Actually, I would say that except for day cruising, it's an essential thing
to have.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...
How often did you use beside for writing? Certainly not much I suspect
for
an hour or three sail.

Used it when we went sailing around NY harbor, Thimble Islands, Norwalk
and pretty much any time we took the boat someplace new, like
Centerport or Port Jeff. As a desk it was used often and it's where the
computer was situated as well. A nav station/desk is a nice thing to
have and if we see our long term plans through ours will get plenty of
use over the next 4-5 years. Like the swim platform it's just another
nice thing to have, even better when it's a proper size. The nav table
on Alien, while typical of most boats under 40 feet, was a bit small.


RB
35s5
NY

Actually, I would say that except for day cruising, it's an essential
thing
to have.


I agree, but playing the other side of the fence, I have a friend with
a old Galaxy 32. He prefers the fold down dinner table for everything
because it's big. Is it essential? I'm certain that it isn't for most
folks. But it's a classic element of interior design and we all enjoy
seeing it below, especially when done well.


RB
35s5
NY

Capt. Rob wrote:
Actually, I would say that except for day cruising, it's an essential
thing
to have.


I agree, but playing the other side of the fence, I have a friend with
a old Galaxy 32. He prefers the fold down dinner table for everything
because it's big. Is it essential? I'm certain that it isn't for most
folks. But it's a classic element of interior design and we all enjoy
seeing it below, especially when done well.


RB
35s5
NY

I think that the chart table is not essential. In most yachts it is not
near the helmsman and is of limited use. Frequently it is not big
enough to use charts on or store charts in. It is often located where
you have to sit on someones head to use it at sea.

I think a good boat has a proper chart stowage area where many charts
can be stowed flat, folded once and not get wet. There should be a
stowage area for books (tide tables, list of light, pilots etc). An
offshore boat should have spot where sights can be worked out with lots
of light and a large table. Coastal navigation and pilotage require the
chart to be handy to the helmsman and in a dry spot. Most people come
up with some neat way of doing that like a large waterproof chart bag
and then use the charts in the cockpit. Some rig up neat plexiglass
covers that let you work right on top in grease pencil. I have never
(except for instruction) seen someone using the bog standard quarter
berth chart table when actually navigating. It simply takes to long to
go up top, take a fix, go below, plot it, and then tell the guy driving
what is going on.

I and most people (I think) prefer to have the chart in hand, with a
plan in a note book or on the chart, a handheld compass or GPS and stand
there at the helm and drive/navigate.

In every boat I have ever been on, the chart table just becomes a place
where stuff accumulates (some of it nav related). Most folks store
charts under bunk mattresses and in places like that.

With a laptop, radar or GPS plotter onboard, the space used by a chart
table can be used for something else. Lets see builders create
innovative spots for that kind of kit that keeps it dry and visible from
the helm in all weather and at all times of the day.

Gaz

Good points gaz, a nice full size chart table needs to be 37X44".

I like a plexi top and a grease pen myself, with routes pre-drawn in
pencil below.

I perfer to roll charts and stow them above in a rack.

Joe

That's what I prefer as well. They're handy, but out of the way, and you can
tell what they are with one glance.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Good points gaz, a nice full size chart table needs to be 37X44".

I like a plexi top and a grease pen myself, with routes pre-drawn in
pencil below.

I perfer to roll charts and stow them above in a rack.

Joe

My cahrt table in my 28' S2 is the cabin sole. Lotsa room and the
tools cant fall any further down. The trick is to do the plotting in
short enough time to not get seasick. Now, with the new Chartkit that
is smaller than the old charts, I may figger out something else. Maybe
a laptop board that holds it so i could use it in the cockpit.

"Capt. Rob" wrote
Have a look at the nav station on the 35s5...

Looks like wasted space too me. A Garmin with map display in the cockpit is
more than adequate for motoring in the LIS. Add a backup GPS driving a laptop
down below for backup on more distant excursions. Get a plastic chart of LIS and
use it for a table cloth in the galley - handier for determining a course than
zooming around on the laptop and you can impress folks by keeping position on it
in grease pencil. Of course if you're into nostalgia .......

"Capt. Rob" wrote
So, what's underneath it?


A large shallow storage area for chart tools.

or a laptop.

"Vito" wrote in message
...
"Capt. Rob" wrote
Have a look at the nav station on the 35s5...

Looks like wasted space too me. A Garmin with map display in
the cockpit is
more than adequate for motoring in the LIS.

A Texaco road map would be adequate for what Bubbles does.

SV

A Texaco road map would be adequate for what Bubbles does.


Actually, the City Island diner has Map of the Long Island Sound
place-mats. I stole one and it's even laminated. It says "Not to be
used for navigational purposes" at the bottom, but it works fine.


RB
35s5
NY