sat nav on the canal?

[the barnacle]

sorry for a silly question but I was wondering if sat navs work on the canal network to show your location?

[RLWP]

Yes, Google maps is better. A Satnav usually wants you to be going somewhere and assumes you will be going along a road. So you'll find you position leaping to the ends of roads adjacent to canals and so on

 

Google maps on a smartphone will simply show you where you are, even better if you use the 'satellite' view

 

Richard

[the barnacle]

Thank you for the reply - its much appreciated, good excuse to upgrade my phone - I must be one of the last few that only has a phone that makes calls.

[Captain Fizz]

Emap provide dedicated canal mapping apps for phones and IPads

[Felshampo]

Yes it is.....but all you will see is a blue line as all the details are for the roads. Also it is virtually impossible to use one outside as the screen is not bright enough.

I use a Satmap, mainly for walking, and that is very good but a little small for on a boat.

There was a software package being demonstrated at Crick this week with all the canal info on it that looked very good but it wouls still suffer from the problem of reading it on an ipad in the open

Remember phone maps only work if you have a signal.

[RLWP]

Emap provide dedicated canal mapping apps for phones and IPads

 

e-canalmapp?

 

Richard

[billh]

sorry for a silly question but I was wondering if sat navs work on the canal network to show your location?

Yes. I tried an economy version the other week: Tesco Hudl tablet with "Navfree" App. Shows the boat's position very accurately , updating every few seconds. It does try to put the boat on the towpath though and if you put a destination in , it will say things like "turn right in 200 meters" , that would be at the next road bridge! It uses google maps and manages to get the name of the canal right with plenty of detail. There is a speed indication as well , though not accurate.Can't see the screen too well in bright sunlight- not a problem today.

[john6767]

 

e-canalmapp?

 

Richard

That is not really sat nav, well not the nav bit, it shows you where you are and speed etc, but does not do any planning. It does not need a signal like google maps does, as the map is loaded on the phone.

[Guest]

Garmin used to promote a sat nav with specific canal mapping on the inside cover of Nicholson's guides but I cant fine any info. about it now.

 

They do one for Ireland and Europe but for some reason no longer seem to do one for the UK Inland waterways.

 

There is also Waterexplorer.

 

http://www.waterexplorer.co.uk/

[ditchcrawler]

I have been playing with http://www.waterwayroutes.co.uk/ this trip on the K&A and have been quite impressed, unlike google maps you dont need to be on line as the maps are downloaded to memory maps. there are "mile posts" every half hour from the end of the canal which also include miles and Kilometers which is handy for working out approximate arrival times. Lists all bridge No./names and locks. winding holes. duration of moorings, water rubbish elsan pumpout etc.

[Paul C]

Yeah you'd want something which caches the maps. The issue with e-canalmapp isn't that, but its that it runs on a smartphone and the screen isn;t suitable for outdoors. However I've never gotten lost on the canal network (yet) because its linear and there's not that many junctions compared to roads. Even on the BCN the junctions come up slowly enough to easily find your way around, with the help of a reasonable map.

 

Do any smartphones work in the pouring rain? My book still works, within a transparent bag.

[Guest]

Do any smartphones work in the pouring rain? My book still works, within a transparent bag.

It is claimed the Sony Experia Z1 and Z2 are completely water proof and can even be used underwater (taking pictures etc)

 

Additionally water proof cases can be had for other phones.

 

eg -

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-Shockproof-Aluminum-Gorilla-Metal-Cover-Case-for-iPhone-5S-5-4-4S-/190969445646?pt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhonesCasesPouches&var=&hash=item2c76aa7d0e

Edited May 28, 2014 by The Dog House

[PiRSqwared]

In twenty five miles...turn right...

[David Schweizer]

It is a total mystery to me why anyone on a canal would need anything more complicated than a printed map to know where they are. You move so slowly that there is plenty of time to find the last bridge or lock to be able to identify more or less where you are, Nicholsons guides which are based upon the Ordnance survey maps give additional details such as field boundaries, farms, overhead cables etc, which make it very easy to locate your position, why do you need anything else?

 

If we continue along this "I need an app to find out everything" approach, Society will become totally de-skilled, although it seems to well along that road already!!

Edited May 28, 2014 by David Schweizer

[bottle]

David

 

Do try to keep up with the times, move forward to the 21st century and stop looking back.

 

Otherwise I agree 100%

 

[Rod a mod from Tod]

 

 

Do any smartphones work in the pouring rain? My book still works, within a transparent bag.

 

 

Would the smartphone not work in the same transparent bag.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Rod a mod from Tod

[Machpoint005]

Thank you for the reply - its much appreciated, good excuse to upgrade my phone - I must be one of the last few that only has a phone that makes calls.

 

Be prepared to charge to blessed thing up every verse end. I'm also one of the few with a clockwork phone. I need it to talk to the car, make phone calls, send an odd text, and last until next week without recharging.

