A GPS Thought and a question ..
 

"b393capt" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am around computers and software all day long, and have found that
the PC intrudes upon my sailing hobby more than I desire. In the end,
my laptop sits on the boat unused. I took it off a few weeks ago, just
so it doesn't take up storage space.

... and it was very well connected. I have an adapter that converts
the voltage up from 12v to 19v (so no inverter needed), i have a
Raymarine high speed hub so I can connect to my ray marine instruments
via ethernet, I have RNS 6.0 that lets me see all my instruments
including radar from my laptop (never went thru the effort to install
it), and I have my Garmin MapTech software and maps that are on my
desktop computer at home.

Reality is that my Maptech software is highly used at home, never on
the boat. It's great, in fact superior to all my raymarine software,
for planning my trips. But once I am on the boat, my raymarine E-80
plotter seems to enhance my sailing (granted it's right at my helm and
nav station, well mounted in the way of nothing, without any mouse or
keypads covered in my crew's personal items) where my PC just get's in
the way and invades my sailing hobby.

My advise ... be sure the laptop has a real use on your boat before you
go through any effort to integrate it. Add if you can, instead get a
chartplotter from Raymarine or Garmin, or others.

I second that entire post. I've likewise got a laptop onboard, with the
same network and power arrangements. I find Maptech's Chart Navigator Pro
(a relabelling of Rosepoint's Coastal Explorer) to be of tremendously help
and possibly the BEST PC-based chartplotter out there. Not sure if you
really meant Garmin or not. But I also rarely use it when underway as the
E-80 does all of what I need. The only time I fire up the PC is to use
CNP's search feature to locate a river, port or other destination by name.
Using search on the E-80 is painful, at best, because of using the cursor to
input the text one letter at a time.

If you're thinking the PC will replace having a chartplotter, that's only
true if you have NO intention of ever trying to use it at the helm. Unless
you shell out big bucks for a sunlight readable LCD you'll never be able to
adequately use the PC anywhere but belowdecks.