How big a navigation desk

[Fanie]

How big is a nice size for a navigation table ? what are nice features one would like to have with them ?

Or could one simply use any table (dining table) to do navigation & charting on ?

[TeddyDiver]

A good 1300x800, nice if half sized..

[Meanz Beanz]

Yes half chart, sloped 10/15 degrees or so, with 3/4" rails, railed shelves to store & stop things rolling, hinged lid on storage for chart and instruments.

Rails might not need to be so big on a cat

[rwatson]

Saw a great idea where size was a problem.
The maps were rolled on dowels after being laminated, and to read the maps the dowels were inserted into grooves on the edge of the table and could be scrolled across the desk.
Very tidy!

[Meanz Beanz]

Got pics?

[Fanie]

The maps were rolled on dowels after being laminated, and to read the maps the dowels were inserted into grooves on the edge of the table and could be scrolled across the desk

That's a cool idea ! Exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Also, the chart ends could just hang down inside the table, instead of over it, or rolled up, just going through some slots instead. If the table is made with a shallow bottom the chart won't tend to get pulled in from it's own weight.

So one will need a wide but narrow table, of course without being rediculous wrt the narrow. It would probably depend on the instruments one use as well.

The chart I have is much smaller than the one on your picture. Any chance I can convince you to measure the size of it ? I assume that's a standard size nav chart. That size could have some nice details on it... showing lots of detail ie nude beach from here to here... binoculars for hire here... and so on

[Meanz Beanz]

My charts are 1200 x 800 near enough.

[Fanie]

Thanks Meanzie !

That means a table can be 850mm x 500mm - 600mm... if you push the chart to one side it will fold in under and you can scroll back and forth... and you have a 500 - 600mm piece visible to work on.

Would the 500mm be large enough ?

[Meanz Beanz]

That would depend on the navtools that you are using but yeah I suppose you could use 600mm. It could be a tough to navigate without being able to lay the chart out properly, I would experiment on the kitchen table with some hypothetical exercises before I built anything. I suspect it could be a bit frustrating working with a 600mm strip of chart but having never tried I dunno???

You are venturing into new territory for me

[rwatson]

The article on the scrolling gizmo was in a magazine, if I ever find it again, I can organise to scan it, but the idea is self obvious I think. The maps scrolled left right, not up down, so the table was narrow enough for a confined space. They were wound on dowels, which were supported either end like axles.

I guess you would only be able to plot a course from north to south, and never travel east west :-)

Nah - just kidding - as long as the scrolling was nice and smooth, it shouldnt be much of a problem, most maps show about 4 hours sailing range, so a half width map would leave plenty of time to "turn the page".

Dont forget to add about 6 inches to the sides of each map so that the last few inches are viewable. I dont see why three or 4 maps couldnt be joined edge to edge for a continuous display. It might make the "rolled" maps a bit big, but they would be out of the way. It would beat having to hunt around for the next "over the horizon" map to join the course to.

[Fanie]

I'm going to experiment with it a bit and see how it works. I saw the original idea was to roll it on dowels, but that would mean you have to turn them.

I was thinking more to just push the map say to one side, the end gets bent and forced 180 degrees back under the work area. The pic a rough representation. The stiffness of a laminated chart and the round ends would determine how easy it's going to slip in there.

One could also add some tubes below it for chart storage.

[DanishBagger]

A navigation table on a 30-footer should be at least this size:

http://www.yeomanuk.co.uk/prodmar/maxi.htm


(no, not really, I just like that product)

[rwatson]

Fanie, thats not a bad way to approach it IMHO.
You could have little tabs peeking over the ends to identify which map can be pulled out as per my primitive sketch
I think the downside to not using the dowels is the potential for 'inner conflict' of various chart ends as they get pushed into the other side.
The other problem is that unless you get a bit of tension on both ends, the map will curl up on the table, and not lay flat - unless you can capture the top and bottom edges under some sort of 'lip' .... boy, you are going to have fun :-)