A professional skipper's take on chart plotters
Author:
Todd Follansbee
Laptop Battery My first exposure to chart plotters came in 1985. I worked for a company asked to evaluate a Macintosh-based software program designed for an onboard computer system. (Plotters hadn't yet been invented.)
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Thinkpad My colleagues and I were captivated by the potential - the possibility of seeing your boat's position in real time on an upgraded chart, and one that could perhaps incorporate radar. Thoughts of adding the ability to plot courses, identify hazards as well as drift and set, and integrate with an autopilot made it seem like a navigator's dream come true.
Generally, or model of chart plotter is designed to operate with a particular digital chart manufacturer's platform, compatible. Among some of the popular plotter brands, for example, Northstar and Lowrance machines operate using Navionics charts, as do some of the models in the Raymarine line. Garmin plotters use the company's own proprietary Blue Chart digital charts. MAP NT+. MAP charts are used in the widest variety of plotter brands, (17 North American based manufacturers and 50 worldwide) including Furuno, Raymarine, Tex, Simrad, Standard Horizon, Navman, JRC and Interphase. As always, though, check with the plotter manufacturers to verify chart compatibility before making a decision.
Microsoft But the thought of installing a dedicated computer on a boat seemed far-fetched for all but the most expensive vessels. (Keep in mind, these were still pre-laptop days.)
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Laptop Computers In the ensuing years, chart plotters became the purview of supertankers and the navy; more recently, their affordability has made them accessible to recreational boaters and anglers.
To get the type of charting performance you'll want for fishing, you need to select one of the electronic chart platforms. Generally, charts for a particular coverage area can be purchased programmed onto small "cards" that the user inserts into the machine. Companies also offer the option to purchase chart CDs for planning use on home computers, with the ability to pay to "unlock" new chart coverage areas for downloading to your chart plotter.
Laptop Computer If you own a boat longer than 25 feet, and don't already have a chart plotter, you're probably considering adding one to your helm. It's impossible to not appreciate their value. When integrated with a GPS, a plotter clearly displays your exact position on the electronic chart screen, making it a simple matter to navigate your way safely around hazards. This feature intends to give owners of boats in the 20- to 45-foot range, with a modest budget, the information necessary to choose a chart plotter.
- those who have a chart plotter and digital charts on their boat, but don't necessarily use them to full advantage when inshore or offshore fishing. Maybe they realize they're not getting the most out of them, or maybe they don't. Either way, given the fact that today's affordable chart plotters are finding their way onto boats of all sizes, This is a large group and it's apt to get larger. More importantly, with a little knowledge and practice, 1.
Desktop Computer Remember Basic Skills
Chart plotters can range from $500 to more than $5,000. Of course, the industry constantly develops new products, so keep your eyes open. Look for continuing improvements in processor speeds, graphic displays and integration with other equipment. In the past year or so, screen technology has taken dramatic steps forward in the quality and readability of displays.
Notebooks Multifunction displays that integrate radar, speed, waypoints and alarms bring a welcome sense of security and comfort to coastal and offshore cruising, and offer a tremendous improvement in safety. However, a mariner still must be able to rely on fundamental skills.
Lenovo Twenty years ago, we learned to navigate by our senses, using dead-reckoning through thick fog or dark of night. I learned dead-reckoning from old salts in Maine who never hesitated to go out, fog or not. At that time, Loran was fairly new and far from 100-percent reliable. We could always pick up the last fix and revert to charts and well-honed skills.
Hard Drive Even today, I keep a basic running fix from the GPS readouts and note our position regularly in the log when cruising. Other skills and knowledge - such as understanding currents - remain essential. While a GPS can bring you back to the exact spot where an individual fell overboard, if the current is running fast, the victim will have drifted to a very different place. Of course if you're returning to a fishing hole marked as a waypoint, you'll always be able to get to it spot on. While Differential GPS has created a new paradigm of accuracy now accepted as standard, maintaining a running fix remains the best practice rather than depending solely upon electronic navigation aids.
Travelstar I recall well an incident while bringing a 42-footer from Maine to Mystic, Connecticut, late one October night. I was cold and wet at the exposed wheel. We'd gotten lazy and were recording our positions at each watch change. With three hand-held GPS units running plus radar and the normal complement of electronics, I came on watch and looked around to orient myself in what should have been familiar surroundings. But visibility remained poor in squally weather.
