Plotter in front of the wheel distracts novices

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scottie

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Have done some cruising with novices I have noticed that because our plotter is mounted directly in front of the wheel they spend too much time looking at the plotter and fidling with it rather than the sails course etc to such an extent that I am tempted to switch it off as being too distracting .
We sail on the Clyde so until they removed the chimney under normal conditions the plotter is overkill .
This was reinforced when a friend who had not sailed for some time but learned to sail pre electronic was helping and never even noticed the plotter was not switched on.
Is this a symptom of the screen age?
 
I used to have the same problem teaching people to drive the rib in my old dive club. That had a steering pedestal and a chart plotter right in front of the wheel and persuading people to stop looking at it and look up to spot the pot buoys they were about to run over was a constant challenge. I did resort to turning it off a few times but once got a DSC mayday call. There wasn't anything to write on immediately handy, or a paper chart which meant it took quite a few minutes to work out where the mayday was (where as usually it would pop up on the plotter). Turned out it was 20 miles away but the experience made me decide that I should leave the plotter on and just spin the display round or cover it up if I wanted to make the point to a trainee boat cox.
 
Isn't it just a sign of progress...

What would a sailor from 200 years ago think of you with your fancy compasses and printed maps on paper!!!..
Progress happens, and the old timers always complain about the fancy schmancy tools. :-)

I still agree in some ways, like using your eyes as well as the plotter, but I get frustrated with the usual old argument about modern technology in all walks of daily life...
 
scottie said:
Have done some cruising with novices I have noticed that because our plotter is mounted directly in front of the wheel they spend too much time looking at the plotter and fidling with it rather than the sails course etc to such an extent that I am tempted to switch it off as being too distracting .
We sail on the Clyde so until they removed the chimney under normal conditions the plotter is overkill .
This was reinforced when a friend who had not sailed for some time but learned to sail pre electronic was helping and never even noticed the plotter was not switched on.
Is this a symptom of the screen age?
Click to expand...
I think plotters at the helm are a very mixed blessing. Very useful no doubt when sailing short- or single-handed but in my view they also serve to confuse the issue of distiction between 'in control' and 'on the helm'. In our boat we make a sharp distinction between the two and it is made very clear to the helmsperson that their job is to 'just effing steer', and not to try to make decisions about avoiding obstructions or other vessels. Having a plotter at the helm means the helmsperson is the only person with a clear view of same and therefore makes them feel they must be 'in charge'. What it must be like for a novice I can only try to imagine but I can't see that it can be helpful.
 
It's not just novices! And it's much worse after dark,because you can't dim a plotter screen such that it doesn't harm peoples' night vision at all.
It boils my p1ss when someone comes up for their watch at night,and immediately shoves their face in the screen and starts fiddling with AIS knobs or whatever.
I normally come on deck at night with a towel or a cereal box to cover the poxy things up and get my night vision,they are there to consult occasionally not hypnotize like Eastenders destroying all situational awareness and night vision.
Bad viz excepted of course. That's off my chest now,don't bother disagreeing,cheers Jerry.
 
I agree, I wouldn't want the plotter right in front of the helm, just too tempting to fixate on.

If it has to be there, I wonder if a computer monitor screen - or several - might knock down the brilliance at night ?
 
Seajet said:
I agree, I wouldn't want the plotter right in front of the helm, just too tempting to fixate on.

If it has to be there, I wonder if a computer monitor screen - or several - might knock down the brilliance at night ?
Click to expand...
Some skippers like to sail a "Games machine". i prefer a good reliable autohelm, i spend most time underway in front of the wheel.
 
Bob Griffith wrote the same in his book "Blue Water". He was talking about the compass however ;)
You can always tell if somebody learned sailing on a dinghy or not.
 
KenMcCulloch said:
I think plotters at the helm are a very mixed blessing. Very useful no doubt when sailing short- or single-handed but in my view they also serve to confuse the issue of distiction between 'in control' and 'on the helm'. In our boat we make a sharp distinction between the two and it is made very clear to the helmsperson that their job is to 'just effing steer', and not to try to make decisions about avoiding obstructions or other vessels. Having a plotter at the helm means the helmsperson is the only person with a clear view of same and therefore makes them feel they must be 'in charge'. What it must be like for a novice I can only try to imagine but I can't see that it can be helpful.
Click to expand...

jerrytug said:
It's not just novices! And it's much worse after dark,because you can't dim a plotter screen such that it doesn't harm peoples' night vision at all.
It boils my p1ss when someone comes up for their watch at night,and immediately shoves their face in the screen and starts fiddling with AIS knobs or whatever.
I normally come on deck at night with a towel or a cereal box to cover the poxy things up and get my night vision,they are there to consult occasionally not hypnotize like Eastenders destroying all situational awareness and night vision.
Bad viz excepted of course. That's off my chest now,don't bother disagreeing,cheers Jerry.
Click to expand...

Quoted in full, because I agree with all of this - including the observation that plotters at the helm are useful in certain circumstances.

My plan for Ariam is to have the existing Raymarine radar / plotter at the front of the cockpit, so that in inshore waters everybody (in particular the skipper) can see it regardless of who is steering - including George the autopilot. Offshore, it's likely to be turned off or in radar mode, because I prefer to use charts at the chart table. However, I also plan to put a small and basic plotter on the binnacle (which is reasonably low and compact, not one of those enormous sweeping dashboards you get on some more modern yachts) for use when coming into an unfamiliar harbour. I've too often been tied to the helm but dying to get down below and check the chart and pilot book, unable to hand over because everyone else is busy stowing sails etc. If I could have turned on a plotter in front of me, it would have saved a lot of anxiety. I've simulated it a couple of times this season with an iPhone showing Navionics balanced in a cupholder, and it works well.

Pete
 
My daughter works with a sail training charity. The boat they use has a large, sophisticated plotter in front of the wheel. They sail with all sorts of disadvantaged and challenged kids.

She has told me that on several occasions that their attempts to get the crew helming have been frustrated by the plotter. Dyslexia and poor numeracy scare people off. Pointing at an intimidating 10 inch screen and saying "Keep it close to 276 degrees" is largely incomprehensible to a novice while it seems like cheating to an experienced yachtsman. "Keep the lighthouse between those two wires" makes much more sense. Sailing in Lake Solent they generally place a towel over the plotter.

So why not turn the plotter off? Apparently, it's quicker to remove the towel than reboot the plotter if you need it!
 
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We have a Raymarine c70 chartplotter by the wheel. It is VERY useful there. Surely it would be more of a distraction to have to pop into the saloon to check the chart?
At night all the instruments are set to dim and any interior light to red.
It is more important to educate the helmsman to only use the chartplotter as a backup for proper visual pilotage.
When I have a helmsman taking more notice of the chartplotter than of my instructions of where to sail, they get a thorough telling off .... and if they persist, removal from the helm.
I even had occasion to remind the helmsman to get of their arse .... nice comfortable helm seat .... and look around at where they were going (there was no way they could see forward of the genoa from where they were seated).
 
Every plotter I've ever used can be dimmed to the point of appearing to be switched off in daylight, and to a barely decipherable dim glow at night.

So, no need to turn it off and lose position data for the VHF, the MOB button, etc. Just dim it.
 
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