"Marty" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
"Marty" wrote in message
...
Capt. JG wrote:
I don't have a chartplotter (and an AIS), sadly. It's not in my budget
until 2011 at least.

You've got a laptop; there's no reason not to have a chartplotter.

You can get Bluetooth GPS puck, or even a USB puck for about 40 bucks,
SeaClear II is free, raster charts (BSB) are free from NOAA.

I have an articulated monitor arm bolted to the inside of the aft saloon
bulkhead beside the companionway that lets me extend a slave LCD display
into the companionway visible from the cockpit. I also I a Bluetooth
trackball that I can use from the cockpit, so the lap stays inside high
and dry. If things start to get wet it's simple to push the slave screen
back into the cockpit out of the weather.

Cheers
Martin


I know, I know. I have a laptop, but it's a beast... 17" monitor, which I
use for work-stuff and another laptop, also for work. I would actually
have to buy another laptop, which would put me in the techno-geek-nerd
category (well, higher up in the category). (I also have three base
systems, one of which is a Mac.)

I already have SeaClear on the 17" laptop, along with a bunch of rasters.
I'm just loath to haul it around and can't leave it on the boat.



Something wrong with being a techno-geek-nerd? Thank God for Obama, maybe
it'll be good to be smart rather than a close minded jerk who thinks pro
wrestling is real.

I've got much the same, less the Mac. I haul one of my laptops around all
the time, that's the idea behind them, portability, computing anywhere....
I'm really bad, I have a good enough antenna system on my wireless router
that I can get a connection in the boat before I get to my dock... gotta
love it.

Remember, the next time you think you're a techno geek, Ham operators
make us look normal...

Cheers
Martin


I've been thinking about getting a HAM... no time lately. It looks pretty
simple, especially since they've dropped the morse requirements.

I'm going to get an iPhone or a Crackberry in the next month or so (probably
iPhone). Do you know if something similar is available for either of those?
That would be cool.

Yeah, Obama insisted they let him use the Blackberry... the White House was,
apparently, stuck in the dark ages for the last eight.


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