Budget navigation - Chartplotter/GPS/Radar

[pickpaul]

I have a cf-29 toughbook pre-installed with opencpn and all us charts and the usb gps. One of the toughest laptops ever built. Yours for $500 Inc shipping!

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[zstine]

Originally Posted by pickpaul

I have a cf-29 toughbook pre-installed with opencpn and all us charts and the usb gps. One of the toughest laptops ever built. Yours for $500 Inc shipping!

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Com'on Pickpaul.. or is it pick pocket.. The PO is low budget. Let's not try to make a big profit off the guy. just b/c that's par-for-course in the marine industry doesn't mean it is OK to treat each other that way. There are lots of CF-29 "factory Refurbished" toughbooks available for under $100 (see amazon) and the gps puck is $35 new, software is free. Your asking $500 for $135 worth of stuff... Shame on you!

[pickpaul]

That was sarcastic zstine, I paid $150 for mine last year and it's not for sale :-) I was commenting on the rip off used price. Sorry if that didn't come across.

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[zstine]

Originally Posted by pickpaul

That was sarcastic zstine, I paid $150 for mine last year and it's not for sale :-) I was commenting on the rip off used price. Sorry if that didn't come across.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I should be the one to apologize. I misunderstood and came down on someone I know nothing about. my bad

[pickpaul]

No biggie. A great classic piece of hardware fit for marine use.

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[nockerwhite]

Originally Posted by Delancey

Like most boats in general, most boats with radar never leave the dock. I doubt few boats that have it leave the dock when it's foggy even though they could. Of course prevailing wisdom is that if you don't have it you'll die!!!

I've never had it so can't comment on using it but because I've never had it I can at least tell you I haven't died yet for not having it. I can see the OP is from Seattle but he hasn't told us where he intends to go cruising or what his plans are, like will he leave the dock when it's forecast to be foggy?

I agree not having it may mean changing your behavior on the occasions it would come in handy. Whether or not it is worth it is a personal choice. Depends a lot on what kind of budget you're working with I suppose.

For myself it's at the bottom of the wish list. I recently left the dock at Hilton Head in a dense fog and went twenty miles out Tybee Roads and then up the Savannah River. I survived to tell the tale and can tell you it wasn't even remotely harrowing.

There are so many sailors that are absolutely scared of foggy weather and high traffic areas, in spite of having so many aids not available to professional sailors only a few decades ago.
I had to move my little Caprice - (of Shane Acton fame) in 2004 about 60 nms from near Sheppey, N Kent in the Thames estuary to Folkestone through the Straits of Dover. At 6am my son and I arrived at the mooring in a creek, the fog was so thick it was impossible to see 50 yds across the creek; I was for crying off, although I often might take a risk that my son might not. He pointed out that this was the last opportunity for another year and anyway he had a GPS which he had borrowed. Once out of the creek we found the GPS was U/S. We did have a good compass and a chart. We made it by buoy hopping with the buoys coming up 'on the nose fifty yards ahead' every two or three miles or so. Passing Dover we radioed that we were passing (with sails up and our 5hp Yamaha) The only vessel we saw during the 11 hour passage was a Sea France ferry which altered course as the give way vessel. Maximum visibility was a quarter of a mile all day. In the UK so many are in trepidation about sailing in the Straits, guys in our club go across to Boulougne frequently as a matter of course

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by nockerwhite

We did have a good compass and a chart. We made it by buoy hopping with the buoys coming up 'on the nose fifty yards ahead' every two or three miles or so.

I never said I wasn't a little scared. Not enough to not leave the dock, just enough to use all my senses to their fullest along with all my skills. The kind of skills that get honed through use instead of dulled by sitting at the dock. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open.

[Pizzazz]

Originally Posted by chowdan

I'd like to add a chartplotter/gps to the boat, and potentially add to it a radar system down the road.

We are on a budget, so used system is perfectly fine. We'd like to spend at most $500 or so.

I went through a similar decision recently, ended up spending a lot more money. My advice is to go through stages and think carefully about the style of sailing you do.

Stage I. Hand bearing compass and depth meter

Stage II. VHF radio with DSC/AIS, the Lowrance Link-8 for $240 is a good value for money or consider one with a built in GPS.

Stage III. Charts. Here you decide if you want to go the phone/tablet route or the chartplotter route. The key factor is how badly you want radar/autopilot integration. I have done a lot of sailing with an Android phone/Navionics at the helm, also mirroring the display to the 24" LCD TV below. You see a lot more chart of the 24" LCD at full HD resolution than on any chartplotter. The key benefits to the phone/tablet include low cost, easy overlay of wind data from GRIBs, ability to project the chart to a really big screen. However, it is not ideal in big waves and strong winds. I do not recommend it for serious sailing.

If you are convinced to move to a chartplotter, one good option is the Garmin 44dv (recently on sale for $199). It has pretty maps, it will show your AIS data from the radio and it even has a sonar if you like fishing/diving. It is also a depth sounder backup. You can mount the sounder in hull, it would work well (alternatively save the depth sounder cost in Stage I).

At this point I suggest you stop and go sailing, you are right around $500.

Stage IV. Radar. You can put a really simple analog radar setup from ebay parts. A radome will run you around $200, an older Pathfinder display can be had for $50 to $250. Then you have the radar mount ($350 new if you want it to look good or $50 used), the cable ($100 even if used), the actual work to pull the cable through the mast. Next, you would want a better heading sensor for MARPA ($600 but this can also become your main compass), then you want chart/radar/AIS integration (more money). Anyway you look at it, radar is incredibly useful but it requires an investment in parts, installation and training to use effectively.

For me, I went with a used Raymarine c80 below with radar/charts/AIS and a Garmin 44dv at the helm. I can control the autopilot both from the helm and from the c80 below which is essential for my type of sailing.

Good luck.

[chowdan]

Thanks everyone for the tips and insight to your setup and knowledge.

I found a brand new, never used Garmin 741xs for sale. Guy won it and doesn't own a boat, paid 600 for it.

[wesevans]

Learn coast wise navigation! Take a course and practice. Obtain paper charts and a hand held GPS. And last obtain a 20-30 mile radar and learn to use it. Take a course become proficient. You do not need an expensive nav setup to get from A to B safely! If you do not feel comfortable with a situation do not go. Stay at sea until daylight. Do not run inlets in the dark. Manny of us sailed safely for years with out the modern expensive equipment.