Handheld GPS / Plotter advice pls

[Reverend Ludd]

I have been reading up on here about gps & plotters and was certainly interested by the idea of using an Ipad but I would be amazed if it would survive in a marine environment for long.
I'm a real pen and paper kind of chap, old school some would say but I'm now getting interested in having a "gadget".

The question is what to get...

I have used a GPS before and found it pretty good, distance and heading to waypoints etc. I've also used a chart plotter and that was great. The problem was that it was mounted below and I was like a jack in the box (no cockpit display).

So what are my options, I'd like to have something on a lanyard under my jacket. Do you think the small size of the display on this kind of thing make them viable?

Should I stick with a handheld GPS and program waypoints in at home?

 

[Stu Jackson]

There is a school of thought that I subscribe to that says a small screen handheld GPS unit is simply a wee chartplotter. How're your eyes? Do you support AA batteries or rechargeables, or do you like stuff plugged in? A chartplotter down below when you're upstairs is, as you said, useless - what were they thinking?

You might want to wander into a chandlery and play around with some. What works for me may not work for you. I have a 34 foot boat with a Garmin handheld GPSMap 76Cx, a friend with the same boat is running MacEnc charts on his Apple laptop with integrated instruments.

Your boat, your eyes, your pocketbook, your choice.

Good luck.

 

[snooks]

Have a look at Yachting Monthy this month (July issue) where there is a feature about hand held GPS's or the lack of them on the market now.

I also have a look at the charting apps available for iPhones

May be look at the small chart plotters that are available nowadays, something semi permanent that you can see from the helm.

 

[Iliade]

My boat came with a swing-out mount for her ancient seafarer sounder. I simply swapped the sounder for a cheap used plotter/fishfinder. With the top washboard out you can see the plotter from the cockpit or swing it inboard and put the washboards in if you prefer to navigate from below decks.

It is also away from prying eyes when the boat is left.

My only change would be to move it inboard a little or rearrange the hinge so that a clear top washboard could be used.

I also have a venerable Garmin GPSMAP 60CSX running bluechart. I would not sail without it as this unit is fairly weather & idiot proof and the display is readable if not really large enough.

I have considerable experience of using half thought-through devices for navigating when flying and consequently would not countenance using anything not fully 'marinised' anywhere near any boat that I could afford...

 

[Reverend Ludd]

Thanks Guys

I'm beginning to think that maybe a handheld Garmin GPS might do the job.
Although the display is small I can hold it up to my face.

I'm going to pop into Charity & Taylor who are a GCom dealer near my house and check some options out.

 

[lustyd]

I have the GPSMAP 62S and find it excelent. It comes with a caribiner so I can clip it inside my waterproof jacket pocket in bad weather and onto the pushpit in good.
It has charts on it which can be used to quickly take a look - this is not as good as paper, but then I don't find 7" screen plotters as good as paper either. Given that I'll use paper either way this seems ideal.
The most important thing to note is that although the Garmin devices can show charts, they also have very useful information screens which do not show charts - these are what you will use and what you actually want in the cockpit and what you will use. Even with a fullsize unit I tend only to use the numbers such as position, speed and heading. The handheld is also ideal at night and can be turned down to a point where it won't affect your night vision but can still be used.

If left on throughout the voyage, I can get full information on the tracks from Mapsource on the PC including speed, distance, average speed, time of day at each point. This pic shows the whole weekend (viewed on the PC afterwards!!)

And this pic shows information from a single track near Cowes. You can see the course, position, speed etc for each "leg". A leg is a time interval the device uses between taking down information.

Hope this helps
Dave

 

[benw]

I agree with the notion that a plotter in the cockpit is of greater use than at the chart table.
I have a deicated MLR GPS at chart table and repeater over companionway which is useful when giving position as entering shipping lanes and talking to coast guard etc.
I also have a Magellan XL bought for previous yacht with chart plotting Navionics charts. Most recently thought I would add Navionics app to my iPAD. The iPAD has a waterproof AQUABAG. We also have a NASA AIS display at chart table.

Last week I tested out the iPAD in challenging conditions, by this I mean a nth sea crossing Harwich to Oostende, at night, breaking waves into cockpit surfing on nr approach, zero vis for return crossing including West Hinder and North Hinder shipping lanes. To conclude the week returning up the Wallet - Tollesbury to Harwich in a head on sea and 40kn gusts green waves over the bows on a frequent basis.

My observations:
The iPAD with Navionics HD was great for passage planning but it has crashed with regular frequency, at night couldnt dim the display enough and shot night sight, during the day was not sunligh visible, uses alot of battery if on continuously so only used it for ref's as and when required. Still it was great to have in the cockpit given its great sized screen. The Aquabag worked a treat.

The Magellan is really quite small at 3.5 inch screen but is AA battery driven and I feel reassured that a fix would be possible if boat batteries fail. Useful for passageplanning and looking at tracks etc.

