Computer without hdd storage

How bigs the boat? How does the ride compare to a car? With cars you can generally use standard HDDs. Mostly you mount them vertically so that if there is a big bump there isn't a head crash .

Also you can make a nice little suspension system for them. A good way is to make a hamick (spelling?) sort of thing out of rubber bands. This way if theres a bump it won't be too hard on the HDD.

The power a HDD uses is pretty small, around 10w for a 3.5". A 2.5" would be more suited as they use less power and are better at being dropped.

Other than a HDD you could use an SSD, though this will cost you a fair amount and will be largely wasted. Something like this would be good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I don't know anything about weird things like your talking about, though a flash drive shouldn't be too bad I'd think.

Hope that helps.

Well, I don't have any experience with portable OS', if that even exists.  

IMO, you'll still need HDD, unless you're willing to spend more for an SSD. For the reason you don't want to use HDD since it doesn't like bumpy ride in a storm, you can use a shock absorbing pad, bushing or any means similar to minimize the shock received. Which puts me in the same opinion as Wolygon.

Thanks for your replies :-)

My boat is only 20 feet and used in open water - so it's much, much more bumpy than a car (more like 2 tons dropping 1 meter).

Well, I found several options with an USB stick but none using ROM sticks. I will try the USB stick solution - if you google "USB winxp" plenty suggestions shows up.

I need only WinXP and my GPS system (1GB), so I can't see for what purpose I need a HDD?

Well, I will give it a try. Can always add an HDD if needed...

Oh ok well the falsh drive seems like it will suit. Though you could go with that SSD as it won't have any problems with bumps. Its also pretty cheap and shouldn't cost too much more then a large USB.

Right away when I read your post I thought of SSDs. They don't have the same moving parts as normal HHD's, they don't require much electricity to run and are pretty sturdy over all (assuming your not smacking them with a hammer or something.)

Your absolute best choice would likely be something like this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

It runs off of a USB Mini Port and is a PCI express. SO you buy a PCI-E USB Mini Card to put into a PCI-e slot on your PC like one found here;  fficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=PC+express+card+expansion&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6134401896167852382&ei=5yDOTPC1L8GBlAeB_-HjCA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC0Q8wIwAw#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=firefox-a...

Then simply plug in the hard drive, it will run with very low head emissions, no moving parts, low power consumption and will work well in temperature fluctuations.

Total cost? Well you can get the harddrive for anywhere between $50 and $250 depending on the size and the cards go for $10 to $50 depending on how fancy you want to go. Don't forget you almost always get what you pay for, and it seems it would be in your best interest to spend what you can afford for this setup.