smittypaddler
New member
Na Waqa has a Garmin 2006C, but I've never bought a single chip for it. Instead I use Fugawi on a laptop. Fugawi lets me scan in my own chart images, which I've done for all the charts of the Great Loop. They all, more than 3500 chart images, fit on a single 640M CD at a reduced pel density, which doesn't seem to affect the quality of the images much at all.
Fugawi also lets me define routes and waypoints for objects like marinas and gas stops, and displays designated icons for each on the chart display. I've created my own icons, so I can differentiate at a glance whether the object is a marina, lock and dam, etc. I've also set up each waypoint with phone numbers, and descriptions of the marinas, so I know, for example, how many anchors Quimby's gives them as a rating.
I only use the Garmin to display my depth, speed and heading, and on longer, more exposed routes, such as the 85-mile crossing from Carabelle to Suwanee in the Gulf, I keyed in waypoints for the route, so I could follow them on the Garmin, in case the laptop broke (the hard drive failed, after the end of my trip. I kept a second older laptop on board as backup, loaded with Fugawi and charts, which is legal according to my license for Fugawi).
If I ever find a chartplotter that doesn't have a proprietary format, I'll convert. I really object to paying so much money for charts I've already paid for with my taxes. For now, the Garmin in conjunction with Fugawi works quite well for me.
Fugawi also lets me define routes and waypoints for objects like marinas and gas stops, and displays designated icons for each on the chart display. I've created my own icons, so I can differentiate at a glance whether the object is a marina, lock and dam, etc. I've also set up each waypoint with phone numbers, and descriptions of the marinas, so I know, for example, how many anchors Quimby's gives them as a rating.
I only use the Garmin to display my depth, speed and heading, and on longer, more exposed routes, such as the 85-mile crossing from Carabelle to Suwanee in the Gulf, I keyed in waypoints for the route, so I could follow them on the Garmin, in case the laptop broke (the hard drive failed, after the end of my trip. I kept a second older laptop on board as backup, loaded with Fugawi and charts, which is legal according to my license for Fugawi).
If I ever find a chartplotter that doesn't have a proprietary format, I'll convert. I really object to paying so much money for charts I've already paid for with my taxes. For now, the Garmin in conjunction with Fugawi works quite well for me.