AIS - if I hadnt had a crew who was able to quickly get to grips with the stand alone NASA unit I would have been in trouble as he couldnt helm for toffee and therefore I couldnt easily get below.

I have decided that wireless AIS to the iPAD is not the route for me.
A dedicated marinised AIS enabled plotter is the way forward which covers all angles well.

I am an apple fan but I think the Standard Horizon or Digital Yacht plotters are great value and do the job.

My iPhone was a god send too for quick referncing and that easily charges on a cigar lighter adapter.

PS the Magellan XL is not made any more and was a pain if anything went wrong with it.

 

[lustyd]

The iPAD has a waterproof AQUABAG....

Last week I tested out the iPAD in challenging conditions, by this I mean a nth sea crossing Harwich to Oostende, at night, breaking waves into cockpit surfing on nr approach

I can understand the iPad in a waterproof case but are you really saying you had waves breaking into your cockpit and you didn't tuck it up in a soft locker to stop it getting smashed? I would be surprised if in genuinely bad conditions anyone would be happy holding an iPad/iPhone outside if they couldn't stand reliably themselves.
I suspect that ultimately the Apple devices are every bit as strong as my Garmin, but with the rubberised case, thick looking plastic screen and waterproof look I'm less precious with the Garmin than the iPhone.

 

[Amulet]

You can have the best of both worlds fairly cheaply. I have a laptop down below running as a chart plotter (Offshore Navigator Software - about £120). It is wired to a Garmin GPS72(*) on a bracket in the cockpit (about £120 for this too). I can draw my route on the computer very easily and send it to the handheld over the wire. The handheld can be set to display what ever is most useful to the helmsman. E.g.:
- Distance and bearing of next waypoint
- Velocity made good to next waypoint (useful if beating)
- An arrow or "rolling road" display (idiot-proof)
- Cross-track error (distance off track left for right for intricate channels)

If you go below you can see where you are on the map, but you can sail safely using the route in the handheld (even if someone spills their beer on the laptop). I have been doing it this way in a small boat for 7 seasons and have only once had a laptop fail, for a completely non-boat-related reason. I carry a spare old and cheap laptop on serious passages, and most of the software suppliers will let you run two copies for this reason.

(*)The GPS72 has been superseded by the GPS72H at about the same price. It offers direct USB output to your computer. For the old GPS72 you have to run a serial to USB adaptor if, like most, your laptop has no RS232 input. I have had few setup difficulties, but where they have occurred it's always been something to do with the damned adaptor, so I think your life would be easier with the new model. I have actually just encountered an incompatibility problem with an upgrade to a new computer, but I expect to have my way with it this evening!

 

[benw]

FYI the iPad was attached to the spray hood bar via the aqua bag strap and it's foot secured too so no crashing was to be had.

 

[lustyd]

FYI the iPad was attached to the spray hood bar via the aqua bag strap and it's foot secured too so no crashing was to be had.

Thanks Ben, I had visions of you choosing between holding the boat and holding the shiny device!

 

[Pandoramark1]

You can have the best of both worlds fairly cheaply. I have a laptop down below running as a chart plotter (Offshore Navigator Software - about £120). It is wired to a Garmin GPS72(*) on a bracket in the cockpit (about £120 for this too). I can draw my route on the computer very easily and send it to the handheld over the wire. The handheld can be set to display what ever is most useful to the helmsman. E.g.:
- Distance and bearing of next waypoint
- Velocity made good to next waypoint (useful if beating)
- An arrow or "rolling road" display (idiot-proof)
- Cross-track error (distance off track left for right for intricate channels)

If you go below you can see where you are on the map, but you can sail safely using the route in the handheld (even if someone spills their beer on the laptop). I have been doing it this way in a small boat for 7 seasons and have only once had a laptop fail, for a completely non-boat-related reason. I carry a spare old and cheap laptop on serious passages, and most of the software suppliers will let you run two copies for this reason.

(*)The GPS72 has been superseded by the GPS72H at about the same price. It offers direct USB output to your computer. For the old GPS72 you have to run a serial to USB adaptor if, like most, your laptop has no RS232 input. I have had few setup difficulties, but where they have occurred it's always been something to do with the damned adaptor, so I think your life would be easier with the new model. I have actually just encountered an incompatibility problem with an upgrade to a new computer, but I expect to have my way with it this evening!

Hi, can the Garmin GPS 72 display knots i am looking to get one, but all he manuals etc say nothing about being able to change the MPH to / Knts

Thanks
PMK1

 

[KREW2]

Gonna put my head on the block, and reccommend the Ray Marine RC400. I know they don't make them any more but, they do come up second hand, and are a very versitile piece of kit.

 

[Amulet]

Hi, can the Garmin GPS 72 display knots i am looking to get one, but all he manuals etc say nothing about being able to change the MPH to / Knts

Thanks
PMK1

Knots, MPH or KPH. You can change units also for short distances (metres/feet) and depth.

