Category: Navigation

NOAA will stop updating charts that look like this, paper and electronic, by 2025 or sooner 17

NOAA will sunset traditional nautical charts, sad but inevitable

Things are just things, right, and they don’t really die. But during a recent conference call with NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, a genuine feeling of grief bubbled up within me. And since I can’t keep my mouth shut, I learned that some of our “Nation’s Nautical Chartmakers” are also feeling the pain. The demise of the traditional chart is going to be sad for many of us, no doubt about it. But please don’t jump to dire conclusions until you know all that NOAA plans…

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A few valuable boating apps, and what’s your favorite?

Most boaters carry around an impressively powerful and easy to use computer in their pockets: their smartphone. Smartphones have enough processing power, sensors and capabilities to augment or possibly even replace dedicated navigation equipment onboard your boat. Mobile phone and tablet apps for boating have steadily improved and today offer a compelling set of functionalities that can make boating both safer and easier.

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Announcing New Simrad HALO20+, HALO20

Simrad Yachting – a leader in the design and manufacture of world-class marine navigation, autopilot, radar, communications and fishfinding systems – announced today the launch of HALO20+ and HALO20 radars – a pair of compact, pulse compression radome units, perfectly designed for smaller sportfishing and cruising vessels…

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Garmin expands flagship chartplotter line-up, brings full integration functionality to even more boaters with new GPSMAP Plus series

Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today announced the GPSMAP Plus series, the latest addition to its flagship GPSMAP lineup of premium multi-function displays (MFDs) that brings increased engine integration and OneHelm third-party integration across the full line…

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New FLIR M300 cameras – visible light, thermal and color thermal

At the NMEA Conference last week, FLIR previewed the M300 line of marine cameras with five models including the company’s first visible light only camera. They also debuted Color Thermal Vision (CTV) and MSX edge enhancing imaging technologies. Ben Ellison and I took a night ride on the FLIR/Raymarine demo boat in busy Norfolk Harbor and saw how all this technology can enhance situational awareness.

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FLIR Introduces M300 Series Marine Cameras

FLIR Systems today announced the FLIR M300 Series, a new generation of maritime thermal cameras delivering advanced awareness-enhancing technologies, safer navigation, and seamless integration with onboard boat systems. FLIR M300 Series cameras are designed for the most demanding professional mariners and first responders who operate in the harshest marine environments.

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Navionics Boating app adds AIS target vectors and ActiveCaptain Community updates

In a recent blog post Navionics announced they’ve added vectors to AIS target displays and the ability to edit rate and review ActiveCaptain Community points of interest (POIs). It looks like Navionics is making good on their promise of rapid improvements to their AIS features.

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Digital Yacht launch GPS160 TriNav Positioning Sensor

Digital Yacht have unveiled their TriNav GPS160, a new, high performance positioning sensor using GPS, Glonass and the new Galileo satellite systems for exceptional positioning accuracies and redundancies. Typical accuracy is better than 1m and data can be set to output at up to 18Hz for smoother plotter track displays. TriNav software technology also improves positioning vulnerabilities that could occur through spoofing and local interference.

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Garmin unveils the all-new GPSMAP 86 marine handheld series with global communication, BlueChart g3 and chartplotter connectivity

Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN), today announced the all-new GPSMAP 86 handheld series, a feature-packed addition to its popular marine handheld collection. Combining Garmin’s premium GPS navigation with inReach satellite communication technology1, the flagship GPSMAP 86sci is the first handheld to come preloaded with Garmin BlueChart g3 coastal cartography with integrated Navionics data. For added awareness and convenience, the GPSMAP 86 series can connect to onboard Garmin chartplotters and instruments to stream…

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Dedicated Depth display, NMEA 2000 the best way?

I enjoyed this Bill Morris article at OceanNavigator.com even though he pokes fun at skippers like me. For one thing, he does it gently and well, as in his elegant second paragraph…I also agree with Bill that a dedicated depth display is a key navigation tool, regardless of what else you’re using. But then again I think that there are better ways to do it than he advocates, and…