Chart plotter on the binnacle bar.

[Toutvabien]

To aid short handed nav I am wanting to locate a chartplotter on the binnacle in our cockpit.

Two questions;

How can a chartplotter best be fixed to the binnacle, are there clips or brackets that are available?

Any recomendations for a suitable plotter from somebody who has done this successfully???

Many Thanks,

Paul.

 

[Pete7]

Paul, when we fitted wheel steering we had the choice, compass or GPS plotter so went GPS. The compass would normally sit on a 8" high hat shaped piece of white powered coated Aliminium so I got an offcut of white GRP panel from a local boat yard to make a round flat top and screwed it down. This gives you a flat surface to mount a GPS unit on. We chose the Garmin 555s after much scearching the boat show and on Garmins recommendation the Easy AIS which was a doddle to fit. The power cables from the Garmin run straight down the middle of the vertical steering shaft of the binnacle and out the bottom before being hidden behind the cabin linings.

The 555s is small enough to fit between the stainless steel grab rail but big enough to navigate by. If your s/s grab rail bends forward there is an expensive Navpod Raymarine C70/80 solution, but ours was straight so wouldn't easily fit and just to expensive.

Pete

 

[robbieg]

Used the Standard Horizon CP180i for this very successfully. Had to make a teak base for it to stand on.

 

[Mariner69]

Just one word of caution, watch the compass safe distances.

Too much ferrous materials and DC currents in the area can have a marked effect on the compass, particularily the heeling error. You can also seriously degrade the compass pointing to north ability.

Before fitting just carefully note the compass heading before offering the equipment up to the intended place of fitting and the heading after to see if you are going to have problems.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I used a Ram Bracket.You can get them to clip to the tubes.Look at the bike section in www.ram-mount-uk.com/

 

[Salty John]

Whatever you get, make sure you can dim it sufficiently at night or it's the only thing you'll see.
I once put an Interphase forward looking sonar screen on my binnacle and the first time I used it was like watching TV from a foot away, and that's when I discovered it had no means of dimming!
I prefer to keep my navigation equipment in the nav area below where it's dry and doesn't distract the helmsman - but I'm just an old Luddite.