If you love nautical yarns, David Grann’s The Wager is a must-read. The nonfiction work details the account of The Wager, a sixth-rate Royal Navy square-rigger that carried 28 guns and 120 sailors. The 123-footer was part of an eight-vessel armada that, in 1741, sailed west around Cape Horn in winter, pursuing plunder. The Wager got separated. In a navigational blunder, the vessel turned north before it banked enough west. It didn’t go well.

Anyone interested in learning about how the great east-west navigation problem was finally solved should read Dava Sobel’s Longitude. Anyone interested in ensuring their own navigational accuracy, however, should cruise with a dedicated Global Navigation Satellite System sensor.

Satellite-based navigation began evolving in the 1960s. The US-built Global Positioning System—the first of its kind—went live in 1993. Today, the international Global Navigation Satellite System consists of four global satellite constellations (including GPS), plus two regional ones. While GPS continues to provide world-class service, GNSS receivers can capture this information along with data from other satellites. The best part? You probably already own several.

Navigational satellites work by broadcasting information about their identification, position, orbit and health status, along with a hyper-accurate time stamp. Receivers derive their position by triangulating with at least three satellites, with stronger (or more numerous) signals often equating to higher accuracy. Precision matters. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, if a clock aboard a GPS satellite is off by one-thousandth of a second, then the corresponding measurement error would be 1,616 nautical miles.

While there are differences between the various constellations, each system employs three distinct segments: control, user and space.

The control segment consists of one or more master land-based control stations and a global network of supporting stations. These stations monitor each satellite’s reported positions and compare reports with predictive models. If needed, operators can alter a satellite’s orbit to ensure baseline accuracy or avoid debris.

The user segment refers to any receivers listening for signals, while the space segment refers to orbiting assets.

Each of the GNSS’ four main navigation constellations contain different numbers of satellites that operate at different elevations and across different orbital planes. The US-built GPS constellation involves 31 satellites that operate at an elevation of 10,900 nautical miles above sea level. GPS satellites orbit on six different planes, and they maintain a 55-degree orbital inclination (relative to the equator).

Russia’s GLONASS constellation, which has been active since 1995, involves 24 satellites that operate at 10,315 nautical miles and orbit on three planes at 64.8 degrees of orbital inclination. China’s BeiDou constellation, which went live in 2011, consists of 35 satellites. Of these, eight are either geosynchronous or inclined geosynchronous satellites that operate at 19,325 nautical miles, while the other 27 operate at 11,625 nautical miles. BeiDou satellites orbit the planet on six planes, and they maintain an orbital inclination of 55.5 degrees.

Finally, the European Union’s Galileo constellation, which became operational in 2018, will (when complete) consist of 30 satellites that operate at 12,540 nautical miles. Galileo satellites orbit across three planes, and they maintain a 56-degree orbital inclination.

GNSS receivers are generally accurate from 6.5 feet to 13 feet globally; however, some countries use a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that improves accuracy by broadcasting correction information. In the United States, this is called the wide-area augmentation system (WAAS). In early 2023, the European Union’s Galileo constellation began delivering free high-accuracy service information that’s precise to roughly 8 inches.

Celestial navigation, this is not.

Satellite-navigation receivers have existed in different forms for years. Depending on the manufacturer and design, these receivers (and their antennas) can be embedded into multifunction displays, or incorporated into abovedecks sensors that share satellite-navigation data with other networked equipment (or both).

Alternatively, yacht owners can sometimes buy an abovedecks listen-only antenna, which shares its improved signal strength and reception with a belowdecks GNSS-enabled multifunction display.

Some satellite-navigation receivers favor GPS signals, while others can also listen to data from some of the other GNSS constellations. Full GNSS receivers can access the four main constellations, plus the regional Japanese and Indian constellations. These receivers sometimes include nine-axis compasses or attitude-heading reference systems. These sensors, which don’t add much cost, provide accurate heading information in addition to GPS and GNSS data.

Finally, satellite compasses are the best option for serious navigation. Depending on their design, these instruments employ multiple GNSS receivers, which provide heading information that isn’t contingent on Earth’s magnetic field (read: high-latitude cruising). Eric Kunz, Furuno’s senior product manager, says the company’s SCX20/21 satellite compasses use four GNSS receivers, allowing them to achieve 1-degree heading accuracy.

While some people say GPS alone is plenty robust for their needs, many marine-electronics manufacturers have been quick to embrace GNSS. “With more satellites available to track and pull into calculations, the GNSS-enabled receivers offer enhanced accuracy,” says Jim McGowan, Raymarine’s Americas marketing manager.

