I tested out EZE trap with course 11 at West Mersea this week, last chance of the year. Specifically used the club settings. Maybe a few things to consider;
It would be useful if the number of fixed marks in the fixed mark table was 25 not 12.
Is it possible to output directly to the sailors via a website or whats app the course card? it could contain the following
Course name
Mark Name
Rounding
Lat/Long next mark
Heading next mark
Could we have the facility to input the finish boat position and to select a fixed mark for the pin?
Just some suggestions
Hi Paul,
Thank you for trying out ezTrap and providing feedback, much appreciated.
I look forward to hearing what others think of your suggestions. The following are my ‘two cents’ worth on your suggestions.
Not saying increasing the number of fixed is a bad thing. Where would you stop for number of marks? I am thinking of the possible number in say the Solent Why 25 marks? Is that because there are that many that can be used in West Mersea area?
2.Currently from the Excel spreadsheet it is not possible to output directly to sailors via a web site or to send, via say WhatsApp, a course card. Although with manual intervention both could be done now.
I agree to put all in the solent in the database would be difficult. This course set up is likely to be used for keelboats at sea so I thought 12 was too few but doubling the number was about right.
The output does not need to go directly to a website, sorry if I misled you. If the output could be printed to a pdf that can be whats apped. The competitors can read that.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your questions. Huw’s responses are good from my perspective. Here are some additional thoughts…
I set the maximum of 12-fixed marks and 12-legs for the Club Course to accommodate the majority of ‘round the buoy’ courses I have seen. Further, ezTrap could be saved with different names to accommodate more fixed marks as long as the resultant course could be satisfied with the marks stored in that copy. Assuming there is significant interest, there is definitely room to expand fixed marks and/or legs to any reasonable limit, and it would only take 1-2 work days of effort. A significant expansion would likely sacrifice room on the display page or lead to a two-screen approach for input.
Sending a .PDF output or the entire results page directly to sailors and mark boats via WhatsAPP or email sounds good. ezTrap does not presently have any way to selectively print the information you listed, especially where the Rounding is not obvious. Again, assuming enough interest and consistent expectations, ezTrap could be enhanced to printout a standard page for the sailors and/or mark boats.
I am not sure I understand the question about inputting the FB position. If you are using the Yacht Club Course then the FB and/or pin could be one of the Fixed Marks. If using TRAP6, you could use the built-in Calculator with the penultimate and FB mark Lat & Long’s to calculate the unknown BRG and Distance to setup the last leg.
Regards,
Ed Bottrell
Perhaps the interpretation of Club course is the issue. I can perfectly see that 12 marks on a large reservoir would be sufficient. Our idea for usung EZe trap is for keelboats and inshore racing (coastal) and some potentially offshore. by increasing the number of marks in the database you can then send the course directly to the competitor making the need for gatherings at briefings less.
Already have done this, roundings you just add. It is now linked to a course card on a website plus can be added to the Whats App feed. The problem is that when you add a sheet and create the table, when it is saved it saves with the password already in the spreadsheet so you cannot use it twice. Basically the password is locking the structure
If you have a selection of start pins S,E,W you can use them in the course from the database. When on a coastal course you start and finish in different places it would be nice to have a Finish Boat Position and a pin position. We could then start at one club and finish at another. We tend not to use traps. For dinghies the Trap works but at the moment I have not used it for real.
What would be really cool is if the final course could be saved as a GPX file. Then marklayers and committee boats could upload to plotters and GPs units. Really one for the future.
Thanks for your help. I hope that explains things more clearly
BW
PJ
Hi Paul,
I would like to wind-up this thread and separate my responses into two new topics – Yacht Club Course (e.g. marks, legs and uses), and Future ezTrap Development (e.g. creation of GPX files, templates, Google Maps, etc.). I will continue with the Yacht Club Course dialogue momentarily but I need a few days to address Future Development.
I know I am late to the game here. Our local Asso of YC’s maintains some fixed markers along with us using a few Coast Guard Marks and Oil Rigs. The later are all maintained and in really fixed locations. wink wink
However the markers we maintain sometimes move a bit. SO I have been updating our course charts new locations and distances and found this tool which is great.
Most of our courses only have a few marks but we have lots of courses. Being able to calculate lots of courses would be cool.
Question? Can I copy / past the Course table several times to make for more courses rather than changing the legs?
On #3 that is what we do. Use a fixed coast guard mark as the pin end but the program thinks it is the RC boat and the start line is the wrong way.
I’ll ask the RC this Wednesday to take a fix and I’ll start using that.
