Isn't it great that we're becoming too soft?

by Mark Rothfield on 29 May 2012 I come from a household where electric blankets were considered ‘bad for the moral fibre’, where dishes had to be hand washed, and starting a Victa two-stroke mower was an Australian rite of passage akin to the Jewish bar mitzvah.

Taking a boating holiday meant cutting all communication ties with mother, friends and the entire world beyond a 100-metre radius of the campsite. Boat seats were ply, utterly devoid of padding, and a Dolphin torch served as lighting if you were lucky. Toilet breaks involved a shovel.

Boating was to be endured not enjoyed by youngsters. In fact a mate of mine’s earliest recollection was going night fishing with his father in a mosquito-infested canal. He’d huddle under a blanket, every inch of skin covered and a tiny peep hole allowing the rancid swamp air to be inhaled, while his dad sucked on home-brewed beer in brown long necks.

Turn the clock forward 40 years and this mate takes his own young son out for night’s fishing on Lake Macquarie NSW. They’re in a humble 4.5-metre tinnie, about the same size as his old man’s timber skiff.

Son says, ‘this is great … but we’re missing the footy’. His dad, having predicted the lament, quietly goes to a bag. Pulls out a small digital TV he’d bought from Aldi and Dick Smith rabbit-ear antenna. Plugs into an inverter.

Together they watch Manly towel up the Broncos, while the fish practically commit suicide on the hooks.

Have we gone soft? Yes. And isn’t it great!

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]
Portable refrigeration, iPod-compatible stereos, tiny teles, LED lighting, deck showers, touch-screen plotters, lifejackets for dogs … we officially have every conceivable accessory available to make boating that little bit more comfortable.

Have we gone too far? Maybe.

The latest must-have boating innovation is the new FlushSense. To quote the media release: ‘Touching toilet switches and handles promotes bacteria transfer from one person to another … this control lets users operate the head without touching any panel or push-button'.

Apparently you just wave your hand within 5cm proximity of the switch in order to start a flush cycle. Honestly, what’s next? Electric tongs that can undo zippers?

I reckon the kids of today should be made to start a Seagull outboard, pull the anchor up by hand, plot a course with a paper chart, and go one night without a television. T’would be good for their moral fibre...