14 feet fun for awhile
Interesting experience you had 14 feet above and below sea level. Not knowing the cause, or the Mfr of your GPS system, might the variance reflect the three or more satellites in space as they wobble a bit from their near perfect steady position above our planet? Just a thought
Mark
Falcon, Yellow on White
5.1 mph on the Pigeon Rvr trip last fall
– Last Updated: Sep-21-04 8:37 PM EST –
In my 9.5 foot critter. With Longshadow, Northman, Country_girl & Dryriverbed as witness'.
Also 5.2 mph on the Kalamazoo River this spring with Longshadow, Northman, Country_girl, Lustbucket & Unclebear as witness'.
Paddle easy,
Coffee
I Copied JackL’s Design
Cut a foam holder for the GPS and bungied it on the foredeck.
Some units are waterproof and some are not. Makers will brag that their units are waterproof… then in small print admit that the battery case is NOT waterproof.
Where do I put it
I place mine on my spray deck. In the years I have been doing this, I have never had it blow off or been washed overboard. It is perfectly visible. I keep it on a very short leash that is attached to the buckle on the pocket of my pfd. The leash is long enough so I can place the gps where I want it but short enough so the gps wont be in the water should it move too much. If I need to I can put the gps under my deck lines. When not in use it gets put in my pfd pocket. Mine has survived being dunked dozens of times when i forget it is in my pocket and rolled. Seems to be pretty water resistant so far. Only probelm I have is the computer connection ports get kinda bunged up and need top be cleaned before being used. Salt water is fairly brutal on those metal parts.
Leaving the gps on the spraydeck can be a problem when the waves are coming onto the deck but if the wind is blowing that hard it wont be foggy out and I can usually see my next waypoint allowing me to put the gps away and use it for spot checking. My compass is pretty waterproof. Anyways I have never had a problem of not being able to read my gps from my spraydeck while underway so I dont bother getting a drybag or gps mount.
Lanyarded to my deck bag
I use a short tether to keep my etrex more or less on deck. It has gone over the side many times, once dangling in the water for an entire combat rescue in salt water. So far so good.
GPS Brands
The biggest two GPS makers are Garmin and Magellan (we have a Magellan SportTrac Pro). The diff between the two devices themselves is mostly in the inital learning - many people find Garmin to be more intuitive than Magellan. But you’ll find that a lot of people who paddle have tended to buy Magellan.
It isn’t just the device though. You will need to load up marine charts, or elevation maps or such for particular uses like paddling, hiking etc. And each of the manufacturers has its own proprietary line of charts and maps - you can’t use BlueNav charts on a Garmin device for example. You should confirm that the charts or maps you need are available for whatever GPS device you are interested in.
When you get a GPS, at the same time get paper charts and learn how to use them. A GPS device should never be a complete substitute for more basic navigation skills - it is always possible to drop it, have the batteries go and find out you forgot to pack spares, etc.
Useful GPS features if you can afford them - as much memory as you can buy, color screen and as big a display as you can find in a hand-held unit. I personally want a rechargeable battery back like on VHS units, but so far I don’t think that’s available in a hand-held. GPS units chew up batteries like candy.
Celia
fun
I initially bought my gps for paddling(tracks, sped, miles etc)…Now I enjoy geocachign with it , inclduing placing “paddle only” caches g. I just bought the new Garmin map 60cs, and am really enjoying the upgrade from my Vista, which is a nice machien also…I condsider them fun, but not a have to have where i paddle(up anddown rivers). kim
External, portable power
I like to get “out of town” when I paddle and I found that a small 12 V motorcycle bat. in some kind of waterproof container with a cigaret lighter type of outlet works GREAT. It will out last a dozen AA batteries that I might use in the gps for a longer trip. And if you have a solar charger (15 Watts is good) you can use that 12 V power source for a plethora of other handy dandy devices. Give it a test at least two weeks before any trip and just see how long it will last on the gps alone, without re-charging. Works great on cell/satelite phones, too.
