Hi Max,

Not to mention, it was Dr. Electron's default setting, as well... (grin, bigtime)

OK, whatever floats your boat, as they say... But I prefer North up for a couple of reasons...

First, because I still refer to paper charts, of course... A paper chart will always be my 'default' resource, in any moment of doubt, or confusion - and I certainly want my plotter in the same mode whenever that occurs. I think there's a real danger in "alternating' between the two modes, I'd rather see people pick one mode, and stick with it always... We all know how significant a factor exhaustion/weariness can play in cruising shorthanded, and I think you want to keep this stuff as simple as possible... When you're tired, it would seem just to easy to make an error as a result of 'forgetting' what mode you happened to be in at the time, and whether it is the same as the one you were in when you were planning your approach, landfall, whatever...

A lot will depend on the speed at which your plotter will re-draw... In heads-up mode, sailing in a seaway with your heading constantly changing, the continuous re-drawing of the entire plotter screen drives me crazy, and it can be enough to basically render some of the plotters I've used virtually unreadable... My own Simrad 44 is rather slow to re-draw, so heads up in sporty conditions is really not an option for me... But I'm sure there are some who are using IPads or similar, which may re-draw much more quickly, and not be an issue for them...

Just a hunch, but I think there's probably a pretty strong correlation between guys like us who first learned navigating on paper, by more traditional means, having a preference for N-up, and those who learned to navigate by GPS and plotter, and a preference for the Heads-up mode more akin to 'driving down the highway'... NTTAWWT, of course... (grin)

But I do believe heads-up is better suited to motoring and powerboats, however... After all, one of the most important considerations for people who actually SAIL from time to time, is wind direction (grin) I just think it's so much more intuitive and easier to factor wind angles into your planning and navigating, when looking at your plotter as you would a chart...

heads-up sure does seem to be popular these days, however... I figure it's just a matter of time before ICW chartbooks are offered in 2 versions - one for Southbound, and another for headed North - with the charts appropriately reversed, so they always remain in a Heads-up orientation... (grin)

best regards,

Jon