JayBee
Member
I don't need that either. I use it to display GPS info with the chartplotter function almost never used - very small screen.
Siting a chart plotter
- Thread starter davidivorwynphillips
- Start date
I don't need that either. I use it to display GPS info with the chartplotter function almost never used - very small screen.
FullCircle
Well-known member
No, but you wasted your money.
Buy a 2 quid watch if you are going to take it off.
My chartplotter has been in the cockpit 7 years without failure , in all weathers. It has a rather faded cover, but it is fixed and cant be removed.
I can't get my boat into a cupboard, which makes it cold to work on in the winter.
JayBee
Member
It is a 2 quid watch. Some of these claim to be waterproof, but I am not 100% convinced.
FullCircle
Well-known member
Its not really a 100m watch then?
Simondjuk
Active member
You make tea while the autopilot and plotter do the pilotage?
Simondjuk
Active member
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't really see the point of a chart plotter in the cockpit.
They, or the charts, or the changing geography mean they are not reliable enough to be trusted for pilotage. I've seen the boat icon placed on the shore, sandbanks, rocks, and numerous other places it shouldn't be when I know from transits and soundings that I'm actually where I want to be. Had I put the icon in the right place on the chartplotter, I'd not have been where I wanted to be, possibly aground.
Using them for passage making doesn't make sense as if you follow the line or just aim at the waypoint, you sail far less efficiently than if you sail a calculated course to steer.
If I'm not using it at either of those times, which leaves little else, then what's the benefit of having it in the cockpit?
What am I missing?
They, or the charts, or the changing geography mean they are not reliable enough to be trusted for pilotage. I've seen the boat icon placed on the shore, sandbanks, rocks, and numerous other places it shouldn't be when I know from transits and soundings that I'm actually where I want to be. Had I put the icon in the right place on the chartplotter, I'd not have been where I wanted to be, possibly aground.
Using them for passage making doesn't make sense as if you follow the line or just aim at the waypoint, you sail far less efficiently than if you sail a calculated course to steer.
If I'm not using it at either of those times, which leaves little else, then what's the benefit of having it in the cockpit?
What am I missing?
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Heckler
Active member
+1, coming around St Davids head, ramsey sound etc, why keep popping below to check the plotter when I can watch it from the wheel!
Stu
johnphilip
Well-known member
Naffpod
Try this for a home made version of a pod. Hardwood strips biscuit jointed together to form fascia and a waterproof electric box with the bottom cut out to house the back of the plotter and cables.
Try this for a home made version of a pod. Hardwood strips biscuit jointed together to form fascia and a waterproof electric box with the bottom cut out to house the back of the plotter and cables.
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Heckler
Active member
The first time going north through jack sound from milford on my mates boat we eyeballed it through. I checked the down below raymarine chart plotter, it was accurate to within yards. When i went through on my boat, i had the plotter by the wheel, i did eyeball and chart plotter, again spot on.
Stu
Simondjuk
Active member
That's shocking, John.
You permit Carlsberg on your boat.
The housing is neat though. Good job.
You permit Carlsberg on your boat.
The housing is neat though. Good job.
FullCircle
Well-known member
Nah. Dont trust the autopilot, so I just lock up the wheel.
Simondjuk
Active member
I'm not saying there will always be an error. Sometimes a plotter will show that a boat is on the side of the pontoon it actually is. Sometime though, there are big errors, so they shouldn't be blindly followed for pilotage. Transits and soundings cannot lie, the plotter can.
FullCircle
Well-known member
So you somehow feel that your paper is more accurate? Viz,viz,viz. Oh,and depth, although that is also visual in poor weather. The waves are a bit whiter where there ain't much water, and the noise is a giveaway too.
Simondjuk
Active member
Depth is visual? Now I'm really confused. I've never experienced visibility so bad that I couldn't read the depth sounder. I can get my face within inches of the screen... and they're generally illuminated.
My paper? What's that supposed to mean? You don't approve of paper charts so sneeringly call them 'your paper'? Very peculiar and rather unnecessary, but each to their own I suppose.
