advice on auto chart plotter

[dlochner]

I remember my first 'long distance' sail. After 1 year of sailing experience I had bought a new to me boat and I needed to deliver the boat from the brokerage to my home port. The distance was 35nm and started in a new port. I was super nervous about the trip

As one gains experience, the notion of what a long trip is changes. When I started sailing 40 years a 12 mile trip to the next bay was a big adventure. The first trip across Lake Ontario (~50 miles) was undertaken with charts, a compass and a boom box. State of the art equipment for 1984. The last long trip I took was 400 miles, quite a difference from 12.

A little apprehension about a longer trip is still experienced and systems and weather are checked multiple times before we cast off. Its a good thing, being complacent is an invitation to trouble.

 

[cymeyer]

I think your thinking is misguided. With inexperience, the last thing you should be relying upon is an "automatic" course plotting. Relying upon an automated system is far more dangerous than honing your own senses. Just get a good chartplotter and focus on the charts it provides and focus on your surroundings (including the movement of nearby boats and ships). I don't really see any need for waypoints anyway.

Scott T-Bird,
we went to the North Channel last summer and relief heavily on autoroute feature on navionics. we went to the Pool at the end of Baie Finn which requires navigation around rocks in a fairly narrow channel. I was glued to my Raymarine Axiom as well as navionics on my phone. I could have made the trip in heavy fog.

 

[jssailem]

This is what can happen when a boater plugs in his AP route, turns on his engine then relies on the machines to drive the boat.

Watch: Boat called ‘Nap Tyme’ collides with Washington State Ferry near Vashon Island

The boater was apparently below deck when he crossed in front of the Chetzemoka. No one was injured.

www.seattletimes.com

The advice shared by @dlochner concerning buoys and routing

The absolute wrong way to use waypoints is to set the waypoint at a buoy or mark and engage the autopilot steer the course to the waypoint and then the next waypoint.

This point can not be stressed enough. It is one thing when you are approaching a buoy in broad daylight with unlimited visibility. You can at lest see the other boaters planning on using the buoy for guidance. If visibility is limited to say 1/10 a mile (fog) and you are closing on a buoy looking for it. You should expect at least 3 other boaters are considering the same thing. The likely possibiilty of a collision is high.

Better is to set you waypoint in the vicinity but more than 50 yards away from the buoy. You can hear it in the fog as you pass by (giving the buoy a WIDE BERTH) and are less likely to encounter boaters who charted their route from buoy to buoy on a plotter and then drive point to point at high speed.

 

[Erbardy]

Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your input. I learned a lot processing all the information you have shared. One thing I have learned about my Garmin GPSMAP 86sc and a few things I am going to do.,

1. I leanred how to output a GPX file from navionics and directly send it to my Garmin GPSMAP 86sc through the Garmin connect app for the route.

2. I will verify the route through great lakes charts that I am going to purhcase.

3. i noted all the precautions that you guys have mentioned as well.

I grew up with a motor boat but only have been sailing since late 2019. We bought and restored a catalana 22 and a chrysler 26. This catalina 30 is out first non-trailerable boat and we bought it late in the 2022 season. I a finishing my "OCD" work on it and looking forward to launching it and learning more about bigger boat sailing. Your input and cautions are greatly appreciated!

 

[seadaddler]

I have older C-80 as a chart plotter and I also have iPad with Navionics as backup and at the helm
and with both I keep my boat out of shallow water and good anchorage with both.

 

[Erbardy]

one other question for you all. I am looking for a good charbook. One person reccomended Richardson's Lake erie chartbook. Any other ones I should consider in your experience?

 

[JBP-PA]

Richardson's is about the only game in town for Lake Erie chart books, but it is good as far as charts go. It's not great as a cruising guide though it claims to be.
It has large scale charts of almost every harbor both US and Canada.

 

[JBP-PA]

You can also get openCPN and all the US charts for free.

 

[jssailem]

Here is a site that might be helpful.

How do I get NOAA nautical charts?

