Although there are only a limited number of mainstream chartplotter manufacturers in the North American market, the model lines within each company are dazzling, and confusing. Options are nearly endless, as are price variations. Researching on the manufacturers’ websites can prove frustrating. YouTube “help” videos seem to focus on power boat applications and can leave you feeling you’ve wasted a lot of time without a lot of useful information.
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Simrad also offers the Cruise non touch screen models. Chart and depth. A great price point for day sailors and pocket cruisers. Since the main purpose of a chart plotter is to provide navigation information this unit can be a good choice. It is easy to get seduced and then buried in the endless options of more complex gear. Stand alone systems are more fault resistant than deeply networked options. We are seeing a trend away from helm mounted nav pods towards displays at the companionway since more sailors are sailing with a small watch and using an auto pilot. The crew spends less time behind the wheel and a companionway mounted screen is still visible to the helmsman on most boats. The equipment also has more protection from the elements.
All good observations Carl. It all depends on how you’re using the boat, what kind of sailing you’re up to. In our coastal waters the helmsperson tends to be at or behind the wheel (or tiller) due to traffic, navigational hazards and potential debris in the water. With the chart plotter out of reach there is no opportunity to adjust the screen without leaving the helm. In long distance cruising with a wind vane or auto pilot doing most of the driving, your comment makes sense. The sailing world is full of options! Fair winds!
I also went this route and mounted my Axiom on the bulkhead by the companionway of my Sabre 34. I didn’t want a screen in my face while steering. I mounted a remote keypad on the cockpit coaming that is within arm’s reach of the wheel to adjust the navigation screen from the helm. After using it for a season navigating the islands in Lake Erie and viewing AIS information of the freighters in the Detroit River, I have to say the setup has served me well.
Hello Ben. Never thought of a set-up like that. Good idea. And I love the Sabre 34! I was working on one yesterday, finishing up a re-finish of a damaged cabin sole. I too have difficulty with some helms with the chart plotter and instruments in line-of-sight, or just about so. The Navpod systems are great but usually too high in my opinion. On my Islander 30 the chart plotter is low, just above the compass. Thanks for the comment!
Nice and timely article Bert. We just got back from bareboat chartering in the Caribbean and our boat had an all in one B&G plotter that offered all the information one needs in one instruments. The only other item next to it was the autopilot.
In contrast, my boat currently has five separate instruments, all linked via Sea Talk. But my plotter is an outdated Standard Horizon. Plus the instrument pods, one on top of the other, really blocks visibility.
So now I am wondering and asking myself questions… Luckily, like you, I have access to terrific and trustworthy local experts (The Boathouse and Montreal Shipwright)
Hello Marc! I’ve had a Standard Horizon and, most recently a Lowrance Elite 9. I now have a B&G unit that does what I expect it to do and wish that I had all this information before these purchases! I was too stubborn to seek advice, thinking that everything I needed to know was available on the internet. And yes, there is a lot of information out there. I was proved wrong! Live and learn! Thanks for the comment!
I was disappointed that orca was not included. Or even mentioned. Can we look forward to a review of orca?
Hello Donald! Interesting product, and I’ve never heard of it until your mention. Developed in Norway with a focus on the Baltic area, there is no mention of North American installers or support, or even hands-on ability to experience before purchase at a store front. However, it certainly does look next-generation and the direction navigation devices are probably headed in the marine world. Thanks for the heads-up! I’d love to write up a review, but not without at least a bit of hands-on experience. Hey, if you’re up to it, give it a shot! Thanks for the comment!
I use an older laptop that is dedicated to cruising. At home I can update my charts and with the 15″ screen I can plan my routes in advance and just plug it in at the nav station; there, it is held down with Velcro. I can then transfer those routes to a Garmin hand-held GPS that will be located at the helm…I have a backup for that also. Those handhelds are of an older model that were once Garmin’s latest and greatest creation. FWIW, I also carry my newer home laptop on cruises as a backup or for normal household uses. This combination has taken me on round trips to Hawaii, Alaska, and numerous British Columbia visits.
Many cruisers are on a tight budget. While navigation is very important spending thousands of dollars for the bells and whistles that chartplotters provide is not a requirement…they will be outdated next year as you pointed out. Buying two, for helm and nav station, is even more costly.
