Plotters - Cockpit or Chart Table?

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yachtorion

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After reading through the thread on the 451s I thought it might be interesting to have a thread dedicated to this question.

On my last boat, a Hurley 22 Club - a boat which had a different cabin layout to earlier Hurley 22s - I found that there wasn't good chart space below and that the only sane method of navigation was by plotter in the cockpit. On my new boat, a Horizon 26, I'm planning to install the plotter at the chart table and a Nasa repeated in the cockpit for CTS and XTE. But, I'm planning to have the plotter connected up via WiFi to a tablet computer in a waterproof bag that I can use in the cockpit to assist pilotage in unfamiliar or confined spaces.

I can see arguments on both sides....

At the chart table:
  • Easy to cross reference with paper.
  • Better protected
  • Reduce temptation to navigate solely by plotter.

In the cockpit:
  • Chart available without leaving the helm.
  • Alarms / AIS etc on deck.

And of course there are the hybrid solutions that try to combine the best of both by having the plotter swing between positions.

What have people chosen for their boat?
 
On my 22' I have the plotter, radar and handy things like knife, magnetic & digital HB compasses etc on a swinging panel at the main hatch, visible to the helmsman when it's swung out or handy by the paper chart table when swung in, also if it's really wet requiring full washboards; works well for me.
 
my plotter is down below but in a position where it can be seen from the helm. It would probably be better to have it up above so that you could fiddle with the settings but my boat has no space for that. I think there is only marginal use for a plotter down below as you really need it while on the move. A tablet is great for planning.
 
So far votes for having it in the cockpit then... but why? Why do we need it on the go rather than setting up a passage plan and following it?
 
I fabricated a bracket and had the local specialist make an extension to the instrument mount. Joined the two together and mounted our new Raymarine C70 at the helm. Ready made mount and fitting was over £260.00 plus vodka and tonic. Mine cost £37.00, including home made tamper proof screws.

It was the best place to put it.

I know for sure. First Mate told me that was where she wanted it..........................................
 
In a tiller-steered boat a cockpit chart plotter is difficult to organise except on a swinging panel as Seajet suggests. On our boat that would be difficult to arrange and is not an option that I would prefer. Our plotter is at the chart table with a data repeater in the cockpit showing COG, SOG, distance and bearing to waypoint. We have had this system for a very long time now but it does require me to plot a route for almost every trip to be useful. I would far prefer to plot a course below, and modify it en route if necessary, but of course this is not a singlehander operation.

The plotter is visible from the cockpit when on port tack but not on starboard unless sitting on the downwind side.

Last week I was on board a boat with twin wheels. This had the plotter on the outboard side of one wheel and the only instrument, cycling between speed/depth and wind, on the outboard side of the other. This struck us as being just about the most inefficient and cumbersome arrangement that we could think of.
 
Larger boat, but I went for under the spray hood - accessible to the helm and crew when they need it, not so accessible to the helm that they get fixated by it and play with it the whole time (that's me btw), protected by spray hood (but they're waterproof anyway). I can see little benefit in having them down below - I have a separate GPS down below for my hourly plot and longer term planning. Mines on a mount so I can take it below when we leave the boat.

Neil
 
My e7 is above my instrument hatchbox, so under the sprayhood, but removeable for security. It is easy to check whilst sailing. I am thinking about having another cable to the chart table so I can work on the e7 down below and then move it on deck. Alternatively I could use a laptop/tablet at the chart table and transfer information by wifi.
 
These posts are all interesting and give a diverse set of mounting options - but none explains WHY someone places a plotter in a particular location... could anyone give a bit more detail about why they chose to put the plotter where it is? I mean more detail than something like it being to hand - why do you need a plotter to hand? Why isn't it much use if it's installed below? What do you plan to do with it that makes a particular place more effective?

I pretty much envisage using the plotter on my Horizon to plot a course, cross checking with the paper chart and comparing the two, then use it for AIS alarms and as a feed to a GPS repeater for steering. Though a tablet will be there when I want AIS or a chart in the cockpit, mainly pilotage in busy/confined spaces.
 
