Avoiding a peril of GPS plotters

With most boats having GPS plotters these days navigation from buoy to buoy in open water has become more perilous. In the past people were following a compass course and were going approximately toward the next mark. Today people are precisely going to the next mark with traffic in both directions following narrow path making for close passes in both directions. Meanwhile the rest of the ocean is empty.

To avoid continuous close passes I run a parallel course at least 1/4 to 1/2 mile offset from the buoy to buoy course. It doesn't add much to the distance but reduces the number of close passes.

looking out the windows helps...

also depends on what you use as waypoints....

I would say in the days of "not having a clue where you were" was just as dangerous as today where "not paying attention to where you are".....

There are certainly more boaters today that are less "conscientious" boaters as days gone by (as a percentage of all boaters)...but everything from more reliable engines to safer systems somewhat makes up for it....including chartplotters as far as I can tell.

I think the practice of slavishly following a route of GPS waypoints is a big part of the problem. I can remember during the early days of chartplotters a fellow boater on a yacht club cruise spent a half hour each morning putting in a couple of dozen waypoints for our 30 mile cruise that day. This was in Maine where keeping your head up is just as important as knowing where you are.

I rarely use waypoints. I use the extended course arrow and point the arrow where I want to go. I will watch the course made good and compare it to the bearing to where I want to go and make adjustments for wind and tide.

I think this approach makes me more aware of my surroundings. But at the end of the day, keeping your head up 99.9% of the time will keep you out of trouble.

David

I agree with keeping a proper lookout however all that does is let me know some idiot is going to pass close.

Running a parallel course allows me to not care as much about his intentions.

Not sure if this has anything to do with GPS chartplotters affecting boater's modus operandi, or just boating becoming more populous and waters more crowded, especially in densely populated areas.

Chartplotters are just tools...everyone uses them differently, in varying degrees, and to different levels of importance when navigating.

Bad or inexperienced navigators are just that...with or without chartplotters.

The sad story is the percentage that is emboldened by their presence yet don't have the experience to use them properly as needed.

Richard W said:

Not sure if this has anything to do with GPS chartplotters affecting boater's modus operandi, or just boating becoming more populous and waters more crowded, especially in densely populated areas.

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Hmm!! Now I would have been more likely to blame a boat running on autopilot than a chart plotter??

But more likely a lot of people just don't use common sense or even give a darn!! Sometimes there is just way too much testosterone floating around on those boat?

The plotters lead them,the autopilots drive them and The Lord watches over them...sometimes.


Via iPhone.

Greetings,
All good points thus far. I might also caution against being a "magenta line" cruiser.

I can go down to Grief Point in the summer and watch the boats turn by autopilot at a waypoint published in a popular guidebook.

I'm really uncomfortable with the way some operators blindly let their electronics do everything for them. My boat came with an 11 year old Garmin GPSMap 182c. Cost $1500 new. I plot a course on my chart, create way points, and load their lat/long into the GPS. That gives me an arrow on the compass face to follow. Sometimes my magnetic compass matches, sometimes it doesn't. No big deal. My ComNav autopilot holds a heading. I set it to match the GPS arrow. I do not want a system the couples everything together. My chart and compass are still my primary navigation tools as we just do coastal cruising. The autopilot allows for alert watch standing without the hassle of steering. I'm always within arms reach of the a/p shut off switch in case something comes up. I assume any crossing or passing vessel has had no training in the rules of the road, and I'll do what is necessary to avoid a collision. Heck of a way to operate, but I'm rarely surprised, except by common courtesy.

Nothing compared to local nit-wits that run thru the fog without radar, on plane and staring only at their GPS. I see that all spring while fishing from the edge of the NJ ICW in my little CC. They dont even look up! No idea why there isn't more horrific collisions.

High Wire said:

Nothing compared to local nit-wits that run thru the fog without radar, on plane and staring only at their GPS. I see that all spring while fishing from the edge of the NJ ICW in my little CC. They dont even look up! No idea why there isn't more horrific collisions.

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We watch them hit the shoaling just outside of Little Egg. Many a boat has been lost running on plane 2 miles off the inlet when they go from 50 feet of water to the bow thruster in the air once they are stopped by the heavy shoaling. Most never have their VHF radios on so warning them is met with silence.
Bill

I don't have a system that lets the chartplotter drive the auto pilot. I had an experience last fall when the hydraulic steering system was low on fluid and the auto pilot was snaking the boat through the water like an anaconda trying to maintain a single heading. Sh$% happens, things break and you have to use all your tools and stay vigilant at the helm.

djmarchand said:

I rarely use waypoints. I use the extended course arrow and point the arrow where I want to go. I will watch the course made good and compare it to the bearing to where I want to go and make adjustments for wind and tide. David

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We find in the PNW waters a course plotted every day is the easiest way to get there. My detest of slow to program plotters and niceties of our laptop based Nobeltec makes plotting and course changes a breeze. And when the fog roles in and visual cues disappear that prearranged course with radar and AIS makes "getting there" pretty easy.

