Category: Navigation

11

Raymarine and Mercury’s preview of semi-autonomous docking assist

For many of us docking maneuvers are the most stressful part of boating. So engine manufacturers, electronics companies and boat builders have introduced systems like integrated joystick control and dynamic positioning to make the task easier. Last Friday I got hand’s on with a new technology from Raymarine and Mercury Marine that takes docking assistance to a new level. They call it Virtual Bumper and I can attest that it lets you dock like a pro, even if you’re not.

10

Helm ergonomics, Steve Dashew style

Cochise is certainly eye-catching, and especially so when you realize that you’re looking at the personal cruising “dream machine” of the relentless innovator Steve Dashew. So even though the navigation setup inside that huge combination flying bridge and pilot house was brand new state-of-the-art in 2016, it’s been so radically modified since then that I burst into uncontrollable giggling on first sight…

4

Starlight LED helming guide, plus Autonnic’s unusual A55 “analog” instrument displays

One of my METS show highlights was the Starlight LED Helming Guide introduced by Autonnic Research. While the concept is somewhat hard to grasp from ashore — even with an animation — I think it’s a great example of how electronics can be fashioned into a unique and useful tool that connects intuitively with the natural world of boating. While “a star to steer by” sounds lovely, I’ve observed many a helmsman…

15

Navico Halo24 & Raymarine Quantum2 radars, Gizmo goes full Doppler

Yesterday Gizmo became the rare vessel equipped with four different solid-state Doppler radars. With the Simrad Halo24 announced in October, and the Raymarine Quantum 2 last February, all four major brands now offer this valuable technology. And while the timing isn’t ideal, I’m excited about adding the two new radomes to the Garmin Fantom 24 and Furuno DRS4D-NXT Doppler models already being tested…

0

FLIR Introduces Raymarine Element Series with Lifelike Sonar Imaging

FLIR Systems today announced the Raymarine Element™, a new generation of advanced, combination sonar and GPS displays. Featuring the acclaimed Raymarine RealVision™ 3D and new HyperVision™ sonar technology, the Element series delivers lifelike imaging and helps meet the demands of both coastal and bass fishermen with advanced sonar, versatile mapping capabilities, and a highly intuitive user experience.    

30

Garmin news: 8600 Series extends, BlueChart g3 includes Navionics, inReach integrates with MFDs & more

Garmin is bringing lots of good news to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) tomorrow. The powerful operating system behind their premium GPSMap 8600 Series 17-, 22-, and 24-inch MFDs is coming to more affordable 10-, 12-, and 16-inch displays; new BlueChart g3 cartography with Navionics data integration and Auto Guidance will be preloaded in the new plotters; the inReach Mini satellite messenger will get integration with many Garmin MFDs; and…

9

FLIR M232 thermal camera ClearCruise, eyes-on with Raymarine Axiom and eS

A timely first point I’d like to make is that this ClearCruise feature is not the same as the new ClearCruise Augmented Reality that Ben Stein just wrote about. While both features are exclusive to certain Raymarine MFDs, they work with different types of cameras in different ways. I think that both technologies are valuable and I strongly suspect that they will evolve together as Ray and Flir clearly blaze trail in advanced navigation imaging…