Raspberry Pi navigation on the open seas
The Raspberry Pi (Rasp Pi) plus a television has served as an energy-saving multimedia center [1] and an excellent low-cost navigational device [2] for a small cruising yacht on inland waterways. Recently, I acquired a larger boat (Figure 1) capable of sailing open seas. Although the "Einstein" is equipped with GPS, an echo sounder, and speedometer, she is missing a contemporary chartplotter, which is quite an expensive device, and has an old, defective radio. The radio antenna at the top of the mast, however, is intact and still works perfectly.
Figure 1: The boat, christened "Einstein," is a 1981 Dehler Duetta 86AS.
Because of the positive experiences I had already had with the Rasp Pi on a sailboat, I had no doubts that the small computer could play a central role on an ocean-going boat. In addition to price considerations, I found a reference to a project on a sailing forum that perfectly fulfilled the requirements for creating my own chartplotter – avNav.
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It is rumored that Thomas Edison tested thousands of filaments for an incandescent lamp before he produced the first commercially viable electric light bulb, and I imagine his is not a unique experience. Building mock-ups and working models exposes the weaknesses and strengths of a design, which prepares you to make a better version, then a better version, until you have found the right combination of materials, components, configuration, and cost.
