Despite working with computers, I was like you regarding gadgets on
boats. I cook in the cockpit on a camp stove and take pride in knowing
how to work a pelorus and parallel rules.

But...

A GPS is so damned useful in so many ways that I have one for the boat
and an old Magellan 300 for the "crash" box I throw in the Zodiac. I
use it less for position (it's Lake Ontario, get out and look,
dummy!), but I find the cross-tracking and ETA functions very helpful
in improving my helming, and in letting people know when I should
arrive. The speed over ground and course over ground allows me to
calibrate my compass and speedo, and finally, I do like finding buoys
in fog, thanks to waypoints.

Even the cheapest models seem to also feature sunrise, moonrise and
other data...which is an aid to celestial, which I intend to pursue.

Have fun with the thing...it's a great help if you just keep in mind
that it can be turned off and it's an aid, not a substitute, for
proper pilotage. The rock approaching your hull doesn't care if you
have a GPS and not a paper chart of current vintage.

R.

On 8 Apr 2004 09:46:02 -0700, (Parallax) wrote:

Finally bought a GPS to augment my DR and coastal piloting via compass
and chart. At first, I hated it (havent even had it on the boat yet)
because it has all these damned menus that make it worse than
programming a VCR. I was afraid it would ruin my geometric fun in
finding position. My wife was also ****ed that I bought a gadget.
THEN, I decided to bring it to work with me in my old truck. My truck
with 280,000 miles hasn't had a speedometer in the last 10 yrs since
the electronic one broke. I put the GPS in the windshield and
suddenly realized I had a speedometer. Now, she likes it as a
speedometer in the truck. It also finds altitude and I was never
aware of the relative amount of elevation in Tallahassee, even when
commutting by bicycle.
Now, to see how it does on the boat.