Ok this is going to sound like a no brainer but I need a push in the right direction.

I've reached a point in refitting the boat I'm working on when I have to start considering electronics. A 25 watt VHF radio with hailer is a no brainer. But the GPS has me stumped. I have two choices:

A Garmin GPSmap plotter with a 5" screen at about $800

Or

A Panasonic Toughbook with 1GHz PIII processor, ext wifi card, ext combo drive, built in GPS receiver at about $400

The Garmin is smaller and will work on 12vdc but is less versatile

The Panasonic takes up more space, the battery may not be viable since it comes slightly used from an EMS vehicle, and I would have to install a power inverter to get 110vac to power it (which I was thinking about doing anyway). Plus I'd have to put it on an articulating arm to make it visible from the cockpit, which is another $80.

Thoughts?

what are the odds that a fuck-up with the cheaper option could cost you your life?

It's not my life, it's the life of an 83 year old man who is like the grandfather I never had. And he was sailing the Chesapeake in an 11 foot open top styrofoam boat before global positioning was invented. But he's paying for a GPS with marine plotting and I'm thinking not only is a Toughbook laptop a nice thing to have but a 14"  computer screen is easier for old eyes to read than a 5-6" GPS. I'm just worried that it's too techy for him to operate.

And the extra $400 can be put to use elsewhere.

I would go with the GPS for someone who is not tech savvy.

The flexibility of a Toughbook and additional uses for it might great, but Garmin designs their GPS devices with an eye towards ease of operation.

OK I don't like these answers so I call do-over.

I can get two toughbooks for the price of one GPS and I want one for my boat.

That's the answer I wanted.

OK I don't like these answers so I call do-over.

I can get two toughbooks for the price of one GPS and I want one for my boat.

That's the answer I wanted.

With the littlest bit of "fiddling," you could tweak up his ToughBook, make it User Friendly to him, and put it in, with no regrets, i'd say.

He might surprise you, and be able to catch onto the other uses for it, as things go along.  (i'm presuming that you aren't just exactly finished with the boat, and i would imagine he's hanging around, watching, so.)

Check your local pawn store for gps's before making a decision. Also ebay (dont lol), you could easily give the old guy what he wants AND still get your toughbook.


edit: what he wants/needs/is safe for the old fart.

He's pretty computer savvy, we've done the majority of our business electronically.