I usually boat on LOTO, where a chartplotter is not needed. But want to trailer to other waters this summer where one would be nice. Would rather not spend hundreds or thousands on a C.P. that will only be used a few times, if there is a reasonable option.

Can you think of any reason an old laptop computer with a GPS hooked to it would not work as a chart plotter with the proper software?

Secondendly, most of the chart software I've seen advertised covers salt water and the great lakes, but not inland lakes or rivers. Does OSO have suggestions for lakes and rivers?

The Atlantic and Pacific are lakes........ they are just really BIG ones

Jon

All my boating is inland lakes. Some nothing more than large ponds. I use the Garmin Mapsource CD and it works great. Also is great for traveling on land. Shows all roads.
No experience with laptop

Im looking for a laptop for the same reason. I can plug in my GPS, watch DVDs, play a game or two, etc. Already have the gps. Sams Club has a small laptop..thinks its a 7" or 9" for $700. Its my understanding that Microsoft Streets and Trips planner will run with the GPS plugged in and show you evrything you need.

I have used laptops on the road, They work well except the screens are very hard to read in bright light. If you can live with that on the boat for a few days you should be OK. But only the marine maps by Garmin, Maptech and the sort will show you soundings. It may be better and cheaper just to get paper maps. It's best to study where you are going first rather than rely on a gps to tell you where you are. If you GPS fails what would you do then?

Be carefull of purchasing a laptop. On our recent excurision thru the Bahamas, we tried using laptop for navigation in boat and it is just too hard to see screen on most occasions. Also the water and moisture are not too compatible. We ended up using laptop on land in the bars to plug in next days running and then downloading into gps.

Ed

Has anyone tried the GPS receivers you plug into a PDA? Might be a better alternative than a laptop - more durable. Here's link to some..

http://www.boatfix.com/elec/navgps.asp

Yes, Streets and Trips works well for land, and I use that in my truck with a hand-held GPS plugged into it. But, as someone else said here, it is not adequate for water.

Laptop: can't see in the sun - hard to find a place to put it where you can see it at speed - not really good for it to be pounded on in rough water.

Charting GPS: more money.

The answer depends on how you plan to use the charting function. If you plan to use it to simply "not get lost" then it will work fine. If you get lost, get it out of its padded case, fire it up, start the mapping software, punch in your coordinates, see where you are and where you need to go.

If you want to use it while running, it gets less desirable unless you have a 50' cruiser with a good spot for it.

You CAN plug your GPS into the computer (at home before you go) and transfer tons of waypoints to all the landmarks you need. You can do this BEFOREHAND and it's not as good as a chart, but much better than nothing.

If ya have to use a laptop on a boat get a good used Panasonic Toughbook they have the Gel mounted Drive and super bright screen. Ive tried most laptops are not readable during the day

http://www.panasonic.com/computer/no...tml/01a_s1.htm

with a bigger screen
http://www.panasonic.com/computer/no...tml/01a_s8.htm