Best basic electronics for dinghy/mini-cruiser - GPS, VHF etc

Greenheart

Greenheart

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How restrictive is money on quality, as far as hand-held marine electronics go? There seems to be no shortage of 1-watt VHFs out there, but how well-made are they?

Likewise GPS...probably much more useful for coastal dinghy-cruising than the radio, but assuming I can find funds for both, which models/manufacturers shall I pick?

These items need to float and be waterproof - ideally without having to be kept in zip-lock bags.

I'm mainly asking in case there are cheap but disappointing models which don't last, or whose performance is weak & frustrating. I'll gladly pay a bit more for a good 'un.

Compass too...I love the little dual-screen digital dinghy compasses, but not their huge price, and traditional compasses won't suit a hiking or trapezing position...

...I'm guessing a decent GPS is able to calculate the course that has been steered and can thereby give a continuous heading, albeit a few moments late?
 
It may simple be bad luck but my first HH VHF was a Cobra, cost about £50, and it died at about a year old with very little use, never dropped into water etc. I replaced it with a second hand SH270e which cost the same and is much better spec- waterproof, higher power output, feels more solid. It has not let me down and often outperforms my yacht's fixed VHF. For dinghy cruising you probably do want a floater although they are bulkier, so maybe less easy to carry on your person.

A GPS will give your track over the ground, rather than your heading (subtle difference) but I find it easier to helm to a compass than a digital display, it's just more intuitive. And a compass does not need batteries. I use a hand-bearing compass which mounts onto a bracket so that it can be used for steering too. Probably hard to mount it somewhere that you could use it when trapezing.

You might also want to consider a waterproof mobile. My Samsung has been dragged through the water a few times (dangling on the end of its lanyard) and lived to tell the tale. Really handy to have when you are out single handing and the missus is demanding to know when you'll be home!
 
Thanks, wise thoughts.

I hadn't wanted a combined GPS/VHF, neat though it is; I'd hoped that the GPS (even a cheap one) would have a screen giving indication of position relative to other features...

...maybe that's not possible in a unit costing what I was hoping to pay; here's a nice-looking Garmin at over £200, or over £250 with compass & altimeter...

View attachment 39361.

Tricky. I s'pose if I expected to use the VHF to call for assistance, the only thing I'd really need to know would be my lat & long, so the simple combined unit does it. But as I make minimal use of paper charts in the dinghy, the figures displayed alone mightn't be of any use except in emergencies.

Still, I could just get to know the lats and longs of my cruising zone, so figures on the simplest GPS would register usefully in my mind. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the Cobra warning; I've spent on electronic stuff which ceased working unaccountably. As I'll most often be under two miles offshore, tough & simple makes most sense.

I'm very wary of relying on my Samsung phone - or any phone - the satnav/mapping is utterly confounded outside city centres, and the O2 signal isn't perfect either. Plus the phone is useless if it gets too warm! I screwed a watertight picnic box to the centreboard case for my phone's wellbeing, and after 15 minutes inside, it had shut down completely. :mad:
 
If buying a Garmin handheld, note that e.g. Garmin 78s is very similar in specs to the 64s, except that it floats (we have a 78s, satisfied customer). None of the other Garmin models float, as far as I can tell.
 
Dan,

also avoid or be very careful with Silva handheld VHF's; I made the huge mistake of ordering one - a waterproof S12 - without trying it.

It's virtually unuseable, the squelch is in digital steps; at one level it's total silence, next down roaring static !

Handheld GPS units used batteries like mad when they first came out, I hear later ones are better but the expected battery life would be worth comparing on anything you're looking at.
 
Garmin GPS72. Solid basic functions. Around $100 USD (£50 then) goes all day on a couple of AA cells. VHF: Standard Horizon HS270s, same price. Came with charger and seperate back for alkaline batteries. Both waterproof, but I havn't tested that by immersion. Compass: I have a little domed one that lives screwed to a sliding shelf under the centre thwart. Protected when not needed, visible from both tacks (no trapeze!!) when slid out. Does it for me.
DW

Note: West Marine commented that they doubted that many VHFs were really waterproof and recommended a pouch.
 
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My most used bit ok electronic kit aboard is my iPad. Got it in a lifeproof waterproof case...you can add a lifeproof "lifejacket" if you want it to float too. Navionics plotter (only needs a GPS signal, not GPRS/3G) with incredible detail, Tucabo tide app, AIS ship finder, weather, email and internet for staying in touch all on one device. Plus you can use it for the 95% of the time that you are not sailing. Second hand 3G iPads are getting much cheaper too (wifi only ones are no good as there's no GPS).

