HoratioHB
Well-Known Member
Horses for whatnots old chap, if just you and SWMBO live on your boat and make regular long passages, then trust me not having to steer all the time is a bonus. Doesn't stop it being fun!!!
Plotter: at wheel or chart table?
- Thread starter biscuit
- Start date
Horses for whatnots old chap, if just you and SWMBO live on your boat and make regular long passages, then trust me not having to steer all the time is a bonus. Doesn't stop it being fun!!!
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
It also is rather boring to steer long distances under motor; unfortunately a necessity occasionally if the wind doesn't blow and you need to be elsewhere by a specified time! I usually steer by hand under sail (unless I need to do sail handling or whatever) and on the tiller-pilot under engine - when I don't need to worry about power consumption, either!
snooks
Well-Known Member
Can't say i've had the privilege of trying a touchscreen chart plotter yet. Do they make them work like the iphone yet? How easy would selecting, scrolling and zooming be then?
Scrolling is the same as an iPhone, touch your finger on the screen and drag it around, zooming you just press +/- on the screen and selecting is just tapping the screen once.
Putting a VRM or EBL on the radar, just by moving your finger around is liberating compared to chasing the target with 4 button pad
The only problem with using an iPhone is that you can't understand why nothing else works in the same way
It's the same going from my touch screen plotter to one with buttons...I can't understand why nothing is happening when I'm touching the screen
...This gets worse when I see a Garmin instrument that has the same screen, but uses buttonsEx-SolentBoy
Well-Known Member
Scrolling is the same as an iPhone, touch your finger on the screen and drag it around, zooming you just press +/- on the screen and selecting is just tapping the screen once.
Putting a VRM or EBL on the radar, just by moving your finger around is liberating compared to chasing the target with 4 button pad
The only problem with using an iPhone is that you can't understand why nothing else works in the same way
It's the same going from my touch screen plotter to one with buttons...I can't understand why nothing is happening when I'm touching the screen
Having just spent a week sailing with a new Garmin touch screen I am of the opinion that it is the best solution.
HOWEVER, you do have to take of your gloves to use it, which at this time of the year is less than fun if you are outdoors and there is ice on the side-deck.
Ex-SolentBoy
Well-Known Member
Sorry, missed the original question.
I am a firm advocate of the 2 plotter system. There are good reasons for having them in each individual place, so as long as its not a £ issue - go for it. I personally would rather have 2 cheap plotters than one expensive one.
I am also a big Iphone/Ipad/Mac fan but trust my life to one of those things - definitely not unless I have to.
Sybarite
Well-Known Member
By preference I would too but the thought of leaving expensive gear outside chills me. The ideal for me would be a covered helming and piloting position such as in a Salar 40.
snooks
Well-Known Member
I can use mine with gloves, but they are wearing a bit thin
I've also got a wifi remote for mine (I got it to do screen dumps) So I can work ours with gloves on from the other side of the cockpit if I want to...It's very lazy I know, but, sailing shouldn't be hard work...Should it?
Miles
Active Member
Lots of great comments in this thread and the number of posts makes me wonder whether there is a case for a forum devoted to the art and science of marine electronics.
FWIW ten years ago on my first boat I had the (radar) chart plotter at the chart table and a Raymarine Multi at the wheel. The logic was that for pilotage I would always have pilotage notes written on paper and paper charts and pilot guides to hand and would use the chart plotter mainly for passage planning or whilst on passage Generally this worked well. The Multi made way for the Graphic which had a small rolling road/ XTE display which the Multi lacked. I also had a laptop pc at the chart table as backup for what was mostly Raymarine gear.
I have a new boat in build at present and the solution today is very different from ten years ago. So what has changed ?
1. AIS. IMHO this is of great value though not perfect. It is surely better to have it visible from the cockpit/wheel than down below.
2. Evolution to longer passages and more adventurous sailing. There have been times in bad weather where no-one has wanted to go down below to work at the chart table for fear of sickness or perhaps lack of confidence in the electronics set-up. Mainly my fault as I hadn't taken enough time to train up up members of the crew on a system which was felt to be complex to understand and use.
3. Raymarine products proved unreliable and too often faulty. Raymarine service also seemed to have worsened as the company headed for the rocks.
So the theory which is yet to be tested in real life will see a chart plotter in the cockpit which will show AIS data where it is needed and will I hope encourage greater crew involvement in the navigation and pilotage especially in poor weather. There will be a pc at the chart table for passage planning, weather, internet etc. The chart plotter in the cockpit has a DVI output so that it can drive a pc display at the chart table if necessary whilst the pc itself is switched off.
Fact rather than theory: The new boat (sadly after 10 years of experience with their products) will be a Raymarine-free zone.
FWIW ten years ago on my first boat I had the (radar) chart plotter at the chart table and a Raymarine Multi at the wheel. The logic was that for pilotage I would always have pilotage notes written on paper and paper charts and pilot guides to hand and would use the chart plotter mainly for passage planning or whilst on passage Generally this worked well. The Multi made way for the Graphic which had a small rolling road/ XTE display which the Multi lacked. I also had a laptop pc at the chart table as backup for what was mostly Raymarine gear.
I have a new boat in build at present and the solution today is very different from ten years ago. So what has changed ?
1. AIS. IMHO this is of great value though not perfect. It is surely better to have it visible from the cockpit/wheel than down below.
2. Evolution to longer passages and more adventurous sailing. There have been times in bad weather where no-one has wanted to go down below to work at the chart table for fear of sickness or perhaps lack of confidence in the electronics set-up. Mainly my fault as I hadn't taken enough time to train up up members of the crew on a system which was felt to be complex to understand and use.
3. Raymarine products proved unreliable and too often faulty. Raymarine service also seemed to have worsened as the company headed for the rocks.
So the theory which is yet to be tested in real life will see a chart plotter in the cockpit which will show AIS data where it is needed and will I hope encourage greater crew involvement in the navigation and pilotage especially in poor weather. There will be a pc at the chart table for passage planning, weather, internet etc. The chart plotter in the cockpit has a DVI output so that it can drive a pc display at the chart table if necessary whilst the pc itself is switched off.
Fact rather than theory: The new boat (sadly after 10 years of experience with their products) will be a Raymarine-free zone.