30boat
N/A
I'd like plotter sometime in the near future.Don't want to spend a lot and already have AIS and Radar.A nice largish colour screen would be nice.Any recommendations?
Plotter advice
- Thread starter 30boat
- Start date
salar
Well-Known Member
Which AIS and which Radar? You can buy a plotter that can talk to other boxes. How much do you want to spend and how big a screen can you fit on your dashboard?
PhillM
Well-Known Member
Digital yacht IAis wifi thingy and an iPad?
I'm not a great electronics fan and I'm sure others will be along shortly to offer reasons why its a bad idea ...
But I have to say I'm becoming a fa not the iPad mini.
I'm not a great electronics fan and I'm sure others will be along shortly to offer reasons why its a bad idea ...
But I have to say I'm becoming a fa not the iPad mini.
30boat
N/A
I've avoided a Plotter until now but I'm beginning to think it might make things a lot easier for me.I have a stand alone Nasa AIS and a Furuno 1623 radar.Don't really need them in the plotter,too much to go wrong.
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
IMO you can't go far wrong with Standard Horizon.
I've been very happy with its functionality.
I've been very happy with its functionality.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I have a Lorenz only because I bought AIS & plotter together to avoid bother getting them to talk. I have resisted a plotter for years having a Yoeman, which i still prefer
I suggest you try to get a go of some plotters on other boats. I find using a plotter a real difference to charts. having to zoom in & out all the time is a pain. On a chart you can see the lot in one go. Plus chart notes are always on display. I do not like having to zoom in to see shipping lanes etc then out again to see the big picture. I have tiller steering & the plotter sits just behind the rudder stock so is harder to operate than a binacle mounted one as I have to keep looking back to see it. having it below on passage would be pointless
If you want to overlay the AIS get a look at how it is displayed on the screen. With my eyes I have a job to see the little triangles. The CPA & TCPA are a pain because they keep bleeping & displaying little cards on the screen right on the bit you want to see. The same with waypoints. It displays when you are near one & starts continuous annoying bleeping & you have to cancel it to see the full screen again.
A useful thing about my Lorenz is that it sits on a special power supply unit so I can have the plotter on deck or disconnect it easily & use below on a wandering lead. This means that down below it can be on the bulkhead or I can sit in the bunk & have it in front of me & plan a route in advance from the comfort of the cabin
Daylight visibility is not so good above deck & with my poor eyes I have to get close to read it. harder to see than a chart
This year i managed to hit a rock in Ardglass using the plotter. When I zoomed in as i went up the entry channel I suddenly realised that none of the buoys were displayed as max zoom when I had expected them to be shown.(the chart considered it a minor port so just showed an approx channel in straight lines) Unfortunately because I had not expected this I had no charts or Reeds on deck & being single handed I could not go below to get them.
Plotters are OK but I now find I have gone back to my Yoeman & use my GPS repeater on deck for general navigation coupled with Reeds for close pilotage
Finally i found after I had bought it that I must not get it wet !!! so i have to drop a tupperware box over it in rain or spray conditions. (A bit like my raymarine autopilot really. )
I suggest you try to get a go of some plotters on other boats. I find using a plotter a real difference to charts. having to zoom in & out all the time is a pain. On a chart you can see the lot in one go. Plus chart notes are always on display. I do not like having to zoom in to see shipping lanes etc then out again to see the big picture. I have tiller steering & the plotter sits just behind the rudder stock so is harder to operate than a binacle mounted one as I have to keep looking back to see it. having it below on passage would be pointless
If you want to overlay the AIS get a look at how it is displayed on the screen. With my eyes I have a job to see the little triangles. The CPA & TCPA are a pain because they keep bleeping & displaying little cards on the screen right on the bit you want to see. The same with waypoints. It displays when you are near one & starts continuous annoying bleeping & you have to cancel it to see the full screen again.
A useful thing about my Lorenz is that it sits on a special power supply unit so I can have the plotter on deck or disconnect it easily & use below on a wandering lead. This means that down below it can be on the bulkhead or I can sit in the bunk & have it in front of me & plan a route in advance from the comfort of the cabin
Daylight visibility is not so good above deck & with my poor eyes I have to get close to read it. harder to see than a chart
This year i managed to hit a rock in Ardglass using the plotter. When I zoomed in as i went up the entry channel I suddenly realised that none of the buoys were displayed as max zoom when I had expected them to be shown.(the chart considered it a minor port so just showed an approx channel in straight lines) Unfortunately because I had not expected this I had no charts or Reeds on deck & being single handed I could not go below to get them.
Plotters are OK but I now find I have gone back to my Yoeman & use my GPS repeater on deck for general navigation coupled with Reeds for close pilotage
Finally i found after I had bought it that I must not get it wet !!! so i have to drop a tupperware box over it in rain or spray conditions. (A bit like my raymarine autopilot really. )
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xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
+1 for a Standard Horizon, CP300i has it's own Ariel and works either down below or in the cockpit, also been very happy with mine.
Good company backup also.
