want to turn laptop into chartploter recomendations?

[sailorman]

Laptop chart plotting is so much easier to use than messing around with chart plotters and entered waypoints and routes! Point and click is all you need.

More or less any laptop will do.

Set your laptop up for minimum power draw. Use a separate screen (we now have a Currys Essentials 16" TV that has a VGA input, runs on 12 volts), and switch the laptop screen off. Get a wireless keyboard and mouse that runs off USB. Serial interface USB adapter for NMEA input/output, plus a second one if you have AIS engine. You keep the screen switched off except when you need it.

We use OpenCPN with some legitimate C-Map NT+ charts, and worldwide (dubious origin, but no reason to suppose inaccurate) charts.

That is exactly how my waterproof RC80 works

 

[michael_w]

Look on ebay for a panasonic toughbook. It doesn't flinch when you drip water on it. I've got the CF 29 model, works well with MaxSea, Open CPN, etc. Also does my wefax, and SSB email and runs the AIS transponder.

The serial port, makes up for the fact it only has one usb port.

 

[prv]

Laptop chart plotting is so much easier to use than messing around with chart plotters and entered waypoints and routes! Point and click is all you need.

Chart plotters are also point and click. Well, you can create waypoints (by clicking) and link them into routes if you want, but you can do that on a laptop too, if you want.

Personally I've never really gone for the waypoints / routes kind of navigation, regardless of technology. I sometimes put a single waypoint into the GPS to have an at-a-glance display of how far we have yet to go, but the idea of pre-preparing a string of waypoints, perhaps at home the previous week, and then loading them into a GPS or plotter is alien to me.

Pete

 

[KINGFISHER 9]

Belfield has tidal streams with arrows.

 

[zambant]

second hand Toughbook (ebay £125 ) and Imray charts for me