Following buoys as Frydaze laments was a curse in the old sextant days too, or buoys in the River, or buoys in the channel, or the tip of Diamond Head, or the SE visible rock off the Southerly approach to Block Is, or aim to the center of Dunbarton Bridge when departing Redwood City YC - my point being there are always turning points that are commonly used. Capt Cook set up thousands of them around the world for others to follow.

I also run a "little off the beaten path" esp when I make the run from Mystic to Block Island. After clearing the narrow passages I run due south for about 3/4 mile before locking in on the BI Salt Pond buoy. This way I have never run close to another boat until I get about 1/2 mile from BI.
I purposely do this so when I run this course in the fog, like we get often, I don't have to worry too much about traffic.
And that's with the GPS/Autopilot running the boat. This way I can spend almost 100% of my time observing and listening.

Jl:
Especially good practice if fog because today's boaters look at plotters and radar as infallible reality.
Idiots going fast when they can't see their own bow pulpit are nuts.

When I was an ultralight pilot I flew frequently at odd numerical altitudes. Reduced the odds of a mid-air collision dramatically. Most pilots flew at 2500' or 3000' not at 2700.

I fly my boat up X channel, across Y Sound, around Z point ..........
I never use waypoints and rarely compass headings. The latter if visibility is weak. I keep my plotter on what's close in front and am aware of all navigational hazards I can see and what's shown on the plotter. I usually keep my I-pad on Navamatics for the "big picture" ahead, scouting for good anchorages and exploring via the app Navamatics.

Can't relate to knowing exactly where my boat will be at 22 minutes after ... .
It probably has much to do w my "P" type personality. P types like things undecided whereas "J" types like things decided. A date w a J type ... Tell her everything ... with a P type tell her only what's necessary and let those few details dribble out over time.

Too much planning complicates life especially when things don't go as planned. And the more you plan the more things are likely to not proceed according to plan. And of course too little planing can bring about lots of trouble and pain. But it's better for us P types and otherwise non-planners to err toward being a bit more of a planner and less desirable for planners to do less planning but since they already do too much perhaps it's a good idea too.

Federal Aviation Regulations

Home > Aviation Regulations > Parts Index > Part 91 > Sec. 91.159 - VFR cruising altitude or flight level.


Sec. 91.159 — VFR cruising altitude or flight level.

Except while holding in a holding pattern of 2 minutes or less, or while turning, each person operating an aircraft under VFR in level cruising flight more than 3,000 feet above the surface shall maintain the appropriate altitude or flight level prescribed below, unless otherwise authorized by ATC:

(a) When operating below 18,000 feet MSL and—
(1) On a magnetic course of zero degrees through 179 degrees, any odd thousand foot MSL altitude +500 feet (such as 3,500, 5,500, or 7,500); or
(2) On a magnetic course of 180 degrees through 359 degrees, any even thousand foot MSL altitude +500 feet (such as 4,500, 6,500, or 8,500).
(b) When operating above 18,000 feet MSL, maintain the altitude or flight level assigned by ATC.

Boating has a few similar rules..and should be followed if you are serious.

Like airspace....there is uncontrolled airspace and just think of all the other knuckleheads out there with the same thoughts that are in an unregulated/uncontrolled space with no clue as to what they are doing.

That's why pros use controlled airspace and boating areas with rules and they follow the rules....using whatever electronics gives them the best chance of avoiding a collision.

Outguessing the rules puts you in as much danger as using that space and following them.

Sure there's exceptions to every rule...but in reality you are just tossing the dice either way.

What class do Ultralights operate in with regards to the FAA Psneed?
Thanks,
Bill

I wasn't suggesting ultralights follow the rules for other aircraft and have no idea what rules they fly by or could really care...

Being a guy who flew most of his career in the "dead man's zone" and lived by the "big sky theory "...I suggest that any pilot of anything better know what part of the sky has the densest "not following any rule" traffic.

Or follow the more predictable traffic flow set up by a set of rules that if deviated from have other consequences than just dying....

