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bought a GPS
Despite working with computers, I was like you regarding gadgets on boats. I cook in the cockpit on a camp stove and take pride in knowing how to work a pelorus and parallel rules. But... A GPS is so damned useful in so many ways that I have one for the boat and an old Magellan 300 for the "crash" box I throw in the Zodiac. I use it less for position (it's Lake Ontario, get out and look, dummy!), but I find the cross-tracking and ETA functions very helpful in improving my helming, and in letting people know when I should arrive. The speed over ground and course over ground allows me to calibrate my compass and speedo, and finally, I do like finding buoys in fog, thanks to waypoints. Even the cheapest models seem to also feature sunrise, moonrise and other data...which is an aid to celestial, which I intend to pursue. Have fun with the thing...it's a great help if you just keep in mind that it can be turned off and it's an aid, not a substitute, for proper pilotage. The rock approaching your hull doesn't care if you have a GPS and not a paper chart of current vintage. R. On 8 Apr 2004 09:46:02 -0700, (Parallax) wrote: Finally bought a GPS to augment my DR and coastal piloting via compass and chart. At first, I hated it (havent even had it on the boat yet) because it has all these damned menus that make it worse than programming a VCR. I was afraid it would ruin my geometric fun in finding position. My wife was also ****ed that I bought a gadget. THEN, I decided to bring it to work with me in my old truck. My truck with 280,000 miles hasn't had a speedometer in the last 10 yrs since the electronic one broke. I put the GPS in the windshield and suddenly realized I had a speedometer. Now, she likes it as a speedometer in the truck. It also finds altitude and I was never aware of the relative amount of elevation in Tallahassee, even when commutting by bicycle. Now, to see how it does on the boat. |
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