How do you use a chart plotter?

[laika]

1) How much do you use paper charts?
2) What functions do you use on your plotter and what functions should I know and be using?

1) Every time for planning
2) Mostly COG/SOG for seeing how far off I was with my tidal estimates and the graphical chart display to confirm I am where I think I am during pilotage, which is still mainly done via a soggy bit of paper in my pocket. Also saves on having to dart down to the chart table to double check a chart feature or identify which light you're seeing: just go to the one on the right bearing and confirm its characteristics.

I plumbed in my C90W (with navionics gold charts) a few months ago. Unless I'm missing something in the manual (I acknowledge I may be wrong! please let me know if I am) it won't give me a tide-corrected course to steer to a waypoint. Also, tracking the mouse around is rather slower than moving a pencil on a chart. Consequently, in the absence of a budget stretching to maxsea with the routing module, I find the quickest way to plot the quickest route from a to b, especially if tidal gates x and y lie along the route, is on paper.

Given the above I find the autopilot integration of limited use: except possibly in the last hour or so I think I'm better off manually plugging in the CTS than having the plotter navigate me to a waypoint. My autopilot can't keep a course anyway so that's academic

Obviously useful for AIS/Radar/MARPA/Fishfinder if you have those things...

Paper preference due to technophobia? Hmm...let's just say I find it hugely disappointing that Raymarine's ethernet-based networking is IPv4 only...

 

[chippysmith]

SH Stuff

Half my problem is that plotter functionality is forgotten in between time away, this years cruise meant getting to grips with it more and that has helped..

Also, I have just downloaded a simulator on my PC at home so I can play happily with all the functions.. have already learnt about entering MMSI details of club boats to see them real time/position on the screen, very handy for club events and not to difficult. Standard Horizon plotter, simulator and PDF manual on their website, cracking it is gromit

 

[Deleted member 36384]

..... 1) How much do you use paper charts?
2) What functions do you use on your plotter and what functions should I know and be using?

1. I use my paper charts all the time.
2. The zoom function when piloting.

One day I will buy the largest practical plotter screen I can afford and with integrated Radar and AIS go to full GPS / Plotter navigation. That's a few years away at the moment. The first priority is to get the old lady back in fine fettle.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Lest we forget....

 

[prv]

Is it because most sailors are older and we need our children to show us new gadgets.

Not in my case - I'm in my 20s and my day job is to create new gadgets.

I still prefer navigating with chart, breton plotter, GPS and hand compass though - plus the recent addition of a Yeoman which suits me down to the ground.

Pete

 

[vyv_cox]

Lest we forget....

The Bluecharts on my plotter for the Ionian and the Aegean are not great, even in the latest version as checked at SIBS last year, but they are far more detailed than the Admiralty folios and the Imrays. I understand from various magazine articles that very few ships now use, or even carry, paper charts. They download electronic charts as required.

I can understand the reasoning behind your notice but there is no reason why an up-to-date electronic chart should be inferior to a similar paper one, provided the navigator is aware of possible datum errors. I suggest it's the possible tendency of the navigator to blindly believe what is on the screen that is the real problem.

 

[Tranona]

There are pros and cons of electronic charts. Lot of the negative view comes from the early attempts such as the C Map cards which were often out of date or inaccurate when they were published - and expensive to keep up to date.

It is now much easier to get up to date electronic charts and prices have fallen substantially. I have just started using the electronic versions of Imray charts which seem good for our waters - although less useful in the Med. Also find it useful to have basically the same chart as my paper ones.

 

[Nostrodamus]

There is a good reason for using the chart plotter which is that charts are just so expensive. We have worked our way down from the North East coast to the south coast and if I have bought not only the planning charts but the smaller scale ones i would have been broke. We also found that we will not be using any of these charts through choice. They are too big, hard to fold to the bits you need, difficult to use on deck and a pain to continually update. When you have a good few as we have they just take up space and trying to find the right one is sometimes not easy. Coming down to update them or check them especially at night with people asleep, dripping water all over is also a pain.
The electronic plotter at the helm is just so easy.
Any idea what to do with charts that have been used once?
Marinas should have chart exchanges similar to book exchanges or similar to second hand computer games and videos in blockbusters.

 

[tudorsailor]

Any idea what to do with charts that have been used once?
Marinas should have chart exchanges similar to book exchanges or similar to second hand computer games and videos in blockbusters.

I just sold 3 Imray charts used once only. Sold via the the YBW for sale forum. I bought the card for the plotter via the cruisers forum Maybe there should be a separate forum on this site for chart, pilot book and chart plotter cards sale and exchange?

TudorSailor

 

[Nostrodamus]

I just sold 3 Imray charts used once only. Sold via the the YBW for sale forum. I bought the card for the plotter via the cruisers forum Maybe there should be a separate forum on this site for chart, pilot book and chart plotter cards sale and exchange?