He’s not alone in this assessment. “A GNSS antenna provides more redundancy and higher accuracy than GPS-only receivers,” says Dave Dunn, Garmin’s senior director of marine and RV sales. “Some parts of the world may have better coverage at certain times of day with some constellations than others.”

McGowan says GNSS is especially useful for high-latitude navigators because these receivers can track GLONASS satellites: “Those satellites are in a higher orbit inclination than GPS satellites, which allows the GNSS receiver to get a better tracking angle and duration on those satellites.”

Leigh Armstrong, Simrad’s product manager of digital systems, agrees: “This allows for better maintenance of accuracy in areas with less satellite coverage.”

The inverse, of course, is that BeiDou, Galileo and GPS satellites likely provide better fixes closer to the equator.

While GNSS data is critical for navigation, it can also help bolster the accuracy of other networked devices. Here, Dunn points to automatic identification system (AIS) position and speed data, autopilot performance, and radar target-tracking features.

Looking ahead, autonomous docking systems and vessels need precise position, speed and other navigational information to negotiate harbors, follow autopilot-driven courses, and safely dock. It’s expected that GNSS (with SBAS) will fill this niche.

The Wager’s crew experienced unspeakable horrors, but GNSS receivers and satellite compasses likely mean none of today’s boaters will have to dodge scurvy.

Belts and Suspenders

While the ancient mariner would have paid handsomely for a chronometer, contemporary smartwatches carry GNSS sensors. Most smartphones have GNSS receivers, as do some handheld VHF radios. These are all important backups should a vessel experience low voltage or power loss. 

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In 2018, I watched my buddy Allan engage the Mad Max autopilot mode on his Tesla Model S, cuing the car to switch lanes aggressively on Interstate 95. While the experience as a human was unnerving, the car leveraged cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence to maneuver safely.

Months later, I rode on a Boston Whaler 330 Outrage fitted with Mercury Marine’s Advanced Pilot Assist and Raymarine’s DockSense systems. As we approached the boat’s slip, the preproduction system used cameras, AI and the outboard engines to maintain a 3-foot safety buffer.

At the 2022 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, I saw these ideas meld in Avikus’ prototype NeuBoat autonomous operations system. The boat, with a human-in-the-loop operator, navigated itself out of its slip, up a river and around a lake before reversing course and docking itself.

Ready or not, autonomous technology is coming. This is likely good news for novice boaters—and for boaters who hate docking—because some of the marine industry’s smartest minds have been combining sensors and AI to smooth out boating’s rough corners. One example is NeuBoat (neuron plus boat), which Avikus is developing in partnership with Raymarine.

While experts say the sensors and software already exist to enable fully autonomous docking and navigation, Avikus and Raymarine foresee a road map to autonomy that earns trust with boaters while buying time for engine manufacturers to integrate the technology, and for agencies and organizations to create regulations.

“We’re intentionally paralleling the automotive market,” says Jamie Cox, Raymarine’s senior global product manager. “But I think we will beat automotive.”

Others agree. Sangwon Shin, Avikus’ director of strategic planning and business development, says: “In our view, the boating environment is less complicated than the car environment. So, we expect a little bit faster adoption rate.”

For boaters who are ready to start now, Avikus and Raymarine are releasing NeuBoat Dock this year. The assisted-docking system includes at least six self-calibrating, 360-degree cameras; a Raymarine multifunction display; an Avikus object-recognition unit; camera control boxes; and Avikus’ AI to provide bird’s-eye views and distance guides. (Garmin’s Surround View camera system provides similar capabilities.)

NeuBoat Dock is a level-one autonomous navigation system, which means it serves as a virtual assistant to human operators who remain in control. Level-two systems provide partial driving automation but still require a human operator. Level-three systems have conditional driving automation, requiring some human oversight, while level four has zero expectations of driver involvement. Level five is full driving automation.

Avikus, which is a spin-off of HD Hyundai, began developing NeuBoat in 2019. The resulting level-three-plus black-box prototype, which I got aboard in 2022, used the global navigation satellite system and vector cartography to establish position. The local device didn’t require internet connectivity. Instead, it employed daylight cameras and lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors to detect objects, measure distances, and scan and map berths. It also used Avikus’ AI to detect and classify nearby objects and vessels, assist with route planning, and suggest navigable courses.

This latter information was presented as screen views showing vector cartography with recommended courses, head-up displays and live camera views with augmented-reality data tags.

