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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/27/2004 : 11:26:54

Well, my 60th passed recently, and with it, my sailing days with my Garmin 48. I am now exploring the wonders of the amazing new Garmin GPSmap 286C with street-level mapping (auto kit) and BlueCharts. I got it the day before leaving for VT for TG, and let it tell me (audibly) how to get to my friends' house. Among other things, it:

<ul><li>gives you warnings at about 1 minute and then 10 seconds for the next turn, as: "In 1.2 miles, exit right. (and then...) in .2 miles, exit right--in 400 feet, turn left."</li><li>zooms in on the area of the next turn as you approach it, and then zooms out to show the next leg of the journey</li><li>when I pass a turn (as I did purposefully), it says, "Off course--recalculating... In 1.7 miles, turn left..." </li><li>displays the cartography (including charts with depths and shorelines) almost as crisply as paper.</li><li>continuously displays the name and direction of the road I'm on, the name and direction of the next turn, how far that is, total distance remaining, and ETA--all alongside the map with my location and direction on it.</li></ul>

The built-in nav systems in new cars do those things, but you can't take them into your family room, other vehicle, rental car, or most especially boat. It's a nice portable size, but unlike the iQue PDA/GPS, weatherproof and easy to operate in a car or boat. You can see it at http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap276c/# --click the Product Images link. My first opportunity to use it on Passage will be my several-day delivery trip next Spring from where she's stored now to where I will be living then.

Incidentally, for anyone looking for a new GPS, my source was www.gpsdiscount.com , which gave me an even slightly better deal than what they show on the site, and much better than the marine stores and sites--plus no sales tax and free Fedex. It was still a bunch of boat units, but you only turn 60 once!

Association Port Captain, Mystic, CT
Past member and DPO of C-25 #5032
Now on Eastern 27 Sarge (but still sailing) and posting as "Stinkpotter".

Passage, Mystic, and Sarge--click to enlarge.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 11/27/2004 12:09:14

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 12:13:17

Dave is happy......

Oscar
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C250 WB #618)
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 12:17:35

Happy Birthday Dave!

Its good to know that no matter what our age, we can still get toys.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 13:03:32

Hey Oscar... Should I send you some digital photos of my GPS showing the charts for where you want to go?

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 13:05:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dlucier
 Happy Birthday Dave!

Its good to know that no matter what our age, we can still get toys.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Thanks! But you know what they say about the price of our toys...

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 11/27/2004 13:06:53

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 13:24:42

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">ey Oscar... Should I send you some digital photos of my GPS showing the charts for where you want to go? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Nah, just send me the whole thing.....I'll be careful with it

BTW, does it have a red button to direct you to the nearest marine supply?

Oscar
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C250 WB #618)
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - Oscar on 11/27/2004 13:26:02

Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 14:33:00

I have the older version, the 176C, which was powered by AA batteries instead of the Lithium battery. It's great. The bluechart chips are incredible. They have guided me into anchorages or channels in the middle of the night without any problem.
Check out the tide functions. For the Keys there are about 60 locations it will read the tides for you. It knows the nearest location, and what time it is, and will give you a chart of the tides for the next 24 hours, or any other time period.

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 15:15:06

Yep, my G76 does as well as my Raymarine 435. Also gives me current velocities!

Oscar
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C250 WB #618)
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - on

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 17:38:35

Okay...help the newbie out here. What's a boat unit?

Nice piece of equipment Dave and a very happy 60th to you as well!

Is there any excuse whatsover for me to get one of these where I sail on a lake? No, I didn't think so.

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 17:44:08

Boat unit is $100.- or $1000.- depending on which forum you attemd.....

Excuse is a loaded term, reason, consideration, factor, desire, need. Better words.....so, maybe not ON the lake, but to get to the lake? Or another lake....nationals? Charter in the carribean?...see....

Oscar
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C250 WB #618)
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - on

SoCalGary
Deckhand

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USA
6 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 18:03:31

Happy B-Day...

I can also vouch for www.gpsdiscount.com

I bought my Garmin V from them a few years back and they were great to work with.

Has anyone used the Garmin V with Blue Charts? If so, how well does it work?

thanks

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 20:47:43

My definition of "Boat Units", derived from conversations with other members of my sailing club, who own sailboats from 22' to 44':
A "Boat unit" = $100 if your sailboat is less than 27'.
27'-29'= $200/BU
30' to 32' = $500/BU.
34' to 36' = $1000/BU.
37'-40' = $2000/BU.
40'-44' = $5000/BU.
45'-49' = $10,000/BU.
Bigger than 49' = if you can afford the purchase price of a boat this big in the first place, you don't CARE what upgrades, repairs, and maintenance costs!

Edited by - on

Jeff McK
Captain

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USA
389 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2004 : 23:05:19

Dave,

Happy belated B-day, & best wishes for many more!!

Larry,

Thanks for the nice definition of "boat units". For some reason I erroneously thought it was a fixed number at the $100 level.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2004 : 13:18:04

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Jeff McK
 
Thanks for the nice definition of "boat units". For some reason I erroneously thought it was a fixed number at the $100 level.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
By some coincidence, for our boats, it is. To Oscar, who surfs with the big boys, it's a grand.