 

It is a total mystery to me why anyone on a canal would need anything more complicated than a printed map to know where they are. You move so slowly that there is plenty of time to find the last bridge or lock to be able to identify more or less where you are, Nicholsons guides which are based upon the Ordnance survey maps give additional details such as field boundaries, farms, overhead cables etc, which make it very easy to locate your position, why do you need anything else?

 

If we continue along this "I need an app to find out everything" approach, Society will become totally de-skilled, although it seems to well along that road already!!

 

Quite agree, and the map works without needing an external power source. All you need to do is observe bridge numbers -- nothing else matters, really!

[Quinafloat]

A friend tried her satnav aboard our boat. The poor machine gave the position perfectly and then sat their bleating "Please regain the highway" till we switched it off to put it out of it's misery.

[rubblequeen]

Does it matter that we are losing these skills? Maybe they said the same when navigating by the stars was superseded. You can see endless lost skills in living museums around the world, but modern life no longer needs them. Fortunately I was brought up on maps and have travelled all around the world by bicycle using maps, but no way these days would I now go anywhere without my satnav. Except on the boat and Nicholsons seems easier and more efficient than electronic maps - for me anyway.

[RLWP]

Does it matter that we are losing these skills? Maybe they said the same when navigating by the stars was superseded. You can see endless lost skills in living museums around the world, but modern life no longer needs them. Fortunately I was brought up on maps and have travelled all around the world by bicycle using maps, but no way these days would I now go anywhere without my satnav. Except on the boat and Nicholsons seems easier and more efficient than electronic maps - for me anyway.

 

I'm ashamed my lamp-wick trimming, archery and flint knapping skills are so poor

 

David, no you don't need a Satnav app. We happened to find it handy over the weekend, we never use one the rest of the time we are travelling

 

It's damn useful when you want to find a chip shop though

 

Richard

[Guest]

rubblequeen, on 28 May 2014 - 2:51 PM, said:

Does it matter that we are losing these skills? Maybe they said the same when navigating by the stars was superseded. You can see endless lost skills in living museums around the world, but modern life no longer needs them. Fortunately I was brought up on maps and have travelled all around the world by bicycle using maps, but no way these days would I now go anywhere without my satnav. Except on the boat and Nicholsons seems easier and more efficient than electronic maps - for me anyway.

 

Yes some of the electronic navigation systems available to lumpy water boaters in particular are brilliant, way better than the 'skill' of using a sextant, how does a sextant know where a shipwreck is? answer is it doesn't.

 

http://www.garmin.com/uk/maps/bluechart

 

But yes probably 'over kill' for most cases on the canals unless you have a specific need or like the BCN mob want to track your position as part of the fun of a competition but not really much use for most situations.

 

Plus you can use an app. to find stuff around you very quickly and conveniently, (but it seems from the other thread David doesn't like the idea of those either..)

[Keeping Up]

Just once, on the Witham Navigable Drains, I was extremely glad that Navvygator told me exactly where I was. I would never have found the correct Drain to Bolingbroke without it.

[Ray T]

David

 

Do try to keep up with the times, move forward to the 21st century and stop looking back.

 

Otherwise I agree 100%

 

 

I actually agree with David here. I cruise the canal to get away from modern life's fancy gadgets and the hectic pace of life. Yes I have a mobile phone on board for emergencies, but I personally see no need for a sat nav on a narrow boat. Not as if one can take a wrong turn and get lost is it?

 

You are cruising on a 200 odd years old system. Taking your thinking of "Keeping up with the times" would you advocate that CRT change all their lock gates to electronic ones we can lift the paddles and open the gates with a TV type remote control?

 

I was actually listening to "On the cut" earlier and do you know what? The working boat people managed to navigate many places with no maps at all, all done by memory and the good old communication skill of talking to people.

 

Taking a point Rubblequeen mentioned above re offshore. The "old fashioned" system of dead reckoning is still needed for offshore navigating, as is a sextant for ocean cruising. What do you do if your GPS navigating systems pack up mid channel? It has happened to me. The sea is a far more hostile environment to electronics than the cut.

 

If you don't have the knowledge you're stuffed.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Ray T

[Paul C]

 

 

Would the smartphone not work in the same transparent bag.

 

I can't answer that question because 1) I don't have a smartphone and 2) I don't have any of the suggested apps installed. If the app required touchscreen inputs then I suspect it would be almost unusable (never tried working a smartphone though a plastic bag though) but if it was clever enough to have an "unattended" mode which gave the info you were looking for, and eg scrolled along with progress or made intelligent decisions upon what to display on the little screen, then it could be similar to the book. I realise that you'd occasionally need to turn the page though.

[Iain_S]

Does it matter that we are losing these skills? Maybe they said the same when navigating by the stars was superseded. You can see endless lost skills in living museums around the world, but modern life no longer needs them. Fortunately I was brought up on maps and have travelled all around the world by bicycle using maps, but no way these days would I now go anywhere without my satnav. Except on the boat and Nicholsons seems easier and more efficient than electronic maps - for me anyway.

 

When was that, then?

 

GPS depends on an extremely sophisticated system of satellites, under the full control of a foreign power, so possibly unwise to depend totally on it ...

 

Iain