Karen, thanks for the info ...

btw. you still owe me some ETec info

I havent ruled out that motor yet, no maintenance, light, little fuel
use, quiet and lotsa power is just soooo tempting ...

Would you please email me (real addy posted)? ( I think your posted
email here is eithr fake or not checked)...

Matt

wrote:
Karen, thanks for the info ...

btw. you still owe me some ETec info

I havent ruled out that motor yet, no maintenance, light, little fuel
use, quiet and lotsa power is just soooo tempting ...

Would you please email me (real addy posted)? ( I think your posted
email here is eithr fake or not checked)...

Matt




Thanks Matt, as for the other GPS replies I mostly agree but they all
assume you know the direction & quantum of set/drift etc (believe it or
not most smaller boats don't even track true through the water & it
varies with speed, sea state, etc), then there's a further assumption
that the quantum AND direction of off track forces will remain constant
throughout the leg; both rarely happen.

All assumptions are a big ask & pretty much negate the perfect beauty
of the GPS itself because you still end up with a ded reckon element in
your navigation (much reduced yes but why have any???) Given how easy it
is to put a series of points along your displayed track it's easy enough
to avoid. I have assumed you are using the GPS to drive an autopilot???
but if you're standing there at the wheel then the highway display can
help & most you can even set the width of that highway so it doesn't
drive you mad by being too sensitive.

Someone said you might not get to your destination but alas that's not
right & indeed the essence of the problem:-) the GPS & autopilot will
"always" get you there, but you might be approaching a long off waypoint
from the wrong & possibly a dangerous direction:-)

Sorry about the Ficht E-Tec thing Matt:-) I think you can safely buy an
E-Tec as you could most any other brand & certainly you shouldn't be
influenced by just one voice (no matter how loud:-))

I'm certainly a bit touchy on the subject, particularly when before I
even enter the subject I get personally denigrated by "believers" who
are nothing more than that & will not even try to address the technical
issues when raised. Since 98 we've pretty much been on our own against
the Ficht & Optimax technology & sadly it's always degenerated into a NG
personal slinging match, mostly me against the selling dealers (do they
have a motive to silence me??) & the usual NG suspects (owners or dealer
spruikers, do they have a motive in silencing me??; see below:-)). I
have to say since OMC rolled into a ditch under a pile of dead Fichts I
see lots of people now who suddenly "knew" they would fail & even can
tell you exactly why:-)

Other, than noting every answer & maybe the grounds for it, you should
always balance the pros & cons to your own satisfaction.

K

Tom,

Have been comparing Lowrance LMS-337CDF vs Garmin 198C. Results have been
interesting,

Many swear by Garmin, any Garmin, while a small minority seem to prefer
Lowrance. Probably depends on where you started given the reliability of
both brands. I currently have a Lowrance LMS-160 purchased in 1999 with
which I've been pretty happy overall. I've never had any issues until last
Spring when I started getting vertical lines on the display. The unit was
remains useful but I needed an excuse to upgrade to a WAAS unit and now I
have one.

I down loaded the virtual 337 and owner's manual and have been playing with
it for about a week. I also compared both units side by side at my local
Boater's World store. The display on the Lowrance is superior with a
480X480 display but a map chip must be purchased at around $100 for a
Navionics Gold. The Garmin has a complete coastal Blue Map installed but
who needs all the extra mapping? Lawrance also has a chip for about $80
(???) which has good coastal coverage for a wide area and even covers our
Mobile Bay Delta very well. The Garmin is more expensive but by the time a
couple of chips for the Lowrance have been purchased the prices are similar.
The Lowrance includes a dual freq transducer with temp and water speed
included. The Garmin xducer must be added and if dual freq, temp and speed
are included it gets pretty expensive. On balance the Lowrance is a little
less expensive and has a better display, IMO.

The downloadable virtual 337 is a great teaching device. It also has a
couple of Navionics maps included to give the user an idea of the detail
possible on the unit.

I'm not in love with either owner's manual but the Lowrance manual seems
slightly easier to understand. Both companies could take lessons from the
military on how to write manuals.

I believe I'll be buying the 337 from Lowrance. The display quality and the
fine detail of the Navionics Gold maps are the major discriminators but the
lower price is also attractive.

Butch
"K. Smith" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Snipped!

On Mon, 26 Dec 2005 14:00:59 +1100, "K. Smith" wrote:

there's a further assumption
that the quantum AND direction of off track forces will remain constant
throughout the leg; both rarely happen.

=================================

Not true. If you monitor COG vs bearing to mark and keep them equal,
the "off track forces" can vary all they want, same thing if you are
monitoring (and minimizing) XTE.

The old fashioned way was to estimate current set over the entire leg,
plot a graphical solution, and steer a constant offset. At the end of
the leg you got to find out the accuracy of your estimate and
calculations. With GPS you get constant feedback.