Hand held GPS

Anonymous 121765 · Apr 6, 2015

Bubba,

Thanks pal. I remember a time when I was in the Shiz before my chartplotter.
That's what made my decision. But, I also like big screen HDTV's also.

But that's for my area's type of sailing, In other areas, it may not be as important, I just wanted anyone questioning of which way to go, gets enough input to best decide.

CR

centerline · Apr 6, 2015

captnron said:
Bubba,

This is just my opinion but, you have a 31 footer thus room to mount a GPS. I personally do NOT like handhelds for sailing. Too small of a screen & not mounted in place for ease of use in all conditions.

Yea, there will be a difference in cost but, you need to remember to, "Never allow price to be your first motivator, need & use should decide priority."

CR

I strongly agree.... with a 30ft boat, you may be owning it for awhile so why go cheap on one of the most used pieces of navigation equipment?
get something you can see from a few feet away and mount it thoughtfully so it can be used from the cockpit, yet either be removed when the boat is not occupied, or so it can swing back in to the cabin so it can be locked up...

as far as worrying about cell phone coverage on the water, how far offshore are you going?...
cell phone range is in relation to the distance from the tower/repeater and objects in between the tower and your device, no matter if you are over water or land, but within a few miles of the nearest tower you should have no issues.

Stu Jackson · Apr 6, 2015

We have a 34 foot boat. I never felt the need to install a "built-in" GPS. Our handheld "lives" in a Snap-It holder on the binnacle rail. I am not a "slave behind the wheel" so I wouldn't ever mount anything that requires being at wheel anyway. A good friend with the same boat mounted his GPS in the hatchway on a swing arm mount. That worked for him since he sailed from BC to Mexico, and had radar overlaid on his plotter. For me, that would be in the way.

Our Garmin GPSMap 76Cx is all I need. I use rechargeable AA batteries.

OTOH, if you sail where fog is prevalent, then radar and AIS overlays are almost something you shouldn't ever be without. I don't have those issue where I sail. If I did, I would rethink it.

Your boat, your choice.

YVRguy · Apr 6, 2015

Use your smartphone

I purchased a Garmin portable and I never use it. I strongly suggest you invest in either iNavX or Navionics for your smart phone. I know it seems counter intuitive but iNavX in particular is amazing. You can load the official NOAA and Canadian Hydrographic Service Charts and achieve remarkably good GPS accuracy. Last year I tested this app on my iPhone in an area far away from any cell service and it was remarkable.

In addition it is FAR easier to use and view. The puny screen on my Garmin is next to useless compared to iNavX on my phone or iPad. And that's just for general viewing. For more advanced functions like setting waypoints and plating routes there's no comparison. In the beginning I really wanted to believe that a specialized piece of equipment would be superior to a smart phone and app but I am now a believer.

Brian D · Apr 6, 2015

Caveat... if you go the iPhone route, make sure to turn off all iPhone upgrade functions. You don't want your iPhone trying to do a firmware upgrade when you really need you nav app.

Gunni · Apr 6, 2015

When it comes to navigation gear - have a backup. And a plan C, and plan D should be in your ditchbag. The Garmin handheld mapping units are purpose-built. They are tough, waterproof, they float, and they work very well. But you need to practice, practice, practice. If you pull out a GPS that you rarely use during the typical lost firedrill don't expect good results. So work with it in simulator mode to get familiar with the controls. If I could only have one GPS navigation device it would be a handheld Garmin mapper. I have navigated all around the globe with one, buying chart kits for where ever I travel.

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Apr 6, 2015

YVRguy said:
I purchased a Garmin portable and I never use it. I strongly suggest you invest in either iNavX or Navionics for your smart phone. I know it seems counter intuitive but iNavX in particular is amazing. You can load the official NOAA and Canadian Hydrographic Service Charts and achieve remarkably good GPS accuracy. Last year I tested this app on my iPhone in an area far away from any cell service and it was remarkable.

In addition it is FAR easier to use and view. The puny screen on my Garmin is next to useless compared to iNavX on my phone or iPad. And that's just for general viewing. For more advanced functions like setting waypoints and plating routes there's no comparison. In the beginning I really wanted to believe that a specialized piece of equipment would be superior to a smart phone and app but I am now a believer.

