yeoman plotter what dose it do is it REALLY usefull today??

[trouville]

What is a yeoman plotter? what can it be used for and is it really usefull given GPS waypoints today??
I saw one many years ago and it was quite expensive. i dident look further nor did i really understand it use from things read in YM PBO then. 197?

Can i use it with a PC running XP and what would i use it for?Is it just an electronic pencil and plotter? what do they cost S/H and if its compatable with PC today from whicn version?

 

[freeman]

Yes

It places your position on paper charts with ease and GPS accuracy
When all else fails it is still there

If you believe that your electrics will never fail them perhaps you can do without.

ps i believe the RNLI use them

 

[Anonymous]

Despite their name, the one thing you can't do with GPS/Plotters is to plot! You can't draw vectors or cocked-hats on an LCD display. For those of us who still like to do such things we have to buy paper charts; the Yeoman Plotter allows you to input points from the chart directly into the GPS and vice versa, saving a great deal of time and ensuring that you don't misread or misplot the data.

So if you do use paper charts then you will probably be delighted with the Yeoman plotter but what it is worth to you in terms of money has to be your personal decision. By the way, the 'Sport' version packs up easily and can be taken into the cockpit - the other version really needs a dedicated chart table. I am looking for a second-hand Sport but I am not prepared to spend a great deal of money on it - it is not worth more than £100 to me - though it would be excellent value at that sort of price.

 

[FWB]

I have had the sport version for 3 seasons. It can be used with or without a GPS input..I have an old Garmin 12xl which I sometimes connect to it.
Without the gps you can use Admiralty small folio charts and once the plotter knows which chart you're using you can use the mouse to find lat/long ,bearings and distances etc. Once you connect the gps the mouse will in addition show you your current position.
I have a basic gps ,garmin 126 or 128 ? , which I use to actually navigate--connected via NMEA to the autopilot etc. So I find that in fact I never need to connect the 12xl to the Yeoman. The waypoints in the ships gps are drawn on my charts so I can see by bearing and distance from these waypoints exactly where I am. So really the only useful thing, for me, about the Yeoman is that it's the right size to hold the charts. A piece of board the same size would do the same job for me. I will keep the Yeoman but a better option for me is to buy an electronic chart plotter.

 

[charles_reed]

Obviously you haven't used a plotter, such activities are easily carried out especially with 3rd generation plotters - with GPS who would end up with a cocked hat?

 

[charles_reed]

Somewhat unfairly

they've been referred to as the most expensive pencil ever produced.
It does allow the utilisation of GPS data with paper charts and is a half-way stage to electronic navigation.

It is an article of faith with users, so objective reasoning tends to depart when discussing them with true believers.

Having used both the Yeoman and 1st and 3rd generation plotters I have to agree with your inference - obsolescent technology.

 

[ianwright]

I love mine, a Yeoman Pro working with a Garmin 128.
I tried to like electronic plotters, little ones and PC based but I can't get on with them.
the Yeoman does all I need on paper charts that I have to have anyway. Very good bit of kit.
No doubt there is a generation of toy obsessed yotties who will happily set out without paper charts, but I'm not one of them,,,,,,,,,,,,,, /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
IanW

 

[david_bagshaw]

[ QUOTE ]
I love mine, a Yeoman Pro working with a Garmin 128.
I tried to like electronic plotters, little ones and PC based but I can't get on with them.
the Yeoman does all I need on paper charts that I have to have anyway. Very good bit of kit.
No doubt there is a generation of ..... yotties who will happily set out without paper charts, but I'm not one of them,,,,,,,,,,,,,, /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
IanW

[/ QUOTE ]



Totally agree as to the yeoman &128 use the same set up, have no personal experience with electronic plotters other than shows, but use a lap top as well for data download from the GPS and voyage planning, as don't have a small boat hardened computer or Os software that I would like to stake my life on. Have found oziexplorer good for the latter, although having looked at sea clear which is free, had I known about it at the time I registered ozi would have probably used that instead.

 

[gorb]

If you can afford a four figure sume for a plotter with a BIG screen, then that's probably the way to go.

BUT I can't afford a big plotter and I have been using a Yeoman plotter + 128 GPS for the last three years and would not be without it when cruising the Scottish islands. You have all the advantages of paper charts (you see the whole thing all the time) plus a device that shows you exactly where you are and reads of bearings and distances in a flash. Plus, as another contributor said, it's easy to PLOT in the normal way with your paper chart.

Bear in mind that it is much easier to use the Yeoman if you have a decent sized chart table for a permanent set up. In my view, if you have only £300 or £400 to spend, then go Yeoman + GPS rather than trying to get along with a tiny-screen handheld plotter.

 

[castaway]

I just had the opportuity of using a Raymarine C70 chartplotter for a 2 week trip.

It certainly was very clever with loads of embeded info available at the click of the cursor. Our very experienced (and old) skipper thought it was great, but used all the data to transpose onto the paper charts.

Incidentally we also had a Yeoman on board (but not connected to the GPS so not really much good) which the same skipper was very disparaging about.

I got to feel quite happy with the C70 in its basic funtions; but I have a Yeoman on "Fairweather" which to be fair I also tend to use only in its basic form, but I know which I would rather have. The Yeoman.

The C70 was just to small.. I think they go right up to the C120 which would probably be better for me.. Maybe its just the way different brains view the data.