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
We did 12,000 miles without a chart plotter you need to carry charts anyway as backup.
xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
Totally Agree the need for charts and also regular position updates.
I don't actually plot the positions but log them along with other relative data in a log book roughly on the hour, should the need arise to use them I have them to hand
I don't actually plot the positions but log them along with other relative data in a log book roughly on the hour, should the need arise to use them I have them to hand
webcraft
Well-Known Member
That's not what the OP was asking.
And chartplotters aren't very useful on ocean crossings, are they?
I've done over 20,000 miles without a chartplotter, but when I eventually got round to it the Garmin GPSMAP500 was the best bit of kit I have ever fitted.
It has made the last 5,000 or so miles a lot more relaxing and sometimes a lot more fun.
Very clear screen, no probs in bright sunlight, mounted in the cockpit with an internal aerial, has never lost the signal.
Had it five years now. You can interface AIS, but I haven't bothered so far.
- W
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I was recommended TIKI, he is a Norwegian who designed his own software, ( a long time sailor) following his being fed up with what was on offer from the big companies, that is almost having to do a course on how to navigate it before you can navigate with it.
His software is simple but very effective, really easy to use, it is used with Navionics, which you purchase independently, for me the better of the electronic charts. I have used it for 5 years now, my AIS receiver links to it, very pleased with it.
I have a laptop on which it runs, I bought it from a local computer repair man, he sells laptops he has refurbished or taken in and thoroughly checked out, (£50)
But whatever you run it on it is something I would recommend as a satisfied customer, and great personal customer service when required.
pvb
Well-Known Member
Go for the biggest screen you can easily fit in to whichever space you choose, and go for the best screen definition you can find - it makes the graphics crisper and easier to use.
Nothing much to choose between the main brands, Standard Horizon, Raymarine, Garmin. If you're buying new, there are deals on discontinued models. If you're buying used, there are often bargains to be had on eBay as people upgrade their systems.
Almost all recent plotters can take a radar input, so if/when your Furuno dies you could add a radome to the plotter.
Border Terrier
Well-Known Member
I have an Ipad mini which takes Navionics software. The only addition to the Ipad I might get is an 8inch daylight readable monitor at €450 on. http://www.xenarcdirect.com/802TSV.html
Nothing comes cheaps: except a lady budgie.
Nothing comes cheaps: except a lady budgie.
salar
Well-Known Member
Electronic navigation aids are becoming more and more important as safety devices and there are fatalities that come to mind that could have been avoided if electronic nav aids had been fitted and used. You still need to know how to navigate with charts of course. If you want to set yourself up for the 21st century, I would recommend you buy a chart plotter with the largest screen you can afford or have room for, preferably one that acts as a Multi Function Display (MFD) which will have proprietary, NMEA0183 and NMEA2000 network links. Over time, consider connecting your AIS or an AIS engine so approaching vessels are displayed on your plotter screen, with their MMSI number so you can call them. In the future when you replace your radar, you can buy a radome only and overlay radar onto your chart. If you buy all your units from the same manufacturer, it is guaranteed to work and there are additional features to make life easier. I have a Garmin GPSMap4008 (that model no longer manufactured) which is networked to the VHF radio, radar, AIS transponder, electronic compass, fishfinder/sounder and if I wanted to, even a deck camera. If my engine was more modern I could link that too, and see all engine instrumentation on the screen as well. A MFD is a great space saver, the alternative is a wall of screens you then have to overlay in your head.
The biggest advantage for me is speed - at any time you instantly know where you are, so no fumbling for charts and bearings when you suddenly realise the water is a lot shallower than it should be!
The biggest advantage for me is speed - at any time you instantly know where you are, so no fumbling for charts and bearings when you suddenly realise the water is a lot shallower than it should be!
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30boat
N/A
Tell me about it!!!
Border Terrier
Well-Known Member
Following from some of the responses, it sounds as if we are heading for coxless yachts!
Eyes, experience, judgement and charts, in that order?
Eyes, experience, judgement and charts, in that order?
30boat
N/A
I've been using paper charts forever and for many many years did without a GPS,I think a Plotter is a good aid to have,nothing more.
salar
Well-Known Member
Ditto, and no doubt the same for the crew of the Ouzo. Times change, we have better equipment available at low cost now so why not use it. We no longer wear a cork lifejacket or waxed oilskins, or rely on leadlines. Every technology shift in history had resistance. Just my opinion, as a traditionalist that came to his senses
30boat
N/A
Agree entirely.Ditto, and no doubt the same for the crew of the Ouzo. Times change, we have better equipment available at low cost now so why not use it. We no longer wear a cork lifejacket or waxed oilskins, or rely on leadlines. Every technology shift in history had resistance. Just my opinion, as a traditionalist that came to his senses
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
I am totally won over to electronic nav.
The only issue I have with a Multi Function Display is that it is 'all eggs in one basket'. I would want two!
The only issue I have with a Multi Function Display is that it is 'all eggs in one basket'. I would want two!
