There have been several posts about using a laptop with chart software at the nav table as an alternative to a chartplotter. Some have indicated they only use it at home as laptops aren't built to take the sea air. Has alone actually had a laptop fail from the sea air when they kept it below and it didn't get wet? I'd like to go that route but not if my laptop's going to die on me.
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I've kept laptops on board now for ten years -- on three different boats. I've had one quit in the midst of a nighttime downpour (we both got a bit damp), but once it dried out, it was fine. Since then, I've been a bit more careful, and although I've had three different laptops on board, they were replaced due to obsolence, not failure... The current one lives on the nav station, next to a Raytheon radar/chart plotter and the paper charts... fair winds, John
more laptops at sea!
Alastair: If you do not have a laptop for this purpose now, I would look for a used/refurbished one. Most of these nav. programs do not require much of a system. I think I am running on a P266 and it is more than adequate. It is probably going to be OKAY if you run the machine on a regular basis. The heat helps keep the components dry. There are obviously a lot of liveaboards that use PC's aboard their boats and they are fine. If you are not going to be aboard for several weeks at a time, it may be a good idea to remove it from the boat. The next problem that you need to resolve is how to mount it when you are underway. If the unit is not fastened down you may not need to worry about the problems with sea air (if you get my point).
Alastair: If you do not have a laptop for this purpose now, I would look for a used/refurbished one. Most of these nav. programs do not require much of a system. I think I am running on a P266 and it is more than adequate. It is probably going to be OKAY if you run the machine on a regular basis. The heat helps keep the components dry. There are obviously a lot of liveaboards that use PC's aboard their boats and they are fine. If you are not going to be aboard for several weeks at a time, it may be a good idea to remove it from the boat. The next problem that you need to resolve is how to mount it when you are underway. If the unit is not fastened down you may not need to worry about the problems with sea air (if you get my point).
Things Can Happen
Keep in mind that things can happen that aren't supposed to therefore it would be good to have a backup plan. We met a solo sailor on a Baba 38 up in Sitka last summer who sailed from Hawaii. He had a laptop that he used to download weather info, e-mails, and did all his charting and nav stuff on it. Unfortunately, about four days out of Oahu the coffee cup spilled - you guessed it, on the keyboard. Apparently it zapped everything. Unfortunately he had ALL his information on the computer. Fortunately, he had just got his ham license before leaving Hawaii so he communicated with a sailor friend that helped him get to a landfall at Sitka at the same time a major late summer storm was arriving. He really felt he was very lucky. The moral of this story is to not have all one's eggs in one basket. By contrast, a couple we met with a Nauticat 52 had a really nice laptop at the helm. They could display their entire trip to Alaska and back, along with the data such as the course they took. It was a really nice bright display on a wide screen and looked really good. My wife said "I WANT!!" And what the Admiral wants she usually gets. But because of other experiences I've had with power problems I'm not giving up my paper charts and compass any time soon. Please don't take my view as anti-electronic, it's just that I like some of the traditional things. I really like a lapstrake boat or dingy, the old style peaked skylights, varnished wood, etc. And part of this, too, is the look and feel of a paper chart, compass rose, parallels, and dividers, and doing one's own calculations. Cook and Vancouver didn't have charts and they survived - right? Actually that's not totally true. Normally they sent the long boats out ahead and they made the carts then Cook and Vancouver followed. The longboats didn't get everything and there were enough rocks at or just under the water level to make things very interesting. She'll be getting her laptop in the next couple months but it'll be a Mac! That's why we need a bigger boat - for all this redundent stuff!
Keep in mind that things can happen that aren't supposed to therefore it would be good to have a backup plan. We met a solo sailor on a Baba 38 up in Sitka last summer who sailed from Hawaii. He had a laptop that he used to download weather info, e-mails, and did all his charting and nav stuff on it. Unfortunately, about four days out of Oahu the coffee cup spilled - you guessed it, on the keyboard. Apparently it zapped everything. Unfortunately he had ALL his information on the computer. Fortunately, he had just got his ham license before leaving Hawaii so he communicated with a sailor friend that helped him get to a landfall at Sitka at the same time a major late summer storm was arriving. He really felt he was very lucky. The moral of this story is to not have all one's eggs in one basket. By contrast, a couple we met with a Nauticat 52 had a really nice laptop at the helm. They could display their entire trip to Alaska and back, along with the data such as the course they took. It was a really nice bright display on a wide screen and looked really good. My wife said "I WANT!!" And what the Admiral wants she usually gets. But because of other experiences I've had with power problems I'm not giving up my paper charts and compass any time soon. Please don't take my view as anti-electronic, it's just that I like some of the traditional things. I really like a lapstrake boat or dingy, the old style peaked skylights, varnished wood, etc. And part of this, too, is the look and feel of a paper chart, compass rose, parallels, and dividers, and doing one's own calculations. Cook and Vancouver didn't have charts and they survived - right? Actually that's not totally true. Normally they sent the long boats out ahead and they made the carts then Cook and Vancouver followed. The longboats didn't get everything and there were enough rocks at or just under the water level to make things very interesting. She'll be getting her laptop in the next couple months but it'll be a Mac! That's why we need a bigger boat - for all this redundent stuff!
Laptops on Salt Water
Alastair, We've been using a Toshiba laptop on board for about 2.5 years with no problem. It spends most of it's time in my office, or on business travel. But when we do anything more than a day sail, it's on the boat. We keep it below on the nav station without any special protection and so far it's not been thrown off but is held in place by the fiddle rails and the non skid feet on the laptop. All our sailing so far has been in semiprotected waters (Salt) as opposed to the open ocean. Hope this helps. Gary Wyngarden S/V Shibumi H335
Alastair, We've been using a Toshiba laptop on board for about 2.5 years with no problem. It spends most of it's time in my office, or on business travel. But when we do anything more than a day sail, it's on the boat. We keep it below on the nav station without any special protection and so far it's not been thrown off but is held in place by the fiddle rails and the non skid feet on the laptop. All our sailing so far has been in semiprotected waters (Salt) as opposed to the open ocean. Hope this helps. Gary Wyngarden S/V Shibumi H335
Laptop too, bought it cheap, used
If you are concerned about cost, (i.e. replacement), The software programs don't require a high performance P.C., and you can purchase used laptops for cheap. I bought mine for $200 and it does: chartplotting, internet,
If you are concerned about cost, (i.e. replacement), The software programs don't require a high performance P.C., and you can purchase used laptops for cheap. I bought mine for $200 and it does: chartplotting, internet,
another pc option
I had an industrial style PC made with a 12V power supply rather than 110. It has a DVD/CDROM, floopy 30GB HD, 700mhz P3, multiple serial ports, USB, multiple cooling fans. It is the heart of our entertainment system. It is hooked into 12V amps for sound, I have about 20GB of MP3 files, basically every CD I own, to chose from. that;s about 20,000 minutes of music. I have a moveable LCD monitor that I can use for navigation or movies. It runs my nav software and plays music very comfortable at the same time and draws about 5 amps.
I had an industrial style PC made with a 12V power supply rather than 110. It has a DVD/CDROM, floopy 30GB HD, 700mhz P3, multiple serial ports, USB, multiple cooling fans. It is the heart of our entertainment system. It is hooked into 12V amps for sound, I have about 20GB of MP3 files, basically every CD I own, to chose from. that;s about 20,000 minutes of music. I have a moveable LCD monitor that I can use for navigation or movies. It runs my nav software and plays music very comfortable at the same time and draws about 5 amps.
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