Steve Lusardi wrote:
Jeff,
Much of what you say is true. The real cost of the certification of these
professional systems is testing and verification, not the technology. So, if
you elect to use these chart plotters and you test and verify the accuracy
in the waters you sail, then the risk factor of using them is greatly
diminished in those waters ONLY. Just keep in mind that YOU are the ultimate
certification authority for use. Isn't this the same methodology that Bill
Gates uses for his software? Nobody can deny the validity and cost
effectiveness of the process, but the end user must be aware of this and
unfortuately, most are not.
Steve

Again, I'll say that I'm not a fan of charting software layered on
commercial, general purpose systems. Nor do I like using a normal
laptop at the helm - far too many issues from stability to screen
quality to weather resistance. My primary issue is your claim that the
smaller dedicated offerings, such as those from Garmin, are not worth
having.

But, here's a few things to consider: Gates probably spends orders of
magnitude more on quality control than the "certified" systems do; its
just that his software is far more complex, and used in a quite
different way. And it wouldn't surprise me if the "certified" software
is layered on Linux, possibly even the the same version that Larry is
using.

The high cost of the certified stuff is not due to a large amount of
quality control; its due to the custom installations, bullet proof
hardware, training, and continuing support. All worthwhile attributes,
but they don't mean the actual charting is any better.

Also, the chart quality available on the "certified" system is the same
as what's available on the "lesser" systems. Of course, many people
with chartplotters don't bother to always get the latest upgrades, just
as most boaters don't upgrade their paper charts with the periodic
"Notice to Mariners." However, its probably easier and cheaper for the
generic PC users to do this. In fact, modern PC software is
continuously hitting the 'net to find newer charts.

I'll leave you with a good example of a "certified" system that failed
it's users:
http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1997/mar9701.pdf