johnlebl_at_aol.com wrote: > Faulty navigation gear has caused many a tragedy. Quality, functional nav > gear has prevented many a tragedy. I have to argue this one. Faulty NAVIGATION has caused tragedys. Good navigation uses information form several different sources so that a failure of any one source does not cause any problem. Always (well as much as is practical) use every source of information available. Direct observation is always the most important tool. If you launch your kayak in Florida and are in the water for less than 3 hours, it is easy to know that a GPS reporting that you are in California is in error. Likewise, if it shows that you have traveled 100 miles in the same 3 hours, you might get the idea that something is not quite right. Many people have crossed oceans without instruments beyond the senses they were born with. A good book to start with is "We the Navigators" by Dr. David Lewis. A GPS is only a tool and it is only one tool in the navigators bag of tricks. I list it well down on the list of tools which also includes a good deck mount compass, a hand bearing compass, a chart of the area, and other items as available. I tend to add a good knotlog (that I have calibrated) before a GPS, in any case it is a good item to use with a GPS as I can then compare speed and direction through the water to speed and direction over the ground and calculate set and drift i.e. the effect of current. If you are in an area of good coverage a Loran C can be a wonderfull item, it will actually take you back to a spot you have been before more accurately than a GPS. These are also dirt cheap as most people are jumping to GPS. > Cheapiong on nav gear would be like using a $ 19.95 discount store paddle on a > $ 3,500.00 Kayak. What is the purpose? To save money or prove that you can > do it? This I do agree with. Buying cheap gear is false economy. At the same time it is very important to invest in training and skill before equipment, especially when it comes to navigation. Good basic navigation skills will still work even if you have no electronics at all. Knowing how to navigate will also help you pick the best tools for you and the navigation you need to do. There is a big difference between paddling a kayak along a sheltered coast and crossing an ocean and the navigation tools selected will be different. Example, I doubt that I would ever use a sextant on a kayak but I would not cross an ocean without one. michael *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Dec 12 1998 - 08:04:18 PST
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