Combined Yeoman and Garmin Chart Plotter

[SAWDOC]

Hi folks
One can use position data from a electronic chartplotter to enhance Yeoman performance to show actual position on chart. The contrary view is why bother with Yeoman at all if you have you chartplotter displaying your position.

Comments please.

 

[MoodySabre]

A Yeoman is fed from a GPS - that enables it to tell you exactly where you are, the distance and bearing to any point on the chart and to upload waypoints direct to the GPS. That's what it does.

A chartplotter would be more useful in the cockpit for pilotage but personally I like the Yeoman for showing you the big picture.

 

[Reverend Ludd]

Hi folks
One can use position data from a electronic chartplotter to enhance Yeoman performance to show actual position on chart. The contrary view is why bother with Yeoman at all if you have you chartplotter displaying your position.

Comments please.

I think the Yeoman is better in some ways.
It sort of forces you to update a paper chart.

 

[maby]

Well, I guess it comes back to the old story about not relying totally on electronic solutions which may fail. On any significant passage you should be keeping a paper record of your progress to allow you to fall back to traditional methods when the electronics fail, and transposing a latitude and longitude accurately from your GPS to a paper chart is tedious and error prone, so having the Yeoman to help could be a good thing - trouble is that they are quite expensive to just use as an add-on to a standard chart plotter.

 

[SAWDOC]

Well, I guess it comes back to the old story about not relying totally on electronic solutions which may fail. On any significant passage you should be keeping a paper record of your progress to allow you to fall back to traditional methods when the electronics fail, and transposing a latitude and longitude accurately from your GPS to a paper chart is tedious and error prone, so having the Yeoman to help could be a good thing - trouble is that they are quite expensive to just use as an add-on to a standard chart plotter.

I have just been offered a second hand one from a genuine source at a very keen price and I am inclined to go for it, if it will improve matters- not so keen if it has been overtaken by technological advances.

 

[maby]

I have just been offered a second hand one from a genuine source at a very keen price and I am inclined to go for it, if it will improve matters- not so keen if it has been overtaken by technological advances.

If the price is good, I would go for it. They are a good idea - just a bit expensive in my book as a chart plotter accessory.

 

[PetiteFleur]

I have just been offered a second hand one from a genuine source at a very keen price and I am inclined to go for it, if it will improve matters- not so keen if it has been overtaken by technological advances.

I have a Yeoman which I bought about 4 years ago at a very keen price from a local chandlery who wanted rid of it. I think it's excellent - you always know where you are in the overall picture on the chart which I like. I do have a Garmin 72 ? which does have charts on it which I use in the cockpit and the Yeoman below on the chart table.

 

[Reverend Ludd]

If the price is good, I would go for it. They are a good idea - just a bit expensive in my book as a chart plotter accessory.

What model is it?

 

[SAWDOC]

Yeoman sport

 

[Reverend Ludd]

Yeoman sport

Nice

 

[Gwylan]

Go for it - would not be without it on board. Wonderful piece of kit.
Makes life very easy and reassuring that you always know where you were on the chart an hour ago. assuming you plot your position every hour.

 

[Gwylan]

Not a chart plotter accessory in any way. It is a much better solution than a plotter - makes you keep your old paper charts and plot your position with ease

 

[alan17]

Yeoman

I use a Yeoman sport which I got before the C80. Would rather not be without either when out of sight of land.
Keep Yeoman updated every hour (min) so have instant fallback if needed. C80 great if electrics OK. Bit of belt and braces I suppose but gives peace of mind and also passes the time on a longer passage!

 

[Twister_Ken]

Another fan of the combination. Garmin 555 in the cockpit for pilotage and numbers. Yeoman at the chart table for real nav. A plotter is really only just a tiny window on the chart, using it for nav requires tedious scrolling and zooming. The Yeoman makes the entire chart instantly available. And it's more convenient to do the nav warm and dry below, rather than hunched over a tiny screen up there in the weather.

 

[Alpha22]

+1
Yeoman and GPS.
Came with boat and I love the simplicity and paper chart reliability of the whole thing.

 

[Delphin_Rival36]

I currently have a Garmin 75 chartplotter under the sprayhood - great bit of kit. However, I want to have an independent GPS for back-up and also use paper charts for navigation and for when the electronics or batteries go on the blink. I'm thinking of getting a Garmin 72H (mounted in cockpit) linked to a (used) Yeoman Pro plotter on the chart table. Does this make sense and can anyone think of a better solution?

