GPS to Paper Charts

It's not a big problem. I have a good size nav table (and I use a Yeoman anyway) but on some boats the nav tables are a bit small and folding is inevitable. I personally have no problems with lat and long but I still think the video idea is a good one and some will find it easier.

fair enough if some find it easier, I just couldn't see what problem was being solved. Surely the compass rose would end up folded away just as easily?
 
Just tellin thee how i manage to get to foreign ports :D

Perhaps you should start a thread to that effect if you think we'll find it interesting?

I must appologise to the OP, I wasn't intentinally being negative. It's good to see people helping others and putting effort into getting advice online.
 
I haven't watched the video either, but I presume it's the well-known technique of picking a handy point on the chart, putting it into the GPS as a waypoint, then using the GPS's bearing-and-distance-to-waypoint to plot your own location, instead of lat and long.

It's an alternative. Can't really see much to massively recommend it over lat and long, the two seem to require about the same effort.

Pete
 
If all I had to navigate was a handheld gps and a paper chart, I think I would be more likely to put my destination as the GOTO than a compass rose. That way you can still plot your position in almost the same way button get the benefit of the other readings from the GPS.

However, it takes less than 10 seconds to plot using the chart edges or other lines so it's hardly a massive saver of effort and although ostensibly more reliable you can still read the wrong numbers, select the wrong rose or plot incorrectly so I doubt if it is safer either.
 
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i was doing the same with no lat or long involved for plotting

Oh I see! Appologies to you too then :) But can you enlighten me why you find it easier than just plotting the lat/long? Seems a lot of faffing to me which is why I'm curious.
 
If all I had to navigate was a handheld gps and a paper chart, I think I would be more likely to put my destination as the GOTO than a compass rose. That way you can still plot your position in almost the same way button get the benefit of the other readings from the GPS.

I think that's what's confusing me - it just seems wrong to me to not use the destination as the waypoint given the technology is there.
 
waypoint ( compass rose ) one gets a continual distance & bearing see ;)
then only a straight edge,pencil + dividers are req to plot

With coordinates you don't need the dividers, and with the destination as a waypoint you still get constant readout so I'm still baffled by this. think I'll just accept that you all find it easier though as it's clearly a preference thing :)
 
you then sail further X channel

absolute rubbish. The method of transferring data to a paper chart has no way to make you sail further and neither does the plotter. I can still sail to a compass course while knowing the distance and bearing to the destination except that I can see that if my VMG is negative that I'm actually going in the wrong direction and got sums wrong.
 
what is difficult about
distance 10.5 mls (to compass rose )
bearing 090 deg

I think the difficulty for me is that I never travel to a compass rose. I've seen pictures and I prefer the coast. I'd prefer to know that my destination is 10.5 miles and 90 degrees because that information could be useful, as I said earlier you may want to know which tack is giving a better VMG which could shave time off a journey. Using a compass rose as waypoint cannot do this because VMG to an arbitrary point is useless information.
 
I have just made a video that many friends have asked me to make.
I hope it may be of interest to fellow boaters.
In Google Search type. psg1640@gmail.com and the first thing is the video on GPS to paper charts. have fun and fair winds

Just watched the clip and had not thought of that. I do prefer to use lat and long and just plot a point which is quicker but then my gps is always on when sailing. I also sometimes just run a rough line from lat and long to confirm my position with mk1 eyeball ....
 
There seems to be some confusion here between using a waypoint as something to steer towards and using it as a reference point from which to plot a position. The two things are rather different and using the centre of a compass rose for the reference point to plot a position has the merit of only requiring a means of measuring distance as the bearing can be read directly from the rose.

First used this method when I got my first GPS more than 15 years ago. Quick, easy and reliable. What more do you want?
 
There seems to be some confusion here between using a waypoint as something to steer towards and using it as a reference point from which to plot a position. The two things are rather different and using the centre of a compass rose for the reference point to plot a position has the merit of only requiring a means of measuring distance as the bearing can be read directly from the rose.

First used this method when I got my first GPS more than 15 years ago. Quick, easy and reliable. What more do you want?

not all that easy for some, but then again i maybe failed to explain as succinctly as your good self :D
 
There seems to be some confusion here between using a waypoint as something to steer towards and using it as a reference point from which to plot a position. The two things are rather different and using the centre of a compass rose for the reference point to plot a position has the merit of only requiring a means of measuring distance as the bearing can be read directly from the rose.

First used this method when I got my first GPS more than 15 years ago. Quick, easy and reliable. What more do you want?

Well explained. My point though is that if you've invested in the GPS it's true value lies in things like waypoints which can aid navigation. If you are using a waypoint purely for plotting on a paper chart then all that value is wasted.
 
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