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2004 : 16:29:39

Salt on the wound!!! Actually, I have been pretty good at containing the damage. Out of everything I've done to her, I only paid for a few hours to have a "Technical Specialist" align my engine. And I watched his every move, he was kind enough to explain, so next time I can do that myself. Other than that it was a sailmaker to repair the jib and put a luff tape/new UV shield on it, and a canvas maker to make a new bimini and put new zippers in the dodger, and he was CHEAP...The rest of the money went to parts/pieces. Yes that is a long list, because she was neglected, and I had to equip her to go do what I did.(the big sail) But, as we all know our Catalina's provide a first class ride on a coach budget, and on top of that, I bought her right, put in a lot of elbow grease, and now the bottom line is that I'm still ahead of the game, IOW, the boat is probably worth more than I have into it. So go ahead make fun of me......

Oscar
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C250 WB #618)
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - Oscar on 11/28/2004 16:34:04

osmepneo
Past Commodore

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USA
1420 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2004 : 20:39:26

When racing on a lake a gps can be an aid in providing direction to the next mark, when to tack (not so much a lift or a header, but when you're on the layline.) But, of course you need time to get the data into the gps so that it knows where you want to go, and then can tell you that neat stuff.

BTW, happy birthday!

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/28/2004 : 21:07:00

Thanks, Don... For now (this winter) it's a female voice telling me how to get there in the car--one of the little things I miss. Next Spring, it'll give me the course to Port Jefferson, then to Mattituck, and then to Mystic. BTW, I can also connect it to an NMEA depth sounder... not that I have one...

Oscar: We "little guys" need someone like you--a "big" target with a good sense of humor! I'll just steer clear of you in the terminal...

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2004 : 09:13:01

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">it's a female voice telling me how to get there in the car<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

"Pull over and ask for directions, darn it!!!"

Oscar
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C250 WB #618)
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - on

Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 11/29/2004 : 17:51:23

Happy 60th Dave! I don't feel so old now.

And thanks for the heads up about the GPS. My old Meridian XL finally crapped out after seven years. Then when I broke out the other hand held off the 17' fishing boat it was on the blitz too. So I'll be buying myself a Christmas present.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/30/2004 : 14:10:56

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ben - FL
 ...So I'll be buying myself a Christmas present.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Shine up that credit card--it's gonna get a workout!

Edited by - on

kbq
1st Mate

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USA
99 Posts

Response Posted - 12/01/2004 : 19:06:26

Dave -

Some heads up on the 276C... (my excuse? bought a new boat last spring and just *had* to have it!).

You may find on rare occasions that on boot it has the wrong date - probably in 2024. If you're fairly quick, you can correct the date on the setup->time screen (if I recall correctly). Further, there's a bug mode - I found it shortly after finding this - where it will power off when you go to land maps.

The fix, after having sent it back to Garmin, was to do a *full* factory reset. No problem if you've downloaded your waypoints, otherwise a minor pain. (That was what the Garmin tech did to fix it, by the way - the phone folks only had me to a partial reset, which didn't work).

Pointer: if using it in voice mode, I suggest you set Setup -> Guidance -> Off-Route Recalculation to "Automatic - Silent". Otherwise any deviation results in much annoying verbiage and punching of buttons!

Have fun - it's a *fun* toy!

Kevin Quinn
"wait for me"
250wk #751

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 12/02/2004 : 19:15:56

Thanks, Kevin! FWIW, I downloaded a software upgrade a couple of days ago, based on an e-mail from them about a beta version several levels above what mine was shipped with--I assume you got the same notice. I see several differences in the update... I haven't experienced the glitches you mention, but I still could... I've deviated from the route many times, and all it says is "Off route--recalculating", and then gives me new instructions based on the new route--no button-pushing and minimal chatter. I'n not sure, based on experience, whether it is more likely to pick the land route I would pick based on the "minimal distance" or "minimal time" options, but generally the route works. One thing I learned was that if you use something like an interstate as a "via waypoint", you have to get the right direction on the interstate--otherwise, it calculates a route with some strange turns to get to your waypoint and then continue on the route! But none of that has anything to do with navigation on the water--then again, I can't do that now!

Edited by - on

kbq
1st Mate

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USA
99 Posts

Response Posted - 12/03/2004 : 13:40:25

Dave -

I did *not* get that email... Will have to investigate. Thanks for the heads up!

You're right about the strange turns - sometimes I turn navigation off for a few minutes until I get back on the main route.

Kevin Quinn
"wait for me"
250wk #751

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 12/03/2004 : 21:09:22

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by kbq
 
I did *not* get that email... Will have to investigate.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Did you register your unit (and any maps & charts?) That's how they know.

Edited by - on

kbq
1st Mate

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USA
99 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2004 : 11:53:22

Dave - sure did! Will have to check the version of my installed software - perhaps it's already up to date...

Kevin
"wait for me"
250wk #751

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 12/06/2004 : 13:17:45

My beta version is 2.94, which apparently will replace 2.93. (Mine was shipped with an earlier one.) It appears at the bottom of the artsy screen when you power up.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 12/06/2004 13:19:42

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