 

[SAWDOC]

Thanks for all the responses - looks like it is worth a small investment. I like the idea of still using the paper charts.

 

[prv]

I think viewing it solely as a back up tool misses the point. For navigation (as opposed to close-in pilotage) I find the Yeoman better than a typical small plotter. See the whole situation, know there's no hidden vital data on smaller zoom levels, and be able to draw and plot arbitrary workings on the chart.

For example, on a channel crossing, I'll lightly sketch in the predicted ground track based on my tidal workings for the classic S-shape, then have confidence that everything is going to plan as my hourly plots roughly follow it. I can't do that on my plotter.

I also find it a lot more ergonomic to pick up the puck and drop it over (say) a buoy whose bearing I want. Of course you can do the same thing with the cursor on a plotter, but I find it fiddly and to take a little longer (and before anyone jumps to conclusions, I'm a 29-year-old software engineer, not a technophobe peering through bifocals!).

Another point that's not always mentioned - I've just spent this evening updating some of my charts, which has cost me nothing but some time (not begrudged) and purple ink. The corrections are freely downloadable from the Web. By contrast, the card in my plotter is now out of date, and will cost a significant amount to renew. So I'm going to let that age gently for a while yet, and if anything ever looks out-of-kilter I can refer to the properly-corrected chart on the table.

Finally, my plotter is the biggest power consumer on board after (I assume, since I have no numbers for it) the fridge. So 90% of the time, I run a plain numbers-only GPS that feeds the Yeoman and the VHF. The plotter only comes out for going into unfamiliar or difficult harbours, perhaps at night. The saving of power by drawing your charts with ink instead of light is significant on a small boat.

My only reservation in this case is that the model you're considering is the Sport. I've never seen one in person, but the concept never seemed very convincing to me. I think a Yeoman works much better on (ideally built inside, like mine) a chart table, not in a plastic bag in the cockpit.

Pete

 

[Quandary]

I used mine for years and still have it on the chart table but with a separate back up usb GPS feeding the Imray chart programme on my lap top rarely bother to index the charts to it these days. I just transfer data from the screen to paper for recording in bad vis. etc. I like to use large scale folio charts so you are switching to often to be bothered with the Yeoman. If you already have a laptop you can use on board the cost is small and it is a lot quicker and handier than the Yeoman.
To summarize, I would not bother, especially with the version with the small pad.

 

[Robin]

I think viewing it solely as a back up tool misses the point. For navigation (as opposed to close-in pilotage) I find the Yeoman better than a typical small plotter. See the whole situation, know there's no hidden vital data on smaller zoom levels, and be able to draw and plot arbitrary workings on the chart.

It is the ability to zoom in for maximum detail that makes a plotter better by far than a Yeoman chart where to do the same involves changing to and referencing another chart.

Another point that's not always mentioned - I've just spent this evening updating some of my charts, which has cost me nothing but some time (not begrudged) and purple ink. The corrections are freely downloadable from the Web. By contrast, the card in my plotter is now out of date, and will cost a significant amount to renew. So I'm going to let that age gently for a while yet, and if anything ever looks out-of-kilter I can refer to the properly-corrected chart on the table.

OK yes, but depending on your area, chart changes can be minor or irrelevant to small boats. Light characteristics are best checked in lights lists or almanacs anyway and who cares if yet another fish farm is close off a rocky shore you will never go near. I cannot remember a vital chart update for our cruising area other than the move of the Ushant TSS some years back, and that justified both a new chart and was the crunch point for a new cartridge for the plotter.[/QUOTE]

Finally, my plotter is the biggest power consumer on board after (I assume, since I have no numbers for it) the fridge. So 90% of the time, I run a plain numbers-only GPS that feeds the Yeoman and the VHF. The plotter only comes out for going into unfamiliar or difficult harbours, perhaps at night. The saving of power by drawing your charts with ink instead of light is significant on a small boat.

That is very valid if power is limited.

We had both Yeoman and electronic plotters on board our last two boats and I'm a Yeoman fan. In all honesty however I only used the Yeoman on long passages using the permanently in place Channel chart mounted with the Yeoman under a perspex cover that I could draw on. If I needed a larger scale chart on the Yeoman it went on top of the perspex using the clips stuck in place as needed with Blue Tack. We did carry all the paper charts ready referenced for the Yeoman, but truthfully in the last 10 years and near 20,000 miles they were never used, other than the Channel one on the Nav table.