The latest NOAA nautical charts and chart-related publications are available on the Office of Coast Survey website

oceanservice.noaa.gov

 

[jssailem]

Get it soon this one is listed to be gone 31 May 2023

https://charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/14500.pdf

Or this one..

https://charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/14820.pdf

Chart Locator

charts.noaa.gov

 

[dLj]

Tons of great advice above. The only thing I'd add in about autorouting I didn't see is be very careful with overhead clearances. The software may say it takes it into consideration but my experience shows that is not the case. Does well for depths, but not overhead clearances.

dj

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Scott T-Bird,
we went to the North Channel last summer and relief heavily on autoroute feature on navionics. we went to the Pool at the end of Baie Finn which requires navigation around rocks in a fairly narrow channel. I was glued to my Raymarine Axiom as well as navionics on my phone. I could have made the trip in heavy fog.

I'm certain that autorouting is useful in some circumstances, but I would find a use for it rarely, if ever. I'd love to navigate waters in the North Channel and perhaps there is ample use for it in navigating around random, fixed hazards in narrower passageways. But, for instance, I would never rely on it to navigate Oyster Creek in the dark if I was unfamiliar. Dredging is done yearly it seems and the charted channel is never up-to-date. I have current routes saved on my chartplotter from running it in the daytime when the ATONs are visible that I could use in the dark if I needed to (actually, I think we did do it the dark a few years ago when my daughter and I arrived from offshore in the dusk). If I relied on autorouting, it could run me up into an older route that has since filled in.

Besides that, I believe the Garmin charts shows the entry to our marina on land. Our saved coarse runs us across a sedge island. If we relied on the chart in the dark, we could be bumping into a bulkhead (not that it isn't obvious)! I think @Ward H commented about this error on the Garmin chart.

For @Erbardy , I think autorouting isn't necessary for a trip from Ashtabula to Sandusky. As somebody already pointed out, it is basically across open lake. All he needs really is to open the charts and see what's on them. There isn't going to be anything tricky. I know that Lake Erie has got a lot of islands to navigate around, but it's not like you can't see them! I also recommend that he invest in a chartplotter for the helm.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

one other question for you all. I am looking for a good charbook. One person reccomended Richardson's Lake erie chartbook. Any other ones I should consider in your experience?

Well, welcome to sailing. Since you've progressed to your 3rd sailboat already, it seems that you are definitely hooked! Catalin 30 is a marvelous boat I'm sure that you are going to love it. I also suspect that you are going to love sailing on a much larger venue with all the room for exploration that you will want. It is going to be a big change and I think you will adapt quickly. Being safety conscious about routing and weather will be the most important aspect, I'm sure. I had the same experience in moving from a small lake to a location with unlimited horizons. It's fun and a challenge.

When I moved my Starwind from Lake Hopatcong to Barnegat Bay, I bought a large book that has all the paper charts from Cape May to Cape Cod. It just takes up space in my chart table. I never, ever get it out for any practical use. It was nice to look at when we planned our trip from Cape Cod to Barnegat Bay but it wasn't needed. Our new-to-us boat came with a Garmin chartplotter at the helm and there wasn't anything that we couldn't see simply by panning around and looking at small scale.

It feels salty to have paper charts, but basically they are a waste of space, in my opinion. If you have to have one just for the atmosphere, by all means .... Your most useful item, by far, will be a dedicated chartplotter at your helm. Of course you can sail without it .... but there's a reason why probably 95% (or more) of us sailors on boats 30' and over have one at our helm. We also like to talk about our back-ups including handhelds and our phones and tablets. Many of us will even say that a CP isn't even necessary due to the wonderful use of Navionics on a tablet. Honestly, I haven't turned my Garmin handheld on in years, and last year I didn't bother upgrading the navionics app on my phone, either.

That said, I do like Navionics very much and I am planning to get a tablet for use with Navionics. I primarily, one could say exclusively, used my Garmin chartplotter until I upgraded to a B&G Zeus3 chartplotter at end of last year. You won't need a Zeus because they are more expensive, but a Vulcan will be far less expensive and just as useful as a Zeus.

I suspect that you will be sailing familiar waters very soon. Worries about navigation will soon fade, but you will definitely and quickly learn where the hazards are. Your chartplotter will be the most useful tool in keeping track of and away from hazards.

