I know the cons for using a laptop at sea, but for now this is the best option for me, because I'm not really going blue water cruising just yet and coast hopping is the most I'll be looking at. It won't be left aboard at the mooring either, so salt air won't be a problem. I also will build a small frame for it that will be high enough to be swung out of the way should it get nasty and damp, yet easy to see when in the cockpit.
So far I have the actual laptop, rebuilt and ready for use. I got a 12 volt inverter to power its 15 volts that can be also used for plane power if I travel by air, and a GPS puck antenna.
I've also installed the SeaClear II software which seems to work fine, well I think it works fine, because the only thing missing are the charts.
I'm having a darned time finding non proprietry Electronic Navigation Charts in raster, KAP or NOS formats for what I would consider a reasonable fee. In the US, the coastguard gives them away free. Not in Australia though.....
If anyone has these charts, or a line on where I can get them, I'd love to know. If anyone has these charts and is happy for me to have a copy for a beer or three, I'd love to know too....
Michael,.