Yeoman Plotter - Advantages

Advantages

The way in which the Yeoman plotter combines speedy GPS position fixing with a paper chart is cited as a benefit for two principal reasons. The first is one of safety and reliability - even the best marine electronics fail from time to time, and if the boat's Electronic instruments should cease to work then a recent pencil plot on a paper chart becomes extremely valuable. Because such a fix can be made on a Yeoman in around two seconds, it is likely to be updated far more frequently. The fact that the correct chart is guaranteed to be on board, up to date, and open on the chart table ready for reversion to traditional navigation is also an aspect to consider as video chart plotters become more widely used.

The second benefit of the Yeoman plotter over an electronic chart display is cited less often, but to most of its users is the more important - they find it easier to use. While video plotter technology is improving every year, they still must display their charts on relatively small screens, with input via a single small joystick and a few buttons. By contrast, a printed chart on a Yeoman Navigator provides a 35-inch "display" at extremely high resolution, that one can draw on, make notes upon, and use for traditional operations with dividers and rulers, combined with instant (permanent!) position fixes and range-and-bearing information from the Yeoman mouse. This mixing of technology and traditional techniques can be very effective.

One area in which video plotters may be more appropriate is when the time available for navigation is extremely limited. A good example is a fast powerboat - the vessel leaves fixes behind so quickly that there is little point making them, and a "fighter-style" moving map display is far easier to use, especially near land. The other typical example is the short-handed cruiser arriving at an unknown harbour - with one member of the (typically husband-and-wife) crew asleep or ill and the other too busy steering to go down to the chart table, a moving map visible from the cockpit is a great benefit to safety.

Yeoman make four versions of their plotter for different situations:

Maxi

Designed to be installed on the bridge of large ships, this is a self-contained chart table up to A0 (approximately 33"x47") in size.

Navigator

Regarded as the "normal" Yeoman, this is a 28"x21" pad of mousemat-like material, with a control box attached in one corner and six separate clips to secure the chart or the chart can be alternatively be secured using an option called the ClearView which is a transparent flexible screen under which the chart is inserted. This plotter is designed to be used on the chart table of a yacht, connected to the vessel's GPS system. It can in fact be built into the table if required; a menu setting reverses the position data so that it works properly when glued upside-down to the underneath of the tabletop - the mouse can work accurately through up to two centimeters of timber.

Compact

For the smaller chart table measuring approximately 24" x 20" which has all the same features as the Navigator

Sport

This is a portable version of the Yeoman designed to be used in the cockpit of yachts or in open boats. It incorporates a waterproof cover for the chart and velcro straps to hold it in place.

The manufacturing rights for Yeoman Plotters were purchased by Precision Navigation Ltd in 2004 and production has been relocated to East Anglia (UK)