Hello,



So I'm heading off on a trip to Lake of the Woods, Ontario, to go to an event called LOWISA. LOWISA is a week long adventure, sailing from island to island on my Hobie 20, and living on a houseboat at night.



I'm thinking about making a last minute GPS purchase. Sure, the "techie" in me would love to perhaps get the E-trex Legend, made by Garmin. But does my trip really justify spending twice as much as I would on the plain old E-trex??!



My goal is to be able to read the charts to the extent that when I get back, I don't have to submit questions about how to fix my broken daggerboard, or worse yet, how to fix the hull that I ripped a giant whole in. Avoiding rocks is the goal!



Thoughts and opinions on what to get and why are appreciated!



Thanks,



Tim Johnson

I used legends in the worrell this year and the were GREAT except for a few "small" things.



1. NOT water proof

2. MUST live in a waterproof bag.... the gold contacts on the back when put in contact w/salt water will electrolosize (sp?) themselves away. Gold+electricity+salt water=reverse gold plating.

3. Joystick hard to work at 25+mph in Atlantic ocean

4. Joystick even harder to work at 25+ mph in the dark in Atlantic ocean... he he he



All in all I LOVED, them, but... I think we ended up killing two of the four with saltwater intrusion, but all got returned in the end. If they really were waterproof (they NEVER got more than 1-2 ft underwater for less than a min at a time) and didn't have that pesky reverse plating issue... they would be WELL worth it. I see some/most people keep them in a dry bag, BUT...doesn't that defeat part of the purpose of them being so small?



If you spend the extra money for the waterways software, you won't regret it. It is a GREAT aid in navigation. Once you load the maps in the GPS and zoom in on your location, it will show you all the lights, markers, etc in the area. Way cool!



Gotta run,



Will R

Tim,



I gotta tell you there is a world of difference between the legend and the base model Garmin Etrex. Not only does the display have over twice the resolution, it adds three level gray tones as well. I've used the standard Etrex after having used my Legend for a year and my reaction was pretty much ... "bleeechhh"... You will not regret getting a Legend and the Roads and Recreation CD (which consequently has the waterway detail included). It also has a VMG feature (velocity made good) that is priceless in a long distance race - the base unit does not have this data display either.

a note of caution:



it's curious that this comes up so soon after that article in Sail magazine, which followed an article in Good Old Boat, which followed an article in Passagemaker (me, nautically obsessed? nah!)



one can really only be 75% sure of the data on NOAA's charts of well-traveled commercially valuable waterways such as the Chesapeake and Buzzard's Bay. on a primarily recreational lake surveyed by god-knows-who, I don't think I'd want to flirt too closely with the shallow-water marks.



anyway, my point is to bear in mind that while your GPS may accurately fix your position within 5 feet, the chart data within may not be anywhere near that accurate.

OK, so I picked up an E-Trex Legend. Now all I have to do is learn how to use it. Should be interesting!



I didn't purchase the map software. I had to draw the money line somewhere. We are being provided with charts, so hopefully the combination will work out for the first go at it.



Any further suggestions on using this thing are appreciated.



Thanks,



Tim

Hey!



Watch the rocks and broken daggarboard and giant hole comments.

We used an e-trex with charts while sailing in the keys this past spring with little trouble.



Of course we were on a keelboat, but we were able to navigate to the mooring buoys with no problems, sometimes near reefs *EEEK*

Oh yeah, that's right, you used to be a Hobie 20 sailor, weren't you?!



Tim

The GPS' are a cool toy but dont bet on the maps to be accurate to within 1000 feet. Or a depth of +/- 5-10 ft. I have seen mine with the "more accurate" maps show me standing in the ocean or on dry land when I was not. I use it as an amusement not as a protection from hazards. Use the chart and the GPS as a reference and then stay well clear of real hazards.