Anyway, if someone could tell me what I may have overlooked in not finding a plotter in the cockpit beneficial, given the caveats mentioned previously, I'd be grateful.
My paper? What's that supposed to mean? You don't approve of paper charts so sneeringly call them 'your paper'? Very peculiar and rather unnecessary, but each to their own I suppose.
Anyway, if someone could tell me what I may have overlooked in not finding a plotter in the cockpit beneficial, given the caveats mentioned previously, I'd be grateful.
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FullCircle
Well-known member
No, depth is on your chart. Work out where the tide is, and you should be very aware of where you are not by the contours.
The depth is not necessarily on your little whizzy counter. Round here it is visible to the naked eye, with practice. Add that to your positon on the chart, and it is very good for the soul.
Your paper is my paper and you misunderstood my meaning. The paper charts are no better than electronics, as the banks and depths are movng all the time. In one instance I observed a 2m depth shift in 8 days of gales doing the same route.
I was able to observe it was the same route, because it was still on the chartplotter from the week before.
There is another recent depth shift issue on the East Coast forum, except mine was avoided, by luck, possibly.
Take all aids for safe passage, and make your decisions on all available info.
The depth is not necessarily on your little whizzy counter. Round here it is visible to the naked eye, with practice. Add that to your positon on the chart, and it is very good for the soul.
Your paper is my paper and you misunderstood my meaning. The paper charts are no better than electronics, as the banks and depths are movng all the time. In one instance I observed a 2m depth shift in 8 days of gales doing the same route.
I was able to observe it was the same route, because it was still on the chartplotter from the week before.
There is another recent depth shift issue on the East Coast forum, except mine was avoided, by luck, possibly.
Take all aids for safe passage, and make your decisions on all available info.
Simondjuk
Active member
The depth is always on my little whizzy counter. Adjusted for tidal height, it's probably the most infallible guide to what actually matters, water under the keel and where the deep water lies, that there is. But that's not the issue.
Given that it seems we're agreed that the plotter can be as useless as the charts in areas where the geography is rapidly changing, what is the benefit of having a plotter in the cockpit if it only tells you what was where when the survey was performed, which is likely to be as long ago as it was for the paper charts? That's all I'm trying to establish. Other than the plotter perhaps allowing the use of recently placed waypoints which may not yet be outdated by shifts in the sea bed, I see no benefit, and even then you have to somehow place those waypoints without them there in the first instance, at which time you don't have them so the plotter is no use for that... and around it goes.
Given that it seems we're agreed that the plotter can be as useless as the charts in areas where the geography is rapidly changing, what is the benefit of having a plotter in the cockpit if it only tells you what was where when the survey was performed, which is likely to be as long ago as it was for the paper charts? That's all I'm trying to establish. Other than the plotter perhaps allowing the use of recently placed waypoints which may not yet be outdated by shifts in the sea bed, I see no benefit, and even then you have to somehow place those waypoints without them there in the first instance, at which time you don't have them so the plotter is no use for that... and around it goes.
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Richard10002
Well-known member
This is a "no brainer" as they say.
Absolutely no point having a plotter down below if it's the only one you've got - a repeater perhaps.
Given that the plotter display is effectively a chart right in front of you whilst helming or conning during pilotage, it's easy to establish whether the icon is in the right place or not, and much quicker than going below to check either the paper charts, or the plotter.
I agree that, if you blindly assume that the icon is correct at all times, with no additional checks, that could be a recipe for disaster on the rare occasion when things go awry with the system. However, armed with binoculars, hand bearing compass, a prepared pilotage plan, the additional benefit of a chart plotter immediately to hand, as an additional "aid", is almost immeasurable. As long as you are aware of the potential pitfalls and problems, and are monitoring the situation properly, there is no more, or less risk in using a chart plotter at the helm than any other navigational aid.
'To wit' radar - not to be relied on to the n'th degree, but bloody handy in fog etc.
