GPS Plotters and Trackers

We have a very old GPS tracker unit on our bigger boat and it works quite well. You lay out your course on a real paper chart, enter way points in to the GPS and the GPS shows a highway you follow to each way point. For most trips it works quite well.  But you do have to put the way points in manually.  Simple and dumb.  8-)

On our recent trip sailing with my wife's brother, I got to see and use his new GPS Plotter.  I admit it was more than dirt simple. No need for paper charts and looking up and plotting the course ahead of time.  We still had real charts and they are great and we used them for a quick coastal overview.  But all we did with his GPS unit was turn it on and it displayed the area we were in and where we were located.  We just had to mark with a way point where we wanted to go on the monitor, and it set the course for us.  The displayed chart showed us water depth, and you just way pointed through to keep us in deep water.  It also gave us our speed over the water, what compass reading we should follow and a estimation on when we would get there.

I knew the new GPS units did all these things, but I really did not figure I had to have them.  After all I have real paper charts. 8-)  They are old like me!!!  And there is something neat on useing a chat to set your course.

After a week using this "New" thing I found I liked it.   It did make navigation very easy.  And the display of the chart on the monitor over the area you were in was nice. You could zoom in and out for better detail or wider aria if you want.  You could save the plot to use it again another time.

But Dang!!   I still like paper charts and we have a BIG BOX of them.  I guess I could wall paper one of our bathrooms with some of the old charts we never use.  Better then pitching them I guess.

OK, when I got home I did check out the new GPS Plotters.   There are some very reasonably priced ones as well as high end ones like the one we used on the trip.  We do not really do much sailing where we need a GPS but I admit I like the one we used. I am going to surprise my wife with a GPS plotter.  I am going to get a small one that we can use on my 21' boat and can use it on her 37'  if we want to and need it.

With my boat and the trips we take in it all we need is a depth sounder and a compass, but going high tech will not hurt.  *-)    Lets see: a chart, a compass, an anchor, a depth sounder, a little beer and rum and now a GPS Plotter.  That makes for a happy OLD Pirate.  Arg!!