has GPS/chart plotter made you more adventurous

[dylanwinter]

yes

GPS for small boats has been around for 25 years or more. The question for me would be: If GPS were no longer available would you become less adventurous?

I would chicken out several times a year

any sign of poor visibility would have me heading for home

Dylan

 

[ianfr]

Trying to work out the best place to mount a plotter in the cockpit of a 1970s designed 29 footer with tiller steering.
Flush mounting in the bottom washboard is the current favourite.

Ours is fitted on to a ply panel attached to a television swing arm. Underway it sits in the companionway, but is easily just pushed into its parked position as required. £24 from Tesco if I remember correctly. Replaced the allen key headed bolts with hex heads on the arm joints, much easier to tighten up.

Regards

Ian & Jo (27ft MAB)

 

[LadyInBed]

Ours is fitted on to a ply panel attached to a television swing arm.

I used two ply panels and three brass door hinges

 

[KellysEye]

I don't know about adventurous but once you leave the UK charts are not all accurate. For example the NW corner of one Greek island is three quarters of a mile out. The Venezuelan coast is half a mile out and the Venezuelan out islands are three quarters of a mile out as is Klein Curacao south of Curacao. You can see who believed their charts/plotters by the number of yacht and coaster wrecks on the reefs.

 

[ChrisE]

I don't know about adventurous but once you leave the UK charts are not all accurate. For example the NW corner of one Greek island is three quarters of a mile out. The Venezuelan coast is half a mile out and the Venezuelan out islands are three quarters of a mile out as is Klein Curacao south of Curacao. You can see who believed their charts/plotters by the number of yacht and coaster wrecks on the reefs.

Surely tho' if the chart is inaccurate then it doesn't matter whether it is paper or digital? If you know the charts are dodgy you then have to rely on mk1 eyeball as we have done in faraway places.

In answe to Dylan's question without doubt and if you add in radar then you're really cooking on gas. No longer do you have to hope that you have a large scale chart if your plans change the chances are your cp will have the details and give you a better sense of where you are when approaching a new landfall.