gps course

[jeepster]

Salar:

Does anyone know if the Plotters you can buy in the US are available or come with UK maps? I'm visiting the USA soon, and just maybe....

would doubt if any supplied in the US came with UK maps, but would be very very surprised if they weren't available here, but i bet they'll cost a few

quid. i'm also sure that they're available from dodgy sources too

[Norrie]

Ah! Right...cheers Paul....

[squidlips]

most plotters dont come with map cartridges.

but english cartridges work ok on american gps plotters.

there are a few different cartridges used, my large navionics gold cost £190.try and get a unit that uses c map, with them you only pay a one off fee about £160 i think, then up date it every couple of years for £25 if you want.you cant do that with navionics.with so many units out there it comes down to ££££

[Norrie]

Jeepster, Whatever d'you mean by "dodgy sources"....

Just cos I've got every C-map chart available....

[Guest sandpipper]

hi chaps tell i`ll tell you what i do to make life very easy ive downloaded (GPS) its free and i`ll give the links at the end. then i cutnpaste the waypoint i want from the second site to easygps on my computer then when ive done 20-30 waypoints/wrecks then transfer it onto the gps its that easy.

also if you but a GPS where you load your cmaps in you can, you can also buy the same SD cardand load your own maps plus it acts as back up in case something goes wrong. Hope this helps someone.Tony

[Guest sandpipper]

http://www.easygps.com/

http://www.techniques.co.uk/admin/wrecks/index.php

DAM forgot to add this to the above

[chappers]

Toerag:

For those of you using buoys as waypoints, be careful not to hit them like the crew delivering a brand new 38ft Fairline last summer!!!

Or the Brixham longliner who set his on Berry Head was out on deck cleaning up and then bang.

Goes to sjow they're accurate

[predator1]

looks very expensive and still looks complicated i think i will have to stick to bouy marks like i have done for many years thanks for all the info lads tight lines

[DavidDavid]

Predator1

 

Bearing in mind the helpful I advise I got from my first post I guess it's only fair to chip in here. BTW my background is mainly on sailing boats, but also a fair bit on displacement speed MotorBoats.

 

My advice is not to be put off by a GPS being "complicated". I can only use 10% of the functions on my mobile phone and never learned to programme a Video, but still have no problems using a GPS. I mainly use a Garmin 128, which is a fixed set (But I also have a handheld Garmin 12 - which operates basically with the same functions / system - I think thet go for about £100 - extra I think if you want to be able to plug it in to the boat) and I probably only use a fraction of it's capabilities (and they are not one of the more advanced models - been around for years and keep selling), but once the Way Points are in, it's very easy to use - I set most of mine by actually going to the places - it was easy enough to do and IMHO eliminates the risk of input error with the Lat and Longtitude(for me anyway!).

 

I used to use it as a back up to the traditional way of navigating, but nowadays it is the other way around - the most useful function for me is the Compass Bearing and Speed over Ground - but this is because at 4 knots seeing you are picking up an extra Knot or so is a bit of a boost!

 

But I still always know which direction I am meant to be heading before I set off and also keep an eye on the compass and a chart - especially in unfamilar places - and often plot a course to follow the "old fashioned" way.

 

As already suggested making your Way Point off a Navigation Mark is not a bad idea, as nowadays the accuracy has gone up and to avoid hitting it or other boats heading for exactly the same Way point. I also figure that I know where to look to spot the buoy as often their is no real reason to have to go right up to it.

 

As you can evidently navigate "the old fashioned way" IMHO you are 90% of the way their already, as you already know the concept of what the GPS is trying to do.

 

Maybe the next time you are out and about with your Boat, try and approach someone for a chat and a quick lesson on their GPS (or your handheld)- at least to see what it is meant to do, so when you plod through the handbook you know what you are trying to do! IME most folk with boats are helpful enough to each other (and IME the smaller the boat the more helpful folk are).

 

A Mate of mine (with a Channel Island 22) recently splashed out on a chart plotter (he likes buttons and flashing lights!)- first time I had ever used one for real - it wasn't top of the range (about £400 - and I can't remember the make), quite strange using it as we tried it out entering and leaving a Bay I had been in a million times before and I found we spent a lot of time trying to follow the course it had set, rather than looking out the window and using the MK1 eyeball and common sense.

 

In fact as it could not allow for a strong tidal stream (it was "crabbing") we ended up having to alter course as I was not entirely comfortable with how close we were coming to the headland.

 

It's easy to get sucked into thinking the machine is always right (IME it is right 99.99% of the time but not always in the way you assume - especially when tired). I remember years ago when sailing down to Spain and being appointed navigator having an argument with the Skipper who insisted that the GPS course that we were told to follow was correct to get us to La Coruna. He was right, except that the GPS was a basic model (Like my Garmin 128) and if we had followed the course we would have tried to cut straight accross a headland. The GPS of course did not have a map and was just plotting a straight line between two points. We were all very tired.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[ 01. July 2005, 12:10 AM: Message edited by: DavidDavid ]

[predator1]

yes it does thanks very much as for asking people with boats round my area no one seems to have the time of day and after a coment from someone on here that i shouldn't be near a boat i dont think i will be posting anymore help ideas i have had boats for years and usually only launch off my home town which i know by compass if i ever get stuck in fog to come back at 180 degrees so it looks like i might stay in my area and just fish the marks i know of but maybe one day i will go out with someone who could give me a little guide on it then i could go furthur a field thanks for the help.