What's Your Actual Nav. Setup?

[Junk Viking]

My new setup is:


Maps

MacBook Pro with OpenCPN & small scale charts of the world
Large scale paper charts of the area


Electronics

1 Vesper Marine XB-8000 AIS Transponder with WiFi
1 Vesper Marine VHF/AIS/FM Antenna Splitter + Vesper antenna shared with VHF.

1 Furuno GP-33 GPS
2 Furuno DST-800PSF Depth, Speed and Temperature (one for backup)
1 Airmar 220WX Weather Station
2 Furuno RD-33 4.3" Color LCD Navigational Data Organizer

1 Furuno RO-6700nk2 VHF radio with NMEA2000
3 Maretron Multiport NMEA 2000 Box (4 ports)


Explanation

• The AIS supplies all data on the NMEA 2000 network to Mac through wifi or USB. Backup GPS built in.
• The RD-33 displays (one below, one in cockpit) displays selected data on the - NMEA 2000 network, different screens setup.
• The Airmar 220WX Weather Station is a little gen, the ultrasound sensor (no moving parts) measures all weather data as well as true and apparent wind, pitch and roll angle and more. Has 3 directional fluxgate compass and GPS.
• Finally the Maretron Multiport cuts down on connections and allows your 4 most important instruments to cluster together through one box (GPS, AIS, Depth, Speed and Temperature & RD-33 display below).

For backups:

Extra PC with OpenCPN
Handheld GPS
Sextant


I'm looking forward to taking it on it's first ocean crossing.

[Juho]

Paper charts + multiple iPads with both vector and raster charts.

Raster charts are nice since they are exact copies of paper charts (that are the most reliable charts). Vector charts are good too, but the ones that we use are not always 100% accurate.

Having multiple charts/devices is important, but the best recipe for reliable navigation is to have two persons navigating (making sure that the other person does not miss anything).

[DDabs]

I am running:
B&G zeus touch at the helm with navionics charts
iPad with navionics app in cockpit/wherever
iPad wtih b&g app for mobile repeater for the main chartplotter/radar
dozens of paper charts from any given area I sail
mac laptop with opencpn/usb GPS dongle and full charts

It's funny how these days all you really need is a smartphone and you can do anything!

still for passages there is nothing more exciting during planning than laying out my raster chart on the salon table and sketching out where i want to go

[barnakiel]

In our own boat (26'):

- a handheld gps,
- paper charts,
- a compass,
- a tablet, (formerly a Windows netbook)
- a sextant (offshore only).

On the boat I work for (72')

- two Ray plotters,
- two radars,
- all other instruments (one kit at the nav, another at the helm),
- papercharts,
- no sextant onboard.

I like both boats but the big boats strips me of the intangible. It is more like driving a truck than sailing a boat.

b.

[Lepke]

I use a Mac powerbook pro w/windows 7 and MaxseaTZ and a Dell desktop running OpenCPN as backup. Both with their own GPS inputs. Furuno AP with Wagner backup.When transiting Canada I use paper charts because of Canadian Steamboat regs requiring paper charts if using raster charts. I don't care for vector charts because the lack detail, especially land info, useful where I go. I run two nav systems because I have found everything electronic fails eventually.
I am an old navy trained navigator who still occasionally uses bearings, ranges and soundings for position to check GPS just like my dad manually added numbers to check his adding machine. I sometimes use a sextant and a 3 arm protractor to accurately plot rocks, etc., in some remote and dangerous anchorages I use often. I still keep my hand in with celestial nav when crossing the Gulf of Alaska, but my ocean crossing days are over unless Hillery gets elected.
I don't find MaxseaTZ significantly better than OpenCPN. Good work guys!

[Safari38LH]

Simrad NNS at helm and nav station running a Navionics chip. AIS, 4g radar. 2 iPads and 2 iPhones for backup, each have Navionics and iNavX. Oh, and of course paper charts always up on nav table.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Pendragon35]

I use an Ipad mini 2 with iSailor. I also use OpenCPN for route planning then re-enter or tranfer the routes to iSailor. Haven't tried Navix, but this works for me. The ipad mini does not have GPS. I use a Garmin Glo transmitting position via bluetooth for that.

i also always have a paper chart open. I don't always plot on it but I do reference it as a check.

I sail in the Chesapeake, northern part, mostly the Patapsco and surrounding area. Alberg 35. Most desired next thing: AIS.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Very basic.. a 10" Notebook with Nimble Navigator, a set of Pilot Charts (RN Boats Charts) of the sea's/ocean's I'm traversing plus boats compass, speed/depth log.

Come on Boatie, you of all people should know that the typical delivery boat compass now looks like the one below--completely out of fluid and reading 40 degrees off. The typical delivery boat speed/log doesn't work either. With a working GPS, you don't really need them, so they don't get fixed.

[michaelratinter]

Paper charts
Samsung Galaxy S5 running My GPS Coordinates
Daily noon sight with Davis sextant
D'ed reckoning plot

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Come on Boatie, you of all people should know that the typical delivery boat compass now looks like the one below--completely out of fluid and reading 40 degrees off. The typical delivery boat speed/log doesn't work either. With a working GPS, you don't really need them, so they don't get fixed.

I was referring to my own boat..
Deliveries its my World Boats Charts (6 total) and my Notebook plus Puck..
Rum.. for offerings to the gods..

[TeddyDiver]

Sony tablet with Navionics ap, Hummingbird plotter with sidescan sonar, compass, bearing binos, paper charts and mark two eyeballs. Thats for coastal motoring my current tub. Sailing OPB take my tablet and binos as both eye balls.

[rmarsh3309]

Large scale paper charts.
3 Android smart phones with OpenCPN
2 Android tablets with OpenCPN, Navionics and ISailor
Laptop with OpenCPN
Old P.O.S. Rayplotter with overpriced Navionics Gold chips

[Neptune's Gear]

Navassist PC with opencpn, pactor and sailmail for grib files. The PC is connected to the N2k network with an Actisense, so it knows everything, incl wind, Polars, weather routing, etc, and can control the AP, run the radar etc. Furuno GP32 gps plotter on instrument panel above the companionway. AIS transponder - also acts as backup GPS. 15" waterproof monitor at helm, repeats PC screen. 3G B&G radar. B&G Triton instruments and AP. HP printer so I can print whatever charts I want from opencpn.
Offshore there is the log filled in with current position, course, speed etc every watch. Also the route, and all likely required waypoints, even for possible shelter places, is uploaded from the PC to the furuno, and to the Garmin handheld in case of a failure of something. The Garmin GPS goes in the grab bag.
Also a Sony Xperia waterproof cell, with opencpn.
Final backup is paper charts (worst case printed, or printed google maps), sextant and 50 year almanac. Took my last sextant fix about a year ago.
I had a interphase fwd sonar as well, but it's now stuffed. I liked that in the coral...
This system and its predecessors have worked very well over many miles.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[charliehows]

curious about all the iphone/ipad android etc users - Do they rely on inbuilt gps or microwave tower triangulation? I'm a wee bit antideluvian in the smart phone dept. so bear with me...

[michaelratinter]

Depends on the phone. My Samsung S5 has GPS receiver and also does triangulation. I select GPS only mode to make sure it works. I tested it at sea outside of cell phone range. Works nicely.