I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like and
don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like and
don't like about it.

I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

I have used Fugawi with very limited experience. Take what follows for
for what it is worth.

When tooling around and with someone on the machine they are fine.

When trying to pick your way into a harbour, alone, at night, in fog,
they can take too much attention away from what is at hand. I turned
the damn thing off and concentrated on the radar. I also had a chart
plotter which I ended up constantly messing with.

Along with that you must remember that the charts are not always
accuratly alighed to lat/long. Nigel Calder explains far better than I
can but you can get 1/2 mile position "discrepencies". I have not
experienced it but have read of enough "events" to make me believe it.

However, I am getting ready to fuss with a different application that
may be of some interest.

Point 1. Fugawi lets you import images files, if you can geo-reference
the files then you can use them as "maps." I did this last year on a
road trip to Belize. Worked fine once I got the geo-reference right.

Point 2. Google Earth lets you download satillite images, with a
lat/long grid.

Point 3. Import Google Earth sat images into Fugawi and geo-reference
(calibrate.) Voile, drive/sail the photo.

No, they are not charts, but they should be able to give you confidence
that the charts are accurate and provide some additional info about what
the surrounding land looks like. I put some local area images on the
machine tonight and the laid right in over some saved track. You could
see where I drove up 95, went over a bridge, made my normal turns,
around the block and into my backyard. At least in Philly it appears to
be dead accurate.

I hope to cruise the south coast of Newfoundland this summer and there
are several interesting harbours I wish to visit that have well reported
"discrepencies" between chart and GPS lat/long. Hence my interest, to
validate my chart plotter when I can't see.

All that being said, its a cool toy. It may not be worth a damn on a
boat, alone, in the fog, at night.

Howard




Wayne.B wrote:

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:


I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like and
don't like about it.


I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 22:25:31 -0500, Howard wrote:


All that being said, its a cool toy. It may not be worth a damn on a
boat, alone, in the fog, at night.

Very good observations, and since the introduction of Google Earth and
similar services a few months back, I have puzzled over how I could
use it on the boat G.

I think you have to use every tool available to you in the run-up to a
passagemaking or to the transiting of an unknown-to-you landfall or
harbour. These devices are excellent for planning one's approach, but
even in the "live GPS position" mode, they are practically static
compared to the eyes, ears and yes, nose of the practiced sailor. Two
potential problems exist with electronic navigation:

1) With the new expensive, full-colour plotters, you are a little icon
in a video game. This can be isolating you from the dynamic
environment around you. Seamanship isn't a video game, but video games
can aid seamanship.

2) Electronic charts are out of date a day after you get them. Nothing
beats a live, self-interested and therefore motivated human on the
foredeck (using family band radio to the helm if you want to get all
technological) keeping a watch in fog, signalling with a horn and
LISTENING. I have heard of at least one case when sailboats in fog at
night collided because both were converging on the same navigational
aid...thanks to the marvels of GPS/chartplotting. Keeping a watch may
have avoided this.

I have noticed that I can occasionally guess who is using
chartplotting by the behaviour of their boats near navigational aids
or off landmarks following a depth contour. You are the skipper. The
technology informs, but being indifferent to the outcome, it cannot be
responsible.

R.

Yeah, that's why I turned if off. It would be embarassing to run into a
cliff while looking down the companion way at a video game. Going into
Ship Harbour I could hear the surf of the 8-foot swell - over the motor.
But I couldn't see the front of the cockpit.

BTW, I also read your reply asking about a cockpit screen reminded me
that one day I could see the fog condensing on my arm hair and the water
was running down the rigging. Just fog. I had to keep three pairs of
glasses just to see the damn compas let alone some computer screen. I
rigged the radar so I was mounted to the middle washboard and that way
kept it out of the worst of the wet but it filled up the companionway.

I don't know about you but I spend 6 to 8 hours a day on a computer
already. At 54 my arms shurnk enough that I can't read a headline at
full arms length. Sucks to be old but beats the only option.

