Inland navigation

[theguvnor]

This may seem a bit of a non-starter but...

I will be cruising the Dutch inland waterways in the new year. I have just aquired a new (to me) Dutch steel 45` cruiser. It has no nav equipment, and it was suggested to be yesterday (by a Dutch chart shop) that to keep costs & security issues to a minimum I could consider standard car Sat Nav (ie Tom Tom or whatever)

The thought of a Dutch bird keeping on telling me to "turn right or you will be in the river" aside does the team think its a possibility

The costs would run to about one third of chartplotters etc

I am used to the Thames were a river map is fine, but some of the Dutch / French rivers & canals are a bit wider with the occasional 30,000t tankers as companions and lots of junctions which if you get wrong you can end up in a freight dock of oil & gas freighters.

Your opinions welcomed

 

[DAKA]

The canals are not a problem but you need charts for the meres / Scheldes and preferably Radar.

We have had thick fog on the seine in August and most of Holland.

 

[sarabande]

I'd certainly support the choice of Tom Tom. I have the Rider version for the bike, and it's supposed to waterproof !

The European mapping is pretty damned good, and I guess down to 5 meters accuracy.

So with some paper charts as backup, I can't see the need for anything fancier; you can always turn the voice off...


Aren't there some stringent Dutch rules about as set of minimum paperwork and kit you have to keep on board, though ?

 

[saskia]

I tried my portable TomTom from the car on the boat this summer, and while it located me accurately in the middle of the river or on the canal, the irritating bossy person kept trying to get me to drive up the bank and safely back onto the road. I think a software upgrade would be required.

Best of luck though!

Nick

 

[Andrewells]

I have had my boat in Holland for a year and a half now and bought a handheld GPS to help get me there. I have not used it since as the local charts are sufficient. I have no other navigational equipment. Your skills will be pilotage.A vhf (hand held or fixed )can be useful to call bridgemasters.

 

[theguvnor]

thanks for the input gentlemen

I think I`ll demo one when I`m in Holloand again next week

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Maptech tried to flog me a Road Angel cross-over chartplotter/sat-nav at the show. Don't know if this would be any better. You could buy the marine charts later if you wanted I guess. I think Magellan and Garmin do a gadget that takes both charts and maps as well. You could have great fun adding 4knot speed camera warnings to the "accident black spot" database as well /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[miket]

We chartered a boat in Friesland earlier this year which was equipped with an excellent chartplotter showing even quite small canals, even if not navigable. Nice piece of kit, but I assumed it was standard chart plotter with Dutch Inland card.
To be honest I felt no need for the plotter having taken and/or been provided with charts. Even on the Meers the bouyage is so good that it is hard to go off track. Fog would be more problematic, but I wouldn't buy radar just in case!

 

[Dave_Seager]

I have used an old Garmin GPS III+ loaded with UK maps on the Thames quite successfully. It does not support marine charts but I can set up my own library of navigation marks and waypoints and found it useful for coastal work too.

I also have a more modern AyetoBe GPS for the car, with the usual facilities to work out routes and give directions. However, it assumes that I should always be on a road so if I take it on the river it shows my position as on the nearest road. The display options are limited and it is difficult to move the map around for planning. Also, it does not allow me to add waypoints or set up manual routes so it is quite limited off-road.

 

[boatone]

Laptop with handheld gps connected and Microsoft Autoroute software. Works most excellently on the Thames.