 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
Introduction When we sailed around Vancouver Island in 1995, we used paper charts and a GPS as our primary navigation system. From 1997 onwards, we have used Nobeltec’s Visual Navigation Suite (VNS) as our primary navigation tool. VNS is a Windows based software program that among other things plots a vessel’s position (obtained from a GPS) on an electronic chart. All of our trips to the Charlottes, Clayoquot Sound and most recently to Southeast Alaska were made using VNS as our primary navigation system. All told, these trips represent over 4000 nautical miles. During these voyages we encountered all types of adverse conditions—heavy seas, fog, night legs, etc.
A lot of literature has been written about navigation software—how it works,
pros and cons, features, different types of electronic charts, etc. I am
going to assume you have already read that literature and understand the basics.
Instead I am going to try and give a little bit of personal insight on why I
like using VNS and my observations after 4000 miles of coastal navigating with
the program. I will also share some of my thoughts on computer hardware and powering
the computer onboard a boat. This article is divided into 7 sections.
TGW.NET is property of Tim Whelan. All pictures, diagrams and text ©Tim Whelan 1980–2002, all rights reserved. Only permitted images and material may be downloaded from this web site. For usage, please see my copyright notice. | |
 |
|
Patience nosing into a wave on 
the west coast of SE Alaska.
It's a good idea to have your
computer properly secured.
|
|
 |
|
|
We haven't crossed any oceans
(yet), but we've done lots of
coastal cruising with VNS. |
|
