GL: Garmin Chartplotter Chips

[John & Judy Gill]

Ralph (and list)

Sorry Ralph, but my comparison was/is correct.  First, let me say  
that I am a Life Member of USPS with the grade of AP and so is my  
wife.  We teach many USPS boating courses and each have over 50 years  
of boating experience.  If you want to skimp, that is OK by me, but  
until you have done the Loop please don't negate or belittle the  
benefits of electronic navigation (they are quite reliable today).   
If you read my post again, you will note that we NEVER said that one  
should use electronic navigation alone or as a SOLE MEANS, as you  
implied -  absolutely not!  If the sole premise is to avoid expenses  
for all items which will not be used after one completes the Loop,  
then I guess that duplicate / backup systems, spare parts, etc. are  
OUT because they are not absolutely necessary?

It is not a question of money to burn, it is the safety factor and  
the comfort that you have done your homework and equipped yourself  
and vessel to deal with problems before they arise.  I don't look at  
safety items any differently than having a First Class medical First  
Aid kit on board -- I hope to never have to use it, but wouldn't go  
without it.  Believe me, there are times on the Great Loop when we  
were very happy that we "AFFORDED" the expense of Computer Charting,  
several times when we needed our Radar, when we were happy to have  
had a second GPS in operation when the main unit went dead, when we  
used the second VHF on the helm to talk with tow boats while  
monitoring Channel 16 on the main radio, etc.  At today's prices,  
redundancy is affordable!  Most boaters on the Great Loop have a  
laptop computer to record their daily logs, communicate via Email,  
have digital photography capability, etc., so the "jump" to computer  
navigation is not such a great expense in the grand scheme of things.

Yes, I agree that there is NO SUBSTITUTE for good Dead Reckoning  
Skills, Paper Charts and a well calibrated ships Compass with a good  
deviation table  - they come FIRST.  However, we can attest at the  
ease of daily charting made much simpler by being to transfer the  
computer plotting data onto the paper charts each evening versus  
doing the next days cruise by only using manual methods.  To us, it  
is akin to using a calculator versus a slide rule to do the math!

Since you are an aircraft electrical engineer, I must ask if you  
really would advocate that aircraft pilots not use global positioning  
system units (GPS), autopilots, and/or computer navigation systems  
and rely only on paper charts and a compass?

If one can afford the yacht, the fuel and the time to do the Loop,  
then hopefully they can also afford the extra expense of being safe.

John

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(SNIP)

On Dec 11, 2006, at 7:50 PM, Ralph Yost ((home)) wrote:

> Your comparison is incorrect. You need to compare the paper charts  
> I was
> advocating to the electronic system, not to props, skegs etc.
> The practicality of a one-time trip is the point I was making. The
> electronic systems are far more expensive and LESS reliable, as  
> they depend
> on sufficient electricity, knowledge of how to operate the system,  
> and with
> laptops are less readable in daylight. Electronic systems should be  
> used as
> an augmentation to the paper chart system, not as a SOLE MEANS.