'lo All, When I was a young kid, we had three good wooden runabout boats that my dad built - nothing but oars and a 3 hp motor (not even life jackets or a bucket). That didn't stop me from enjoying reading about other slick things like those classy Chris Craft runabouts with all the chrome or those hot "10 hp" Mercury engines that could outrun every other 10 hp engine. Now that I am an old kid, I still enjoy reading about other folk's ideas, practices, toys and, yes, prejudices. I would not be interested in reading only about boats and equipment identical to mine. Diversity is what makes reading the TWL posts interesting. I have no intention of ever owning a Nordhavn or any other expensive boat - but that does not mean I don't enjoy reading about them. I have incorporated several ideas into the Celestial that others may call a gadget, because to me it was "good stuff". I got some of the ideas for these improvements by reading what other folks are doing with their new boats as well as some who are rebuilding their boats. I enjoyed Georgs posts about his trip. He enjoyed the trip and it was reflected in his posts. I envied him as I would love to have had the same opportunity. I don't think anybody made any effort to hide the fact that the Nordhavn's trip was for publicity and that by inviting Georgs, a lot of free publicity would be generated. But, it was still a noteworthy voyage, as evidenced by all the speculation and questions by numerous posters. I, too, was curious about what the RayMarine (I think it was) "weather forecasting" system was. Georgs apparently chose to answer the question about it by posting (what appeared to me) to be an answer to a question sent to RayMarine about the system. I skimmed the description to get what information I wanted and ignored the rest - out of my price range. What is gadgetry to one person may be a necessity to another now or in the future. Go back, say 10-12 years, would electronic navigation systems been too much gadgetry to be welcome by some on the TWL? What may be a gadget today may be the "good stuff" of tomorrow. I am happy to let the well-healed invest in the hands-on research and experience of the new stuff, and tell me all about it, so that when the cost finally drops to my level, I have a fairly good understanding of what is available, the pros and cons, and if it would be beneficial to me and my style (or lack thereof??) of boating. I would hate to see folks posting on TWL become afraid to tell us about something of interest to them and probably to others, just because a few folks may not want to hear about it. I would prefer by far to read of good and bad gadgetry as well as all the "good stuff", however those terms may be defined. Many posts are not of interest to me so I just click on "Next". Keep up the Posts! Don't limit the value of TWL by $$ signs or, as someone more salty might say - "Don't scuttle yer ship just cuz a bird pooped on it". Wayne M/V Celestial Albin 43 Sundeck