While impressive, the prototype didn’t use radar or the automatic identification system, so its range of object detection was limited to lidar’s 400-foot-range capacity. This range worked at our 6-knot speed, giving us 39 seconds of reaction time, but it wouldn’t work at 25 knots, only allowing for nine seconds.

Enter Raymarine, which integrated its own radar technology with Avikus’ AI. This combination extended NeuBoat’s detection range from 400 feet to 1.5 nautical miles. Shin says Avikus plans to integrate radar, sonar and infrared cameras within five years.

While extra range is important for recreational users, it’s critical for letting Avikus develop autonomous systems on large ships. “We use the same technology and the same algorithms for commercial and recreational, but the hardware specs are different,” Shin says.

In addition to radar expertise, Raymarine has amassed experience using computer vision from its DockSense and ClearCruise AR products. The latter places augmented-reality tags atop a video feed. Computer vision is a branch of AI that lets computers recognize, categorize and identify objects and people in digital images or video feeds; as such, it is critical to autonomous operations.

Looking ahead, Shin says, commercial ships and recreational vessels will first use autonomous navigation with human-in-the-loop operators, followed by autonomous operations. This isn’t a hypothetical; in 2022, Avikus’ commercial version of NeuBoat autonomously guided an LNG tanker across an ocean with human-in-the-loop oversight.

“The technology is there today,” Cox says. “We need to make sure that people are ready to use the technology responsibly and that regulations are there.”

When asked what milestones need to be met for autonomous operations aboard recreational yachts, Cox and Shin made clear they aren’t talking about distant horizons. “None are 10 years out,” Cox says, adding that by mid-2024, Avikus and Raymarine expect to have achieved sensor fusion, where the system can combine data from the vessel’s AIS, cameras, GNSS, lidar and radar. “In two years, on the control side, boats will be docking and driving themselves.”

Shin agrees: “In five years, we’re expecting lots of the boating community to accept the possibility of autonomous navigation or partial assistance on their boat.”

Before this can happen, however, Cox and Shin point to two technical complexities: networking with autopilots and engines. As with radars, Raymarine has decades of experience manufacturing autopilots, so engine interfaces could prove to be the sticky wicket. “Engine manufacturers need to become more progressive,” Shin says. “They are the powerful guys.” Cox says the goal is to integrate NeuBoat with every major engine manufacturer.

Cox and Shin also point to a need for regulations to govern autonomous vessels. This is already happening; in 2022, the American Bureau of Shipping published a white paper that detailed 10 points—from maintaining propulsion to maintaining communications—intended to create a structure for autonomous-vessel design and operations. The US Coast Guard also published guidelines on testing remote- and autonomously controlled vessels.

Convincing experienced boaters that autonomous technology is the path forward could be a hard sell for some, but this is where Avikus and Raymarine plan to parallel the automotive world. Most contemporary cars have adaptive cruise control, making these types of assistance features feel familiar. Many boaters also own cars with an autopilot feature.

But driving to work is different than taking the boat out for a spin. Here, Cox says NeuBoat isn’t going to take away boating’s joys. Instead, the idea is to reduce stress. For example, Cox describes allowing the boat to navigate autonomously to the fishing grounds or home from a cruise.

Cox also says autopilots have served boaters for decades, and that autonomous navigation is an extension of this capability, combined with the ability to avoid collisions autonomously.

For newer boaters, autonomous technology is an easier proposition. “I’m a new boater, and I get nervous a lot,” Shin says. “We target new boaters. We want more people to enjoy boating.”

Then there is boating’s greatest equalizer. “People don’t like docking,” Cox says. “We’re never going to stop you from driving your boat, but it might be nice, if you’re coming into a dock and are getting stressed out, to switch it on.”

The wait won’t be long, either. While Avikus is paralleling the automotive sector, Cox and Shin expect NeuBoat technology to navigate and dock recreational vessels sooner than cars. “People will be surprised with how quickly we will get to market,” Cox says.

Having experienced Tesla’s Mad Max mode and Avikus’ level-three-plus sea trials,

I can say that far less adrenaline is involved watching a demonstration boat dock itself than when I pawed for a nonexistent passenger-side brake pedal in my buddy Allan’s Tesla.

Better Optics

While NeuBoat Dock uses six 360-degree cameras, they only work for daytime operations. The obvious move is to add thermal-imaging cameras, and Raymarine’s parent company, Teledyne, owns FLIR. Thermal-imaging cameras would add cost, but Cox says these sophisticated optical sensors could be included aboard higher-end NeuBoat installations.

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November 29, 2014: Team Vestus Wind was racing from Cape Town, South Africa, to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates at speeds of 16 to 21 knots. The boat slammed into the Cargados Carajos Shoals, around 235 nautical miles northeast of Mauritius. The crew survived, but the multimillion-dollar race boat was destroyed.

