Plastic Classic Forum

There's a guy selling what appears to be nice laptops set up for chartplotters on ebay.

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/ctsim/m.htm ... m=&_ipg=25

I'm seriously considering buying one and have corresponded with him a bit, he seems really nice and helpful.

I wanted to know what you guys think?

I have to bring my boat home from Charlevoix, MI to Toronto in May and I'm looking for the best chartplotter solution. Any suggestions for advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

Spendy....

For $50 or less you can buy an obsolete laptop (I now have three) running Windows 98 or even XP, easily pushing Nav programs. I have CMap and Oziexplorer running on each - they stay on board and run directly off the boat battery (their own batteries are shot).

If it gives up, toss it and get another one. The programs sit on a 2MB USB stick.



The only thing to make sure of is that it has a TFT screen, readable in sunlight. The old Sony VIO's work remarkebly well and seem indestructable. The one I am using now has seen rain and some spray (under the dodger) and it still runs strong.

JMHO.

Thanks for that info.
I just took a look into the CMap and Oziexplorer combo. ...course, $200 for CMap and $100 for Oziexplorer is kinda "spendy" too ;) but looks worth it.

There are lots of free C-Map copies floating around... Mine is 2002 but I have yet to find it "inaccurate"...

cool, I'll look around..

I must say, for $400, I think this gobook is well worth it.

just look at these particular features:
-waterproof
-drop and shock proof
-excellent sunlight readability (also has night viewing presets and glow in the dark keyboard)
-built in GPS
-touchscreen
-can stand up to extreme temperatures
-and I just LOVE that this gentleman (retired, a lifetime sailor himself who took this on as a hobby) installs and configures all the navigation software and maps that you need from his vast selection.

sorry if that sounded like a sales pitch, I don't know this guy, but I think he's providing something really valuable to us.

Like all of our projects, we balance what is worth it to us to DYI vs hire out. I googled linux last night when I saw this post and came up with a bunch of options. So, if you are into hitting your big toes with hammers, linux is free and the programs to navigate by are too. Well aside from bruised toes.

Dave.

Thanks Dave :)
I am quite proficient with linux and still wouldn't bother setting up a laptop chartplotter on it.

I bought the gobook. Thanks for your input guys.

Cheers,
Dave

a quick update:

I just got my computer yesterday. It’s AWESOME!!!!!! It has 4 different navigation programs. SeaClear, Capn Voyager, Offshore Navigator and the 900lb gorilla of them all… MaxSea(with vector charts of the world)!!
With the built in GPS and touch screen it will be super cool to have on board. The guy even threw in a spare hard drive all pre-loaded! AND I can tether the internet using my iphone and Bluetooth (when I’m outside of wifi range of course)
How cool is that for $450?!

I have used seaclear and it is good but I prefer open CPN on my acer just seems to work better but needs XP or better I am not getting rid of seaclear by any means but the best is they are free.