North Up or Heading Up?

[JPA Cate]

With North up. Always. Charts, and also, maps in the car, and on our phones.

Of course you look where you're going, and all around you, too, and astern! But you stay oriented to the compass. You teach yourself to do it this way. What's funny to me is that in the northern hemisphere one heads north to get colder, but in the southern hemisphere, it's south to get colder.

To the OP: from my point of view, your Navy guy tried to teach you the right way to do it!

Ann

[StuM]

While we're at it:
Coke or Pepsi?
Ford or Toyota?
Best anchor?
Guns on board of not?

PERSONALLY: I alsways use North Up unless I'm on someone else's boat and they want to use Heading Up. It's no big issue, I am ambidirectional.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I keep the one at the helm on course up to match what I am looking at.

Which implies that you are always "following the course line". Don't you ever have to tack or gybe when going from one waypoint to the next?


Course up is an ugly compromise between North Up and Heading Up

[boatman61]

North up every time.. but then I did learn on and used paper charts for years before the toys started showing up.
If I want to see what's around me I look up from the screen..

[desertsailor]

I worked with radar in the USAF, and the National Weather Service for over 30 years. For me, there is no alternative to displaying N up. Even now, using a map display in my vehicle, N is up. Tried heading up, and having map rotate underneath auto symbol was un-nerving, and confusing.

[Macblaze]

North up. Always.

Even on land I almost always know where I am and always designate a "north" even if I am momentarily disoriented... the reorient as soon as a landmark appears. North is always the constant in the equation

[seandepagnier]

north up in northern hemisphere, south up in southern hemisphere.

https://www.opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwik...s:rotationctrl

Also you can do true wind up if you have wind sensors.

[Island Time O25]

If I'm stationary and fiddling with a paper chart or plotter it's North up. But if I'm moving (in a car, boat, walking, whatever) it's heading's up. Why complicate my life?

[ScottRhodes13]

Originally Posted by StuM

Which implies that you are always "following the course line". Don't you ever have to tack or gybe when going from one waypoint to the next?


Course up is an ugly compromise between North Up and Heading Up

I like course up when tacking. I don't normally set a route, but position the cursor at the end of the channel and select "go to cursor" on the plotter. It gives me a more stable display than head up and keeps me focused where I'm going. When I don't have a course defined, the plotter switches to head up, and yes, that's a pain when tacking.

Also I like course up because it really confuses the skipper when I've finished my shift at the helm and he takes over, expecting North up.

[JPA Cate]

Also you can do true wind up if you have wind sensors.

Yes, I read years and years ago, that Susan Hiscock used to keep her hair short, so as to feel the wind on the back of her ears...our heads being our wind sensors.

Ann

[Mike OReilly]

North up, always.

[hjohnson]

North up, always.


I also work in big-ship navigation systems, they also always operate north-up (even radars).

[HankOnthewater]

This discussion is nearly the same as offset to depthsounder: measure water under the keel or to the waterline (which is depth of water).

Yes, it may take an additional step for some to re-orientate oneself to the boat going in a ‘different’ direction than ‘up’.
For me it is very simple: the beaches, rocks, reef and landmarks to not move around, we do in our boats, and it the easiest to have north on top of the screen.

Another point, without looking at numbers on the screen, I see instantly if we are going in the right direction or not, with ‘north up’ that is. Here is an example, lets say you drive in a car and you need to travel to a street in the next suburb, 10 km away, about due west from your location. With ‘heading up’, and doing lots of street turns, one would not have an idea if one would travel in a general westerly direction….. or not. And if after 15 minutes you have not achieved your destination, you check and find that you misspelled the streetname and it was guiding you to a different street in a different suburb. With ‘north up’, you would have noticed that within a few minutes.

Also, checking the plotter screen with a paperchart is also so much easier with ‘north up’.

For me ‘north up’, every single time (on water and on land), and if I am not the skipper on a boat, whatever the owner wants to do.

[goboatingnow]

Heading up for me. North up for paper , unless my wife is holding it, then it can be arbitrary , got to run ..... away now. Ouch that hurt

[Dave_S]

It seems to have a direct correlation to how good your sense of direction is.

I am always aware which direction North is and I can navigate unfamiliar areas by knowing which direction camp is or home is etc. My wife on the other hand....well.... not so much. When on holidays I have to book into the tallest building in town so she can find her way home.

I like North up she likes heading up. It does seem to be how preferences run in the very limited group I know.