The PC Three

Tax time also means advertising time for software packages like TurboTax and TaxCut. While these computer programs may give you same the bottom-line figure on your 1040 tax form, the WAY they get to that result may be very different. The same holds true with today's PC-navigation software packages. With GPS information flowing into your fixed or laptop computer, all of these programs will show your boat's position on an actual NOAA chart and let you plan and follow routes, but the tools and methods they use are as unique as the programs themselves.

Today, a fixed personal computer is as essential as an anchor on the big yachts, and the smaller cruisers are using laptops too, both for real-time navigation and for vessel management. So given the growing number of PCs at sea, we decided to test three of the best-selling navigation programs to see which program is the best for all-purpose navigation. The programs I tested were The Cap'n, Maptech Professional, and Nobeltec's Visual Navigation Suite, and though they're comparable in price, each program is very different in how it helps you get from here to there and back again.

The Proving Grounds:

I conducted this test in two parts: one part in West Palm Beach, Florida aboard a 29-foot Luhrs convertible, and one part at the test bench, trying out the various features of each program. All three programs were installed on Ocean PC's most powerful laptop--the Intrepid 8000--and this marinized PC carries a list price of $3,299 to $4,999 depending on configuration. We fed GPS position/navigation data into the laptop from a Garmin 12-channel handheld GPS receiver, and we also installed all the necessary charts on the Ocean PC's hard drive.

In your case, you will install one program onto your PC's hard drive, and most likely you will also install the necessary charts from the appropriate CD-ROM made by either BSB/ChartKit or Maptech (purchased separately). Either company's CDs contain raster-scanned images of actual NOAA paper charts.

Tip: If you copy the charts directly onto your hard drive, the navigation program can display the charts faster than if it has to search for them on the CD-ROM drive. But keep in mind that all this data can gobble up a lot of storage space on your PC, so your computer should have at least a Pentium processor, 16 Megabytes (MB) of RAM, and a 500-MB hard drive for best performance and to store your other programs. (On average, one chart takes up 5-MB of hard-drive space. So if you need 20 charts to cover your area, you'll need 100 MB of free space to store them on the hard drive). Having laid that groundwork, let's see how the programs stacked up.

Program Overviews:

The Cap'n (website: http://www.thecapn.com/): The Cap'n is actually four programs in one, and you can open or close them as needed. They consist of Charting, Tides and Currents, the Almanac, and Advanced Navigation and Administration.

Without a doubt, The Cap'n was designed for the serious bluewater sailor and long-range ocean cruiser. It is the "saltiest" of all the programs, with nearly every conceivable navigation tool built-in. Some of the more advanced tools involve a full celestial navigation almanac and calculator, a Great Circle navigation feature, ship's maintenance logs, and ship's store's logs. The downside to all these features is you have to remember which of the four programs they're located in, but otherwise you won't go wanting for features with The Cap'n. It can display CD-ROM charts from any manufacturer.

Maptech Pro (website: http://www.maptech.com/): This program only displays Maptech's proprietary charts, which is a slight downside given the new cruising guide information found on BSB/NOAA's new Edition II CD-ROM charts. Against that, we just learned that Maptech has bought the BSB/ChartKit company, and the Maptech Pro version we tested will be replaced by a new improved version by the time you read this.

Maptech Pro was perhaps the easiest of the three programs to use, and the new version will interface with Embassy's new CD-ROM cruising guides for easy cruising to unknown ports of call.

Nobletec Visual Navigation Suite (website: http://www.nobeltec.com/): As a true Windows 95 program (its designers used to work at Microsoft), the Visual Navigation Suite is three programs in one, but in this case they really are all in one--a big plus. The programs are Visual Navigator, Visual Tides, and Visual GPS Planner, and they are seamlessly integrated together in the Suite, so there's no searching around for features from different programs.

The big innovation in this program is called GeoDraw, and in cases where several charts of different scales cover a particular area--such as the Lake Worth, Florida inlet--GeoDraw will actually cut and paste different charts together on screen for a seamless presentation of the area you're viewing. In this regard, the Navigation Suite had the edge in chart management and display.

Test Criteria: Though each of these programs had its own "bells-and-whistles," the primary purpose of any navigation program is to show your position on a digitized NOAA chart, and then help you create and edit routes. As such, I checked each program for ten primary functions, and I discovered significant differences between the program's methods of operation. On any given function, some programs simply outperformed than others.

1.Loading/installing charts from a CD-ROM.

The Cap'n:This was no problem for The Cap'n, and it was easy to copy charts onto the hard drive. But before you can use a chart you must "register" it with The Cap'n program, which is an extra step.

Maptech Pro: You do not have to register your charts with the Maptech program. Just put a CD in the drive and the program will find the ones it needs. You can also copy them onto your hard drive for faster access. Simple.

Nobletec: Same as Maptech, in that the program will search for charts on the CD and install them automatically. If, however, you don't exit the program correctly, it will corrupt some files and won't be able to find charts automatically again. To combat this rare occurrence, Nobeltec is putting a downloadable file on its website that will restore the original program settings.

2. Cursor size and type

The Cap'n: The cursor on The Cap'n is actually a small tool that changes its shape depending on its active function. It can be a small hand, a magnifying glass, or a cross-hair. Each type has small text explaining what mode the cursor is in, and while it did the job, it was inconvenient to constantly change the cursor's function.

Maptech Pro: You can't miss the Maptech cursor. It's a giant cross-hair running the full width and height of the screen. While that's the good news, the bad news is you can't shrink it down, and since its always linked with a third range-and-bearing line to your vessel's position, it tends to clutter the screen. Against that, you can't loose track of your vessels' icon, either.

Nobeltec: This is just the traditional Windows 95 arrow.

3. Panning and scrolling the chart

The Cap'n: When you move the cursor to the edge of the screen, it turns to a "PAN" function, and one click of the mouse moves the chart beneath the cursor. It moves the chart in sections, however, and does not smoothly scroll it. When you reach the edge of a chart, you must manually open up the next chart in the direction you're headed, and that's an extra step. The same held true out on the water--when your boat's position reaches the edge of a chart, you must open up the next one manually. But the good news is you can display several charts at once to cover a given area.

Maptech Pro: The chart doesn't scroll when using the cursor--rather, you place it near the edge of the screen, double-left click the mouse button and the chart will re-center at the cursor's position. You can, however, scroll the chart using the sliding bars on the side and bottom