Chartplotter yes/no?

[secondcurve]

I recently purchased a 22 foot Grady White to use on Lake Winni this summer. My question involves whether I should buy a chart plotter and the Bizer c-map. Is this over kill for the lake or will it help me stay away from the infamous rocks? I am fairly new to boating and thus I have little expereince in this area. What unit would be best. How accurate our these devices? How difficult are they to use/install. Any input from experienced boaters would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

[jeffk]

I started boating on Winni in 1994 as a complete novice. I don't have a GPS and I have never hit a rock. Get a Bizer chart and pay attention to the marked navigation lanes and markers and you probably won't have any trouble. Most recommendations from GPS users are that the chart should be your primary guide even of you do have GPS. Watch out for shoal areas maked on the map.
One thing that GPS can help with is showing where you actually are, not just where you think you are. I lost my bearings once and was heading for The Witches thinking it was open water. Fortunately, I check the bouy numbers as I go past so I soon realized I wasn't where I thought I was. GPS probably helps prevent that type of error.
If you are adventurous and navigate into tricky areas no chart or GPS will help you. It's always good to go out with someone who already knows the area and points out the "hot spots".
I am considering getting a GPS because I am interested in night time navigation and know others who really appreciate them at night. I am looking at the Standard Horizon units which others on this forum have used and liked. Other units have also been discussed on other threads.
Good luck.

[Lakegeezer]

The Horizon and Bizer charts are nice, but are not a substitute for learning the lake. The biggest problem with the Horizon is that it is a horizontal screen for a lake that is mostly vertical. Also, the Bizer maps do not show the markers once you zoom out far enough to get the big picture of where you are going (at least on the CP150). In other words, for close work, great tool - but less useful for navigating more than a few miles away. My old Garmin with no chart and manually entered waypoints off of Bizer's map was more useful at cross-lake navigation. GPS is great at night, and fun during the day. It really helps you find the markers - and that is the most important point of navigating Winnipesaukee. Always know where you are - and stop if you are confused. There are plenty of rocks waiting for you in the most obscure places.

[PROPELLER]

My personal opinion, you do not need the GPS or chartplotter. Buy a good chart from Bizer or Duncan Press & save your money. Once you become familiar with the lake you will rarely need the chart. 95% of the time I don't even need the chart now. If your on the lake frequently you will remember the markers, the different areas. If you understand how to use your compass & you know to stay North & East of Black Spar markers & South & West of Red Spar markers, most times you will not need to refer to the chart in unfamiliar areas.

However, if you plan on boating alot at night or you have an island property you want to get to regardless of darkness, fog or bad visibility you may want to consider it.

[Mee-n-Mac]

I've got some links to prior discussions on this topic below. I hope you find them useful. I'd say the posters above have given you the same advice I would have. I'll try to add something new and say chartplotters, while not needed, are easier to understand than the more basic non-plotting, waypoint only, GPS units. They cost a bit more but if ease of use is paramount my gut says spend the extra $$s (something I wouldn't have said 2 yrs ago). You can look and see your position with respect to easy to identify features (islands, bays, points, etc) vs some perhaps forgotten-what-it-means-where-is-it waypoint symbol. GPS is useful at night and in bad weather as well, just remember it's not radar nor x-ray vision. The fixed mount unit's require that you also mount a separate antenna and run a co-ax cable, as well as power and ground wires. This may or may not be easy for you. A removable unit with an internal antenna is easier to install but I'm not sure you can get one w/the more complete Bizer chart of the lake (this was mentioned in one of the posts below).

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=1610 (scroll down to upthesaukee's post)

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...read.php?t=562

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...read.php?t=150

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69 (scroll down to Silver Duck's informative post)

[ITD]

While a chartplotter does not replace a chart it does make life much easier, especially when in unfamiliar areas looking for markers. I have a CP-150C and I turn it on almost every time I take the boat out. I use a chart to figure out where I want to go if its somewhere unfamiliar, the plotter helps lighten the load of keeping track of where I am. I would highly recommend buying one if cash is not an issue, it will make familiarization with the lake much easier.

[codeman671]

I have two Standard Horizons in my boats, the new color CP155C and CP175C. They work great, much easier than handling paper charts when enroute. The new screens are color and daylight-viewable which most brands are not at this price range. They are coming out with a fish finder module to integrate in, the FF520. This will make the unit do everything I would possibly need all in one. The best part about Standard is that they take C-map so you can simply buy the C-map Bizer chip and drop it in without having to do extra work.

[DRH]

I installed a Standard Horizon CP155C GPS unit with the Bizer C-Map chip for Winnipesaukee in my boat last year and found it to be a very valuable navigational aid. If you just boat in familiar water, it's value is probably not as great. But if you like to explore areas of the lake you are not familiar with, I believe a chartplotter is a very useful tool.

Using the Winnipesaukee C-Map chip, the chartplotter displays on the screen your current position superimposed on the Bizer lake chart and shows your exact location relative to markers, land, shoals, etc. True, you should also have a current lake chart with you, but I have found when boating in an area of the lake I am not familiar with that sun glare, haze, reflections off the water, etc., can sometimes make it difficult to identify what land masses you are seeing. (Are you seeing the mainland, or one or more islands? Sometimes it's not easy to be sure.) With a chartplotter GPS using the Bizer chip, you will never be in doubt.

[secondcurve]

Folks:

I have picked up a Bizer chart and will probably start with that, but I think that I am going to take the plunge and buy the chart plotter in the not to distant future. You only go around once as they say and from everything I have heard money can not be smuggled into the Big House, so I might as well spend what I have enjoying myself! Thanks again for the valuable and thorough responses. It is much appreciated.

[upthesaukee]

I have an older Magellen Map410 GPS with Cmap's Lake winni map on it. It also has Bizer's waypoint file installed, along with some others that I have put in manually. I don't go anywhere without turning it on, making sure I have my Bizer chart at hand, and stopping in unfamiliar areas to orient myself with the chart and the GPS. An invaluable tool, and my next boat (or maybe a year or two down the road on this one) will have a charter/plotter. Still need to use common sense, eyes, and the charts, but sure is a nice back up to what you think you are seeing on the chart and across the lake.

[codeman671]

Another piece of advice, if you decide to go with a Standard buy it from West Marine/Boat US. They will price-match any internet store unlike most places which onluy match stores. I found one online in FL that had a price so low I saved an additional $80 over and above the $100 commercial discount I normally get from my account. It will help take the sting out of coughing up $650-900. If you need the link I am sure I can dig it up. They offer a good aftermarket warranty plan as well for short change.

[marcucci]

Winni looks big on the map but once you are out there for a while you get to know your way around like you do your neighborhood. However, never go out without your Bizer chart and always be weary for the first month of the season as things on the lake do change.

-Dave