New chartplotter: touchscreen or touchscreen plus buttons?

[westhinder]

I’m looking around for a new chartplotter and wondering whether to opt for a touchscreen only version or a hybrid touchscreen/buttons one. It will be used under the sprayhood so will not get direct rain on it. My gut feeling says to retain the buttons for more accurate placing of waypoints etc. It will replace a Raymarine C120 classic and I will be keeping the same screen size.
I’d like to hear your views and above all, your experiences using both systems in anger.

 

[martyn78]

If you sail in cooler climes I would suggest 'touch and buttons'.
Wet gloves and a pure touchscreen are a bit clumsy, in my humble opinion.

 

[Minerva]

If my experience with tablets / phones when fingers are wet is anything to go by, buttons all the way!

 

[glynd]

Touchscreens hate the wet - ensure you have buttons, and if a touchscreen a way to lock it off to button only mode

 

[johnalison]

My e7 is some years old now and I use both the touch screen and the toggle/buttons. I haven’t tried it but I imagine that trying to insert waypoints or routes by finger could be very tiresome. Even bringing up a target on a congested screen is much easier by button.

 

[steveeasy]

I’ve messed about with my Vulcan 7 touch screen for years. Actually I hate it. Can never get it to scroll up or down. Buttons for me any day

 

[ithet]

So, here is my experience with a touch plus button Raymarine eS (previous model similar to Axiom). The buttons are a useful nice to have but I mainly use the touchscreen and could live without them. My screen rearly gets much water on it despite being quite flat on the wheel pedestal. Note that with Raymarine Axioms you can get the keypad as separate item.

Ps, in response to post above, I have no issues adding waypoints by touching a point on the screen, it's how I normally set the autopilot.

 

[jac]

Never used a touchscreen plotter - always been buttons. But from experience of using a tablet / phone with wet hands i personally would never buy a plotter that was touchscreen only. I can see they might be nice inside a big proper wheelhouse with heating etc but asking for trouble if being used in an area where wet / cold fingers may be used.

 

[Daverw]

Have both options, I use either for various stuff, zooming in and out the buttons, curser and info touch screen, would be lost without both options, especially in the cold with gloves

 

[westernman]

Buttons essential.
Touch screen nice to have.

 

[mainsail1]

I have an Raymarine Axiom Plotter with touch screen. There are all kinds of reasons why it is a bad idea on a small boat and if their plotter with buttons had back lighting for night use I would go for that. How a major supplier can do buttons with no back lighting is beyond me.

Touch screens are for a comfy desk ashore. Just one example of many problems......If the boat is bouncing around you can be sure that you will touch the screen in the wrong place and have to start again, maybe many times.

 

[mm42]

Touchscreen for dry days, their buttons panel for when it's getting wet. I work on open RHIBs in all weathers and the touchscreens don't like getting soaked, in particular you need a way to turn touch off.

 

[westhinder]

Thank you all, that looks like an overwhelming vote to retain the buttons. It confirms my instincts as well

 

[ChromeDome]

Like a spare wheel: Better to have and not need than the other way around

 

[Boathook]

I've got a touch screen and buttons / knob on my raymarine eS. Touch screen good in 'calm' weather but when rough buttons / knob get used. Having written the first bit, I do seem to use the rotary zoom quite a bit regardless of conditions.

 

[Sianna]

I have a Garmin Echomap 90, great unit but touchscreen only, in lumpy conditions I really do need buttons.

 

[Yealm]

I’ve got a cockpit based Garmin echomap with buttons which is great.

Things it sorely lacks though-

1) Rotary knob for zoom

2) Ability to reset trip (track, time, max speed etc) with a single button press- it takes about 15 presses in a complex sequence !

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Using a touchscreen outside in an open environment especially when a boat is at the mercy of the waves, can be difficult and frustrating. I have a new button only chartplotter and a touchscreen tablet, both in the cockpit.

 

[ashtead]

Touchscreen is useful for Identifying AIS target info quickly but you do sometimes to make a few stabs at it on screen I find. I wouldn’t be without nowadays and of course these raymarine es screens pair with your iPad etc so you can find a quiet spot under say the spray hood if needed to use remotely.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We have a Garmin touchscreen, fairly large. No issues, none at all, with using it in cold or wet conditions. However, in spite of appearances of our boat, it’s actually fairly dry in the cockpit, especially on the bulkhead where the plotter is mounted.