Compass

[James V]

tomasrey88 - Good luck. In Fl you can pick up the entire East Coast charts for $ 10. Most charts do not go much out of date often. You can get the entire USA MAP Tech Chart DVD for $ 20 if you have a computer to view them. I know of people who only use charts for coastal water. After you see a Chart plotter used, it is easy to use the easy way. With the cost of fuel and time, they do become cost effecient soon.

Please get the near classic book "Cruising on a Budget" for some good advice.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

You can download the entire NOAA coastal library of charts for free. You can get free charting apps that will allow you to print, but not use realtime GPS chartplotting.

You should also be able to find free USGS topo's for use on inland lakes although these will not have depths.

I wouldn't go coastal cruising without real copies or printouts of true charts. Using tracings is just un-safe. I don't care if someone survived using them to write a book. They still are wrong to have relied on them.

There are some things you just don't skimp on even on a budget. You owe it to all us other boaters who have to come rescue you to have a minimum level of safety and navigation equipment including charts on board.

[ssichler]

I use a cheap $5 boy scout's compass. It comes in a small plastic bulb so that it points in the same direction and stays level even if the boat is rocking. I use a el-cheapo handheld GPS (Gecko Garmin) that costs me less than $100 on eBay. You can program waypoints into it to help you navigate a course. Best of all, it floats, is brightly colored and is waterproof.

For "backup" and a salty image, I have a cheap souvenir sextant that probably doesn't work too well. I still haven't figured out how to use it... yet. But, I do have a book that I bought off a garage sale for 2 bucks. I guess, I can speed read it if I lose my GPS in mid-journey. Or I can simply sail in one direction until I read land, then sail along the land until I reach my point of origin (I sail in lakes, mostly).

For charts, I just go to the library and trace over real charts with really thin paper if the chart is big. If it is small enough to fit in the copy machine, I'll photocopy it.

My depthfinder is a long wooden pole from home depot. Since the Mac can float in a foot of water, the pole needn't be too long to determine if it's getting too shallow. My total navigation package costs under $120, including sales tax.

This seems like a needless expense and a big waste of time to me. You need to subscribe to the Capt. Ron school of navigation - if you get lost just pull over and ask for directions.