jungpeter
Guru
My new-to-me boat is equipped with a Garmin 4208 MFD. All my previous boats were equipped with some form of PC-based hardware, running Coastal Explorer (CE) software. And my standard operating procedure before most voyages is to create a route, eyeballing the obstacles, and avoiding dirt (doh!!!) before departure. While my CE software lacked an autorouting function, at least developing a route semi-automatically via a mouse was eminently doable. On a recent delivery, with non-functional Furuno nav gear on a friend's boat, I saved our bacon by bringing along an iPad for backup, equipped with Navionics software. This software/hardware combo DID include autorouting. While not a game-changer, autorouting was handy, especially as I had no pointing device (i.e.-mouse) to edit my various routes on the iPad. I did have my finger (!), which worked OK, although I'm not a fan of touch screens on a small boat.
Now, on to my question! My current Garmin 4208 allows one to "navigate to" a destination. This is nothing more than displaying a rhumb-line (bearing and distance) to the destination, land masses and shallows be damned! Actually navigating this route is a non-starter, unless your boat has wheels... Editing this route to avoid these obvious no-go areas is VERY tedious, as the only pointing device associated with the 4208 is a device-mounted button cursor control.
Perusal of the manual reveals that the 4208 has some form of autorouting capability, albeit after purchasing a not-inexpensive mapping update via Garmin. And if I've got it correct, the upgraded chart package that is compatible with my 4208 is the BlueChart G3 package. Unfortunately, I've no experience with this software, can't demo it anywhere, and am looking for user experiences, particularly with the autorouting function. Anybody got the same hardware/software combo, perhaps on a tender or older boat, with some time using it?
Regards,
Pete
Now, on to my question! My current Garmin 4208 allows one to "navigate to" a destination. This is nothing more than displaying a rhumb-line (bearing and distance) to the destination, land masses and shallows be damned! Actually navigating this route is a non-starter, unless your boat has wheels... Editing this route to avoid these obvious no-go areas is VERY tedious, as the only pointing device associated with the 4208 is a device-mounted button cursor control.
Perusal of the manual reveals that the 4208 has some form of autorouting capability, albeit after purchasing a not-inexpensive mapping update via Garmin. And if I've got it correct, the upgraded chart package that is compatible with my 4208 is the BlueChart G3 package. Unfortunately, I've no experience with this software, can't demo it anywhere, and am looking for user experiences, particularly with the autorouting function. Anybody got the same hardware/software combo, perhaps on a tender or older boat, with some time using it?
Regards,
Pete