Regards Nick

www.yachtsite.co.uk/fairweather

 

[roger]

I think a Yeoman Sport would be dodgy to use on deck. I'm not at all cofident it would stand up to splashes. So if you are doing close piotage when you can't leave the deck it isn't suitable.
It uses paper charts which IMHO you should have always carry. So you dont need to buy electronic charts which are still pretty pricey both to buy and to update.
Below decks when using just one chartit makes plotting your position on the chart very very easy. I can lean up in my bunk, wave the mouse over the chart and do a quick position chart with no thought at all. Its equally useful for the watch keeper to check and record position without staying below for more than 30 seconds.
Changing from one chart to another and going through the process of telling the Yeoman where the chart is on the on its surface is a pain.
I agree with another poster that a big screen plotter on deck is better but it is a great deal more money.

 

[samuel]

Wife " darling do you know we are heading for a sand bank?"
Me " No we are OK miles away"
Wife no dear this plotter shows we have a hundred or so yards to go then that's it"
Me " Rubbish it's OK"
Wife ( In panic tone" Look for your bloody self. You are going to put us aground!!!"
Me ( Going below to check) " Oh Sh.... Your right"

The best thing about the Yoeman is that the wife could use it within 10 mins of first seeing it & it gives her peace of mind to know where we are. If something happens to me she can at least have an idea of where to head.
We have cruised fairly extensively & I hate to rely on electrics. If any thing goes wrong the Yoeman is rigged to run off the handheld as well as the fixed GPS & when that goes tits up we still have the paper charts. We have about 60 charts of various places & I can update these easily I could not update chips on chart plotters very easily. The yoeman has a plug by the nav table and another on deck for use when I am on my own & cannot go below. Best bit of nav kit on the boat ( Except for compass & Echo sounder) Well worth the £ 320-00 I also use it for fast entry of GPS waypoints which reallyreduces error problems.

 

[starboard]

About 15 years ago I had the privelage of using the first Yeomen that the RNLI fitted to an offshore Lifeboat here at Troon. In my mind then and still today it is a great piece of kit. the beauty is that although it takes data from your GPS it allows you to transfer that data in an instance to a paper chart....therefore when all else goes "Tits up" as surely they will when you really need them.... hopefully the data will have recently been transfered to your paper chart and an accurate DR can then be used.

Paul.

 

[pheran]

Couldn't agree more. A totally 'professional' bit of kit. I wouldn't go to sea without mine.

 

[Coppershield]

Hi,
I did not read all the responses to Your question, I am sure in the balance yeoman is recommended very highly

Here is my two cents. If I were given a chance to own only one electronic plotter system. I will choose yeoman.
But here's something You must keep in mind. This is especially true with the kind that is not the sports model. The problem may not be the issue with the sports model , and it may have been addressed by the manufacturer By now (mine is about 15 years old).
After You start using it, tell others on board to be careful not to lean on the charts, thereby changing their original set points and before You get into a situation in restricted waters. To make a habit of rechecking your reference set coordinates. I hope this is clear. Please don't ask me how I learned this .
Fair winds.
Muzaffer

 

[ianabc]

I have read that the Yeoman unit cn be placed UNDER the chart table (perhapa 5 cms or so) and still give accurate readings....


Has anyone tried this?

I would like to place my auction acquired Yeoman below the chart table!
and firmly fix the chart to the table.

Ian

 

[Marsupial]

yes, Instructions for this are in the manual. You have to change a setting that tells the Yeoman its upside down!

 

[Marsupial]

Coppershield

Yeoman do have a solution its called "clear view", basically a piece of clear plastic/vinyl that covers the chart when its on the plotter.

All you have to do is reference the chart then mark the clear plastic with a dot where the reference points are, if the chart moves under the plastic the marks will not line up - you can see instantly if the chart is aligned - you will not have to keep re-referencing the chart.

For my contribution, its the only piece of "electroinic" plotting kit that has latency - when it fails it leaves the user safe, all the other stuff is very nice but VERY DANGEROUS - I have a Raymarine RL 80 colour plotter on board and a very old and tatty sport connected to a garmin 12 - the yeoman is the one that gets used, and its not about being old fashioned or behind the times its about being professional and safe.

Since 2000 I have owned three new "dedicated electronic chart plotters" two have failed at sea at night in bad weather and low visability each time treating me to a blank screen, power supply was not the issue but in each case various chip failures were. Strange but true, I dont carry a duplicate system, or a complete set of chip diagnostic equipment, new chips and the wherewithall to "blow them".

My yeoman sport has never failed and even if it did I could still get home.

 

[Ships_Cat]

...its about being professional and safe.

Quite an exaggeration because, in fact, you are very unlikely to find a professional using a Yeoman Plotter. I have never seen one in use on a commercial vessel, but I have seen plenty of plotters, ECS and ECDIS being used by the professionals (oh, and paper charts too, but sans Yeoman Plotter).

John

 

[tome]

John

I use a Yeoman plotter myself. The plotter screens we had on the bridge were much larger than the tiddly devices we fit to leisure boats, and I find them far too small for my own use. However, it's down to personal preference.

I like the fact that I'm plotting on a chart with the ability to continue manually if necessary. I have yet to encounter anybody who cannot master the basics within minutes, and it's a popular gadget onboard.

Incidentally, regarding Marsupials post where he has experienced several chip failures. There is a well known curve of chip failures which shows that most occur during component infancy. Next time you buy a piece of electronic equipment, leave it running for 72 hours. If it doesn't fail during this time, chances are it will give good service for years to come.

Tom