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yachtailsa said:
These posts are all interesting - but none explains WHY someone places a plotter in a particular location... could anyone give a bit more detail about why they chose to put the plotter where it is? I mean more detail than something like it being to hand - why do you need a plotter to hand? Why isn't it much use if it's installed below? What do you plan to do with it that makes a particular place more effective?
Click to expand...

Having the plotter in the cockpit allows helm and crew to access it easily. If it's interfaced with radar, it pretty much has to be in the cockpit if it's to be of real use. When singlehanded or shorthanded, having the plotter in the cockpit is a definite boon. Some people think that there's a security issue with having the plotter in the cockpit, but it can either be fairly securely fixed in a pod, or removed quickly from a trunnion mount to store below. Some people say that route planning is easier with the plotter down below; I find that it's so quick and easy to enter waypoints and plan routes that doing it in the cockpit is no hardship.
 
It really is a matter of personal choice as to what suits you and your way of navigating - plus of course the physical limitations of your boat. I prefer planning and checking progress using a combination of PC and paper at chart table and a simple plotter at wheel with GPS/Speed/Waypoints at helm (binnacle for wheel steering and bulkhead for tiller), also used for pilotage. Partly this choice is the result of buying different equipment at different times, and probably if buying now I would probably look at something different, although the functionality i have with my mixed system works well enough.
 
Ok so this is what I did with my ipad this summer. Sat at home in the warm and dry and plotted the route via waypoints, paper charts by my side. Set off on the boat and the ipad gave me a course to steer and a track. It also told me speed over the ground. Followed the waypoints and arrived at my destination. When at home I could follow the track with speed, distance etc.
When sailing locally it was useful to be able to look at it and follow a course up a shallow creek and know that you were in the middle of it. Also when on passage and my crew steered the wrong course because the skipper was sitting in front of the compass while eating his sandwiches and we got a bit lost we were quickly able to find where we were and steer a new course by picking up the ipad.
For me, especially when sailing singlehanded, the plotter needs to be in the cockpit where I am so that I can see it. Of course, it doesn't replace the Mk. 1 eyeball.
 
Well mine is installed below because it was really the only place for it and it can be seen from the helm. The things I have noticed that make its position problematic are:

Alarms; AIS etc need someone to pop below to turn off
Lights at night; it is nice to be able to check on the characteristics of lights to confirm position but that requires touching the screen
Scale; Sometimes the scale needs changed for particular tricky bits such as harbours and channels
Tides; No matter how much planning I do I always end up double checking on the plotter what the tides are doing when arriving at destinations.
AIS targets; I like to have a quick glance at what they are up to and when we are going to collide
Radar: turning on and adjusting scale and screen settings


Essentially I normally have a vague plan and a plotter course but have to send someone down below about 5 to 10 times in a trip to press buttons. I hear some of the more modern stuff could probably be controlled from an ipad. I often use my iphone in the cockpit with navionics simply to get at a bit of detail without sending someone below.
 
I think it's worth splitting the "cockpit" option into two sub-options. One is directly in front of the helmsman, for example on a binnacle in front of a wheel, the other is at the front of the cockpit, for example under the sprayhood. Obviously not all boats allow a choice, particularly if tiller steered.

I'm very much in favour of the "sprayhood" option. It doesn't conflate the "skipper" and "helmsman" roles, but it allows the skipper to pilot the yacht with a good view of the surroundings. If the plotter is also the radar and AIS display, as is more or less inevitable with modern kit, then being able to combine it with a visual lookout is even more important.

Because I was redesigning Ariam's layout with a variety of instruments she and I already had, I've ended up with quite a complete system which I think is the best of all three options.

At the chart table, I have a Yeoman plotter so that navigation with paper charts is quick and easy. Also a Seatalk repeater for easily recording course and log readings against fixes. This is what I use on passage, eg cross-Channel. The Yeoman has its own Garmin 128 GPS, which talks to a repeater on deck, so if I want to I can put in waypoints and keep an eye on their distance and bearing from the cockpit. I used to do this more often before I had the main plotter on deck, but not so much any more.