Ken
Magellan Marine GPS
I purchased a Magellan Marine GPS a couple of years ago and am very pleased. Why?
- The base map is an actual marine chart vice a topo or road type base map used in most GPS devices. If you are paddling, you can save yourself the expense of buying a lot of marine charts. I paddle the Chesapeake and Atlantic region and found the base map worked well for me; only this fall did I decide to add some detailed maps–as it turns out, I didn’t really need.
- The database that accompanies the marine basemap includes such things as lights, other fixed navaids, bouys, lighthouses, marinas, obstructions, waterways, and parks. They’re searchable and visible on base map.
- After you have some experience with the basemap, you can get into tailoring the basemap with downloadable detailed maps based off of a number of free chart sources; and as mentioned earlier, you can purchase the MAPSEND BlueNav CD designed to work with Magellan. This capability loads a detailed map on a removable memory card. I use a 512MB card, but the basemap and its database rely on an 16MB capability integral to the GPS. I just purchased the BlueNav North American chart set (didn’t really need it but it was fun to add to the toolkit). Also, Magellan has a free chart editor that was originally designed to work with another GPS, but has been found to work with any Magellan GPS to upload routes, user waypoints, charts, etc., all free. There are other editors, some of which use freely available overhead photography.
- Good support. My GPS developed spots recently on the screen. Apparently, Magellan found this to be a manufacturing default and replaced the screen, no charge. I’m advised they will do this regardless of whether or not the GPS is under warrantee.
- Great user community. There are two great YAHOO Magellan related groups that provide a wealth of knowledge regarding use, modifications, and general FAQs.
- It’s advertised as waterproof. I have not had any problems with this yet.
Anyways, any GPS mentioned above will work well for you, provided you learn traditional navigation procedures first. But, I’m really satisfied with the Marine version of the Magellan.
Map76 discontinued
I believe that Garmin has discontinued the Map76, replacing it with the Map96, a “new and improved” version of the very reliable Garmin marine model receivers.
The important issues are (1) having a waterproof (or water resistant) GPS, (2) having extra batteries and (3) having a clear view of the sky for tracking birds (satellites, not the ones with flapping wings!)
Mine is a Garmin eTrex, and I like it, but the Map76 and Map96 have much superior mapping features. All will give you more info that you will probably ever want to know, but you can select which data to access.
For the record…
…there is no such thing as “waterproof”. Devices may be water resistant according to their design and submerged depth. A submarine is generally “waterproof” until it goes down too far, then it implodes and all sorts of water get inside.
Usually, a GPS unit designated for “marine use” will be water resistant to some nominal depth that is deeper than most us want to be in our boats. You can always use one of those clear, small drybags for personal devices such as cell phones to allow proper function while adding yet another layer of water protection. Zip-lock bags will suffice in a crunch.
I carry my eTrex in the accessory pocket of my PFD so that it can always track well and be convenient whenever I need it. Considering that GPS birds are in geosynchronous orbit over the Equator, not having line-of-sight communication due to valleys, mountains, cliffs, tall, dense stands of trees or other interference can render a reading less than accurate. Low battery power will do the same thing. I ALWAYS change my batteries before every trip, initialize my GPS and calibrate my internal compass at river level at the put-in, and carry spare batteries if going out for more than one day.
My fastest times…
Both my record times were on the Upper Guadalupe River in Texas. In November, 2001, I put in at Edge Falls Road and took out 15 miles downriver on the Weidner Ranch 90 minutes later, averaging 10 mph - the flow was 3,850 cfs, and it was a blast!
In May, 2002, I paddled the same river from Ammans Crossing in Kendall County 34 miles down to Weidner Ranch in 5 hours averaging 6.8 mph. The flow was about 1,900 cfs. Both trips were in my Old Town Cascade 14’ 10" whitewater canoe. Both times I had a VERY big boost from rapid currents.
My best time in an organized race in normal water flow conditions was just under 5 mph, and I did not come close to being in the lead at any time!