What our Tallon Customer's Say... / Carol Donaldson

Carol Donaldson

Customer Background

Carol is a sailing instructor at Narrowneck Beach, Devonport and has been teaching children to sail for over 20 years.

She also enjoys sailing her Laser around the bays and islands of Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf with her husband and friends, stopping for picnics or refreshments at favourite cafes along the way.

Carol Says:

'It's wonderful - best thing is you can remove it or use it!'

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Carol’s 4.2m (14’) Laser wouldn’t be a good candidate for the Tallon™ System, but Carol’s boating problems are fairly common across all types of boats:

  • The need for reliable, great looking marine accessories
  • The need to be able to quickly fit and remove accessories according to the use of the boat
  • The ability to win back valuable space and clean lines when your accessories are not needed


The Tallon™ System has definitely solved Carol’s boating problems and she’s more than happy with it.

Boating Problem

  • Lasers often capsize and they don’t always come back up with everything on board. Carrying water is essential on sailboats and water bottles often go missing when the boat capsizes - and they aren’t easy to retrieve!
  • When sailing alone, often for the whole day, one hand is on the tiller and one hand on the mainsheet so stowing water bottles securely is important. Carol couldn’t find a successful way to stow her drink bottle with traditional methods such as bungee straps and Velcro.
  • When sailing two-up and it’s windy, there’s not a lot of room in the cockpit and you need to be able to remove any fittings so they don’t get in the way.
  • When installing a fitting in a boat, such as a drinks holder, it’s important to know that water won’t leak into the hull.

Tallon™ Solution

  • Carol has purchased the Tallon™ Receiver and Multi-Holder system and says ‘It’s perfect for holding a drink bottle. When the Laser comes back up after capsizing, you know exactly where your drink is!’
  • When sailing alone, Carol says ‘I’ve got the bottle where I want it and I know I can easily retrieve and replace it whilst sailing.’
  • When sailing 2-up in short bursts, Carol can simply remove the Tallon™ Multi-Holder accessory before sailing and close the Receiver’s grommet, reverting to the laser’s clean lines and maximum available space.
  • The Tallon™ Receiver is waterproof as well. Carol says ‘I know water is not going to leak into the hull’, as can be the case with conventional drink holders.

What’s Next?

The Tallon™ system has solved Carol’s boating problem and she’s more than happy with it. Carol says ‘I’m a gadget person. When my friends saw my Tallon™ System they said “Oh no, not something else!” – they’re all jealous…’

Mobile phones are an important item to keep safe and dry for sailors and Tallon™ is looking at possible solutions with Carol.