Move boat here - to waypoint

[abarclay]

I've just started playing around with OpenCPN and have to say - what a cool piece of software!

So far I've been using it for weather routing for the https://8bitbyte.ca/sailnavsim/ simulator. To do this I have to manually transfer my boat position into OpenCPN (although maybe I should write a plugin to do it for me...hmm ideas).

I've plotting my position by creating a waypoint, then right clicking on the waypoint and choosing "move boat here". The problem is this command doesn't seem to be aware that a waypoint is selected - it always moves the boat to the point you clicked. Depending on zoom, this can be many miles different from the actual waypoint. The attached screenshot shows this behaviour: the waypoint is highlighted, but the boat will be moved to the top left corner of the menu, which isn't at the actual waypoint position.

Long story short, is this a bug, or the expected behaviour? Any suggestions on a better approach to this? And a related question, is there any way to use waypoints for weather routing? I've only been able to manually enter positions in the weather routing plugin.

[HappySeagull]

Hmm. but it works for me.



I can create a route, then hover cursor over any wpt until its title box appears, right -click as near to the point as I can, and then and select"move boat here" the same as you show and she lands very near the target every time....exactly where I right-clicked.



Also, the same dropping marks -she will land very very near the mark. I'm using the same menu as you to do this. (Linux lite OS, if that makes a diff..but it shouldn't)


I could be so easily wrong, but be careful where you actually do the right-click?

[abarclay]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

lands very near the target every time....exactly where I right-clicked.

That's my point - right clicking on the waypoint brings up what feels like a waypoint specific-context menu, so I would expect the boat to then move to the waypoint. Instead it moves to the position of the mouse click.

Not really a big deal once you know about it, just felt confusing.

[rgleason]

Yes, when you right click on a waypoint a different waypoint specific menu opens which does not have "Move boat here" and thus this action cannot be selected.

When you right click just off the waypoint some small distance, the standard right click menu opens with the upper left corner marking the point selected, when the command "Move boat here" is selected the boat is placed at the upper right corner of the open menu (the same as the point of the mouse arrow when right clicked.)

This action is very different than the action you describe below. Are you sure you have expressed your action when using "Move boat here" as clearly as possible?

Originally Posted by abarclay

That's my point - right clicking on the waypoint brings up what feels like a waypoint specific-context menu, so I would expect the boat to then move to the waypoint. Instead it moves to the position of the mouse click.

Not really a big deal once you know about it, just felt confusing.

[abarclay]

Originally Posted by rgleason

This action is very different than the action you describe below. Are you sure you have expressed your action when using "Move boat here" as clearly as possible?

I thought the screenshot attached to my original post was pretty clear, but to reiterate:

1) Right click near a waypoint

2) Waypoint becomes selected (yellow highlight) and context menu opens

3) In that menu, select Main Menu > Move Boat Here

4) Boat position is moved to the position of the click instead of the position of the waypoint.

Seems the "Main Menu" commands don't know they were invoked from within the waypoint context. This is particularly evident with the weather routing window open - per attached screenshot you get 2 "Weather route position" commands. The first one will use the exact waypoint position, the second will use the position of the click.

[rgleason]

Thank you abarclay, I just learned something. It works just as you describe. I had never used the second level "Main Menu" I am using Windows.

It seems to me that if the waypoint is selected and then "Move Boat here" is selected, it should move the boat to that location!

This should be written up in flyspray under bug. Can you register with "Tracker" and do that please? Tracker is in the opencpn.org main menu. You should include a link to your Cruiser Forum thread. Thankyou.

[HappySeagull]

..but if adopted, the next complaint will be that you can't "move boat" anywhere within the waypoint's decription box (or whatever pixel map is used) without being magnetically attracted to the waypoint ...


Seems like an esoteric feature to me....and as is, the more you zoom in, the closer to the wpt you can place the ownship boat..so close a few feet doesn't matter.

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

..but if adopted, the next complaint will be that you can't "move boat" anywhere within the waypoint's decription box (or whatever pixel map is used) without being magnetically attracted to the waypoint ...


Seems like an esoteric feature to me....and as is, the more you zoom in, the closer to the wpt you can place the ownship boat..so close a few feet doesn't matter.

Happy Seagulll, it's not esoteric to be accurate.



What I would expect is:

1. If the waypoint is selected and highlighted then the boat is located on top of the the waypoint.
2. If the point selected does not highlight a waypoint, then it is placed at that location.
3. There would be no arbitrariness to where the boat is placed.

Assuming the above action, I think the normal use would be to place a route with waypoints at some preferred appropriate distance from bouys so the route does not plough down a nun or can.

[abarclay]

Originally Posted by rgleason

This should be written up in flyspray under bug. Can you register with "Tracker" and do that please? Tracker is in the opencpn.org main menu. You should include a link to your Cruiser Forum thread. Thankyou.

Thanks, I'll do that! I was starting to think I was going crazy here.

[HappySeagull]

Happy Seagulll, it's not esoteric to be accurate.

I suppose it's because I see a difference between a boat and a wpt or mark. I don't see why a boat representing the varying accuracy of a gps,loran etc, need be "moved" to a mark or wpt with perfect accuracy for the demands of some gaming software (https://8bitbyte.ca/sailnavsim/)


You can already move the boat and choose "Tools/drop mark at boat"(CTRL+O) and then easily combine the marks as a route...

[abarclay]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

perfect accuracy for the demands of some gaming software

You're missing the point here - this has nothing to do with my particular use (for which accuracy is not a problem anyway). Instead think of it as an unintuitive behaviour that can lead to an inaccurate boat position. Surely in a piece of navigation software, that's something best avoided.

Framed another way: you're out sailing, and suddenly your GPS puck/NMEA network/whatever goes down and OpenCPN is no longer tracking your boat position. You have an accurate position from your phone/handheld GPS/whatever. How do you transcribe that position into OpenCPN?

I get that navigation is inherently imperfect and this is probably not a problem for most users, but that's not a very good reason to avoid improving something.