Could the Crew-Talk Plus Marine Intercom be a key tool in keeping everyone in the picture and harbour manoeuvres harmonious? We thought we’d put a unit through its paces to see if this could be an asset to the cruising sailor or something better left to the racing set.
Crew-Talk Plus marine Intercom review – tried and tested
Crew-Talk Plus Marine Intercom
As many know, in this day and age, boats are getting larger and faster, two features which make communicating far more difficult. And with increased size and speed, so too comes reduced manoeuvrability, making that communication ever more important. So could the Crew-Talk Plus be a key tool in keeping everyone in the picture and harbour manoeuvres harmonious? We thought we’d put a unit through its paces to see if this could be an asset to the cruising sailor or something better left to the racing set.
I admit I was initially sceptical about using a boat intercom system– right up until I tried actually using one onboard, at which point I became much more sold on the concept.
Clear, concise communication with your crew in moderate tones serves to remind us, not only of how often we need to raise our voice when onboard, but how inefficient shouting from the tiller is, how unclear those instructions can be and how much stress it adds to sailing.
It’s surprising how much calmer most situations are when you can talk in a normal, measured tone.
The headset plugs into the receiver via a headphone jack on the bottom of the unit.
Out of the box both receivers need to be paired to one another, with one unit designated the master. Each unit has two channel options on it, with the Crew-Talk Plus takes the shouting out of onboard communication, whatever the weather master unit paired via its Channel A to the secondary unit’s Channel B.
Up to four units can be paired in this fashion.
Straight out of the box, pairing took us a matter of a few minutes and even on a very blustery day the all-round audio performance was very impressive indeed – notably allowing both to speak and receive at the same time, which prevents audio cutting in and out, which can be a problem on some other models.
One major issue I had with the set was the headset’s fit. The headphone section sits at the opening of your ear canal and a rubber piece loops around the back of your ear. This rubber piece felt far too soft and there is almost no adjustment. I constantly felt that there was a chance the headset could fall off and often found myself readjusting it.
I used the whole thing on several occasions never quite shaking the feeling it might come free – that said, it has only fallen out of my ear once, but was caught by the connecting cable.
A genuinely useful tool on board, particularly on larger yachts.