At the front of the cockpit, I have the main plotter (Raymarine C70). This is how I generally operate coastally, making heavy use of the predicted track line rather than calculating a course to steer the old-fashioned way. It's also where I do traffic avoidance from in the middle of the Channel, because I have radar, AIS and compass-binoculars all close at hand. The AIS is a separate Vesper Watchmate screen on the opposite side of the companionway, because its alarm filters and info displays are far more sophisticated than the C70's. I have a wireless autopilot controller which is kept here when under way, so I can do simple course corrections if the pilot is steering (and of course if someone else is steering I can just talk to them!)

At the binnacle I have a tiny Lowrance plotter. It doesn't interface to anything else and it doesn't really have any clever functions beyond displaying an arrow on a chart and zooming in and out. It's usually turned off, but when I'm steering the boat up an unfamiliar harbour I turn it on to help with pilotage. If my crew are milling around stowing the sails and getting out warps and fenders, it's easier to see than the main plotter at the front of the cockpit, and I can reach it to zoom and pan if needed. Also on the binnacle I have the main autopilot control, and I have this configured so it can be used as a depth repeater too if people keep standing in front of the main depth display (above the hatch) in shallow waters.

Pete
 
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yachtailsa said:
These posts are all interesting and give a diverse set of mounting options - but none explains WHY someone places a plotter in a particular location.

I pretty much envisage using the plotter on my Horizon to plot a course, cross checking with the paper chart and comparing the two, then use it for AIS alarms and as a feed to a GPS repeater for steering. Though a tablet will be there when I want AIS or a chart in the cockpit, mainly pilotage in busy/confined spaces.
Click to expand...


Not true-I said EXACTLY why mine is at the helm-that is where First Mate-who is IC steering when entering or leaving port-wanted it!

You say you envisage using your plotter in a particular way, which suggests, as does your post, that you have not used it yet.

I suspect, like us, you will use it in a different way to that which you envisage.

A good plotter is a very usefull tool, and has a multitude of functions. We only use a fraction of what is available, but make full use of what we need-or believe we need.

We are religous in marking positions on the chart at sensible intervals-if the kit goes wrong we shall at least know where we were........................
 
rotrax said:
Not true-I said EXACTLY why mine is at the helm-that is where First Mate-who is IC steering when entering or leaving port-wanted it!
Click to expand...
Fair point :)

You say you envisage using your plotter in a particular way, which suggests, as does your post, that you have not used it yet.

I suspect, like us, you will use it in a different way to that which you envisage.

A good plotter is a very usefull tool, and has a multitude of functions. We only use a fraction of what is available, but make full use of what we need-or believe we need.

We are religous in marking positions on the chart at sensible intervals-if the kit goes wrong we shall at least know where we were........................
Click to expand...

You're right - I used a Garmin 551 extensively on my previous boat. It was cockpit mounted. I haven't had Ailsa out at sea yet or even finished the restoration work, so it's hypothetical for her. This thread is actually making me think again. I might stick the plotter under the sprayhood and mount the tablet on a clip-in bulkhead mount at the chart table.
 
I think the under-sprayhood location is ideal. I had the plotter (12" Raymarine) under the sprayhood on my old boat, and it was great. Very convenient, could be seen from the helm or the cockpit seats. And I could shelter under the sprayhood in filthy weather and steer by autopilot.

With my new boat, the plotter (8" Garmin) is set in the back of the cockpit table, so only visible from the wheels. Not quite as convenient.
 
I fitted mine in the cockpit bulkhead just to the side of the companion way, so easily visible from the tiller and by other crew. If I had wheel steering it would be on the binnacle. When I fitted it, I was worried about access at the chart table so I installed cable options to link laptop or tablet at the chart table, I have never used that option, I have found that the charts are easier to use when planning down below particularly when by committee as they are bigger. But use the chart plotter all the time from the cockpit. No brainer to me
 
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