Electronic Charts GPS vs Laptop

[akoutdoors1]

Which is the better setup- GPS and bluecharts or laptop with GPS antenna and navigation software?
Factors: cost, durability, compatibility with autopilot, ease of use, others??? My budget is $500 for navigation equipment to singlehand the inside passage in my Nordica 20.
Please feel free to recommend equipment. Offers welcome.

[Freesail99]

A laptop alone will cost $500.00 or more.

[sailingdog]

I'd go look for an older Garmin GPSMap 192C or such, which has the US coastal charts in it, pre-loaded. The laptop and software is going to be more expensive than the Garmin would be, and less durable, with greater power draw.

[Sapperwhite]

This past winter/ early spring I got a Garmin 492 at a good cost right after they announced the new 2007 line up. The 492 is preloaded with the entire US coastal waterway. It also has the card slot if you want to buy charts for elsewhere in the world. It was about $600 for the 492 with external antenna. I think it a good unit at a fair price when you consider that other brands come bare bones for that, then you have to buy the chart cards to even use them.

[sailortjk1]

Both.
Chartplotter at the Helm, Lap-Top down below at the Nav Desk.

[Freesail99]

I have a garmin 498c cost under $600.00. It also comes pre-loaded with charts.

[JimsCAL]

The new Garmin 440 has a 4 inch color screen and comes with all the US coastal maps. You should be able to find it for $500. A lower cost choice is a handheld unit. A Lowrance iFinder H2O with a chart card can be had for $200 or so. That said, I assume you will also have paper charts of the area you will cruise. I consider the electronic charts a convenience, but not a substitute for the paper ones.

[jorgenl]

Garmin 492 at helm.

Laptop with Maptech's Chart Navigator Pro and USB Zenstar GPS at Nav station.

The laptop is handy for planning and creating routes and exporting to the GPS.

I don't really need the laptop for my cruises here i Cheasapeake Bay, but i can double as a DVD player on a rainy day (do not have TV in the boat) and I like gadgets...

[sailortjk1]

Originally Posted by jorgenl

Garmin 492 at helm.

Laptop with Maptech's Chart Navigator Pro and USB Zenstar GPS at Nav station.

The laptop is handy for planning and creating routes and exporting to the GPS.

I don't really need the laptop for my cruises here i Cheasapeake Bay, but i can double as a DVD player on a rainy day (do not have TV in the boat) and I like gadgets...

I can run my Navigation Software on the laptop and display it on my Flat screen TV. Pretty fun stuff. You can never have enough toys.

[Boasun]

The Laptop is multi-purpose in its usage. Tied in with the SSB or SAT comm you can do your emails and on line Ordering of needed parts.
The GPS you can only do Satellite navigation.
The Laptop: Balance chk book, keep inventories, store hundreds of books & games.
The GPS? Sat nav only.
Laptop; Large screen. GPS; Small screen.

Note: have my GPS (Garminmap 76) tied into my laptop when working offshore. Nice to have Nobeltec chart desplayed when entering a port I've never been into before. Day or Night. But then with the laptop I can do so much more.

Yes you do need one or more secure places for the laptop and lash it down. But you also do this with all of you electronic tools on a vessel.

Of course when I look into the mirror, I do see an idiot who failed to lash the laptop down one time and ended up have to put out more bucks for a new one. Lesson learned... Oh! Take my word for it. Laptops do not survive any unplanned flights across a pilothouse of a vessel. Especially with hard landings. Lash it down!!!

Have fun.