I like the Inavx app too. Navionics kept getting lost in the Bahamas, so I quit bothering with it

And on a delivery, the nav app on my Iphone got us into Progreso, Yucatan from 100 miles out when we discovered the the ships GPS plotter had no chip for the area.

But I've also used my 76CX (on my boat) from Texas to the Bahamas, and all up the east coast.

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Apr 6, 2015

Gunni said:
When it comes to navigation gear - have a backup. And a plan C, and plan D should be in your ditchbag. The Garmin handheld mapping units are purpose-built. They are tough, waterproof, they float, and they work very well. But you need to practice, practice, practice. If you pull out a GPS that you rarely use during the typical lost firedrill don't expect good results. So work with it in simulator mode to get familiar with the controls. If I could only have one GPS navigation device it would be a handheld Garmin mapper. I have navigated all around the globe with one, buying chart kits for where ever I travel.

Yessir- Iphone, hand held GPS, two computers with nav programs, AND regularly updated with fixes, paper charts. These days, it's pretty silly to not know where you are

YVRguy · Apr 6, 2015

TSBB 2 said:
I like the Inavx app too. Navionics kept getting lost in the Bahamas, so I quit bothering with it

And on a delivery, the nav app on my Iphone got us into Progreso, Yucatan from 100 miles out when we discovered the the ships GPS plotter had no chip for the area.

But I've also used my 76CX (on my boat) from Texas to the Bahamas, and all up the east coast.

Haha! That is exactly what happened to me. I use a Humminbird chart plotter/depth sounder as my standard guide but when we sailed to the west coast of Vancouver Island the plotter indicated we had sailed off the edge of the earth when we passed Port Renfrew - apparently we needed another chip for that area. I was a bit concerned we'd have to dash back to Victoria to buy the chip but the phone with iNavX ended up doing a fantastic job. Fortunately I had purchased the map pack for western Vancouver Island when I was planning the trip.

I agree that redundancy is a very good thing, which is why I also keep the old Garmin on the boat as well. Just like I keep the portable VHF as back up to the new fixed model I installed last year.

Anonymous 121765 · Apr 6, 2015

Wow,

I feel like I got into another no-win thread.

What this tells me is, there will always be different strokes for different folks.
It's mostly about how & where you sail.

Keep in mind, when the Shiz hits the fan, are you prepared, really prepared?
Remember, you can never have too much ,only too little.....than it's up to on how it turns out. I have stories that may change your minds. The worst thing that can happen is, what you are NOT prepared for.

I feel, Centerline got what I was trying to say............

I'm otta here, I cannot add anything more. Good luck all.

CR

Skipper · Apr 7, 2015

Garmin Gpsmap 76c, cs, or csx.

I use the 76csx with US coastal charts as primary, iPhone as backup, GPS-enabled PC tablet as planner/2nd backup.

The main things about the 76 are that it's small and unobtrusive, but mostly that it uses almost no power. 12ma. Cruisers should love that. And if you lose ship's power, it will still run on AA batts.

It has all the functions you need, plus a huge amount more including nmea out for AP etc.

Small yes, but if you mount it at the helm in front of your face, it's usable. Not amazing, but usable.

It is the end-all-beat-all backup if you have a std primary, for if you lose power, you still have a weatherproof marine chartplotter, running for hours on AA's, or forever if you carry a Costco pack of AA's

I've too heard all bad about the newer garmin handhelds. I remember when WM had the 76CS on closeout for $150 a couple years ago. I should have bought another one for when this one wears out. If it does.

JTulls · Apr 10, 2015

I opted to go for the iPad up on deck and run the Navionics app on that. I keep my chartpolotter and paper charts down below and use those when in unfamiliar water. Really, once you're mostly familiar with the waters you sail in, just referencing something for distances to places/marks is really nice and you end up doing less of watching for shallow areas/rocks/shoals/etc.

The Navionics app is really straight forward to use so you don't have to worry about not knowing how to get to the right screen in a pinch. It will also give you a bigger screen than a small handheld GPS. As for getting it wet - I keep my iPad in a LifeProof case and also put the LifeJacket on it so it floats if I drop it overboard!

Chris & Lenore · Apr 13, 2015