OpenCPN - Thank You!

[markpj23]

A long, long time ago on a boat far, far away I was able to plan routes on my laptop and then upload directly to my Garmin chartplotter. That software was abandoned long ago by Garmin.

Fast forward to our new boat and inherited Garmin chartplotter. The options for route planning are, to me, laughable. I can either futz around with my smartphone, buy an imitation laptop otherwise known as a tablet (I know - my opinion may not match yours), or stand in the pilot house trying to lay out a route on a touch screen chartplotter. Neither of those options appeal to me. Don't see how small screen route planning can be enjoyable or as accurate....

Enter OpenCPN. With no prior experience I did the installation, figured out how to load and update the charts, and got a GPS feed via bluetooth. Pretty cool...! Exploring plugins for enhanced functions now.

I have finally completed the arm wrestling needed to get my Garmin to actually recognize me as its owner, and allow me to transfer routes & waypoints. Yes, I have no choice except to use a smartphone and ActiveCaptain, but data transfer is about all I plan to use that for. I can now confidently transfer my routes from the laptop.

I just wanted to say Thank You to the OpenCPN community for a great piece of software. Next step for me may be to find the right sunlight readable monitor and just get rid of the proprietary stuff all together.

Thank You!

[sailingharry]

My father had a Shucker 440 motor sailer. He used laptop software exclusively for over 20 years (before the days of OpenCPN,, although towards the end he started playing with it as an alternative). A Down East Circle, a Great Loop, and 20+ trips from the Florida Keys to Maryland and back. Just an awesome arrangement for a pilot house boat like my father's motor sailer or your trawler.

As the owner of a tippy sailboat with an exposed helm, I can't to begin to explain the level of jealousy!

I don't know if he ever got instrumentation integrated into the system, but that works best on dedicated displays anyway. I do know that he never got radar integrated, but that was a virtual non-issue for his cruising locations.

[Bill O]

100% agree that opencpn is a wonderful compilation of work! Hats off to all the diligent workers that quietly do all the work in the back ground.