Today, all you need for position information, boat speed and track reports is a GPS. I have three GPS units (for backup in case lightning strikes the boat), one on deck one in the nav area, and one in a steel box that is isolated from the bonding system and boat ground, and is four feet away from the mast and other boat wiring. I still use an old Furuno (shown here) because it has large numbers and I can see it from any place in the cockpit (it hangs under the bimini,) day and night. Speed and heading are clearly visible. I love this unit. It is weather proof and bullet proof. With this I don’t use the log or a magnetic compass (I have a hand held compass for taking sights.)

I still carry traditional nav equipment that I paid a small fortune for when the boat was launched. The speed and log and off-course computer work, and the depth sounder was recently repaired (very expensive.) I used this equipment in the Pacific when satellite coverage was erratic (this was 1986.) It is amazing that after 40 years this B&G equipment still works. The speed and log work off AA batteries which last a year or more. In the event of satellite failures, I could still navigate.

The off-course computer calculates the distance the boat has strayed from the intended course.

KVH Satellite Phone that covers the USA, Central America and Caribbean. Internet access is at 4800 baud, which is good for e-mail and NWS weatherfax pictures including satellite pictures and 500mB upper air charts. These are the same charts used by weather forecasters in USA. Phone quality is very good. It will keep track of the satellites at any angle of heel, and however rough it gates. Can scan below the horizon to directly overhead. Cost around $5,000 in 1999 - monthly charge is $49 with a startup charge of $50. Usage is $1.19 a minute. The service is still available (June 2014) and uses Inmarsat MSAT service. I will test it out at home and re-install if it still works. A replacement system costs around $20,000 today. 

Today, I would recommend a handheld sat phone for voice communications, and the radio for weather planning.

For charts, I use a program called NaviMaq which no longer is available, and on MAC OS9 it can read every chart I have (about 1000) whereas all the modern charting programs will not read some of them. None of my buoy and lights info is current, but for sailors they are very useful, because they contain all sorts of info about winds and best courses to steer, and of course the Islands haven’t changed their positions. When I get close to my destination, I use harbor photos from the WEB. In the USA, of course, all US port info is available for free download, plus all navigation info for the Lakes and Coast. The computer I use is an old powerbook (I have many of these) which runs OS9 in classic mode and OSX 10.4.11 for WEB work. Under OS9 I navigate. Newer navigation programs only will run the copy protected charts, whereas I can run all my charts and copy them to any computer. I have many backups of these charts on thumb drives and hard drives, and can run any of them on any computer that will run OS9 or classic. There is an OSX version of the program but it can’t run the older charts.

Today, you can get charts for the Caribbean and Europe that will run on the iPad (one with GPS built in, i.e. a cellular compatible unit.) from Imray-Iolaire for a very reasonable price - but they warn you not to rely on them for navigation.

Now, all my navigation equipment is still functional ( since 2000  I used an older powerbook then.) I doubt that any modern equipment will last as long or remain compatible with older equipment. Of course, as an engineer, good quality and good design is really important to me. I can recognize what is good for the ocean and what is meant only for racing around the buoys.