 

[JBP-PA]

It feels salty to have paper charts, but basically they are a waste of space, in my opinion. If you have to have one just for the atmosphere, by all means ....

I still find paper charts much easier to use for some purposes. Here is the same area with Navionics and a "paper" chart (OK, it's still an electronic chart because my chart book isn't readily accessible, but it's part of Erie Harbor chart 14385). Sure in Navionics you can click on each of the icons and find more detailed information, but to just browse "what's around here", I think the paper version is easier to simply look at. Especially since I do not have a 30 inch tablet on board (That is the size of a Richardson's 2 page spread). I often sit with the book open to a harbor, and with Navionics Active Captain in my hand to look up details.





The full chart

 

[Stu Jackson]

Interestingly enough, those who state, with conviction, that in their opinion paper charts are a "waste of space" in my own opinion are missing the point about charts, be they paper or electronic.
There are two completely different uses for each. Paper charts are great for over-view and long range planning. Sure, you zoom out with a chartplotter but you're still limited by the screen size. Chartplotters are great for detailed information and getting into smaller areas (or without having to have a more detailed chart of that area).
When we did our 1,650 mile trip up the west coast from SF to BC in 2016, we had ocean charts for the big picture, our Garmin HH GPSMap76Cx and two great guide books which were terrific for harbors and entrances.
But when I sailed from 1983 to 2016 around SF Bay, I started with paper charts, then added a Loran, then got the GPS. While I rarely relied on paper anymore (until that trip up here), it was because I sailed the same waters, over and over again. Whenever I go to new places, paper is my first "go to."
When I got here, first thing I bought was the paper chart booklet for the Gulf Islands, and I use it more than my GPS.
Your boat, your choice.
But don't discount paper simply because of electronics, they are two different things for two different purposes; they are not the same things just in different formats.

 

[Ward H]

Besides that, I believe the Garmin charts shows the entry to our marina on land. Our saved coarse runs us across a sedge island. If we relied on the chart in the dark, we could be bumping into a bulkhead (not that it isn't obvious)! I think @Ward H commented about this error on the Garmin chart.

Yep, when I bought my first keel boat I also bought a Garmin CP and used their maps. I quickly learned the chart was outdated when it always showed me 50' inland when navigating the channel into/out of our marina. I then didn't trust it for going through Oyster Creek channel which is winds around many shallow areas. I started putting my phone on the binnacle guard with it running Navionics. The Navionics map was much more accurate than Garmin. This was very obvious after Double Creek channel, which had been closed, was dredged and re-opened with a slightly different path. Within months Navionics showed the new channel correctly where as Garmin still shows the old channel path that is now filled in. Updates to the Garmin charts did not correct these errors.
I can't imagine using paper charts to navigate Oyster Creek. Just running from marker to marker doesn't work as well as the channel has a few hair pin turns so the next closer marker may be on the other side of skinny water. @Scott T-Bird knows about that.

I found @BarryL s post #19 interesting where Garmin says their auto guidance accounts for your depth and air draft. Navionics does not.
While planing a route north from the Florida Keys auto routing planned a route which would have taken us under a low fixed bridge.

I did find auto routing useful for planning trips and estimating distance and time. You just have to scrutinize the route very closely to ensure it doesn't put you somewhere you don't want to be.

 

[dLj]

I found @BarryL s post #19 interesting where Garmin says their auto guidance accounts for your depth and air draft. Navionics does not.
While planing a route north from the Florida Keys auto routing planned a route which would have taken us under a low fixed bridge.

I've found Navionics does depths well, but does not even remotely do air draft correctly.

dj

 

[rgranger]

I started putting my phone on the binnacle guard with it running Navionics.

I have been equally impressed with the depth contours in Navonics. I boat regularly in the Ashly River and just about the time Navonics shows a sandbar in front of my boat, the alarm on my depth guage goes off...

 

[Ward H]

I've found Navionics does depths well, but does not even remotely do air draft correctly.

Probably due to it's popularity with fishing boats.

 

[rgranger]

Probably due to it's popularity with fishing boats.

Damn! Now we have to give them that one.