I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like and
don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like and
don't like about it.

I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

I have used Fugawi with very limited experience. Take what follows for
for what it is worth.

When tooling around and with someone on the machine they are fine.

When trying to pick your way into a harbour, alone, at night, in fog,
they can take too much attention away from what is at hand. I turned
the damn thing off and concentrated on the radar. I also had a chart
plotter which I ended up constantly messing with.

Along with that you must remember that the charts are not always
accuratly alighed to lat/long. Nigel Calder explains far better than I
can but you can get 1/2 mile position "discrepencies". I have not
experienced it but have read of enough "events" to make me believe it.

However, I am getting ready to fuss with a different application that
may be of some interest.

Point 1. Fugawi lets you import images files, if you can geo-reference
the files then you can use them as "maps." I did this last year on a
road trip to Belize. Worked fine once I got the geo-reference right.

Point 2. Google Earth lets you download satillite images, with a
lat/long grid.

Point 3. Import Google Earth sat images into Fugawi and geo-reference
(calibrate.) Voile, drive/sail the photo.

No, they are not charts, but they should be able to give you confidence
that the charts are accurate and provide some additional info about what
the surrounding land looks like. I put some local area images on the
machine tonight and the laid right in over some saved track. You could
see where I drove up 95, went over a bridge, made my normal turns,
around the block and into my backyard. At least in Philly it appears to
be dead accurate.

I hope to cruise the south coast of Newfoundland this summer and there
are several interesting harbours I wish to visit that have well reported
"discrepencies" between chart and GPS lat/long. Hence my interest, to
validate my chart plotter when I can't see.

All that being said, its a cool toy. It may not be worth a damn on a
boat, alone, in the fog, at night.

Howard




Wayne.B wrote:

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:


I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like and
don't like about it.


I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

Yeah, I was looking at Ozi too. The attraction of MapTech for me was that
it seems to include a whole pile of charts...kinda seems like a buy the
charts and the software is free kinda thing. Just wanted to know if the
software was worth a damn. I love being out there but when in real thin
water I am busy plotting my position real often on paper with my trusty
pencil & utilizing my binoculars...don't plan on eliminating this but may
allow me to relax a little and do it less often...also very helpful in trip
planning. Thought I am concerned about power consumption with a computer
running all the time. We cruise for 5-6 months at a time and only stay in
marinas when s**t really hits the fan...so power is always an issue.

So, do you find MapTech relatively easy to use and pretty helpful for
navigating?

Glenn.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and
don't like about it.

I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

Maptech = Coastal explorer

John Glynn wrote:
I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator
Pro by MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they
like and don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

If you have little time for learning, and want few functions other than the
basics, go with Maptech

But if you want a really highly-functional nav. system which can be
self-maintained and upgraded regularly, and you are patient with the
learning process, there is nothing to touch Oziexplorer.

BTW, I have used 3 or 4 different systems over the past 6-7 years, 2 of them
high grade vector systems, and Ozi is king.


Dennis.

The only one I don't recall seeing in this thread is the one used by the
Coast Guard, the Cap'n.

What's the opinion on that program compared to the others which have been
getting lots of discussion?

L8R

Skip, still rehabbing

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
"Dennis Pogson" wrote in message
...
John Glynn wrote:
I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator
Pro by MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they
like and don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

If you have little time for learning, and want few functions other than
the
basics, go with Maptech

But if you want a really highly-functional nav. system which can be
self-maintained and upgraded regularly, and you are patient with the
learning process, there is nothing to touch Oziexplorer.

BTW, I have used 3 or 4 different systems over the past 6-7 years, 2 of
them
high grade vector systems, and Ozi is king.


Dennis.

All the NOAA charts are now free downloads. Both vector and raster.
BF

"John Glynn" wrote in message
news:ZUYAf.427979$ki.399265@pd7tw2no...
Yeah, I was looking at Ozi too. The attraction of MapTech for me was that
it seems to include a whole pile of charts...kinda seems like a buy the
charts and the software is free kinda thing. Just wanted to know if the
software was worth a damn. I love being out there but when in real thin
water I am busy plotting my position real often on paper with my trusty
pencil & utilizing my binoculars...don't plan on eliminating this but may
allow me to relax a little and do it less often...also very helpful in
trip
planning. Thought I am concerned about power consumption with a computer
running all the time. We cruise for 5-6 months at a time and only stay in
marinas when s**t really hits the fan...so power is always an issue.

So, do you find MapTech relatively easy to use and pretty helpful for
navigating?

Glenn.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking
of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro
by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and
don't like about it.

I've been using MapTech Off Shore Navigator for a long time and it is
a pretty good package. I'm hearing a lot of good things about
OziExplorer however and am thinking of giving it a try.

http://www.oziexplorer.com/

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:49:49 -0500, Skip Gundlach wrote:

The only one I don't recall seeing in this thread is the one used by the
Coast Guard, the Cap'n.

What's the opinion on that program compared to the others which have been
getting lots of discussion?

While limited in features compared to the Maptech bloatware, The Cap'n
works very well for what most people do and is very easy to use. I like
it, and recommend it. I use it as a backup when our Maptech stuff gets
screwed up, unfortunately often.

Matt O.

Here is another to look at:
http://www.navsim.com/products/boatcruiser2/

Reads: bsb 1-4, nos/geo, geotiff,S57, CMAP MAX and displays AIS.

Saw it at the Seattle boat show. It was selling for $499 at Captains
Nautical. What made it intersting is that it comes with an unlock code for
one Cmap region. That can be Canadian . So for anyone who uses Canadian
waters thats about $330 worth of charts.

SaltAir

"John Glynn" wrote in message
news:22WAf.311283$2k.110578@pd7tw1no...
I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net