Gateway The man going off watch called up, asking me for the lat/lon fix from the GPS on deck, advising me that both GPS units belowdecks had gone blank. The deck GPS, too, now blinked uselessly. Fortunately, after 15 minutes of careful work, I managed to acquire a decent fix, thanks to keeping our running fix (having updated our position on a paper chart as we progressed). While our fix certainly didn't offer the accuracy to 50 feet that DGPS provides, it was enough given much more vigilance under our new circumstances.
Laptop Parts With our senses reawakened, we became much more a part of the navigational experience than the casual observers we had been earlier while relying upon electronics. An hour later we sorted out the GPS problems and managed to get all three units to reacquire signals and begin updating 20 times per second as normal - though to this day I'm still not sure why all went out simultaneously, with two on batteries and all operating independently. But it happened!
Software The Choice Is Yours
After interviewing many sales people in the electronics industry, it's clear that the questions they most commonly hear deal with "user friendliness." Product usability has improved significantly just in the past year or two with the increase of memory and processor capability.
Hard Drives My early experiences with chart plotters in 1985 were frustrating at best. But since then, engineers have done their homework, and current products are pretty much universally user-friendly for the most-needed features.
Electronics The use of advanced features often requires studying the owner's manual. Most fishermen find chart plotters simple enough to use and understand with minimal time spent reading the manual; their basic functions are pretty intuitive.
Canon I'm a firm believer that most onboard electronics have a limited life span. The more mechanically complex the equipment, the more unreliable it becomes. Fortunately, chart plotters don't require the moving parts of radar, knot meters, wind indicators, or weather faxes. Chart plotters are fully digital; that means fewer moving parts and greater reliability than most mechanical systems. I once watched a Simrad chart plotter in awe after a wave drenched it and knocked it from its bracket so it tumbled several feet to a hard surface. It never stopped working.
Desktop Pc Of course, all chart plotters are not created equal. What should you consider when choosing one? Typically, initial concerns are ease of installation and cost.
Desktop Computers You can plot your course electronically in two ways: A dedicated chart plotter or a personal computer to run software designed for the purpose. The latter would typically be a laptop, which you need to be able to charge on board. (Hand-held devices that run on Microsoft CE or Palm software are also available, though not covered here.)
Think Pad The dedicated chart plotter comes with or ties into a GPS (and optionally other onboard electronics), and is permanently installed either at a nav station and/or in view of the wheel. It runs on ship's power and is normally weather-resistant (or waterproof). Software-based systems run on your computer; they can also integrate with a separate GPS. Both plotters and computers use (separately purchased) digitized charts.
Repair Why choose one over the other? If you already own a laptop, the cost of buying software, GPS and charts is generally less than a dedicated chart plotter. Since laptop processors are far more powerful than most chart plotters, they offer superior resolution and details on-screen. Having an onboard computer also provides a host of capabilities generally not associated with boating but still useful (such as e-mail, access to real-time weather information, word processing, recordkeeping and so on).
Data Recovery Other considerations for PC-based systems include configuration issues, installing the software, and GPS charging/power requirements for a laptop. Having been in the software-development world for a number of years, I can understand anyone's reluctance to want to rely on software that promises to work on all platforms and all machines, at least until it's properly configured and up and running on a given PC.
Cisco While your experience may include a simple and effortless install, I wouldn't leave the dock without having thoroughly tested and challenged ashore any new software. I'd also make sure of its ability to run with the GPS before you travel out of convenient cell phone range. Assuming the system is configured and running, one might expect reasonable performance, especially on the more stable Windows platforms like NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and XP.
Keyboard Keep in mind that laptops are vulnerable to impact, moisture and excessive heat. Many screens cannot be read in the sun. Argo Computers has introduced a "marinized" version with a screen readable in direct sunlight. Like so many boaters, for years I struggled with screens that proved difficult or impossible to read in bright light. Over the past 10 years or so, technology finally brought us color screens that work in the sunlight. I wouldn't consider any model without such visibility - unless you plan to install it in a permanently shaded location.
Monitor Whatever laptop you choose, mount it in a protected location that can access power and GPS. I believe that a chart plotter belongs in view of the helmsman; otherwise, someone is forever ducking below to check the position, whether running a depth-contour line or simply navigating.
Desktop Todd Follansbee has been involved in professional and recreational boating for 40 years, with over 10,000 miles of blue-water experience. He has studied a variety of navigational styles from traditional to the use of sophisticated electronics.
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