Fact or fiction: running with the chartplotter off to save electricity

[kelse]

I was raised with paper charts and loran (when it worked). Dead Reckoning is still viable when cruising. Depending on how close to land you are you can always turn your plotter/gps on and get your position as often as you think you need to. Everyone needs to know how to read and use charts. Besides it gives you something to do hourly when plotting your dead reckoning (dr) position and its fun to teach others.

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I value my stash of paper charts and wouldn't not swap them, trade them or otherwise pass them on...not ever

Yes, I also keep paper charts on board, but how often do you update them from the local notice to Mariners?
One of the best things about chart plotters is that you can automatically update the software whenever you have Internet service, and therefore keep them current. To update paper charts you need to read the local notice the Mariners get out your charts and mark them up with the most current information. Do you actually know anyone who still does that?

Al, S/V Finlandia

[kelse]

I believe if you are cruising near coastal then a chart plotter turned on all of the time is a great idea. If you are making a crossing for several days or more, theres not a lot to update on a chart.

[MHTinkler]

I run chartplotter full time when motoring (engine alternator topping off batteries, plus Navionics on Tablet (10.5") as well as Navionics or Aqua Maps on cell phone. If sailing long distance, turn off chart plotter to save energy. Have 490 watts solar plus suitcase generator if needed. Chartplotter is older Garmin unit, so Tablet is really my go to plotter.

[argonauta1]

Hi, if you have the power to keep the fridge going, the extra for the chart plotter and the other instruments is inconsequential. Leave it all "burning & turning" and let the wind blow and the sun shine.

[TabbyCat]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I'm a year or two away from a major electronics refit.
As recently as 2010, books and articles on preparing a boat for cruising emphasized the importance of being able to shut down the chartplotter to save electricity during extended passages. The guidance was to have a separate wind instrument, depth sensor, and autopilot controller so that these functions could still be performed with the chartplotter shut down.
I am wondering whether that advice still makes sense.
I find that I am not comfortable running without radar and, as a result, I have the chartplotter on anyway.

We leave ours on for day sails or when within 250NM of land. But on passages like our 26-day Pacific crossing to Pitcairn in 2012, we turned it off at night. Powered it back up at each watch change. Each watchkeeper's task was to zoom in on high detail and check the next 30 NM of the course for anomalies- shallow spots, notes from other cruisers on the charts, etc. Many boaters have made the "failure to zoom in" error, and have paid a high price for it. If nothing to see on the chart, then we shut it down after completing that task. If we saw lights, we turned the chartplotter back on to show the other vessel's AIS position on the screen. Our wind, depth, VHF all work independently of the chartplotter. We have AGM batteries, not Lithiums, so we had to watch our power usage pretty carefully. YRMV

[donradcliffe]

On one of the deliveries back from Hawaii last summer the B&G network failed. No big deal, because there was an independent AIS display which gave lat, lon, SOG and COG, and I had Navionics on two cell phones. I would plan for two independent autopilots which could operate separate from any MFDs, plus a good binnacle compass. Paper charts have been dead for over 10 years. Depth doesn't matter off soundings, and stick your finger in the air to get wind data.

[kayakerChuck]

I need a decent magnetic compass, paper charts, basic plotting tools, and a good depth sounder. All are on board.

On my 30' O'Day, I have the above, plus:

9" Raymarine MFD, primarily used for RADAR display, Navionics charts and CHIRP transducer
9" Garmin MFD, primarily used as a plotter. Bluecharts and CHIRP transducer

I have separate instruments for wind, speed, and depth. The depth is set up as a repeater for either transducer via N2K network.

Redundant displays and different chart cards help more than I thought. In places in the Great Lakes, entire islands are missing from BlueCharts.

The bottom topography in my areas tends to be "interesting" and "close". Redundant systems have kept my blood pressure down when one died.

Power wise, we have 240 w of solar and a 70A/hr alternator. We store electrons in a pair of t-105 batteries, so about 225A/hr of storage. We have all the modern gadgets, and it's easy to manage our power & keep the batteries happy.