Maybe havin' an autopilot without a "brain" is a good thing, as I am always correcting for set and drift. Runnin' up the southern California coast, I add ten degrees to port as the set is usually from the northwest. Commin' south, I add ten degrees to starboard for the same reason.

psneeld said:

I wasn't suggesting ultralights follow the rules for other aircraft and have no idea what rules they fly by or could really care...

Being a guy who flew most of his career in the "dead man's zone" and lived by the "big sky theory "...I suggest that any pilot of anything better know what part of the sky has the densest "not following any rule" traffic.

Or follow the more predictable traffic flow set up by a set of rules that if deviated from have other consequences than just dying....

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Thanks for the clarification I thought perhaps you felt the previous post about flying Ultralights was wrong?
Bill

ancora said:

Maybe havin' an autopilot without a "brain" is a good thing, as I am always correcting for set and drift. Runnin' up the southern California coast, I add ten degrees to port as the set is usually from the northwest. Commin' south, I add ten degrees to starboard for the same reason.

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When a box can correct for set and drift WAYYYYYYY better than a human (as it's constantly updated rather than whenever you want to take a "guess" or make a more positive calculation...AND it helps with leeway)....I just don't get peoples aversion to fully integrated autopilots.

Lot's of things can go wrong on the water...a setup that with absolute minimum understanding and so little attention or input that can do SO much for you....it's just inconceivable to me why people are "anti- auto pilot in all it's forms. yes you have to pay a little attention...big deal.

I wonder if all the people that distrust marine electronic integration also avoid fling commercial airliners that are certified to auto land in worse conditions than if the pilot was at the controls?

Billylll said:

Thanks for the clarification I thought perhaps you felt the previous post about flying Ultralights was wrong?
Bill

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Not wrong...but obviously not portraying the "big" picture of scooting around in uncontrolled airspace.

Something that was driven home time and time again at our annual simulator course.

You could be in completely safe and radar controlled airspace...break out of the clouds at some smaller airport and crash into some ultralight who was perfectly legal yet oblivious to the "big" airspace picture.

Well my idea is rarely your idea but flying at an altitude that other pilots rarely fly at seems the safest and smartest thing to do.

However flying an ultralight at all is questionable ... at least. But I did it for many years and never broke a bone. Those cracked ribs sure did hurt though.

manyboats said:

Well my idea is rarely your idea but flying at an altitude that other pilots rarely fly at seems the safest and smartest thing to do.

However flying an ultralight at all is questionable ... at least. But I did it for many years and never broke a bone. Those cracked ribs sure did hurt though.

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I think you have to be half baked to fly an Ultralight but some people love the rush it gives them! Then again piloting a boat in a pop up thunderstorm can be an adventure. Me I prefer to stay put if there's even a remote chance of T-Storms they can have significant power behind them.
I was caught off guard 3 years ago and the cloud to water strikes were within 100 yards or so as we came down a narrow fairway through Little Egg from the Holgate ICW to Tuckerton Creek. We call it the sticks.
Bill

psneeld said:

Being a guy who flew most of his career in the "dead man's zone" and lived by the "big sky theory "...I suggest that any pilot of anything better know what part of the sky has the densest "not following any rule" traffic.

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Yup. . .I agree. A lot of good comparisons there. You would think with the advances in aircraft navigation avionics systems more non-commercial pilots, outside of controlled air space, would venture off the beaten path and plot straight line, shortest route flight paths. But many pilots, both rotary and fixed wing, still prefer to follow the road systems here. On your toes anytime you're near or crossing the main North -South or East - West highway systems.

I don't distrust electronic nav instruments, I just hesitate on spendin' money on something I use once a year on our annual trip to Catalina Island. Got other boat stuff that needs the bucks.

Edelweiss said:

Yup. . .I agree. A lot of good comparisons there. You would think with the advances in aircraft navigation avionics systems more non-commercial pilots, outside of controlled air space, would venture off the beaten path and plot straight line, shortest route flight paths. But many pilots, both rotary and fixed wing, still prefer to follow the road systems here. On your toes anytime you're near or crossing the main North -South or East - West highway systems.

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Thanks...the real story is that from 0-3000 feet is a free for all...especially around coasts, non-controlled airports, places of interest....etc...

It's where the vast majority of inexperience is and there's no control and barely any rules...the diff at being off a few hundred feet is negligible in the big scheme of things as the class of pilots that fly there can barely aintain a steady altitude if they WANTED to...but they don't as they are just out having fun, sightseeing, banner towing, etc...etc... or looking for a missing something or other...

Same as boating to the degree that everyone has to go in the inlet...or wants to run along the beach, etc...thinking you are coming in on a safe approach because you are travelling where the big boys or comms aren't...just means you are probably where all the other non-pro boaters are headed.