I put it below in the chart drawer in rough conditions. But that's rare, most of the time it can sit in the cockpit. I just don't know how to improve that situation. I don't spend nearly as much time behind the wheel as I do just forward of it. Then it's 50% port, 50% starboard. As you mention, it is something you want in your hands-in front of them, once you become aware of it's capabilities.

I'll be interested to see the pics of Charlies bracket. Maybe I could make something like that work.

I was thinking, for 350 bucks or so, this gives so much value! It's primarily a home internet use machine, Netflics(Mary Ann uses it mostly). When we travel, it's our only computer. I can download photos to free up memory on the SD card.

The place we use it the least, is on the boat for navigation. All that, including Blue charts(35 bucks?), for a few hundred. A few hundred doesn't do much in the Boat Gizmo world, at least not until now. And there's no getting re-aquainted with all the tight spaces in your cockpit lockers as you run new wires.

So while I'm a little concerned about it being exposed in the cockpit, truth is, it's more likely to fall in the sink, get drenched with a drink or go flying down the stairs - at home, than getting wet in the cockpit. You know your boat and how you're sailing, so you'll know what protection it needs. It fits in my camera/lens case going back and forth.

Granted, it's not for everyone but I've been working on screens with CAD for so long, I prefer reading plans in pdf to unrolling full size paper plans. For me, the screen is faster and more accurate than paper. On the boat, it's made navigation much easier and in my experience, safer.

I hate to tell you this, I've found the iphone to be a great gizmo, and on the boat,....