A decision is made, maybe?

The crucial offshore sailing gear decision is almost completed and it will be an Epson.   Yes, we are getting an Epson printer and now are equipped to cross the seven seas.  A scanner / printer is key when dealing with paperwork in foreign ports.  On decisions probably more critical to the performance of a blue water cruiser I have barely turned my head away from the crossword puzzle, but the $79 printer decision has become an odyssey.  The first set back was when we discovered that the printer space under the settee was smaller than our existing printer.  After 2 hours on hp.com, some prospect printers were chosen.  I do not trust the specifications online so brought the tape measure to Staples and Best Buy.   My distrust of the online specifications was warranted since the printers were slightly smaller in person.   The measurement confusion created the need for a second round of visits, a second round of web surfing and a trip to a west side store with Jason.   A skilled diesel mechanic could have changed a head gasket with all the time I have spent on the quest for the printer.

So why have I gone over the top on this simple printer while being a passenger on some more critical boat decisions?   I’ve always tried to follow this mantra at work – focus on the things that you can influence and try not to get too bothered by the things that are out of your control. If there is a corollary to this, it may be “focus on what you know”. I realized last week that I have taken that to extremes.  Because I know the parameters needed for the printer decision, I have focused on it. There are lots of core decisions to make on the boat – navigation systems, charts, and sails. Fortunately, Antares has already made most of these for us and we are happy with their choices.  I’m not sure that I know the parameters of those decisions yet.

So what printer have we decided on after the many hours?   Well, it is not fully locked down but it will be either the Epson 400 or 600 Small-in-One. I think I’ll wait until my next boat visit to make the final call.