Marek — thanks for the nice words! I’m firmly of the belief that if you’re sailing ocean waters, you should have a permanently installed, dedicated nav system of some sort aboard, with a laptop or (more preferably) a waterproof handheld GPS as a backup. We’ve had lots of discussions of the benefits of laptop or tablet-based nav systems on the list; but in my experience, those systems are prone to fail at the worst possible time, i.e. when the weather is really bad and the boat is getting beat up. At those times, you really need reliable nav info at the helm, where you’re doing the driving; not down below.
There are a bunch of relatively inexpensive but decent plotters out there; most of them now have internal GPS antennas, so they’re very easy to install with a minimum of fuss. With a smaller subset of these, you can move up a notch and expand the capabilities by adding a radome and/or networked data like instruments and AIS. Many of these are still under $1000 to get into; and you can start with a basic system, then add things as you can afford them. For those of you new to the list, I spent several years as an ABYC- and NMEA-certified marine electrician and electronics installer up in my sailing grounds, the upper Great Lakes. I’ve kept my vendor relationships, and offer advice and design services to those on the list, along with marine electronics at dealer pricing. If I can be of any further assistance, please email me on or off the list. — Fred Fred Street -- Minneapolis S/V Oceanis (1979 C&C Landfall 38) -- Bayfield, WI > On Sep 16, 2017, at 10:52 PM, Marek Dziedzic via CnC-List > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Chris, > > A handheld GPS, as probably a minimum. > > There are very cost effective smallish chart plotters that you can get for > about $500 (or $750 with maps). > > I like Garmin, as I have a long history with their devices. A GPSMAP 78s as a > handheld (a lot of older maps work on that model). Something like echoMAP > 55cv as a minimalist’s chart plotter. > > If I were sailing around the Vancouver and Vancouver Island, I would make > sure that I have full access to map updates (buy a subscription). > > A tablet with Navionics may be of help, but I don’t believe that any tablet > works even close to well compared to a dedicated marine chart plotter (when > considering the wet or sunny environment). If you will only use it down > below, they should work well. > > OpenCPN is a great option, if you have the stomach to learn how to install it > and maintain it. > > Having said all that, if you are serious about navigating there, you may want > to think of a comprehensive instrumentation (multiple devices working > together over a NMEA network). For help with that ask Fred (and follow his > advice). > > Marek > > From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris > Hobson via CnC-List > Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2017 21:29 > To: [email protected] > Cc: Chris Hobson <[email protected]> > Subject: Stus-List GPS, Chart Plodders and Technology when there is none > > We’re in Vancouver BC, Georgia Straight can get foggy, tides come and go and > we’re new at this. We have no GPS on our new to us 1981 C&C 30 and very > little in the way of navigation other than dead reckoning, basic familiarity > with the area and a compass at the helm. It’s fun because it’s like we just > purchased a 1981 C&C and technology isn’t around yet. However every sail is a > guessing game and I’d like to hear what others use for costal navigation. > Whether it’s real tangible maps, a GPS system you swear by or an iPad with > some software curious to hear what other C&C owners use to get find their way. > > Chris Hobson > S/V Going > 1980 C&C MKI > Hull 615
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