navigating single handed

[Birdseye]

My new to me boat is a small 29ft tiller steered fitted with older Raymarine kit, all fully working. The plotter is below deck as is the engine starter etc but the pilot control is on the bridge. The pilot will handle the boat unless the conditions become boisterous when there is a conflict between me needing to go below to navigate etc and needing to be on the helm to steer.

I dont want to rip out perfectly functional Raymarine kit so the question is whether there are remote aadd ons for the present kit which allow operation from the cockpit. If I just bought a modern plotter would it integrate with the older NMEA 0183 / Seatalk kit?

On previous boats I have played about with Ipads etc but never been happy with them so I dont want to go down that route

 

[johnalison]

A modern plotter will operate from a tablet, as mine does, but these can be hard to read in sunlight. Although I have a tablet connected to the plotter, I mainly rely on a Raymarine Graphic Repeater viewable from the helm.. This will display up to four items of data, which I can tailor to my needs. My usual display is DTW, bearing to Waypoint, COG & SOG. With a route set up, this is all the information I need for a day's passage.

 

[Sandy]

No problem with your current setup. I use a notebook at the helm. Do my planning on the charts below. Write up/rough diagram in the notebook and off we go. It is a bit like an extended pilotage plan, e.g. leave SWM course of 060° for 3 hours, when XXX point is 090° to port 020° for 2 hours. W cardinal then 000° until you pick up the SWM.

If you have a SmartPhone get one of the apps that give you lat and long and you can write down position reports at intervals.

Take a look at my profile picture and on my right thigh pocket is my notebook and SmartPhone.

 

[R.Ems]

My new to me boat is a small 29ft tiller steered fitted with older Raymarine kit, all fully working. The plotter is below deck as is the engine starter etc but the pilot control is on the bridge. The pilot will handle the boat unless the conditions become boisterous when there is a conflict between me needing to go below to navigate etc and needing to be on the helm to steer.

I dont want to rip out perfectly functional Raymarine kit so the question is whether there are remote aadd ons for the present kit which allow operation from the cockpit. If I just bought a modern plotter would it integrate with the older NMEA 0183 / Seatalk kit?

On previous boats I have played about with Ipads etc but never been happy with them so I dont want to go down that route

Instead of ripping out your Raymarine gear, try heaving to!

 

[capnsensible]

Heave to. Navigate. Carry on.

 

[johnalison]

Heave to. Navigate. Carry on.

Therein lies the way to a meal ejected over the side.

 

[Sandy]

Don't forget to invest in a pee bottle.

 

[Poignard]

Don't forget to invest in a pee bottle.

Or a large funnel inserted in one of ye cockpit scuppers.

 

[Birdseye]

Instead of ripping out your Raymarine gear, try heaving to!

A fair comment but the boat is so new to me that I havent yet discovered if it will heave too like my last boat did. Thats for the next sail.

But most suggestions are missing the point. The combination of sunlight, ageing eyesight, short stubby fingers and the need for a waterproof cover make using a tablet very much a second class option. Back to the original question - does anyone know if a modern Raymarine plotter, which I could mount on deck, will intergrate with the older Seatalk kit including radar, pilot and plotter etc? In other words can I just add one bit to the system of is it all or nothing?

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Alternatively, you can use Navionics on your mobile phone. Always up to date, mobiles can be seen even in strong sunlight, small enough to put into pocket and big enough to navigate, Navionics can be used on various devices/tablets simultaneously. No need to go down below.

 

[Yealm]

A fair comment but the boat is so new to me that I havent yet discovered if it will heave too like my last boat did. Thats for the next sail.

But most suggestions are missing the point. The combination of sunlight, ageing eyesight, short stubby fingers and the need for a waterproof cover make using a tablet very much a second class option. Back to the original question - does anyone know if a modern Raymarine plotter, which I could mount on deck, will intergrate with the older Seatalk kit including radar, pilot and plotter etc? In other words can I just add one bit to the system of is it all or nothing?

I’m pretty sure you can everything talking to each other ok - I did similar a few years ago. Might need a NMEA converter too?

 

[Poignard]

I don't have a chart plotter but if I did, I would want it accessible from both cockpit and chart table. Either on a hinged bracket or a detachable bracket. There have been threads with examples in the past.

I take it your reluctance to rip out the existing chart plotter is because it is neatly installed in a panel and moving it would leave a hole and necessitate re-routing some cables. If that is the reason, I would rather do that than add complexity with more electronics.