Human error was to blame, but postmortem reports suggest that the scale of the boat’s chart displays was a contributing factor. The boat carried two multifunction displays and two laptops, but the 6.4-inch MFD screens couldn’t provide much resolution at scale.

Navigation aside, screen space wouldn’t have been an issue if the team had been racing with Garmin’s 9000 series GPSMap displays, which have up to 27 inches of high-resolution glass. Modern MFDs combine processing power, memory, data storage, touchscreen capabilities and network connectivity. Garmin’s GPSMap 9000 series adds bigger swaths of glass, better onscreen resolution and faster processors.

While these upgrades significantly enhance the user experience, the biggest innovation within Garmin’s first new flagship MFD in eight years is its four BlueNet network ports. This hardware combination, along with Garmin’s quarterly software updates, should mean significant amounts of future-proofing.

The GPSMap 9000 is available in 19- ($9,900), 22- ($11,400), 24- ($13,400) and 27-inch ($16,900) screens with in-plane switching for sunlight readability. The displays ship with tide tables and either Garmin’s basic worldwide base map or a US version that has built-in Garmin Navionics+ cartography for the United States, Canada and the Bahamas. The touchscreen-only displays can be flush- or flat-mounted, and they’re compatible with Garmin’s external hard-key remote controls.

“Despite having large screens—up to 24 inches—with the GPSMap 8400/8600 series, the requests kept coming in for larger,” says Dave Dunn, Garmin’s senior director of marine and RV sales. “4K screens have come down in cost since the 8400/8600 were developed, so we’re able to offer a 4K-resolution screen where the cost didn’t make sense in the previous generation.”

While eye-pleasing, this resolution isn’t just about aesthetics, Dunn adds: “With the content of the cartography that we’re getting today, when you add in the relief shading, you add in contour lines, you add in your tracks, your breadcrumbs—all that stuff starts to clutter. The higher resolution you have, it’s cleaner.” And you can still see all the details for navigation.

Dunn says that better screen resolution also helps anglers. Like Garmin’s GPSMap 8400/8600 series, the GPSMap 9000 displays are built to show underkeel targets and structure. Both generations of MFDs support traditional 50/200 kHz sonar, along with Garmin’s ClearVu, SideVu, Panoptix and Livescope systems, giving users the ability to acquire a massive amount of underkeel awareness.

“If you’re just looking for the bottom, it doesn’t help you,” Dunn says. “But if you’re fishing, it could be the difference of seeing several targets that are stacked up together, where otherwise it might just have been one big target because the pixel count wouldn’t allow you to draw those targets.”

That said, navigational awareness is also well-covered because GPSMap 9000 displays have Global Navigation Satellite System receivers. This allows the MFDs to acquire position fixes from four discrete navigation systems: GPS (United States), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union) and Beidou (China). The built-in wide-area augmentation system allows for accuracy to 3.3 feet.

In addition to enhancing navigation, large-format 4K displays can moonlight as screens for streaming entertainment or watching stored content. GPSMap 9000 displays also have HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) distribution, allowing users to play the same content simultaneously across all networked GPSMap 9000 screens.

Garmin further designed the GPSMap 9000 to serve as computational heavy-lifters. The processors have speeds seven times faster than those in the GPSMap 8400/8600 series. “We want these to be as future-proofed as possible, so there’s way more horsepower built into them than they actually need,” Dunn says. “That also helps with integration and everything that we’re pumping into these MFDs now.”

That includes Garmin’s BlueNet network, a superhighway that hustles data at 1 gigabit per second. By comparison, NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 networks move data at 4.8 and 250 kilobits per second, respectively, and Garmin’s previous network moves data at 100 megabits per second. While 100 Mbps isn’t slow, BlueNet is 10 times faster.

The four BlueNet ports in each GPSMap 9000 display look ordinary, but they let users build data-intensive networks involving multiple displays, daylight and thermal-imaging cameras, radars, sonars and other instrumentation. The setup also reserves bandwidth for upcoming innovations, Dunn says: “When you think about BlueNet and what it opens up for the future, that’s really the key innovation here. It gives us a lot more opportunity to interact with more features and components on the boat than we ever have.”

Tea leaves are hard to read, but given that Garmin’s Surround View camera system already has some of the technologies for self-docking capabilities, it’s fair to hypothesize that some of the impetus for the GPSMap 9000’s powerful processors and BlueNet compatibility involves supporting higher levels of automated technology.

