored light was placed in the cockpit if we were going out in the dinghy for the evening. It helped us find our way back to our boat. 

Seagull Water Filter

The Seagull water filter freed us from buying gallons of drinking water and enabled us to drink water right from the tank. The water tasted great and it saved a lot of storage space. 

Mantus Anchor Swivel

The Mantus Anchor Swivel connects the anchor to the chain and allows the anchor to swivel around so it is correctly oriented to go into the bow anchor roller.