For those who worry about electronic, or system, failure, I presume you employ a man with a red flag to walk in front of your car
We've landed on the moon, Aircraft take off and land automatically, cars park themselves, and so on.
Of course, on my little narrow boat, a chart plotter at the helm would be overkill - I tend to use Google Maps these days
Live and let live, and each to their own and suchlike
To the OP - iirc, the Navipods are around £250 or so but they do the job properly. Anything else will likely be cobbled together and not quite satisfactory. In the scheme of things, £250 isn't a great deal, and I'm sure it will repay its cost in spades.
In my case, starting without a plotter, I bought a cheap waterproof Lowrance job with a hi-res 5" screen which saw me from Glasson Dock to Malta and back. Mounted at the wheel on a swivel, and removable, the only thing I might have done differently with hindsight is to invest in Navionics charts, rather than rely on the cheap Transas charts that came with the plotter.
There is no way I would be without a plotter at the helm these days!
Richard
Absolutely no point having a plotter down below if it's the only one you've got - a repeater perhaps.
Given that the plotter display is effectively a chart right in front of you whilst helming or conning during pilotage, it's easy to establish whether the icon is in the right place or not, and much quicker than going below to check either the paper charts, or the plotter.
I agree that, if you blindly assume that the icon is correct at all times, with no additional checks, that could be a recipe for disaster on the rare occasion when things go awry with the system. However, armed with binoculars, hand bearing compass, a prepared pilotage plan, the additional benefit of a chart plotter immediately to hand, as an additional "aid", is almost immeasurable. As long as you are aware of the potential pitfalls and problems, and are monitoring the situation properly, there is no more, or less risk in using a chart plotter at the helm than any other navigational aid.
'To wit' radar - not to be relied on to the n'th degree, but bloody handy in fog etc.
For those who worry about electronic, or system, failure, I presume you employ a man with a red flag to walk in front of your car
We've landed on the moon, Aircraft take off and land automatically, cars park themselves, and so on.
Of course, on my little narrow boat, a chart plotter at the helm would be overkill - I tend to use Google Maps these days
Live and let live, and each to their own and suchlike
To the OP - iirc, the Navipods are around £250 or so but they do the job properly. Anything else will likely be cobbled together and not quite satisfactory. In the scheme of things, £250 isn't a great deal, and I'm sure it will repay its cost in spades.
In my case, starting without a plotter, I bought a cheap waterproof Lowrance job with a hi-res 5" screen which saw me from Glasson Dock to Malta and back. Mounted at the wheel on a swivel, and removable, the only thing I might have done differently with hindsight is to invest in Navionics charts, rather than rely on the cheap Transas charts that came with the plotter.
There is no way I would be without a plotter at the helm these days!
Richard
prv
Well-known member
Each to their own then, as you say
I bought a plotter last year, having never used one before, and found I didn't like it. Rather disappointed, especially after spending what felt like quite a lot of money on the device and charts.
Interestingly, despite my mum being indifferent to the idea and my dad actively opposed, I believe they now use it every time they go out
. Whereas when I use the boat, it nearly always stays on its shelf in the cabin.Pete
Simondjuk
Active member
Richard,
If I'm using all the rest of the tools, as you suggest, I don't see the need for the plotter. To me, pilotage is something done by looking out of the boat, not into it.
Your post did make me think of a reason though, to provide radar info at the helm.
I've just not found it's something I look at in the cockpit on boats that have it, and that others, particularly novices, tend to be glued to it like there's a blockbuster film being shown.
If I'm using all the rest of the tools, as you suggest, I don't see the need for the plotter. To me, pilotage is something done by looking out of the boat, not into it.
Your post did make me think of a reason though, to provide radar info at the helm.
I've just not found it's something I look at in the cockpit on boats that have it, and that others, particularly novices, tend to be glued to it like there's a blockbuster film being shown.
Koeketiene
Well-known member
We have VHF CommandMic, GPS repeater and AP there, and they seem to survive OK.
Though we never sail at rediculous angles