Course up or N up. Chart Orientation.

[Pippen]

I prefer course up, have run both......and do understand some of the previous points about north up.

In saying that.....I have trouble chewing gum and walking a straight line at the same time.

 

[Rayvon]

I'm with you "Birdsnest" I've always found North up very confusing.With course up I can see my heading in relation to shoreline and it relates to what I see out my windshield. Even more confusing was trying to figure out which way to head before I put the "Point 1" antenna on my boat, at slow speed drifting on Constance bank the chart would spin all over the place.I've been boating for over 40 years with charts and now with the latest Gizmo's ,I think just use what your most comfortable with.

 

[Birdsnest]

North up always.

I think you may find an age difference in the views here. In the old days every chart was paper. All printed charts are North up. When GPS started to appear about 25 years ago for recreational boats even the charts you purchase had very poor detail on the electronic charts. You had to compare your paper charts to your on screen position if you wanted to know about wash rocks etc. The old electronic maps only showed the larger islands and your position. So you had to run your unit with a North up orientation to be able to compare positions on a paper chart. That was the way I learned to run my units, and I've just stuck with that since my first Garmin over 25 years ago.

still tho, radar to my knowledge back then was always course up or it was for me.

I struggle patting my belly and rubbing the top of my head in a circle at the same time. Or trying to say "toy boat" ten times in a row reasonable fast. It just don't come easy to me.

I wonder if there is a left brain right brain factor in this?

 

[NautiGirl]

I grew up knowing what a map is and how to use it, so I ran North up for years. After years of complaints by newbies on my boat and their total inability to maintain spacial awareness and direction unless it looks like a first person shooter video game, I reluctantly changed. They kept going into my settings to try to change it to their preference and then they would mess up other settings. Now the video game generation is less prone to driving into things while I am resetting the fishing gear. It is amazing how many people have lived in an area their entire lives are and unless they are looking directly into a setting sun, they have no idea which way is west. LOL. I have trained them to bring gas money and some food/beer though. Now the challenge is listening to their whining that they can't understand grayscale images and why can't I get all my electronics in colour. Next they will want a joystick and some headphones to operate the boat.

 

[bigdogeh]

I've always preferred course up. I like my map to align with the direction I'm heading. most guys I hand the reigns to prefer the same it seems.

 

[TheBigGuy]

I grew up knowing what a map is and how to use it, so I ran North up for years. After years of complaints by newbies on my boat and their total inability to maintain spacial awareness and direction unless it looks like a first person shooter video game, I reluctantly changed. They kept going into my settings to try to change it to their preference and then they would mess up other settings. Now the video game generation is less prone to driving into things while I am resetting the fishing gear. It is amazing how many people have lived in an area their entire lives are and unless they are looking directly into a setting sun, they have no idea which way is west. LOL. I have trained them to bring gas money and some food/beer though. Now the challenge is listening to their whining that they can't understand grayscale images and why can't I get all my electronics in colour. Next they will want a joystick and some headphones to operate the boat.

Too funny. I think you nailed it there. Like trying to explain to someone younger that those cute fish symbols on the fish finder tell you nothing about what type of fish are under your boat. Pointless to try and explain. I usually just get blank stares, even when I switch the fish finder to manual and try to explain to them what the return signal is showing.

 

[Gong Show]

North up all the way.

The radar shows you which way the vessel is pointing, the course up will tell you the way the vessel is heading, not pointing.
I am from the paper chart primary school of learning, but I seem to remember that the early chartplotters, echotec etc, were all North up.
I feel it gives me better situational awareness to keep track of which direction the vessel is pointing vs heading too.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

I have course up, as it seems more intuitive when running around the islands. Shallow water appearing on the chart off to port bow? Turn to starboard. What point is that ahead? look at the top of the chart. However, that said I have been disoriented occasionally when trolling in fog and tide, as the chart spins back and forth.

 

[Tugcapitan]

I figure most guys who run heads up or course up are relying mostly on GPS for position. If you are also using other navigational techniques like ranges and bearings North up is your friend.
Guarantee you that if one learns North up, you'll be way better off in the fog if your gps dies. I admit that when I first started using North up instead of heads up there was a bit of a learning curve, but it is now just as "intuitive" as heads up ever was, along with the added benefit of having a better idea of where you are without relying on GPS. Maybe not so critical in areas that you know like the back of your hand, but in strange new lands and barely remembered haunts it can't be beat.

 

[hippaisland]

North Up always for me. Course Up drives me nuts, constantly adjusting the entire map.

