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[wheat]

G'day folkes I'm a newbie from downunder and pleased to be onboard. I am trying to solve my nav problems. I sail a 25' boat and have been looking at plotters. I can not afford a big unit and have been looking at a navman 5380 however it has a small screen and I am wary of trying to see enough detail on these units. My other option is to use a handheld GPS such as a Garmin 60 and use my paper charts. I would appreciate any thoughts on these or maybe someone has a better solution. Also if you have used the small plotters what do you think of the screen size. By the way its a great site and mag.
''Winkali''

 

[Channel Ribs]

G'day and welcome /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The eTrex Venture CX is a great pocket plotter, you can get very good map detail even though the screen is small and the battery life is ok even with the screen light on. They are good value too, I can PM you an export price if you like?

If you are after a compact but good fixed plotter, then the Standard Horizon CP-300i is excellent: bright screen, high resolution and well priced.

 

[aknight]

I sail a 21'10" yacht and use a Garmin 60Csx handheld, as well as paper charts opened and within easy reach just inside the companionway. I find the 60Csx absolutely fine in terms of screen resolution and detail, as long as you have the charts easily to hand to bolster your confidence.

I have debated installing a fixed chartplotter, but so far have opted to stay with the handheld. It's probably a purely personal thing, but I don't like having to concentrate on a chart display in a fixed place when I feel like I should be swivelling around looking for a mark or keeping a good lookout.

Screen size in my experience is important when using a fixed plotter, as it dictates how far away from the screen you can afford to be and still be able to see it in the required detail. A handheld doesn't suffer from that problem, as it is always right there with you.

I use the standard Garmin handlebar mount, screwed to the pushpit, as place to leave the Garmin when it's not needed. In general, if the Garmin is being used much, however, it lives in my packet.

Make sure you are happy with the mapping used for a given model. Garmin's Bluechart is pretty good but I do have a preference for the Navionics Gold used in, for example, the Raymarine RC400 handheld (now heavily discounted). The RC400 has more screen real estate, too. But it also burns through 4 AA batteries in 4 or 5 hours, whereas the Garmin uses 2 AA batteries in 14-15 hours. And the Garmin is awesome both at getting a fix in no time at all, and keeping it thereafter even below decks or in your pocket.

 

[jonjo]

Agree. Don't assume a plotter is best used in the hand just because it can be hand held. My Raymarine RC400 handheld is a far more useful device now that it is mounted for hands free viewing on the steering pedestal and hooked up the main boat power supply.

 

[DaveS]

I think that "best" choice between the various options is a bit of a personal thing, and IMHO depends a lot on the layout of your cockpit. I have tiller steering, and mostly sail single handed under Autohelm, so I normally sit towards the front of the cockpit. A plotter mounted at or above the companionway is easy to see and reach. I have a Navman 5500, but if the smaller (but more powerful) 5380 had been available then I would have bought it instead. Previously I used a Magellan 6000 which had an even smaller mono display, which I found tolerable.

I find the biggest advantage of the plotter is that it assists you to remain "orientated" in complicated situations, narrow passages, etc. Being able to quickly compare what is plotted with what is seen and confirm that they agree is enormously reassuring. For open waters navigation there is less advantage over paper charts, other than reducing the number of trips below which, if conditions are bumpy, may help to avoid sickness.

It goes without saying that you still need paper charts. They're much easier than a plotter to use for planning, and you need to cover the possibility of the electrics going down.

 

[CPD]

I use this type of system and am looking to fit he AIS option soon.

http://www.memory-map.com/index.html?http://www.memory-map.com/ais.htm

In the 2 years I have been using it, it has been nothing short of brilliant.

 

[DaveS]

That looks like a nice display. I know very little about these pocket PC systems. What charting software do they run? Are they waterproof?

 

[tarik]

Have read your reply, I am thinking about getting some sort of chart plotter system for my PC, I have an AIS engine which will be connected to it ,is the system used by you capable of being put onto my PC??


Sorry about sounding thick, I'm a bit of a dinosaur re computers etc.

Many thanks

David

 

[KREW2]

I will endorse the Ray Marine RC 400, it's very adaptable, it's good as a unit fixed and run off the boat batteries but, it is handy to be able to take it home, or just to unclip and take down below it will run off the cigar lighter or for 2/3 hours off its own batteries.

 

[Malcb]

I fully endorse what Dave S has said. I sail a 23 ft boat and have a Navman 5600 Chartplotter. It's fixed under the sprayhood so is viewable, in bright sunlight, from the cockpit.

I've just done a trip to Falmouth and back, single handed, and found it invaluable, for both plotting the passage and pilotage (which is wher it really comes into its own). It also feeds my Autohelm so they yacht will follow a course by adjusting XTE.

While going across Lyme Bay, I also maintained a paper chart down below, as I found that psychologically it helps when going across a large expanse of nothing to see the larger picture. Also a backup if the electrics went down.

I started with a Magellan Meridian, fixed to the bulkhead, but found the 2.5" screen too small for serious pilotage.

