Advice on chartplotter in cockpit with a laptop at chart table.

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I am planning to install a chartplotter, probably Std. Horizon with Cmap W. Europe ., in the cockpit so that it can be seen when standing behind the wheel motoring in confined waters but I would like to use my Dell Inspiron laptop at the chart table when sailing to windward or when SWMBO is steering. What do I need in addition to the stuff in the box? Do I have to buy a second USB G.P.S. and Cmap PC planner plus Software on Board or similar or is it easy to access the cockpit display on the laptop? Is wiring going to be difficult or are there proprietary cables available? Does C map PC planner allow active navigation or how do I avoid having to buy the chart twice. Am I daft wanting to do this? I have read Std. Horiz. manuals without finding an answer which I understand. I am looking for advice or suggestions of sites dealing with this type of info. Cmap UK have a forum but it seems to have died in 2006.
 
Unless you buy the Raymarine E series, with 2 screens, I dont think you can do what you want.

Having researched the pants off this in mid 2006, I have a lowrance plotter at the helm, with Nauticpath charts, (charts not much good), and laptop with C-map charts and SOB.
 
From my experience of C-Map you will need to have 2 chart cartridges as they have to be present in either a CP or Laptop C-Map card reader when they in use. Also C-Map planner isn't an active Chart Plotter type of program.
 
I have the arrangement that you want on my boat. It is Raymarine fitted in 2003. The RL70CRC chartplotter is fitted on the binnacle and there is a RayTech Pathfinder PC box with a card fitted in the PC on the chart table. It works with one CMAP NT chip in the chartplotter. With nmea connected it is also possible to have all the other instruments along the bottom of the screen. I thought, when I ordered it with the new boat, that it was a perfect set up. However, I lost a hard drive on the PC fairly quickly with the movement and quite frankly, as we don't sail overnight, I don't use it much. We tend to spend the time in the cockpit and even with radar on foggy cross channel trips, we find it is better for one person to look out and look at the MARPA radar on the binnacle while the other rests. Half an hour on and half an hour off. Generally there are only 2 on board and we cruise for 10 weeks a year to La Rochelle and the Vendee.
 
another possibility is using Seapro 3000 on the laptop with a Navionics card reader and CF card. Once you have started Seapro and initiated the charts (you can have them loaded on the hard drive, but still need the CF card in the USB reader to start them). Once Seapro is running, you can remove the card from the reader and transfer to your chart plotter. It does involve a bit more pratting about. I use a separate usb GPS with the laptop as it provides a back-up to the chart plotter GPS, but I believe it is possible to share via NMEA.
 
Tony,

Agree fully, the solid state devices are to be preferred to laptops for navigation because of reliability issues. The best job for a laptop at sea is a dutchmans log.

David
 
Much better solution is simply to buy the Standard Horizon plotter with the inbuilt GPS receiver (its cheaper anyway).

Mount it at the helm on its base, to which it attaches via a single screw. Fit a 12 volt socket nearby to plug in the power cable. At the chart table fit another socket, and make a simple wooden bracket to attach the plotter. (Or buy another base).
When sailing to windward, and when you want to set up routes and waypoints before sailing, simply take the plotter below. In a GRP boat the GPS aerial will work perfectly well below deck. If you want to feed NMEA data into the plotter or get position information out for the VHF simply have an NMEA plug for the plotter in both places. Cover the helm plug when not in use, and keep the plotter below when you leave the boat.
 
If all you want is a repeater at the chart table then the larger of the Std Horizon range (?C500) has an output for a monitor - put a cheapo 15" LCD tv from Maplins at the chart table and connect to the plotter.
 
One used to be able to buy C-Map on a cartridge and get the same area on a CD for PC use, the latter at a discount. I would check this out with C-Map UK or a dealer before going down any more complex route.
 
Problem with plotters is that, for the price, they have very small poor quality screens, slow processors and no choice of software or charting when compared to a computer. Unfortunately a lot of this is down to the need to be sunlight viewable which requires special very bright monitors to be able to see them on deck. Solid state tech is going to be the way to go and the new digital yacht system with solid state had drive looks interesting and reasonably priced. Of course you could be really radical and use a chart, just put it on the seat and look at it for free wherever you are, doen't even need power, radical or what!
 
Thanks for all the useful advice,it seems as if everyone has a different approach to this and I will give each solution consideration but I have almost given up on the laptop aboard. Rolys suggestion is exactly what I have been doing for the last 30 odd years since the days of handbearing compass and rdf and I will still use paper charts and my old Yeoman to record position below but I am attracted by the breadth of detail coverage now available on Cmap. ( Cruising area Scotland / Ireland)
Anyone got advice on Cmap versus Navionics, Bluechart etc. also are the big 12" displays worth twice the price of 7"?
 
I've considered various ways to do this and in the end splashed out on a Raymarine E80 at the helm which has a video out to a 12v screen at the chart table where there is a Raymarine remote keyboard. In the end it seemed the most robust way to have plotter and radar info at the helm and chart table. Just got it finally installed last night after much wiring routing anguish.
 
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