Howard

rhys wrote:

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 22:25:31 -0500, Howard wrote:


All that being said, its a cool toy. It may not be worth a damn on a
boat, alone, in the fog, at night.


Very good observations, and since the introduction of Google Earth and
similar services a few months back, I have puzzled over how I could
use it on the boat G.

I think you have to use every tool available to you in the run-up to a
passagemaking or to the transiting of an unknown-to-you landfall or
harbour. These devices are excellent for planning one's approach, but
even in the "live GPS position" mode, they are practically static
compared to the eyes, ears and yes, nose of the practiced sailor. Two
potential problems exist with electronic navigation:

1) With the new expensive, full-colour plotters, you are a little icon
in a video game. This can be isolating you from the dynamic
environment around you. Seamanship isn't a video game, but video games
can aid seamanship.

2) Electronic charts are out of date a day after you get them. Nothing
beats a live, self-interested and therefore motivated human on the
foredeck (using family band radio to the helm if you want to get all
technological) keeping a watch in fog, signalling with a horn and
LISTENING. I have heard of at least one case when sailboats in fog at
night collided because both were converging on the same navigational
aid...thanks to the marvels of GPS/chartplotting. Keeping a watch may
have avoided this.

I have noticed that I can occasionally guess who is using
chartplotting by the behaviour of their boats near navigational aids
or off landmarks following a depth contour. You are the skipper. The
technology informs, but being indifferent to the outcome, it cannot be
responsible.

R.

Yeah, I was looking at Ozi too. The attraction of MapTech for me was that
it seems to include a whole pile of charts...kinda seems like a buy the
charts and the software is free kinda thing. Just wanted to know if the
software was worth a damn. I love being out there but when in real thin
water I am busy plotting my position real often on paper with my trusty
pencil & utilizing my binoculars...don't plan on eliminating this but may
allow me to relax a little and do it less often...also very helpful in trip
planning. Thought I am concerned about power consumption with a computer
running all the time. We cruise for 5-6 months at a time and only stay in
marinas when s**t really hits the fan...so power is always an issue.

So, do you find MapTech relatively easy to use and pretty helpful for
navigating?

Glenn.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and
don't like about it.

I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

All the NOAA charts are now free downloads. Both vector and raster.
BF

"John Glynn" wrote in message
news:ZUYAf.427979$ki.399265@pd7tw2no...
Yeah, I was looking at Ozi too. The attraction of MapTech for me was that
it seems to include a whole pile of charts...kinda seems like a buy the
charts and the software is free kinda thing. Just wanted to know if the
software was worth a damn. I love being out there but when in real thin
water I am busy plotting my position real often on paper with my trusty
pencil & utilizing my binoculars...don't plan on eliminating this but may
allow me to relax a little and do it less often...also very helpful in
trip
planning. Thought I am concerned about power consumption with a computer
running all the time. We cruise for 5-6 months at a time and only stay in
marinas when s**t really hits the fan...so power is always an issue.

So, do you find MapTech relatively easy to use and pretty helpful for
navigating?

Glenn.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro
by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and
don't like about it.

I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

Maptech = Coastal explorer

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 04:25:29 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

Yeah, I was looking at Ozi too. The attraction of MapTech for me was that
it seems to include a whole pile of charts...kinda seems like a buy the
charts and the software is free kinda thing.

As all the US charts are now free direct from the NOAA, I see no
reason to be stuck with a Maptech product. All of Maptech's charting
software is just licensed versions of other companies' products. In
most cases, stripped down to some degree (especially to lock you into
Maptech map products) or more expensive than buying the "the real
thing" direct from the licensor and skipping Maptech's version.

--
BRENT - The Usenet typo king.

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 13:36:04 -0800, Brent Geery
wrote:

As all the US charts are now free direct from the NOAA, I see no
reason to be stuck with a Maptech product.

Maptech OSN works just fine with the new free BSB charts.