 

[hippaisland]

I figure most guys who run heads up or course up are relying mostly on GPS for position. If you are also using other navigational techniques like ranges and bearings North up is your friend.
Guarantee you that if one learns North up, you'll be way better off in the fog if your gps dies. I admit that when I first started using North up instead of heads up there was a bit of a learning curve, but it is now just as "intuitive" as heads up ever was, along with the added benefit of having a better idea of where you are without relying on GPS. Maybe not so critical in areas that you know like the back of your hand, but in strange new lands and barely remembered haunts it can't be beat.

Very well said. Couldn't agree more.

 

[tubber]

I figure most guys who run heads up or course up are relying mostly on GPS for position. If you are also using other navigational techniques like ranges and bearings North up is your friend.
Guarantee you that if one learns North up, you'll be way better off in the fog if your gps dies. I admit that when I first started using North up instead of heads up there was a bit of a learning curve, but it is now just as "intuitive" as heads up ever was, along with the added benefit of having a better idea of where you are without relying on GPS. Maybe not so critical in areas that you know like the back of your hand, but in strange new lands and barely remembered haunts it can't be beat.

I learned using charts, chart tools, compass, autopilot, binoculars, radar, and Loran C. GPS makes us watch the screen too much. I'm going to switch to North up, but rely on GPS less and the compass more. I should have the headings to and from every spot out of Ukee memorized by now, but instead follow old trails on the screen, which is lazy and unsafe if the gps fails ( I have a spare and paper charts).

 

[TheBigGuy]

Call me a dinosaur. Not only do I use North up, but I find the most useful thing for trolling in the fog is a pre dark ages device called a "Compass". For you younger guys you might have to google that.

 

[happy hooker]

I get it how guys that fished/ boated before GPS with chart chips were available or professional boat captains( working boats) learned to navigate with paper charts and compass would be North up." Newer" recreational operators like myself, I've owned and operated boats for 25ish years, while I have paper charts and compass in the boat, the chance that I would ever need to navigate by paper chart and compass are so minute that heading up it will always be. I have a gps, also have Navionics on my iPhone and ipad( works with no cellular signal), as well as having crew/ friends in the boat 99.9% of the time that at least one of whom has a navigation app on their phone as well. I just find I am much more comfortable with my surroundings presented to me on the electronics oriented exactly as they are to the boat and facing the same way, if that makes sense.

 

[Birdsnest]

North Up always for me. Course Up drives me nuts, constantly adjusting the entire map.

This is the very reason I know many guides end up using north up. Its so their gps screens don't bounce all over the place while trolling. Then they just deal with it in transit.

 

[Birdsnest]

I figure most guys who run heads up or course up are relying mostly on GPS for position. If you are also using other navigational techniques like ranges and bearings North up is your friend.
Guarantee you that if one learns North up, you'll be way better off in the fog if your gps dies. I admit that when I first started using North up instead of heads up there was a bit of a learning curve, but it is now just as "intuitive" as heads up ever was, along with the added benefit of having a better idea of where you are without relying on GPS. Maybe not so critical in areas that you know like the back of your hand, but in strange new lands and barely remembered haunts it can't be beat.

Call me a gamer or young thug but on my boat if the gps fails theres 2 to 4 other gps's on the boat each on our phones. This works until the US government turns the satellites off which happened for most of a day back in 1998 or some time. Cant remember the year but it was in the summer and it was a game changer for the sport fleet. Reality check!

 

[wildmanyeah]

I find that when fishing and following a particular contour line that heads up makes it incredibly easy for me to follow. That also might have to do with the fact that heads up is what Is use in flight sims and in my car.

when plotting a course north up is great and when just motoring long distances I just spilt screens. Even being a surveyor doing all my work with North Up and charting being the simplest form of survey being essentially a leveling loop. when I am actively moving heads up just work better for me.

Also one should always be aware of the compass being that will take them back to land. Call me crazy but when I can't see land, I mentally have to know the compass bearing to get back or I would hyperventilate.

 

[Birdsnest]

I really enjoy these threads where there isn't the left and the right or sportiest and the comies and so on and so forth.
Although there is a bit of " old salty fartism"on this thread. Lol. Hilarious.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Steering by gps in really thick fog when trolling can be very disorienting. If trolling slowly your gps can lose its "bearings" as well and not tell which direction you are heading sometimes. That's why a compass is more reliable in the fog. You simply steer by a compass bearing which never flakes out in thick fog. Also when switching off steering in the fog on the troll, the new driver often gets all turned around until he gets his bearings. If you tell your partner just before you switch off what bearing you are on by the compass he won't get all disoriented when he takes over. Old technology is sometimes the most reliable. Guess I'm officially a Salty Old Fart now, although I still haven't recieved my card in the mail. Wait a minute, did I just say mail. Oh no, it is official now.

 

[chinnok]

North Up always for me. Course Up drives me nuts, constantly adjusting the entire map.

Agreed, course up drive me nuts too. I have tried it a couple of times but always go back to north up. Maybe if plotting a course, course up would be okay.