Won't help with VHF obviously but I wouldn't be without mine!
 
I also use the iPad in the same case as Iain C. I carry a Garmin GPSMap 72 as a backup. The iPad is fantastic, but expensive (the case itself is £100), and if you have the screen on all the time the battery will be gone in 4 or 5 hours. The GPSMap 72 lasts for around 20 hours, floats and takes two AAs so no danger of losing power if you have a few spares. Would definitely recommend one.
 
I'm not sure about the usefulness of the altimeter as I generally sail at sea level.

dancrane said:
Thanks, wise thoughts.

I hadn't wanted a combined GPS/VHF, neat though it is; I'd hoped that the GPS (even a cheap one) would have a screen giving indication of position relative to other features...

...maybe that's not possible in a unit costing what I was hoping to pay; here's a nice-looking Garmin at over £200, or over £250 with compass & altimeter...

View attachment 39361.

Tricky. I s'pose if I expected to use the VHF to call for assistance, the only thing I'd really need to know would be my lat & long, so the simple combined unit does it. But as I make minimal use of paper charts in the dinghy, the figures displayed alone mightn't be of any use except in emergencies.

Still, I could just get to know the lats and longs of my cruising zone, so figures on the simplest GPS would register usefully in my mind. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the Cobra warning; I've spent on electronic stuff which ceased working unaccountably. As I'll most often be under two miles offshore, tough & simple makes most sense.

I'm very wary of relying on my Samsung phone - or any phone - the satnav/mapping is utterly confounded outside city centres, and the O2 signal isn't perfect either. Plus the phone is useless if it gets too warm! I screwed a watertight picnic box to the centreboard case for my phone's wellbeing, and after 15 minutes inside, it had shut down completely. :mad:
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, glum financial news means I'll probably be forgetting the idea. Back to hand-bearing compass, charts & staying in sight of landmarks... :numbness:
 
dancrane said:
Still, I could just get to know the lats and longs of my cruising zone, so figures on the simplest GPS would register usefully in my mind.
Click to expand...

My Garmin GPSs (not satnavs) are 10+ old, but I imagine that new entry-level ("eTrex"?) ones still have a "road" display. If you can put in some useful waypoint co-ordinates, and choose one to "goto", it will point in the direction to go to get there. No digits needed when under way...

HTH, Mike.
 
Back in the 60s/70s I went quite long distances coastally in various dinghies with just sails and a pair of oars, and a folded chart in a plastic bag. Nothing electric or electronic at all. Once moved up to a small cruiser added a compass, handbearing compass and leadline, then an echo-sounder, and carried on like that for several years, including longish passages at times.

If you do want a H/H VHF the ultra-cheap 1-3 watt ones are all rubbish. The next step up ones 5-6 watt seem mostly OK except Silva. I have two Cobras bought at just under £100 each, the older one now about 6-7 years old and still OK, though they don't often get wet.
 
jwilson said:
Back in the 60s/70s I went quite long distances coastally in various dinghies with just sails and a pair of oars, and a folded chart in a plastic bag. Nothing electric or electronic at all. Once moved up to a small cruiser added a compass, handbearing compass and leadline, then an echo-sounder, and carried on like that for several years, including longish passages at times. .
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this. The electronic stuff is fine, but for dinghy sailing, not needed. It is fun though, to play with the GPS on tracks and headings. Like you, I managed to get to places with only a compass, chart and dead reconing, even at night and out of sight of land for several days. But for the night and long trips, a GPS would have been very useful. The VHF is an insurance, rarely used, but if things really go wrong...would be handy. Back before cheap radio, we never expected to be able to call for help and I still think the same way.

To add: A mate just sailed solo from Portimao to Porto Santo, Madeira with just an E-Trex. He used to use celestial nav, but found the GPS a little easier. Needed batteries, as the 34ft has no engine or electrics...... Blondie would have got on with him well.
 
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Probably if money was no obstacle, I'd pick a waterproofed iPad or whatever is clearest and cleverest. But I'm not depressed by the prospect of having to do it the most basic way...

...I've spent enough years looking over distant treetops at Chichester Cathedral Spire, the Nab Tower, Selsey Bill and the big chimney up at Fawley...when it's not foggy I ought to have an accurate idea where I am in ten seconds with a hand-bearing compass. When it is foggy, I'll...guess. :)
 
mrming said:
If you have a smartphone with GPS you can normally get your lat long...
Click to expand...

Never managed it on mine, a Samsung Galaxy S2. Is it likely to be one of those capabilities which is only usable when you're sitting in a WiFi cafe? Otherwise, it'd be just the ticket.
 
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