The new MS2000 Sine-Wave Inverter/Charger from Xantrex will use the new NMEA 2000 protocol for advanced networking capabilities.

This is the time of year when sailors in the frozen north plan their winter projects and think of next summer, with perhaps one eye on a warm-weather winter charter to see them through. This is the time of year when southern sailors—or those lucky enough to head south with the birds for the winter—cast a pitying eye on their northern cousins.

For all of us, this is the time of year for boat shows and marine trade shows. We recently visited two of the late fall shows—IBEX (the International Boatbuilders' Exhibition and Conference), and the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and came away with an eyeful of new products, updated…