Thank you for your comment and observation. You make valid points, and they obviously work for you. I sail on a 30 ft boat without a below decks navigation station, no-where to put a laptop. The second strike is being able to comfortably see detail on a small hand-held screen in the rain. And yes, I have done that in the past when the Standard Horizon H2Os first came out. Wonderful little unit, at the time. But this was an article focused primarily on chart plotters. As it turned out, it was almost too long anyway. If I was to explore all the other electronic options available for navigation I would be at the laptop (no pun intended!) for weeks, instead of going out sailing! Spring is here! Time to get out on the water! Have a great sailing season (it sounds like you’re in the Pacific NW somewhere).
You raise a good point concerning smaller boats. My previous was a San Juan 28 with tiller steering where I used a Garmin 45 GPS and, later, with laptop computer charts. You have to be creative to make everything work out.
I would also like to see a PS review of tablet based systems like Orca and Sailproof as well as wireless instruments like Calypso.
Thanks for the comment Roy. As indicated to Mr Kendrick earlier, the electronic world is changing rapidly. I’ve never heard of Sailproof or Calypso. For this article I focused on what was available commercially in North America (specifically, my small part of North America), plotters I could get my hands on for a review. Your request has merit and is probably where the electronic world is going anyway. I suspect that our readers would expect a hands-on style review and not just regurgitation of manufacturers advertising. But a review of that nature is going to be a major undertaking on the part of PS. But it could happen……..
Nice write up. While waiting for the furuno XL plotters to be released, we installed two sitex Navpro 1200 units and a Sitex 762 stand alone radar. The navpro units are very basic and well behind the times. A number of instances, in fog to make matters worse, has the networked Navpro units freeze up only being restored to operation by turning off the circuit breakers they were powered by. No explanation from Sitex on that. Our current Furuno system is two 13x plotters, one 10x plotter, NXT radar, B265 transducer as well as two encoder knobs to remotely control two of the plotters. The furino XL system is light years ahead of most everyone else and furuno caused much consternation taking so long to release the system but the wait was well worth it. Charts are exclusive to furuno, purchased via WiFi, and offer all sorts of features not available from Navionics or C map. As you’ve said, there isn’t sailing features on the furuno software, that I’ve found anyway but on screen weather from our maretron W200 shows what we need, plus furuno has proprietary weather forecasting and current conditions via satellite by subscription. I believe this system will be at the forefront for several years as the computing power of the units is quite high, they are automatically updated via WiFi and the hardware is robust.
Thanks for the comment Russ. Yes, I’ve also had Lowrance and B&G units freeze up with the only alternative being to shut the units down at the breaker. At least with the Lowrance the whole screen froze and it was pretty obvious. On the B&G only the chart screen froze, the digital numbers kept displaying and changing. A frightening experience in the fog of Juan de Fuca Strait on a return from the west coast of Vancouver Island.
All good information on the Furuno system. I’ve never used one on a boat, only at the shop display and so have limited knowledge and experience. It sounds like you have quite the integrated system that’s working well for you! Thank you.
Good article, Bert. I replaced all of the electronics on our Jeanneau 37 last year with Raymarine. The chartplotter is an Axiom+ 12 bundled with a Quantum radome. On sale at $ 3,500 vs. $ 2,900 for the chartplotter alone, getting the bundle was a no-brainer. The boat had an old Raymarine 435 chartplotter at the nav station below decks. I was able to replace the 435 and cover its mounting hole cheaply and effectively by using an older iPad connected to the Axiom+ through WiFi using the RayRemote app. The Axiom+ also lets me control our Fusion stereo from the helm.
Ive been very happy with Raymarine’s connectivity and customer service. The A-95 on our previous Jeanneau started freezing up after its warranty expired. I returned it to Raymarine. They said it could be repaired but said its CPU would always struggle with the amount of data on modern charts. They offered a new Axiom+ 9″ MFD at half price. I accepted and they threw in a flush mount adapter and remote card reader at no charge.
You have to like it when manufacturers stand behind their products. Did you go direct through Raymarine or through a local distributor? That sounds like a really good deal for the bundle and, considering the performance of the new generation electronics vs the previous old stuff, the results are well worth the money. I wonder what we’ll be saying about our current equipment 10 years from now?
Thanks for the comment and information James. Have a great summer on the water!
I dealt directly with Raymarine customer support. They were always very responsive.