“Bechod” is our wee boat. About 18 feet long, she has a steel centre plate, masthead rig and a small cuddy up front – oh, and a massive cockpit aft. She’s one of the boats I used to sail in Wales, so I have known the boat for about fifteen years.

No boat is ever perfect, and Bechod has a number of strengths and weaknesses. The large cockpit is wonderful, as we can sail with several people in comfort; the small cuddy, on the other hand, means we cannot realistically sleep aboard. With a lifting centre plate she can sail in fairly shallow water; unfortunately she also has a stub fixed keel, so lies over when dried out, and the centre plate housing takes up cockpit and cabin space. She is built extremely strongly, but could be lighter. She has no toilet, or space even for a bucket to be used in privacy. She has no instruments, so has no complexity of wiring and battery.

One big advantage is the trailer Bechod sits upon. This gives flexibility – no need to pay for hoisting in marinas, and, as I have done now, the boat can be brought home to be worked on. We would like to have a boat with sleeping accommodation, though, and there is a question of how much to spend on Bechod when we could sell her and buy a more appropriate boat. Which is how the question of echo sounder or GPS comes up – a hand held GPS can tell us our position on any boat – or bike, walk, car. The echo sounder will be fixed to the boat, and need a battery installing. I have bought a second hand sail – the old head sail is tiny and ancient.