I am looking to buy a gadget that records location and speed when on a dinghy. Can anyone recommend and products that do this? Something small, easy to attach to something like a boom, and waterproof of corse!
Do you want something you can see & use in real time while sailing (ie: big display & big buttons), or somehting to just record location & speed for later download & analaysis?
I'm also interested. Can the same thing help with putting in tacking angles up wind? For me it's big display to view whilst sailing ( small trailer sailor)
For a dinghy a Garmin 72 would do everything except record speed. Saves track but not speed. May not be class legal for some classes.
For a trailer sailor its a mounted large screen laptop so its visible from the steering position. Gps puck and Seaclear 2 and a digital chart to suit. Make the heading marker large and have the track displayed and save it for later if you want. Wont save speeds though either. Make a chart of just the race course and roughly place the turning marks. On the day sail past the marks and drag and drop them exactly in position.
If this device is wanted for viewing the data at a later time on a computer then all you will require is a Data Logger and there are lots of those available on eBay for not a whole lot of loot. It will however require waterproofing most likely as most are not waterproof.
Recording GPS track, boat & wind speed, and displaying optimal tacking angles upwind... There is actually an app that can do those things. See www.SailTimerApp.com -- although you'll need a waterproof case. You could take a small iPod (or iPhone), or get a larger screen for chartplotting with an iPad.
For a more durable device that comes with a waterproof case, and has a large speed display: www.TheSailingGPS.com . It also shows optimal tacking angles.
velocitek SC1 or Speedpuck, or Rockbox are both excellent for Dinghys and easy to read on the water as well as use for race replays.