 

[Birdseye]

hello Newbie!

I'm a bit of a gadget freak and fairly technically minded, but I have yet to bother with a plotter. I might well take a different approach if I had to sail singlehanded, but at the moment I dont. So my crew / wife / master under god can keep wathc whilst I check the paper charts on the rare occasion I need to.

The reason I go this route is twofold. Firstly I would have to buy the paper charts anyway (only an idiot sails with electronics alone IMHO) and secondly long passages are boring and I need something to do. For pilotage, the aerial photos and the almanac are the answer.

For position fixing I use a fixed gps with a garmin handheld as back up. I navigate between waypoints taken off the chart using the track data and the bearing data, both rel;ayed to a display in the cockpit. TBH, I dont really see what I would gain from a chartplotter in my situation so I'd rather spend the money on things like epirbs, liferaft etc.


My answer would be different if I single handed or if I had a fast stinkie.

 

[pvb]

Plotters...

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Using a chartplotter can make sailing much less stressful, especially when you're short-handed. The Navman 5380 you mention does have a small screen, but importantly it has just the same resolution as the larger 5505 and 5605 models, so it really comes down to a question of how good your eyesight is! Resolution is the key to successful use of a chartplotter. I used a Navman 5600 for a couple of years, and found it a great bit of kit - very easy and intuitive to use, and very helpful when singlehanding. The 320x240 resolution was fine.

The eTrex Venture recommended by Malthouse isn't really a chartplotter, it has a tiny, low definition screen, and I think you'd struggle to use it sensibly at sea.

You could use a simple GPS and paper charts, but once you've used a chartplotter you really won't want to go back to those methods!

 

[ytd]

Re: Plotters...

the chartplotter is much more versatile than the handheld with paper charts. Things like finding an anchorage at night are much less stressful especially when there are reefs about. Because they are illuminated you are not struggling with a torch and chart in the cockpit trying to work out lights and watch depths. Also lots of info like tides that the handheld doesn't have.

We have a Navman 5500. A bigger screen would be nice and I am disapointed that it doesn't seem to have anywhere you can plug an external screen in.

 

[Guest]

Re: Plotters...

Tony ... if you want a good size screen then why not for the short time you need it - such as approaches to anchorages etc. - feed NMEA data to a Notebook Computer .... Seaclear or similar with a scanned area of the relevant ! Most of time can sit out of way PC switched off saving battery etc.

In fact any old Notebook will literally do it ... so if you have an old gash one sitting around that has at least Win 95 or later on ...

 

[Channel Ribs]

Re: Plotters...

[ QUOTE ]
The eTrex Venture recommended by Malthouse isn't really a chartplotter, it has a tiny, low definition screen, and I think you'd struggle to use it sensibly at sea.

[/ QUOTE ]

We all have our views and that is what makes discussion interesting. However, I can only imagine that you have not used one? I have done plenty of sea miles in a variety of boats and most recently in my Galion 22; with no other electronic navigation aid other than an eTrex and have not found it wanting.

Also bear in mind that the poster asked about handheld/pocket devices as well as 'proper' fixed plotters, which the eTrex most certainly qualifies as.

Finest regards,
Malty

 

[barnaclephill]

Welcome to the forum Winkali.

I sail a 26footer and use the handheld Garmin Etrex mostly. (I have a backup). The charts used are the chart compendiums published by Crawfords - I think. These are only about $62 and are for Apollo
Bay to Jervis Bay and the other edition from maybe Newcastle area to Hervey Bay maybe. They are essentially 7 years out of date but useful taken with precaution. Apart from a larger $30 chart for an unfamiliar destination, they are quite adequate although a bit on the small scale. I've used the Apollo Bay to Jervis edition for 3 years now, and printed from C-map when going to Deal Island. I have also anchored thrice on an ocean beach with only the compendium as a guide, and once just noted on the chart "7 miles south of here at XX time" when there was nothing to bump into south of Westernport.

So a handheld GPS and a chart compendium are adequate, but the more charts the merrier, as no doubt some might like to rebuke me for.

 

[RobinA]

I didn't see the need for a plotter, until one day returning from Calais. I sent my crrew down below to work out the bearing for the next leg - 5 minutes later he reappeared looking green and mumbling about being seasick. Now I have a Garmin 172 which I find to be invaluable. Whilst I wouldn't want to depend upon electronics, for the 99% of the time when they are working they enhance both enjoyment and safety.
A crew member who is both competent and willing to navigate is better than a plotter, but a plotter is likely to be more reliable.
Buy the best you can afford - you won't regret it.

 

[ashanta]

Then get a yeoman and continue to use the paper charts. You can switch off the yeoman and only use it when practising or s hort handed. I sail single handed 99% of the time and I really appreciate the simplicity of the yeoman doing more or less every thing that electronic plotter does but using paper charts.

 

[Guest]

But even with a Yoeman - RobinA would still have had his problem ...

I'll go with my Lowrance 3500C ....

 

[Marsupial]

Not with a Yeoman Sport, he could use it anywhere on the boat, and at home to plan waypoints.