DIY - laptop holder helm solution?

S

Sea Wolff

New Member
Oct 24, 2008
66
Pleasatnon CA
Boat Info
2004 390 MY
Engines
8.1s
I am using my Mac as a backup to the Raymarine chartplotter on board. Has someone come up with a DIY laptop holder that perhaps clamps to the helm and holds the laptop for ez viewing and use while underway? I've searched for previous thread on this topic and did not find one. The laptop holder would be movable to adjust for viewing.
thanks!
 
Chartplotter for a laptop? Is this MAC specific or is it available for PC's also?

Sorry for the hijack...
 
before you go to all of the trouble of making a laptop holder, I would test it out in the sun to see if you can see the screen. I can see my screen it the sun.
 
Try ram-mount.com

Many police cars and construction workers use those set-ups for their laptops. I've got smaller versions of these ram mounts for GPS's and they are VERY nice. Top quality.
 
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Or the cheap, cheezy and fully adjustable "pillow". A friend uses one and it's actually quite versatile cushioning the laptop in rough water instead of pounding it to death. He uses a navy blue pillow case to keep the glare at a minimum and some kind of miniature pillow that fits perfectly on his dash. I told him he should mount it, but after seeing how it works, it actually works very well for him. He can spin it around so others can see, it's infinitely adjustable based on the sun angle. I asked him if the battery over heats and he hasn't had any issues there either. It still seems odd when I see it!
 
I used to keep a laptop at my helm.. the thing kept getting bounced off the helm seat or helm and I probably destroyed two laptops as they hit the deck.

As Mike said, you may want to see if you can even read the screen. My MacBook Pro is not bright enough to use at the helm and my boat has a hardtop.

As far as mounts, you may want to google "vehicle laptop mounts" as there are a bunch of vendors. The ones for emergency vehicles are pretty beefy and bolted to the floor or seat bracket bolts. A laptop has a lot of mass and so being in any bouncing wave action is going to be tough to keep the thing from moving around and wobbling. The smaller the boat, the beefier the mount is going to need to be.
 
You may want to look into a panasonic toughbook if you plan on doing a lot of this they are anti-glare and much brighter than most laptops - my mac currently has a cracked screen. Sure is great to be environmentally friendly and use real glass!!
 
Thanks for the replies. :smt038 I have a 390 MY so glare is generally not a problem. I've looked at the Ram mounts and the other mounts for vehicles. Before I buy a commercial product I wanted to see what clever DIY solutions were out there. Often times DIY solutions are more creative and practical then commercial solutions.
Sundancer - I tried the pillow but I had to keep looking down and to my left to see the screen. Glad it works for your friend. I did not like taking my offs of the water in front of me.

Gary - thanks for your input.

H20Nut - mine is Mac specific - I use GPSNavX - recently purchased the product - $59.00 wow very user friendly. There are several PC [window] product available as well.
 
sorry, I see I said i CAN see mine. i should have added a 't
 
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