Glen-L.com

For an outboard, which do you think would be best... one with a "paddle wheel" mechanical pickup or one with a Pitot tube?

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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.

Paddle wheel without a doubt. Pitot are inaccurate and unreliable. Another alternative is a GPS, they work incredibly well.

I've been looking at GPS portables for just that reason. One nice thing is that they can be moved from one boat to another or taken backpacking (though my backpacking speed is down from when I was younger )

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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.

GPS is the only way to go.

Since there are so many out there, do you guys have any you use or have looked at that might narrow the search for me?

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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.

Due to my work and well hobbies, there are several models of handhelds I use that would suit your puposes. These days IMHO it really comes down to the bells and whistles you want on them as they all will tell you your speed and where you are down to +/- 3m.

I've used Garmins and Magellans and have been happy with both. The garmin 76S or 76 CS (colour) is good unit. I've also own a magellan sport trak map and a meridian gold and am happy with both of those.

I would suggest at a minimum a model that allows you to upload your maps (a few of the bottom line OLDER ones MIGHT not or hold enough memory). Most these days are built to take some shock and immersion for brief periods. There are models that will float.

Currently I am using my 4 greyscale meridian gold GPS from magellan and am happy with it for all my sailing needs.

hmmm my magellan sporttrak map is sitting idle these days... wanna make an offer? (software included)

Hope this helped some
Greg

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I can't do everything, but I can do something.

Greg, I'm getting married in about three weeks, but if you still have it after the month is out, I'd be glad to talk to you about it....

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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.

well Congrats on the upcomming nuptials there Cec!!.. She DOES know about Glen-L anfd the forum here I hope hehehe

The GPS isn't going anywhere so now worries.. here is a link to the model
http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/magellan/sportrakmap.htm

please feel free to contact me offlist regarding more details about it.
gbh@kingston.net

.. feeling silly now that I just realized when I mentioned the software.. it's the Streets & Destinations for CANADA (well duhhh LOL).. if you'd like to know where to go with your GPS here.. great I'll still include it...

anyways... we'll discuss it lateron when you're ready

cheers & gongrats again!
Greg

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I can't do everything, but I can do something.

Cec,

First, congrats on getting married. Just remeber the right answer to any question is, "yes dear"!

Second, here's a "second opinion" on speedometers, largly based on my experience with my "yacht" - our 27 ft Regal cabin cruiser. Guess I should add that it's a 340 HP IO and has a top speed a little over 50 MPH. It came from the factory with a Teleflex pitot speedometer. I've added a high end combination cartographic GPS and fishfinder/depth sounder that includes a paddle-wheel speed pickup throught the fish finder transducer.

1. No doubt - GPS will give the most accurate instataneous velocity over the widest range.

2. the paddle wheel agrees well with the GPS up to the mid 20 MPH. The big advantage of the paddle wheel is that it gives an accurate low speed reading where the pitot doesn't work at all.

3. The pitot tube speedo agrees pretty well with the GPS between about 40 and 40 MPH. Above 40, (on my boat anyway) it gets pretty erratic.

IMHO, your choice of instrumentation depends largly on what info you want over what speed range, and where you will be boating. Don't get me wrong, a cartographic GPS is just the slickest thing since canned beer, but it's way overkill if you will be boating on a small inland lake, and all you want to know is about how fast you are going. A pitot speedo is inexpensive, dirt simple, easy to install, and completely adequate in this situation. I'm going to put a pitot speedo in my Squirt.

If you really want to know how fast you are going at low speed (like you are fishing, and want a specific trolling speed) then get a paddle wheel speedo/fish finder combo - you will want the fish finder anyway, and this is a relitively inexpensive add-on (although good fish finders aren't cheap!)

If you are going to take your boat "away from home" any distance, or in complecated territory (I boat in the California delta, for example, where there are several thousand miles of waterways - no kidding) where you might get lost, then you definitiely want a GPS, and I'd go with a larger screen fixed-mount. Cartographic GPS has really come down in price over the last couple of years...my Si-Tex Colormax unit all the bells and whistles was just under a grand. But I use it as a navigation device, not a spedometer.

I guess my opinion is for most of the "Glen-L" class of boats, a good quality pitot speedo gives you a big easy reading dial, and good enough info.

Peace,

Terry McIntyre

Greg and Terry, thanks for the well wishes.. they're appreciated. She DOES know about the foorum and the boat I'm building and has been highly supportive of it ... I'm glad as I'd hate to start over looking for someone else at this point (Big talk, ain't it? So long as she don't hear it )

Also, thanks for all of the information and suggestions. I live on the TVA lakes in Tennessee and will also trailer the cruiser around to other states which is why I chose one big enough to camp out in and yet small enough that I can keep it at the house between runs...

For that alone I may want to go with both. I can use the paddle wheel for running and the GPS as my backup and mapping... best of both worlds, plus I can take the GPS between boats...

Greg, I'll drop you a line...

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Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.

sorry to go off topic a bit, but do you need to pay for use of a GPS system?
like, do you buy it and go or do you have to set up a plan or something....?

I dont think you do

You're going to need to spend around 200 bucks for a decent GPS. Look for one that uses WAAS. I can't remember what the acronym stands for but essentially it allows the GPS to be more accurate. Also, look for one that has an anchor alarm, it is an alarm that goes off when the unit moves past a set distance.

As for updatable maps, I've had one for three years and haven't needed to update maps. You can buy nice handhelds that have harbor bouys and plenty of features already on them to get you around in a pea soup fog. I've been using one on my boat on the Pacific Ocean to travel in the fog to places 20 miles distant.

One thing about using it as a speedometer is, it gives you speed over land as opposed to speed on the water. So, if the current is running against you it will cause actual boat speed to be off. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Knowing your real speed over land helps when calculating an arrival time. Knowing your speed over water is good for determining your boats gas mileage or trolling speed.

I use the Garmin Marine something or other, that is waterproof. It works great.

I bought my buddy a TomTom GPS for his harley, they run about a grand, but he loves it...he was even able to find my parents house on a recent trip when I got lost (think it's been too long since I've been home?)

Steve

oops.. missed answering you on this one!.. and as Steve says.. NOPE.. it's FREE!..
Now the european constellation of satellites going up for their own GPS system will be subsciber based as I understand it. (but you could still use the US constellation of satellites anywhere in the world)

you buy the GPS, put in your batteries and away you go! ( oh yeah.. software extra).. but you can still use just don't have some of the detail you can get with uploading maps from the extra software.

hope this helps.
Greg

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I can't do everything, but I can do something.