I have found it configurable to do most that I want.

Oh, and by the way - I did have my way with it. Got it talking to my new computer perfectly well.

 

[eastcoastbernie]

Gonna put my head on the block, and reccommend the Ray Marine RC400. I know they don't make them any more but, they do come up second hand, and are a very versitile piece of kit.

I'll join you with my head on the block. I love my Raymarine RC400. I haven't yet found anywhere suitable to mount it, so at the start of a passage I plug it into the 12 volt and tuck it away where it is safe inside but within easy reach of the cockpit. Then I fish it out at anytime I need confirmation of where I am/or where I am going to. On many occasions it has been tucked alongside the traveller which is a bit cruel to it, but it seems to be robust enough to take such abuse.

It comes with a mounting bracket, but I can't find anywhere in the cockpit where it could be mounted without being very vulnerable damage from the mainsheet, for example. I've considered making a sort of short washboard to which it could be mounted but not got around to doing anything about that yet.

 

[xhurleyman]

I have been reading up on here about gps & plotters and was certainly interested by the idea of using an Ipad but I would be amazed if it would survive in a marine environment for long.
I'm a real pen and paper kind of chap, old school some would say but I'm now getting interested in having a "gadget".

The question is what to get...

I have used a GPS before and found it pretty good, distance and heading to waypoints etc. I've also used a chart plotter and that was great. The problem was that it was mounted below and I was like a jack in the box (no cockpit display).

So what are my options, I'd like to have something on a lanyard under my jacket. Do you think the small size of the display on this kind of thing make them viable?

Should I stick with a handheld GPS and program waypoints in at home?

Hello Captain Ludd,
I bought a Garmin 276 a few years ago, because I can also use it in the car where a nice little lady tells me where to go! On the water though she is quiet. This little unit has a screen big enough to view, around 75mm diagonally and has Blue chart cartography which could do with updating now but still is ok along our coast where rocks dont change. In estuaries you need to be a bit careful when cartography needs updating as sand bars/mud flats etc move, keep a good eye on the echo sounder.

I would not be without this unit and have made a pivotting arm which comes out from it's storage space above the chart table to a block I have fitted just outside the companion way and hatch to the cabin. Thsi little plotter can be removed easily but has a dedicated NMEA plug which allows it to talk to my DSC radio which enables one to provide an exact position in case of emergencies. Through this connection it will also use the power from your main 12 volt battery or indeed its own internal rechargeable battery. There is a hell of a lot of information on it including waypoints, tidal info, pictures of some harbours taken from the air, reciprocal courses, screen illumination adjustment, automatic night illumination to name a few.

I'm not sure this unit is still available but Garmin still do something similar or of course there is a Standard Horizon at around £350 with a 7inch screen.

Your choice my friend but on night passages and in fog it is invaluable and does give a position fix for transferring to full size paper charts when on long passages.

Cheers
Kevin, SCM H22 Vixen, Devon

 

[lukecsmith]

Would like to add my voice to those recommending the iPhone as a handy miniature plotter. Swap your normal phone for an iphone4 and get Navionics plotter app. Its a bloody marvellous little thing, and as a bonus, that iphone4 has the best digital camera around and takes HD videos to boot - so you can capture glorious looking videos as you plough into the waves. And it charges quick too. Waterproof bags work a treat. Its not big enough to be a proper plotter though, but it does the job for me a treat.

 

[William_H]

GPS

It does seem to me that a lot of people like to fiddle with their plotters and enjoy the amazing benefits.
However much depending on your sailing style some of us simply like to get out there and sail.

I would not think it prudent to go too far in UK without a GPS of some sort in case of fog or closing weather.
As such a HH Gps will hopefully do all you need to get you home.
I use a Garmin Etrex. Old but still useful. They are still sold rediculously cheap. If you have the necessary waypoints in it like "home" you should have no problems.
My main complaint about Eterex is the small writing. I need reading specs to use it and sun glasses to sail. A bit tedious to change over. It is mainly used to find buoys in night races. I use it while helming so it stays on a lanyard inside my shirt. good luck olewill

 

[christopherc]

New etrex

I've had my etrex vista for about 6 years. Used it on the boat, on the mountain bike and in the car (UK and Europe). Neat small unit that can be operated with one hand, and the screen size is only marginally smaller than the rest of the range which are quite bulky and unsuitable for the bike. Its been dropped, crashed, bashed and generally misused over the years and still works fine, although these days it does tend to switch off when shocked on the handlebars. There is a new unit coming out http://www.garmin.com/uk/new-etrex-series and I'm thinking of renewing so I have a backup unit - I don't intend to install a plotter on the latest boat, as I've always found I prefer the handheld unless the plotter is on the binnacle.

Might be worth waiting to see what the new etrex is like....

 

[christopherc]

New etrex

......Or better still, pick up a bargain old model.