But that's just the opinion of someone who generally prefers simple solutions (but does not always achieve them )

 

[Tranona]

The answer to your question depends on the model of Raymarine you have. The simple thing to do might be move the current plotter to the cockpit and use a tablet down below for planning. This is the most common way to do it now, made easier by modern plotters having wifi so the tablet can connect actively with the main plotter. You can connect Seatalk to NMEA 2000 or the latest Seatalk with a converter. If everything else is still working OK then probably a new Raymarine plotter in the cockpit is worth looking at. Time to talk to a good dealer/installer about the possibilities.

 

[Lightwave395]

Buy yourself a cheap older Raymarine plotter for a couple of hundred quids and plug it into the seatalk network you have ?

Raymarine C70 Classic Charplotter Suncover Power Cable Instructions | eBay

 

[johnalison]

A fair comment but the boat is so new to me that I havent yet discovered if it will heave too like my last boat did. Thats for the next sail.

But most suggestions are missing the point. The combination of sunlight, ageing eyesight, short stubby fingers and the need for a waterproof cover make using a tablet very much a second class option. Back to the original question - does anyone know if a modern Raymarine plotter, which I could mount on deck, will intergrate with the older Seatalk kit including radar, pilot and plotter etc? In other words can I just add one bit to the system of is it all or nothing?

I refer you to my suggestion of a repeater. Mine cost about £400 when I bought it 20 yrs ago, but although pricy, it sits neatly with the other instruments and doesn't need to be touched if you set up a route, other than to cancel the obligatory waypoint alarms. You don't need to heave to if you have an autopilot. I'm not saying this is the only solution, but it suits me. If you didn't live in Wales you would be welcome to come and play with mine.

 

[steveeasy]

Even on a small boat one in the cockpit is more practical. can check tides and sort routes , I built a case and can remove the unit easily. very bright and clear.
Steveeasy

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

A fair comment but the boat is so new to me that I havent yet discovered if it will heave too like my last boat did. Thats for the next sail.

But most suggestions are missing the point. The combination of sunlight, ageing eyesight, short stubby fingers and the need for a waterproof cover make using a tablet very much a second class option. Back to the original question - does anyone know if a modern Raymarine plotter, which I could mount on deck, will intergrate with the older Seatalk kit including radar, pilot and plotter etc? In other words can I just add one bit to the system of is it all or nothing?

Yes, components are available to integrate the different protocols.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I refer you to my suggestion of a repeater. Mine cost about £400 when I bought it 20 yrs ago, but although pricy, it sits neatly with the other instruments and doesn't need to be touched if you set up a route, other than to cancel the obligatory waypoint alarms. You don't need to heave to if you have an autopilot. I'm not saying this is the only solution, but it suits me. If you didn't live in Wales you would be welcome to come and play with mine.

What's wrong with Welsh people??

 

[Yealm]

I stuck one in the bulkhead - love it. Tip - get one with buttons, not touch screen

 

[LittleSister]

Why not just move your existing plotter to the cockpit (by running a new cable). It's far more use there than below.

Or as a 'de luxe' version, have cables and plug to both positions, buy or make yourself an additional mounting bracket, and you can move it to whichever position you want to use it.

When I first got a plotter, I mounted it 'temporarily' next to the boat's companionway hatch, connected by a cable run up through an open ventilator adjacent. It was so practical it stayed like that for years, and I never did set up anything more glamorous. I could disconnect the plotter and put it below to avoid its theft when I left the boat (I also withdrew the cable below to avoid the ill effects of rain and dirt on the exposed plug terminals).

If I needed it to look at it for navigation when not underway, I simply went into the cockpit (though I found it easier to mainly use paper charts for passage planning), except for a couple of occasions when it was tipping it down with rain, when I simply withdrew the lead through ventilator and plugged the plotter in below.

But most suggestions are missing the point. The combination of sunlight, ageing eyesight, short stubby fingers and the need for a waterproof cover make using a tablet very much a second class option.

Long before I had a plotter, on passages outside my normal stomping grounds, I would make a short list (in big letters) of key navigation points (course and clearing bearings, buoy names, lighthouse characteristics, etc) in pencil on the bulkhead next to the companionway - i.e. right in front of me in the cockpit, including when I was on the tiller. After the passage I would clean it off using Jif or similar. (Though after a couple of more notable passages - solo to Scilly Isles, or Brittany I left the notes up for a while as a souvenir!)

Those notes were only to simplify matters in case I was under pressure, or very tired, at critical moments, as in those days I did almost all my nav with a paper charts in a waterproof chart holder on my knees.

Waterproof notebooks (the non-electronic variety) are available. You don't need to struggle with hard to read screens and trackpads hard to operate with cold wet fingers!