Do you think electronic navigation is God's gift or the invention of the devil? What software do you use and what do you like (or not) about it?

Electronics are great when they work and saves a lot of time and effort as long as its used as an AID and not a sole nav tool.

However I used a handheld GPS backed up with coastal nav and a paper chart last week and it was quite fun teaching the owners of the boat how to plot fixes etc. and good practice as I ve not done it for a while... that coupled with hand steering made coming back to work a bit of a rest!

Our nav system is Transas Navi-salior, a PC based big boat program with ARPA, sounder, gyro and flux compass inputs and is linked to the autopilot. The basics functions are easy ro use and being windows based makes it user friendly.

W.

Can't think of anything bad about it at all and compared with the Decca sets of twenty five years ago, in real terms, it's dirt cheap now.

Totally agree with Wolfie though "---as long as its used as an AID and not a sole nav tool---".

Currently have Raymarine plotter, autopilot, radar etc also separate independant Furuno fixed GPS. All 5 to 10 years old but still sound. I will eventually add a laptop and already have electronic Admiralty charts (thanks the mainsail.com)

Rather than networking, I intend to feed the laptop directly from the fixed GPS so that I have two entirely independant systems. (back-up)

The theory has always been if the plotter and the fixed GPS ever tell me different stories; I can get out the hand held GPS and check which one is telling the truth

I agree with you Chas that it's better to have a back-up than to put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak (though our Raymarine plotter etc has yet to put a foot wrong).
That is why we always carry a hand held GPS and paper charts as well. Using the handheld and laptop together but independently from the plotter (third layer of defence) has so far only resulted in complete agreement.

You are right about reliability, the modern kit is superb.

Call me a pessimist but probably the main reason I never drink alcohol at sea is that I'm convinced that something is going to go wrong any minute. Then everyone around me will just stand there and shrug their shoulders and muggins here will have to spend the next hour or so hanging upside down in the bilges trying to fix it.

There was a rather heated discussion on this forum about a year ago concerning electronics vs paper charts and it was quite worrying that some people were convinced that electronics had become so infallible that paper charts were no longer required at all.

I have to agree with Chas, I too never touch a drop at sea (although quite a different story when in port) and although make considerable use of our plotter always back up with paper charts. I can't remember quite where I have seen it but I'm sure there is some legislation somewhere that electronic charts cannot be relied on as the sole means of navigation, has anyone else seen similar?

If you have two pieces of GPS hardware, the chances of them both going wrong is infinitesimal. What is more likely is that the GPS satellite system goes offline for some reason; and there's no backup for that. I always find it useful on a long passage to make hourly plots on a chart, and to let all crew know where we are verbally - e.g. 6 miles NE Puffin Island etc. That way if they have to let someone on the VHF know where we are they can say so without confusion.

Um - I went aground a couple of weeks ago going into a little anchorage south of Oban. The chart plotter agreed with the laptop and the Admiralty chart. Another yacht, coming in the next morning, agreed with me and the pilot book, that the entry is 60m out of place. You get very used to believing GPS, as normally it shows everything so precisely. The only Admiralty chart is not large scale.

We defined a "little knockdown" as when things land higher on one side of the boat, than they take off from on the other. I was very glad not to be using the laptop when it happened a couple of times in a short North Sea gale last year. The chart plotter and paper chart were both OK.
The crew in the leeward bunk successfully caught all flying breakable items. He ended up with the tiller pilot, lamp glass, handheld gps etc in his sleeping bag and did not emerge until it eased. Could he have caught the laptop?

Hi Craig and Glen, I don't know about any legislation but there's certianly some prompt on my plotter that says something like "not to be used for navigation" and you have to press "agree" before you can go any further.

I know the chances of two systems going wrong at the same time is neglegible but my theory is that if one did and you got two different positions you wouldn't necessarily know which was telling lies. You can check them against a hand held GPS and take best two out of three.

I always have a paper chart on the table in the wheelhouse and my passage plan. I use the plotter to ensure I stay on it and I also plot my position on it as necessary.

"---I too never touch a drop at sea (although quite a different story when in port)---" It would be rude not to.

Murphys Law says that if it can go wrong it will... and probably when you least need it to.

Batteries fail, electronics die, storms destroy electronics, the military play with the GPS signal on regular occasions, user input errors occur all too regularly, etc...

Keep a log, plot positions on a chart, ensure ALL on board know last fix - its no use you knowing if you re the one gone over the side...

W.

PS.. if using paper chart on deck make sure it can't blow away!!!!