TudorSailor

Good Idea

 

[alant]

Now you are starting to speak a foreign language.
How or where can you learn all this stuff?

Go into any sailing school & ask for the chart plotter training cd that comes with all courses fro DS onward.

 

[Capt Cautious]

I understand from various magazine articles that very few ships now use, or even carry, paper charts. They download electronic charts as required.

I can understand the reasoning behind your notice but there is no reason why an up-to-date electronic chart should be inferior to a similar paper one, provided the navigator is aware of possible datum errors. I suggest it's the possible tendency of the navigator to blindly believe what is on the screen that is the real problem.

Re "very few ships now use, or even carry, paper charts". Not correct I´m afraid - editorial wishful thinking by magazines. Mandatory carriage of ECDIS does not come in until 2012, and even then very many ships (most) will continue to use paper charts. While I have some exceptional ECDIS equipment aboard - a paper chart is far better for planning (personal opinion), particularly port approaches where I want to jot notes down on the chart. Its almost impossible on the ECDIS system I have to write "call me here" across the course line, although I have no doubt I could eventually program it into a user defined area on the ECDIS. A pencil is rather easier. ECDIS is an aid to navigation, nothing more. Although it may be changing in the near future, I beleive that C-Map is still not an approved system, so although may ships have it installed, it will have to be run side by side with a full chart folio for a good while to come.
There are fundamental differences in information quality between the charts you have available for unapproved systems, and Arcs/enc based charts. Paper charts are often still far better than the electronic equivalents. I have somewhere a collection of screenshots of my vessel sailing through fields, up roads, and across islands. All on C-Map.

The unwillingness of younger bridge officers to believe what they see through the window, as opposed to what appears on the electronic chart is truly frightening. Blame Sony and Atari.

CC

 

[Capt Cautious]

Heres quite a large ship, sailing across quite a large island. To use electronic charts its important to understand the information first, and all the errors it is prone to.

CC

 

[Nostrodamus]

Capt,
Do you always overlay the radar image over your charts to show if GPS is not giving you a true reading?

 

[Capt Cautious]

We have the facility to overlay radar information onto the chart, and vice versa. Its fine for checking buoy positions if comparing what you see out of the window with whats on the chart. Its also quite good for confirmation of the accuracy of the electronic data - providing you know what you are looking at.

The position of your radar image is dependent upon the accuracy of the information from your GPS. A radar image of a gently shelving sandy beach, as is the case here, isn´t going to be of any help at all though ! Yet again, knowledge of the limitations of your navigation equipment is essential - I have lost count (well, I wasnt counting actually) of the number of people I´ve seen, trying to position a vessel with radar distances from sandy beaches !

Sorry about the bold bit - but its important!!

CC

 

[laika]

2) What functions do you use on your plotter and what functions should I know and be using?

Prompted by the "channel 16" thread...DSC integration! Nostrodamus has the same plotter as the one I just fitted. Assuming you have a DSC VHF which can output nmea, make sure the VHF nmea *output* (not just the input for displaying GPS) is plumbed into the plotter. You then have to explicitly enable DSC integration on the plotter (chapter 19 of the c-series wide manual) and depending on the set, the radio. By default the plotter will still only plot positions from vessels in your mmsi list, so change that to "everyone" (that bit doesn't seem to be in the manual).

The point being, even if you never use the whole DSC position report thing, getting the option of a waypoint being set on receipt of a distress message can help you provide assistance that bit more quickly than if you have to dive down to the chart table to plot a lat and long...

 

[prv]

The point being, even if you never use the whole DSC position report thing, getting the option of a waypoint being set on receipt of a distress message can help you provide assistance that bit more quickly than if you have to dive down to the chart table to plot a lat and long...

Agreed - I'd like to have that, but I don't think my radio (NASA DSC - think they only made one model) has the necessary outputs. Anyone know different?

Pete

 

[Nostrodamus]

Thank you laika, i will chek tht as I have a Raymarine DSC radio.
Also thank you Capt for your insights. You point out a very valid point.
The Raymarine system is good but only as good as the person operating it. For the general user it probably does too much which can be confusing.
It is probably better only to use the minimum as people on this thread tend to do and only use somethingelse when you really fully understand it.

 

[Capt Cautious]

As always - keep it simple. All the bells and whistles tend to help the bank accounts of the manufacturers, and enable them to market something that still does exactly the same job as their previous products, as something that we havent already got and "really can´t do without". Pretty 3d charts being a case in point.
CC

 

[Searush]

'Ang on a bit; charts have always been in 3D. Depths & heights are marked so you have lat Long & height = 3 dimensions. Charts (& maps) are of limited value if only 2D.


It's alright, I do understand what you are saying. 3D graphics are of fairly limited extra value.