Chartplotter my way!

Thought I would post my version of my back up chart plotter. That is my netbook running Polar View displayed on my fold down 36" Vizio.

Acer Aspire One netbook $240
BU-353 USB GPS $35
Polar View $40
Vizio 36 Web-enabled LED 1080i TV $400

36" HD web-enabled chartplotter with up to the minute free updated USCG raster and vector charts I guess $20,000

Now you're just showing off

Nicely done

A+!

Now everyone in the cabin can see when you are off course!

Beautiful and economical solution.

Are those the wires running up the port pillar post?

Nice job. I'd be lost without an MFD.

Nice idea having the screen fold up when not in use, just think it would block the view somewhat while down from those inside. Then how about traveling at night, can you dim the screen for night-vision?

Wires are all internal not exposed and yes you can set it on night mode. One of the reasons I chose the Vizio was the 2 1/4" depth. You really don't notice it when folded. Watching my Wolfpack play right now as I approach Norfolk

Looks like a head knocker if someone needs to use the companionway , underway.

FF said:

Looks like a head knocker if someone needs to use the companionway , underway.

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FF.
Not so 6'-1" clearance. Headroom in the salon is 6'-10".

Daddyo, we use our center window for viewing the water when traveling, a lot in fact. Your setup looks great for TV viewing when at the dock though. We have 3 mounted screens on the "dash" that can be easily seen over with no lost vision when looking forward.

Can you send a pic of your setup? Why three screens?

how did you hang the screen? Is that a 12v Vizio or are you using an invertor?

Inverter 3100W modified sinewave Magnum feeds the whole boat. There are four screw holes in the TV for attaching to a wall mount. These are through bolted to the cabinet itself. The cabinet then hangs on a full length piano hinge with dogs to hold it closed in the up position. I have a 1/4"x1" aluminum strap that holds it in the open position in any seas if desired.

Daddyo

Lower helm large screens

1. Furuno MFD NN3 mounted in front of gearshifts
2. Nobeltec via Dell 15" mounted on port side for mate to watch
3. Repeater to #2 mounted on Dell 15" in front of throttles

AIS on all screens with NMEA 2000 data on NN3. I'll dig up a photo and send to you

Nice Setup!!

Very nice setup, Daddyo. I did something similar, but smaller. I have the 11" Aspire One Netbook, BU-353 GPS puck, OpenCPN (I also have Offshore Navigator Light from Maptech and Navionics), and can feed the display via cable to our 12V HDTV in the aft stbd corner of the salon. My boat does not have the room or a layout that favors mounting a TV forward. It might be able to accommodate a smaller 19" TV mounted on the forward console, but it would present a permanent obstruction to forward port sight lines.

I have not permanently run the cables but plan to work on that soon. I also have 2 12V video cameras that I used to use for home security. I plan to mount them in the engine room to keep a watchful eye on the engines. I have a 4-channel source selector switch that I plan to mount on the overhead panel to control TV input source to allow me to switch between camera 1 or 2 or Chartplotter.

That's a real nice setup, Daddyo.

It wouldn't work on our boat because the helm station is almost centered so foward vision would be blocked.

But we have a "poor man's version" thanks to a previous owner who designed and built, or had built, a very clever drop-down mount for the radar display. We replaced the radar that came with the boat (Raytheon 2600) with a Furuno NN2 which has a great plotter system as well as the radar.

We don't like computer/laptop-based nav systems so won't have one on a boat, although we do use Navimatics on our iPad now as a substitute for the paper charts we use at the helm for a fast "big picture" reference. We can zoom in and out and pan with a finger swipe or two and since we have a wifi/3G iPad it has a self-contained GPS so needs no connectivity to track our position on the charts.

But I'm a big believer in the bigger a screen the better so in that aspect I really like your setup. We would have gone with the 10" NavNet but it was just a wee bit too big to fit on our retractable mount.

Marin said:

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Good day Marin, Do you find the flybridge feed tube annoying being right in the center of your helm wheel? I looked at a converted Lobster Trawler before I purchased mine and it had a similar wiring channel and I decided against the purchase.

I like it, your's looks OEM. I wanted to go flush but I had enough headroom that the logistics of the flush mount weren't warranted. One of the nice things is the plotter can be seen anywhere in the boat. The setup was originally primarily for movie night etc. but this was always going to be it's future double purpose. When I use the wireless keyboard and mouse it becomes my primary computer monitor a well.

Ocean Breeze NL said:

Good day Marin, Do you find the flybridge feed tube annoying being right in the center of your helm wheel? I looked at a converted Lobster Trawler before I purchased mine and it had a similar wiring channel and I decided against the purchase.

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Like the brace tube that runs diagonally across in front of the pilot in many smaller floatplanes like Cessnas, we don't even see the cable chase in front of the lower helm anymore. And we always drive from the lower helm.

So it's no issue whatsoever. I know it looks visually intimidating when you first see it but it takes no time at all before it becomes "invisible." Every GB has one and I have never talked to a GB owner who even brought it up so my guess is that, like us, they simply don't see it anymore.

We've had guests aboard some of whom were experienced boaters and others not so much, and when we've let them drive none of them has ever said a word about the chase in front of them.

This is why I find it amusing when people like Eric talk about the distraction of a bow rail out in front of them. Like the cable chase, our bow rail is totally "invisible" to us. We don't even see it anymore when were watching the water out ahead of it and it never obstructs anything, even a little crab pot float. The boat is aways moving and, standing or standing, the person at the helm is always moving a little. So the bow rail never obscures anything, even a little stick in the water, for more than a fraction of a second.

So in practical and perceptual terms our forward visibility is completely unobstructed.

Cool, I guess it is like the Admiral looking past my faults.. hey I hope it doesn't make it more visible now that someone mentioned it... sometimes that happens too

You are correct though, I never see the bow rail, the window frames, the built-in wiring chases, the defroster etc. when looking where I am heading..

Here is a shot of it in action during tonight's passage. Feels almost like I have night vision.

Wow, do you? I mean have night vision with that on. Looks like it would blind you.

That's with the brightness all the way up and even so with my eyes I do still have good night vision. I can't really explain it but my 5" Standard Horizon running C-Map has more glare