Minimalist nav reqmts

[AmzngGrace]

The title says it.
In PNW. Island hopping and day sailing.
What is least. I am looking at whatcha call it? The J-point inflection where the cost/benefit ratio is the best.
I got a ton of paper maps-check
I got an old sextant-check
I got an old boat-check
I got an old depth gage-check
I got all the manual stuff for the maps-check
I got a good set of binoculars with compass built in-check
I have an iPad not cellular/gps- check
I PLAN on getting a dual gps thing
I have NavX on the IPad-check
I have tidal data-check

What minimal else?

[meirriba]

Phone with GPS and charting app on the phone with the local charts.
(And as to the sextant - put it in a display case onboard...It is not much of a use for coastal navigation, and anyway you did not list the tables that astronav needs))

[StuM]

[QUOTE=meirriba;3337262
(And as to the sextant - put it in a display case onboard...It is not much of a use for coastal navigation, and anyway you did not list the tables that astronav needs))[/QUOTE]]


Just sayin': https://thenauticalalmanac.com/2017_...20Piloting.pdf

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by StuM

]


Just sayin': https://thenauticalalmanac.com/2017_...20Piloting.pdf

In the items mentioned slready onboard there is pair of binocs with compass.
More than enough for coastal.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by meirriba

In the items mentioned slready onboard there is pair of binocs with compass.
More than enough for coastal.

I'd still prefer to also have a steering compass & knot-log.
Think fog.

[Uricanejack]

Originally Posted by StuM

]


Just sayin': https://thenauticalalmanac.com/2017_...20Piloting.pdf

Actually if you have one quite useful.
Horizontal angle
Or
Vertical angle

Otherwise I am happy enough with a lead line and a compass. Probably wouldn’t actually use them but I like to have them JIK they comes in handy.

And I had a couple of plasticized place mats I picked up at the Seattle boat show a few years ago.

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I'd still prefer to also have a steering compass & knot-log.
Think fog.

Agree.
Steering compass seems so basic to me that I have overlooked the fact that the OP did not mention it in his list. Like not mentioning rudder...

[Chotu]

You’re good. That’s plenty.

When I started I had paper charts, a hand bearing compass, the binnacle compass and all the rocks, currents and fog of Maine. Still haven’t grounded to this day.

I used dead reckoning and kept my position log diligently. I listened for bells and horns and whistles, as well as surf or breaking waves when it was too fogged in to see. My depth Sounders never seem to work.

Later, I got a gps unit that just spit out the Lat/Lon coordinates to replace the old, broken loran unit that never worked.

It’s amazing what the internet thinks you need sometimes vs what you actually need.

The sextant should stay ashore. No use coastal cruising.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by AmzngGrace

I have an iPad not cellular/gps- check
I have NavX on the IPad-check

Get an iPad* with GPS, put your nav app on that.

(Or about any Android tablet for probably $100-150 less.)

-Chris

[rslifkin]

If you're in sight of land, you can often manage with a depthsounder, compass, and chart. Personally, I'd want a bit more. Something that can put a GPS driven boat icon on a chart (either cell phone / tablet app, laptop with GPS puck, or chartplotter). That makes life much easier.

Depth info is critical in my mind. Speed through water may be handy for sailing, but as a powerboater, to me, it's a nice to have, not needed. Speed over ground from GPS is more useful, as SOG and COG tell me where I'm actually going, and in the end, that's what really matters.

[deltaten]

I get by with an old chart book steering compass, depth gauge and gps lat/long as backstop. Pottering around the same waters for 8 seasons sorta give ya an idea of what's where.

[AmzngGrace]

Thank you all for the clarity, brevity and individuality!
Onward to distant shores, (even if they are closely distant...)!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by AmzngGrace

The title says it.
In PNW. Island hopping and day sailing.
What is least. I am looking at whatcha call it? The J-point inflection where the cost/benefit ratio is the best.
I got a ton of paper maps-check
I got an old sextant-check
I got an old boat-check
I got an old depth gage-check
I got all the manual stuff for the maps-check
I got a good set of binoculars with compass built in-check
I have an iPad not cellular/gps- check
I PLAN on getting a dual gps thing
I have NavX on the IPad-check
I have tidal data-check

What minimal else?

In the UK pre internet I got by with paper charts, dead reckoning, hand bearing compass while coastal for cocked hats and distance off calculations, in for the depth sounder allowed me to safely navigate following contours.
In 1996 I bought a basic hh GPS as I was heading S to the Med for Last-Long with some accuracy.. that served me till 2012 when I ran into Mike the creator of Nimble Navigator in St Martin and bought his program for $100 which I have used on a 10" laptop ever since.
The ability to do dead reckoning from Pilot Charts and their info is pretty much essential if making long offshore passages.. along with a decent chart of your destination covering 50nm either side.

[d8v1dl]

Same as me, BUT : I will mention that years ago, after a terrifying midnight watch which included a squall and getting much much too close to a tug and tow that I would have seen earlier under better conditions, I now carry AIS and radar, and both are on all the time. During my next midnight watch, I safely avoided 2 tugs and tows, steering well behind them, which I would have done the first time had I seen the first one early enough.

I can tell how fast I'm going by looking over the side. I can tell how much wind there is. I use paper charts. But I also watch the radar and the AIS. Relieves A LOT of anxiety. After all, sailing is supposed to be fun, right?

I'm all for minimalism, but in high traffic areas at night, I feel a responsibility to use every information source I can to stay out of trouble.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Chotu

You’re good. That’s plenty.

When I started I had paper charts, a hand bearing compass, the binnacle compass and all the rocks, currents and fog of Maine. Still haven’t grounded to this day.

I used dead reckoning and kept my position log diligently. I listened for bells and horns and whistles, as well as surf or breaking waves when it was too fogged in to see. My depth Sounders never seem to work.

Later, I got a gps unit that just spit out the Lat/Lon coordinates to replace the old, broken loran unit that never worked.

It’s amazing what the internet thinks you need sometimes vs what you actually need.

The sextant should stay ashore. No use coastal cruising.

+1
I'm with Chotu and Boatie.

Having said that, it sorta reveals that line between those (of a certain age - ahem!) who learned to navigate and those who may've come along later who have always relied on electronics...

To this day, I maintain that one ought to always properly navigate and use the electronic media as a back-up.

Saltwater will always be an unfriendly environment to anything electric + one never knows when a stray lightning strike may come along... (that's dramatic, I know, but then I know a boat that was struck on delivery from Newport to BVIs - fried everything).

You're good.
Happy sailing!
LittleWing77