Marine Electronics

Billed as the worlds only shorepower corrosion detector with reverse polarity indicator by West Marine, Marincos new Galvan-Alert attaches to your existing 30-amp shorepower inlet and power cord and monitors galvanic and stray current corrosion flowing through the green ground wire ground of your shorepower system. Appearance-wise, the GalvanAlert is similar to a miniature Marinco power cord. It is well constructed and utilizes the same plugs, connectors, and locking rings that are familiar to most every boater with an AC shorepower cord. The GalvanAlert has four LED indicators-a green LED to indicate power, a red LED indicating reverse polarity, and two other LEDs to show medium (green) and high (red) galvanic corrosion activity.

After testing the 12-inch Garmin 5212 touchscreen and the Raymarine E120 multi-function displays in August 2008, Practical Sailor pitted the newest big-screen chartplotter, the Simrad NX45, against its well-used Garmin, the subject of a long-term test on one of Practical Sailors test boats. For this head-to-head test, we looked at day and night viewability, functionality, user-interface, and price. We also looked closely at the software that each uses: Garmin uses Bluechart g2 software, Simrad C-Map MAX, and Raymarine Navionics.

The fixed-mount marine VHF radios tested for this review go beyond the basic capabilities of moderately priced VHFs. The waterproof VHFs include features such as integral high-wattage hailers, multiple remote microphone connections, and the capability to store MMSI numbers. They also meet Class D standards for DSC functions, with two separate receivers-one for voice communications and a second to continuously monitor channel 70 for DSC calls. The five VHF radios tested were the Icom M504, Icom M604, Standard Horizon GX5000S, Standard Horizon GX5500S, and the Raymarine 218.

Practical Sailor last looked at Automatic Identification Systems, or AIS, in November 2008, reviewing the Raymarine AIS250, a receive-only device. Since that report, the pool of AIS products has grown to include several affordable transceiver options for recreational sailors. In this head-to-head test, we review two AIS-Class B devices capable of sending and receiving AIS data: the Navico NAIS-300 and the West Marine AIS1000. AIS transceivers are split into Class A (commercial) and Class B (recreational). AIS devices improve safety at sea by receiving and broadcasting a wide variety of information about a ship, including its name, latitude and longitude, course over ground, speed over ground, heading, status, and Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number.

Practical Sailor editors pored over the dozens of products reviewed in the previous months to find the best of the best sailing gear, products that are worthy of the designation Gear of the Year. This years editors choice list includes a rugged rope clutch (Spinlock), a grippy ratchet block (Ronstan), feature-filled VHF handheld radios (Standard Horizon and Cobra), high-quality nesting cookware (Magma), a proven paste wax (Collinite), an ocean-ready first-aid kit (Adventure Medical Kits), a reliable LED bulb for cabin lighting (Imtra), an economical ice box conversion kit (Frigoboat), an innovative ultrasonic tank sensor (BEP Marine), cold-weather gloves (Gill), and an easy-to-install Wi-Fi booster (5mileWiFi).

When it comes to gear for the outdoor enthusiast, there are a lot of crossover products. Hikers, bikers, boaters, backpackers, and climbers share a need for lightweight, durable, and practical equipment. So as Practical Sailor editors geared up for our summer adventures, we looked for products that could serve double-duty on the boat and on the trail.

As a new boat owner, I have no end of questions, but here’s a quickie: I have recently had my boat hauled and sanded to the gelcoat, and repainted with all the right stuff. (The bottom was coated with Interlux CA Bottomkote.) Now, how often should I have a diver clean the underside, bearing in mind I live in San Diego? The service providers have a vested interest in selling frequent cleans—one company running a special at the moment wants me to sign a contract for a bottom clean every three weeks, but that sounds way too often to me. I realize it may well vary with geography and ambient temperature, but there should be some kind of general rule of thumb, perhaps?

Practical Sailor tested eight high-end marine handheld VHFs from three manufacturers: Cobra, Standard Horizon, and Uniden. Among those tested were two updated Standard Horizon VHFs, the HX500S-LI and HX600S-LI, and three of the companys latest floating VHF radios, the HX750S, HX760S, and HX850S. From Uniden, testers evaluated the MHS450 and MHS550. They also tested the Cobra HH425 LI. These feature-rich handheld marine radios, priced from $130 to $350, were tested for transmitter power, frequency accuracy, frequency stability, receiver sensitivity, audio output, and audio quality. They also were submerged in fresh water, dropped from 4 feet onto concrete and batteries were left on for 15 hours to test battery life.

Sailors looking for a chartplotter who tend to stray from the beaten path or those who spend a fair amount of time fishing may want to consider a combination chartplotter-fishfinder. Our last look at plotter-sounders named the Garmin 545s the Practical Sailor Best Choice for combination chartplotter sounders. This review compares the Garmin to the new Raymarine A50D. Testers looked at display unit features, plotter features, and sounder features. The Raymarine unit uses Navionics cartography and can interface with AIS devices.

The Delorme Earthmate PN-40 is one of the newest additions to the handheld marine electronics market. Practical Sailor evaluated the rugged, palm-sized Earthmate using the same tests used in past GPS evaluations to see how it matched up against the Garmin GPSMap 76CSx, our top performer in past tests. Testers used the unit for multiple days and rated key functions, battery life, lighting, waterproof quality, cold starts in multiple locations, and visibility under different conditions.