Inexpensive GPS

http://www.garmin.com/products/foretrex101/

http://www.garmin.com/products/foretrex201/

The 101 is not really "catamaran waterproof". The 201, with sealed battery compartment, I suspect will survive better. I'm going to try one for the Tybee500 this year.

I've had four of them and I do a lot of cruising on monohulls and cats in the Great Lakes and the Bahamas. By far, the biggest bang for the buck is the Garmin Legend. If you look around you can get it for about $200. I bought an auto/PC adapter so I could update it. If you ever want to, you can purchase charts for it.

I just came back from Nicaragua and it recognized most of the major highways and towns.

You'll have fun with a better one.

Wyatt

I have Geko 201. Fits inside a celphone waterproof back and thing itself is waterresistant (not that that is not the same as waterproof)

Stores 10.000 trackpoint which is most than all other GPS handhelds

There are really only 2 downsides of the Geko 201. It has a batterij life of about 10 hours and the on/off/backlight button is the same and can easily be accidently pressed. If you accidently turn on the backlight then batteries are dead within 2 hours.

I cut out the plastic case it came in and use that as a keypad cover so you can't not acidently press the on/off/backlight button. Get 800 Ah or 850 Ah batteries and it is an excellent trip logger with 10 hours tracking time with minimal intervals of 1 point per second..

It is a good buy and truy small.

WOuter

Hey Jake, the Garmin 101 looks like the ticket. I used the Garmin etrex in last year's OBX and had trouble reading the screen. It survived the trip - I still use - but I'd go with the 101 or 102 because of the wearability and the countdown timer. Good luck this year, I wish I was doing the race, but maybe John and I will hook up for next year's Tybee.

Steve,

I used an Etrex Legend last year too but had a GPS72 mounted on the boom. My glasses / goggles were so fogged up I had a hard time seeing either of them. After the second day, I complained about how I couldn't see the GPS or even past the bow of the boat. David replied "me either"!

I think we'll stay with the 72 on the boom (in a dry bag), maybe the Legend in storage on the boat (it's taken a beating...two RTIs, one Tybee500, one Steeplechase, and tons of tuning / testing data runs on the lakes), and a 201 on my wrist. I'm experimenting this year with different eye wear too.

Chris and I are planning on a run next year too...hope to see you there!

Jake,
I've never tried this for sailing but it might be the solution to your "foggy" problem. Theres a product out there called Fog City that is made for motorcyclists. It is a film that goes on the inside of a full-faced helmet and keeps it from fogging up when the faceshield is closed. It would probably be worth trying a sheet and cutting it to fit your glasses/goggles. I think it runs between $15-30 a sheet. Here's one link:
http://www.modernworld.com I can attest that the product does work very well for motorcycle helmets.
If you do try it out let us know how it works.

EDIT: Even better would be to call them at 800.436.4248 as ask if they know the effects salt water has on their product.

The fog might really be salt, dried to the outside of your glasses/goggles. After about an hour of constant salt water spray, my glasses are worthless and I end up taking them off if I want to see anything past 20 yards.

I have a Garmin Legend, works great but the numbers are so small unless I have it in my hand, I can't see them, and I'm usually too busy to have it in my hand! I tie it to the foot strap on the tramp, no baggie, no water damage. I look at it after the race to see the track, total distance, average speed, etc. Only in very light air can I lay on the tramp and check the route and waypoints, etc.

I would love to see Garmin come up with a cat specific model (kind of like a Tak Tic with GPS) with really BIG numbers we could put on the boom, with a display on both sides of the boom, a better antenae, etc.

Any one have a personal contact at Garmin? They make some great stuff for airplanes but the Cat stuff is lacking in use a bility.

The fog stuff looks interesting. It mostly a venting problem though. We had some really rough conditions at the start last year. I started with large oversized sunglasses but got so much water in my eyes because the spray was coming under the lenses up from the hull while I was trapezed (i.e. up from my feet). I switched to the barz goggles with vented lenses but I still had a problem keeping the water out from my eyes...but it was better. it could be that I didn't have the strap tight enough. My eyes were really burning on the second day! I then switched to the non-vented lenses and tightened the strap and the water finally stopped but now they were fogging. I then tried all manners of anti-fog products...."cat crap", some diving stuff David had, and finally spitting on the goggles (that worked the best of all of them). I still wasn't very happy and I missed being able to look around while rounding the launch facility at Cape Canaveral.

I have ordered a couple of different styles of glasses/goggles. I have some ski goggles that look promising (although quite goofy looking!), I have some fire fighting sunglasses/goggles that also look pretty neat (sealed all around with foam but vented at the trailing edge), and some motorcycle sunglasses that are also sealed and vented. I think the key is to get the venting away from the bottom and top of the lense but back toward the sides. We'll see how it works! I would love to find something that was good enough that I could wear contacts underneath; but that's unlikely.

As far as the GPS goes - the GPS72 has a large enough display that you can read heading, speed, and distance to finish from the boom (from one side anyway). I kept the etrex leashed to my shoulder strap and tucked inside my life vest when not in needed. It would occasionally loose signal so this year, I plan to velcro it to the front of my vest when not in use. I could usually free up one hand to take a peek at the GPS when I needed more detail than provided by the 72.

I agree!

The Foretrex 201 is great and hopefully we'll soon see a Foretrex that is as good or better than the Etrex Legend.

Garmin's customer support is the best I've ever seen. Give them a toll free call sometime with ALL of your questions and see for yourself. They will give you the attention a customer deserves; then they'll thank you for taking the time to ask.

GARY

The best place to go for a GPS is www.GPSCITY.com They have all the brands.

I would really reccomend the foretrex with the rechargable battery, I have the 101 which uses AA's but after the steeplechase, and tradewinds it gave up the ghost eventhough as soon as I was off the boat I would take the batteries out and dry it. with the sealed battery you should only have to clean the contacts. I have a Garmin III Plus and A 12 map but for expense, accessibiltiy and features, you really can't beat the foretrex. I did change out the band for one that buckles. I don't trust velcro that much.

you are right not to trust the velcro, I lost my 201 the first time out(prat) Must have knocked it on something but didnt feel it fall off! I have pointed out the weakness in the strap to Garmin and asked what they think but the only reply so far has been that I shouldn't use it in the water!!
I will let you know the outcome.

I use the nickel metal hydride AA batteries. You can find them at walmart. I have 2300mah. They will last twice as long as any alkaline batts. They don't have to be discharged to recharge (no memory effect). They pay for themselves in a month and I've been using the same ones for over two years. Be careful to look for the milli amphere hour rating of the batteries. The 2300 is the largest I've found so far.

Both geko 101 and 201 use AAA batteries, not AA batteries. I don't expect to find any 2300 mAh in AAA batteries. The 850 mAh I have are also NiMh

Wouter

Offtopic - but oh well...

I use rainex on goggles and sunglasses to reduce the amount of salt that sticks on them (it makes the saltwater bead up and fall off rather than evaporating in a film). I pour it all over the lenses and then dry it off with a paper towel.

I do suffer from fogging in light air conditions. I'm going to try anti fog the stuff divers use inside their masks. I borrowed a tub of an anti fog product called "catcrap" once. It seemed to work well.

I have had the same experience with my Barz goggles. Pulling one lens over your mouth at a time and licking them works pretty good. When driving hard with the chute up I really don't feel like letting go of the stick to use both hands.