Out with liquid soap, in with GPS
Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006
With prices becoming more reasonable, I broke down and purchased a handheld GPS. I chose a Garmin GPSMap 76. Handhelds eat batteries, so I purchased a Garmin 12-volt powercord, which I plug into an outlet near the cabin hatch. The 6-foot cord enables use of the GPS throughout the cockpit.
The problem: I have a 25-foot, tiller-steered sailboat. The lack of a pedestal that comes with wheel steering made it difficult to use the GPS in the cockpit. No matter where I put it the GPS was in danger of being knocked about or stepped on as I tacked, jibed, and shortened sail. It needed to be in a protected setting where I could easily monitor my boat’s progress on the chart and check on the speed and course heading. I also needed the ability to pull it close to read chart details like contour lines, buoy markers, and so on.
The attached 6-foot powercord added to the difficulty of finding a suitable setup. Garmin sells a holder for its handhelds, but it has to be attached to the boat with screws (read: holes in the boat), does not adequately protect the GPS, and is not very sturdy. Other holders I inspected were equally lacking. I wanted a holder that met my needs.
The solution came to me at a swap meet. I discovered a used teak soft-soap dispenser holder (West Marine # 403248; $29.95) that could hold my GPS. The location of the grooved dispenser-holding slots allows enough room to place my handheld inside the holder with the powercord plugged into the back of the GPS. I bought the holder for 50 cents.
I hang this holder from the front of the cockpit locker using a modified Christmas-wreath hanger as shown in the photos below. I measured and cut the hanger to size. Using brass screws, nuts, and plastic washers, I attached the hanger to the holder. Then I glued a kitchen sponge to the back of the holder, to cover the screw ends and nuts and to protect the outside walls of the locker from scratches. The sponge also ensures a snug fit of the holder against the locker. To obtain a better fit for my GPS in the holder I lightly sanded the grooves intended to hold the liquid-soap dispenser.
This holder securely contains my handheld GPS, provides protection from the sail work done in the cockpit, allows for easy removal for close-up work, looks nice, and can be tucked away when not in use. All for the grand total of 50 cents, not counting the cost of the GPS, of course.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
