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Not so much a Luddite in my old age
On Mar 17, 12:32 pm, wrote:
On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:03:16 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch wrote: I have always loved my paper charts and hand bearing compass, taking sights and plotting my position on the cabin floor while the boat pitches and yaws. Often I had to do this quickly because being down below when it was rough would quickly make me seasick. However, I was never tempted to give up my low tech ways until yesterday when I helped a friend move his pilothouse sailboat about 10 miles. He has a chartplotter and he sat in his captains chair watching the little boat icon move showing its position in relation to shoals and showing his course in relation to where we wanted to go, WOW. None of this "My bearing to that mark cannot exceed 280 or we are in danger from the shoal" business, you just look at the plotter. I could get to like that........maybe. However, I wonder how much one gives up when he goes hi-tech. Do you lose the sense of 'figuring it all out"? Having a chartploter doesn't prevent you from navigating the "old way" and just using the chartplotter for verification, or when you simply prefer to use it. I have two chartplotters. I still have days when I use the paper chart just because I enjoy doing it that way. I have a pretty slick little laptop nav table that I find indispensable. I don't think they are made any longer but sometimes they show up on Ebay. search on Ebay for "Ritchie+Chart" Weems still makes something that is somewhat similar, but the Ritchie one is the one to have. I don't see one currently listed. Here is the Weems version to give you a rough idea http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Weems-Plath-Chart-Kit-Plotter_W0QQcmdZ... Thanks for that lead on the nav table. I have been wanting to build something like that but couldnt figure out how to deal with the fact that some charts have weird orientations, this takes care of that. I immediately bid on it. Thanks |
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