(yeah- we probably have the most over-improved O'Day 30 on the water- lol)

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I'm a year or two away from a major electronics refit.


As recently as 2010, books and articles on preparing a boat for cruising emphasized the importance of being able to shut down the chartplotter to save electricity during extended passages. The guidance was to have a separate wind instrument, depth sensor, and autopilot controller so that these functions could still be performed with the chartplotter shut down.


I am wondering whether that advice still makes sense.


I find that I am not comfortable running without radar and, as a result, I have the chartplotter on anyway.

Just use your nautical charts, a simple GPS or sextant...maybe stop reading books and use common sense gained by your experiences?
Am I wrong assuming you have relevant charts for the areas you intend to travel?
I know navigation is a pesky thing..

[MicHughV]

Reading this thread, I'm wondering how people ever found their way anywhere or did anything ???

Seriously, a dependence on electronics has filtered into virtually every nook and cranny of life.

One only has to see the hordes of people with the noses stuck into their cell phones to appreciate the problem facing mankind.

I started going to college with a slide rule in my pocket and was quite adept at it. Shortly thereafter, the first handheld calculators came out and they could perform pretty much anything and everything, but in the process, people forgot how to think.

This is the crux of the problem imo, as modern day electronics seems to have dumbed down humanity.

[Jim Cate]

I started going to college with a slide rule in my pocket and was quite adept at it. Shortly thereafter, the first handheld calculators came out and they could perform pretty much anything and everything, but in the process, people forgot how to think.

I bet that when the first slide rules were introduced grumpy old men bitched about how they would destroy folks ability to do arithmetical operations on paper and the world would crash forthwith.

And I too had one from mid school onward... and still have two (one circular, one linear) on board our boat (but will admit that I've not used one for some years now!).

Jim

[thinwater]

I like electronics just fine.
a. I like just sailing sometimes. The senses and my memory of the waters. Sailing should be simple sometimes. To disconnect. The cell is with me, but turned off.

b. I don't like the idea of the possibility of a single point failure that takes down everything. There should be a backup for each required part. It can be electronic too, but something.

[gulfislandfred]

I think we're still required to have paper charts aboard in Canada. I don't recall anyone being asked to show them, even when boarded for a 'safety check'
(very seldom happens here in BC. Only time I was ever boarded, I had brought a boat in from the states, and took a little cruise with the name half removed from the transom. Sloppy paint thinner smeared transom, Two scruffy looking bearded guys, no women or children, headed North not too far from the border. All OK when I showed ID and import documents, but they still asked for life jackets etc. This was before 9/11.)
I still carry paper charts. Good to plan the route, look for anchorages, get the big picture.

[Pizzazz]

Originally Posted by wholybee

There is a significant different in power on a boat between 2010 and now. Both in the power that is available, and the efficiency of all our electronic devices. I would think that in most cases a chart plotter can be left on. Maybe not all of them if you have several, but at least one.

Exactly. Do a power budget on your electronics:

- Raymarine wind display, 80mA display, 120mA sensor
- Raymarine 9" modern display, 600mA display, 300mA sonar
- Raymarine ST70 instrument/pilot, 250mA (the color screen)
- AIS (McMurdo M10 AIS transponder), 300mA max, average 100mA
- Autopilot draw (huge compared to above, may be 3-10A on waves)

The conclusion is that modern devices are so efficient that it is better to leave the chart plotter on and switch off the control/display heads. In other words, do not worry about it, get the electronics you like/want. The major power draw comes from heat transfer devices (fridge, ice maker, air conditioning, coffee maker), incandescent lighting (you should replace that with quality LEDs if you have not done already) and the autopilot.

If you have an older analog radar, that can consume significant energy as well and it may be worth replacing that if you want to keep radar on all the time. But most modern radars are solid state anyway, so it would come automatically with the system upgrade.

MV Ithaka

[Miyalk]

If you cant leave all the electronics on 24/7 you simply dont have enough solar and battery capacity IMO.

Unless you are some sort of hair shirt, luddite, traditionalist. (which is fine, just not for me!)