New Guy Rants at Garmin

[Sunspot Baby]

They are on the water with us.

We just returned from a week at Ocracoke. On the weekend the place was jammed with boats and I actually heard what I now report.

The owner of a new power boat was ranting about Garmin. It seems as soon as he was out of his home port, he picked the entry to Ocracoke waypoint. Hit “go to” and kicked back.

As I heard him complain, the stupid GPS took him right over the shoals. If his depth alarm had not alerted him, he would have run aground. “What is wrong with Garmin? They know the shoals are there, they show on the chart display.”

I guess he expected a nice little voice to come on and say “turn left in 200 yards.”

I never cease to be amazed.

George

[cheoah]

That's pretty funny. Wonder if it conked out if he'd plot a DR line or just call garmin like roadside assistance?

csh

[Unicorn Dreams]

I don't think amazed would be the right word.

DUMBfounded would be more like it.

Kind of like the fellow on the news, Gaemin said turn right, and he did, straight down the RR tracks.

[S/V Alchemy]

[Unicorn Dreams]

Alchemy was so amazed and dumb founded by that guy, he couldn't get anything printed

[Johnathon123]

It reminds me of the joke:

A retired couple are talking to the police after there RV plunged off the side of the freeway lucky to be alive here is the transcript:

PO: What happened?

Driver: well I just picked up the new RV from the dealer when I needed a cup of tea. So I carefully set up the cruise control and headed into the kitchen when the damn thing failed to negotiate the bend.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I bet he has a large red button installed.........

[Unicorn Dreams]

Sorry about that Alchemy, must have had a real slow conection

[Noname]

Hilarious!!!! !!

[cal40john]

Women blame bad GPS directions for driving down boat launch ramp.

Women escape sinking car after crashing into Mercer Slough | 911 | Bellevue News

[Kettlewell]

I was in the Bahamas when a stressed voice came on the VHF radio asking what he should do as his GPS chartplotter wasn't agreeing with his radar. I asked for his approximate position and suggested he look up ahead as he was within a mile or two of Marsh Harbour in the Abacos, it was a brilliant sunny day, the water was crystal clear, and he could easily sail a direct line from where he was to the harbor using good ol' Mark I eyeballs.

[cheoah]

I'm selling my old boat and just took it down to the boatyard for survey. It has no chartplotter. You get spoiled with a chartplotter. I forgot what a challenge it can be with paper -- it was windy and I was taking water in the cockpit. I have no depth sounder either, so knowing where I am feels good. I tried using the navionics for iPhone today, but it was useless to me. Cant see it with the sun. Definitely can't see with polarized glasses, and it is slow to render charts when you're zooming or scrolling. That was it's big shot to do something useful but it did not...

How many of you do lots of route programming, and who just uses their chartplotter to get a bearing on an ATN or whatever and run a compass course? I do the latter. I try not to get too reliant on it but it makes navigating fun and EASY and by far is my favorite instrument.


csh

[Kettlewell]

Nearshore I use paper charts because they are always on, can be read instantly in any light, and I can see a big picture of what is around me compared to the usually puny screen of even the most-expensive chart plotters. That's the biggest problem with chartplotters--I feel like I'm looking through the wrong end of the binoculars at the chart. Having done this for eons (I'm an old fart) I have a pretty good seat of the pants idea of exactly where I am on the chart (watching the depth sounder and compass too) even if I don't plot things out, which I can do in seconds if I need to. Offshore the chartplotter is nice to have when you can't see any landmarks or buoys, and you want to keep track of where you are without having to concentrate a bit.

[svcambria]

Originally Posted by Sunspot Baby

... The owner of a new power boat was ranting about Garmin. It seems as soon as he was out of his home port, he picked the entry to Ocracoke waypoint. Hit “go to” and kicked back.

As I heard him complain, the stupid GPS took him right over the shoals. If his depth alarm had not alerted him, he would have run aground. “What is wrong with Garmin? They know the shoals are there, they show on the chart display.”

Probably expected it to radio other boats to clear the way too...

Michael

[CarlF]

Well this is depressing...

His Garmin chartplotter was probably equipped with "auto guidance". This will calculate a route avoiding any areas that are shallower than the minimum you set. My Garmin can do this but I've never figured out how to use it. Or care to......

Here's a video I found demonstrating:

Garmin 740 Displays - Bluewaterpirates Albums

Scary!

Carl