Marine Electronics

Fast, reliable broadband connectivity is often taken for granted ashore. But once youre out on the water, the digital domain can go downhill fast and access to high-speed, cost-effective digital communications begins to waver. Cellular towers and Wi-Fi hotspots are the inshore sailors next best friend, but since Wi-Fi signals are line-of-sight, the range is limited. How these two important links to Web-based communications-cellular and Wi-Fi- work and what you can expect from the technology in the marine sphere is part of our ongoing electronics update.

Performance-oriented sailors recognize that leeway is one of the last variables left to be accurately quantified. It can be defined as a sailboats movement through the water in a direction that differs from the boats heading. Unfortunately, todays paddle-wheel transducers and most electronic speed sensors provide only inline velocity readings related to the direction that the boat is heading.

When it comes to maintaining a boat, the devil is in the details, but where the devil are those spare fuel filters, and how often should they be changed? Questions like these vex even the most organized boat owner at some point. The folks at Intelligent Maintenance aim to change that with their latest boat management tool, ShipShape Pro.

With all the must-have, electronic doodads most cruising sailors desire these days-from VHF radios to AIS transceivers-finding places onboard to mount all of the required antennas can prove to be Mission Impossible. However, a new multi-band antenna from South Carolina-based Shakespeare Marine aims to make the challenge easier.

For centuries, navigators have been coping with two key variables that convey major consequence. The first is the quest for an accurate position fix, and the second is the hope that the chart theyre using is an accurate representation of their surroundings. Up until a couple of decades ago, cartographers were winning out and chart accuracy trumped sextant-derived fix accuracy. The tide has turned.

Heralding in a new era for electronic navigation, the U.S. Coast Guard recently published guidance that allows mariners to satisfy chart-carriage requirements using electronic charts and electronic publications instead of paper ones.

Many of Practical Sailors tests move from the lab (workshop/garage/driveway) to our fleet of test boats, where we can evaluate the top products in real-world conditions over the long haul. These long-term tests can last from two to 10 years, and we try to offer occasional updates on their status, when its warranted.

Most depthfinders are historical instruments. They collect and display information from the recent past-not the best arrangement for the sailor. By the time the sounder indicates a shoal, its already beneath you. But this is changing rapidly.

For nearly 50 years, our boats electronics systems have operated according to standards developed through the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). Today, our onboard electronics communicate using either the older NMEA 0183 or the current NMEA 2000 data-the digital language that our marine devices speak. Sadly, this is not the same language that our personal electronics or the wireless Internet speaks-leaving the door effectively closed to app developers who might want to create new apps based on that data.

Simrads Halo radar, an array radar system aimed at larger boats, exemplifies the rapid technological changes going on in marine electronics. Like CHIRP sonar, the sophisticated fish-finding technology that was once found only on research ships and is now available to everyone at West Marine, the Halo radar is redefining the level of technology that is within reach of the average cruising sailors budget.