As the World Turns
We received a couple of letters this month from people who had trouble setting the tide functions on their Casio SPF-40 watches. One...
Waterproof Stereo Speakers
Bose 131 takes top honors, Poly-Planar MA5107 is best buy
Fishfinders (a.k.a. Scanning Depthsounders)
Why stick to a measly numerical readout if you can get a picture of the bottom? The Furuno LS6100 and Garmin 240 Blue finish one-two in our look at six units from $300 to $400.
Electronic Charting Evolution
The following report was written by RonDoescher, of Westford, MA. It started as a letter to Mailport, and turned into a very interesting...
Hand-Bearing Compasses
Bow-and-beam bearings, running fixes, collision-course bearings, anchored position—the oft-ignored hand-bearing compass can provide all these and more.
Navigation Software Update
Fugawi does the job at an attractive price. RayTech Navigator 4 shines as a real-time navigating tool. Maptech's Offshore Navigator delivers a complete planning/navigation package.
Handheld Weather Stations
It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, but one of these gizmos can tell you how hard it's blowing, atmospheric pressure, and more.
Night Vision
ITT still leads the pack in our book, but there are other viable and less costly units for night ops.
Communications Options
Alongshore, you're good to go with a VHF plus Net-ready cell phone. Offshore, keep the SSB, and for heavier use include an Inmarsat system or sat phone.
The Yeoman Alternative
Looking for a way to stick with the simplicity and reliability of charts, but still get the rewards of GPS and automatic trigonometry? Consider ye olde Yeoman.
You Can’t Insure Old Sailboats… Right?
Are older sailboats really uninsurable? If you’ve been shopping for a 20, 30, or even 40-year-old sailboat, you’ve probably seen the warnings online: “Insurance...
Latest Sailboat Review
Irwin Citation 38 Used Boat Review
As the largest of the Citations, the Irwin Citation 38 is probably the best looking, handling the high-sidedness better than her smaller sisters. The boat has three windows set in the sheer stripe on each side, so they are not very noticeable. Like the other Citations it is distinctly modern-looking not pretty, but not ugly either.