Happy New Year and Heads Up!

[Neil Gordon]

Happy New Year!!!

Not head's up, exactly, but playing with the GPS this morning, doing some pre-season route planning raised a question I don't recall ever before pondered here:

When sailing/cruising, do you set your GPS/chart plotter map to North UP or Heading Up? At least for now, I'll pretend that wheel vs. tiller and/or locking your prop does not enter into this. So what are the pros and cons and which way is the correct way?

[Jim Walsh]

Head up. My chart plotter is in a fixed position so it's natural to take a peek at the chart plotter then lift your head and observe the horizon for the same headlands/objects which are laid out around you in the same relative position.

[Neil Gordon]

Head up. My chart plotter is in a fixed position so it's natural to take a peek at the chart plotter then lift your head and observe the horizon for the same headlands/objects which are laid out around you in the same relative position.

Nice try.

Since I always have paper charts on hand, and plot/log my position on them every so often, having the GPS and the paper chart in alignment seems to make sense. OTOH, with a course line straight up, and a separate line to my destination, steering by GPS seems easier. OTOH, I'd rather steer by magnetic compass and save the batteries on the GPS.

[Sea Hunt Video]

OTOH, what do you guys mean by "head up" or "heading up":?: Is it the pointy end of the boat is pointing in the same direction as the top of the GPS screen I do not have a GPS but I am thinking of investing. My concern is my complete and total lack of "computer skills". Managing to open emails and post on this website are my signature achievements within the computer world. I am told GPS is difficult to work with (for guys like me) and made more complicated by having to do it while on a sailboat.

[David Morton]

Since my chart plotter is mounted about chest level, my head is usually down. OTOH, if I'm at my anchorage with another Dark &Stormy in my left hand (or it could be OTOH), as I am a single-handed sailor, chances are good I may be observing my chart plotter from the cockpit sole. In which case, my head is pointed up. Not to be confused with the pointy end of the boat, which is usually headed forward... excuse me, while I use the head...

[Neil Gordon]

I am told GPS is difficult to work with (for guys like me) and made more complicated by having to do it while on a sailboat.

Roberto,

Just follow simple rules of navigation:

Okay to follow boats crewed by attractive women in bikinis.

Not okay to follow boats crewed by attractive women in bikinis if you have deeper draft.

(No GPS required.)

[Steve Laume]

Chart plotter at the helm is definitely heading up. Like Jim stated it helps you orientate yourself in relation to other objects. I often spot aids to navigation by noting where they are on the plotter and then looking for them in that direction. When choosing a place to anchor, I will mark a go to spot on the chart plotter where water depths and shelter look good on the chart and then head to that point. Having things set with north up would add complexity to that maneuver.

The Hand held GPS I keep running, when offshore, is in the cabin and set for north up. I am looking to starboard when I read it and can't see a horizon anyway so it doesn't need to be oriented to the boat. I use it only to record speed and distance and make it easy to log, then plot Lat and Long on a chart every 4 hours. When I glance at it, I get a general idea of which way I am going. So if I am supposed to be heading to Canada and the little boat is pointed down, I know something is just not right.

I guess I am an AC / DC kind of guy when it comes to GPS orientation, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

Chart plotter at the helm is definitely heading up. Like Jim stated it helps you orientate yourself in relation to other objects. I often spot aids to navigation by noting where they are on the plotter and then looking for them in that direction.

Being a paper chart kind of guy, and never one to turn a paper chart to align with reality, it's fairly normal for my brain to convert true bearings to relative ones.

I see two major pros to a heading up display on the hand held...

1 - Course is always a straight vertical line; bearing to the next way point either aligns or is off to the left or right. Course corrections are easy and intuitive.

2 - The rectangular screen favors a vertical, heading up, arrangement... you see more chart where the boat is going vs. where it's been or what's off to the side.

My favored solution is heading up while underway and navigating a route, North up when plotting and planning and using the chart as a chart.

[Steve Laume]

On my plotter the widest part is east west not north south but it doesn't matter. If I want to look further along my route, I can zoom out and or push a button and scroll up my course. This would be difficult if set on north up. You would just scroll off into space unless you were heading due north.

I do almost all of my trip planning on paper charts. The plotter is great for getting a quick idea of bearings and distances to various points. The plotter is also excellent for following the 'bread crumbs' of your previous route back out,
in the fog or at night.

For me it is not a matter of one or the other but rather using paper and electronic charts together where their strengths are best applied, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

Steve,

>>If I want to look further along my route, I can zoom out and or push a button and scroll up my course. <<

That's the advantage of heading up, for me. In open water, I tend to adjust the zoom so that the next way point is top of screen, then zoom in as I get closer. Works well as way points are often buoys marking hazards, and so nice to be zoomed in and keeping to the correct side of the mark.

>>I do almost all of my trip planning on paper charts.<<

Planning, DR, and logging position, all done on paper (both a rough log and plotted on the paper chart). If things go badly, I don't need to rely on memory or AA batteries to know my most recent fix and most likely DR position.

>>The plotter is also excellent for following the 'bread crumbs' of your previous route back out,
in the fog or at night.<<

My old GPS didn't have charts but it did show navigation aids and kept an adequately long track. I found it particularly useful transiting the Cape Cod Canal on a morning I could see neither side! (For those familiar, I went under the Sagamore Bridge without knowing it!)

>>For me it is not a matter of one or the other but rather using paper and electronic charts together where their strengths are best applied<<

Using one means of navigation to verify the other, and vice versa, is a really good idea! (If they disagree, find the error before you rely on either one!)

[jen1722terry]

RE: Neil's advice for following boats with attractive women in bikinis.

This is not advisable for helmsman who are sharing the cockpit with their sig. others. Obviously following such boats can lead to infliction of blunt trauma in the helmsman's ribs resulting from a sharp elbow jab. Head up becomes an issue when the elbow jab induces the helmsman to ram his head up into the bimini hoop while trying to dodge the elbow, which can lead to head down to feel the growing cranial lump. Heading down is the obvious next step to go below and get some ice for the lump, while the sig. other takes the helm and heads off to the mooring to grab the dinghy and head off to the wharf, leaving the helmsman to wait for the marina tender or head down the stern ladder to swim to the wharf, only to find the sig. other heading off in the car, leaving you to head up to the bus stop to get home.

Just a heads up, as I head up to bed for the night.

Cheers!

Terry

[Neil Gordon]

Terry,

>>Just a heads up, as I head up to bed for the night.<<

Follow my advice and you'll end up sleeping on the couch.

[mgphl52]

Some techniques are best left to single-hand sailors...

[bottomscraper]

I believe most professionals use north up, personally when underway course up works best for me. The bouy on the right on the chart matches the bouy on the right in the real world.

[Cathy Monaghan]

I don't think there's a wrong way -- north up or head up. Use whichever setting works best for you. Anyway, I prefer head up.


-Cathy