Marine Electronics

Two years ago, I purchased a Water Witch bilge pump switch. When it developed a glitch, I called Kathleen at Water Witch Inc.s San Diego office (www.waterwitchinc.com). She asked me a couple of questions, then assured me the replacement part would be shipped the following day. It was, followed by an email saying it had shipped. It arrived 10 days later (international), complete with a personal note. Does it better than this? I think not.

There is no shortage of sailing watches on the market, and weve reviewed our fair share. So when Garmin released its first mariner-specific GPS watch, we were interested to see what features, if any, set it apart from the crowd. After nearly six months of testing Garmins Quatix watch on and off the water, we can report that it is not your ordinary sailing watch. It bundles multiple miniature marine electronics into one small, impressive, hands-free package that is made to withstand life at sea.

On strolling through Port Townsend (Wash.) Boat Haven, while I was having some work done on my boat, I saw this boat (photo at right) and the owners attitude written on a sign in front of the boat. It reminded me of your June 18, 2013 blog, Dont Let Refit Pitfalls Derail Your Cruising Plans.

Testers evaluated handheld VHF radios from three leading marine electronics makers. From Icom, we tested the M92D and M24. Standard Horizon submitted the HX290, HX300, and HX400, and from Midland Radio, we reviewed the Nautico 2. The VHFs in our test group ranged in price and features from a $50 basic, budget-friendly model to a $299, feature-rich handheld with DSC and GPS capabilities. All offered channel scanning, channel 16 quick select, NOAA weather radio, and weather alert. Unique features among the group included scrambler capabilities and remote microphone options.

There are still not as many marine navigation programs for Mac computers as for there are for PCs, but their quality often matches that of PC software, and their cost tends to be lower. The Mac software programs we tested were MacEnc, GPSNavX, Polar View, and OpenCPN. Testers have used MacEnc and GPSNavX extensively while cruising, and we evaluated OpenCPN during two three-month cruises and Polar View for a little over a month during another cruise. Prices range from $180 for MacEnc, to free for OpenCPN, an open-source, non-commercial software created by volunteers.

Sailing and tactical software has long been B&Gs strong suit. The Zeus Touch is the first time the Navico companys high-end racing software has been tweaked for mainstream use and bundled along with normal chartplotter and GPS functions. At first blush, it appears to be a dressed-up version of the Simrad NSS. The big difference between the two is the software. It uses the boats set sailing characteristics to calculate tacking or jibing points to most efficiently reach a given destination. Many of these functions are simple measurements that any skipper can predict or calculate using a paper chart and simple arithmetic, but the Zeus Touch delivers this information instantaneously and continuously, and removes the chance of human error.

After reading your article, A Sailor's Guide to Marine Insurance, I wanted to give a shout-out to Progressive Insurance (www.progressive.com), which has insured our Stiletto catamaran and our dinghy, outboard motors, and trailers. Customer service is extremely friendly and efficient on the phone any time we want to check or change our policy. And when lightning struck the mast of our catamaran, they sent an adjuster out within two days, took care of the paper work, and had a payment sent to us within two weeks. Thats an incredible turn-around time.

A few issues ago, you had a short article on deck hardware (blocks, traveler, cars, etc.) that included Garhauer, and you mentioned that the manufacturer offered individual parts and complete systems that allow conversion from on deck to cockpit adjustment of the car position. We recently installed the EZ adjustable genoa car system from Garhauer and are very pleased with the results. This equipment fits on existing traveler tracks, is easy to install, and performs as advertised.

Weve been following man-overboard (MOB) beacons, flags, and lights for more than 30 years now. In our testing, weve found that a major shortcoming of many electronic MOB transmitters is their inability to track the person in the water; most simply alert the crew that someone has fallen overboard. But in the past two years, with the integration of the Automated Identification System (AIS) and Digital Selective Calling (DSC), MOB-recovery technology has changed dramatically. We recently put it to the test with field trials of the Kannad SafeLink, McMurdo Smartfind, and Mobilarm V100 MOB beacons.

The cheapest wind indicators are bestowed at birth: your nose, the back of your neck, and your fingers. Forget digital precision; these wind indicators are dialed in. They even sense changes in temperature that, in squally weather, can signal a sudden backing wind. Even the most sophisticated wind sensors can't compete with a direct skin-to-brain link. The next step up from our dermal cells is a bit of yarn in the shrouds-super light Angora wool, if youre a stickler. Here, the eyes intervene in the process, so the brain must do a bit more exercise. Well call this soft technology.