As for target audiences, given the sizes and costs involved, these MFDs are aimed at larger yachts. Dunn points to the owner of a 70-footer who purchased three 27-inch GPSMap 9000 MFDs, and installed two at his helm and one in his stateroom, plus smaller GPSMap 8600 MFDs on the flybridge and elsewhere.

At the same time, Dunn says, the owners of smaller boats, including center-consoles, have also been installing big-boat equipment. “Anything above about 30 feet is probably going to go to these 9000s,” he says, adding that another customer bought a 27-inch GPSMap 9000 MFD for his bay boat. “Instead of going with two screens, people are opting to go with one really large one.”

As for Team Vestus Wind, it’s hard to imagine the same scaling issues surfacing if they had been racing with 27 inches of 4K screen real estate supported by lightning-fast processors, GNSS receivers and 1 Gbps data networks. Careful navigation, of course, remains a different story.

Trickle-Down Tech

Big displays are visually pleasing, but not everyone has the physical space to accommodate a 19-inch screen, let alone 27 inches of glass. It’s easy to speculate that Garmin will build smaller GPSMap 9000 displays in the future. In the meantime, Garmin’s GPSMap 8600 series comes in 10, 12, 16 and 17 inches.

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Bill Karmis knew one thing for sure when Dockmate’s team talked about adding dynamic positioning to its remote controls for boats: “When companies offer up dynamic positioning, the largest point of performance failure is the electric bow thrusters. They only run for so long.”

One boater Karmis knew had spent a shiny penny adding a joystick and more to a boat with lousy thrusters, only to be frustrated when the dynamic-positioning feature failed. “It would only work for four or five minutes,” Karmis says. The system would still be trying to position the boat, but the thrusters would give out.

This is why the new Dockmate Positioning System ($17,500 plus installation; main system sold separately) has two modes. Open-water mode uses only the engines to hold the boat in place—rotating the boat into the current or wind, pretty much all day long—while close-quarters mode uses engines and thrusters for scenarios such as docking.

“We now have the only wireless-activated DPS that can be easily added to an existing boat,” says Karmis, who is national sales manager for the brand. “And our installation is like getting your teeth cleaned. Everybody else is like a root canal.”

Dynamic positioning is just the latest advancement Dockmate has made since the company came to the United States in 2018. CEO Marc Curreri says today’s boaters feel so much more confident with the ability to steer from anywhere on board that they are now considering Dockmate compatibility when deciding which boats to buy.

“We’re starting to see people coming to us and saying, ‘We’re looking at boat A and boat B. Which one do you guys interface with? Because I need a remote control,’” Curreri says. “It’s not the deciding factor, but it’s becoming a deciding factor.”

Dynamic positioning is far from the last feature the company intends to build into its remote controls. “Dockmate came to the market with more technology than what was available at the time, and it’s still advancing,” Karmis says. “We’re moving with technology and embracing everything that new technology has to offer.”

The post Dockmate’s Dynamic Positioning Upgrade appeared first on Yachting.

Dynamic positioning systems have become a must-have feature in recent years, making it far easier for skippers to keep their boats on the same heading or in the same exact spot. This technology makes boating a lot easier for people who, for instance, must pass through a series of opening bridges before heading out to do some coastal cruising. In the past, waiting in a crowded waterway for each bridge to open could be a nerve-wracking challenge. With dynamic positioning, the stress of waiting in place vanishes with the push of a button.

Now, Dockmate—makers of wireless remote controls that skippers can use to control the boat from pretty much anywhere on board—has added dynamic positioning to its products. The new feature is called the Dockmate Positioning System.

The Dockmate Positioning System has two modes, for use in open water and close quarters. In open-water mode, DPS uses the engines to keep the boat in its target position. In close-quarters mode, DPS uses the engines and the bow and stern thrusters to keep the vessel in its target position.

“We have spent a significant amount of time and research over the years to ensure that the Dockmate remote control system provides boaters with the best control of their vessels in some of the more stressful situations like docking and close-quarters maneuvering,” Dirk Illegems, president of Dockmate, stated in a press release. “Whether you are entering a marina or waiting for a bridge or lock, holding your position while stepping away from the helm can be just as important as having fingertip control when pulling into a dock. Our customers have been looking for a dynamic positioning system, and we are happy to deliver.”

Dockmate says this system is driven by a unit that includes a compass, accelerometer and gyroscope. A receiver is installed within the vessel, and it connects to Dockmate GNSS antennas that are installed on the hardtop.

The product is designed for installation on any vessel with at least two engines, and with Dockmate-compatible engine and thruster controls. The operating range for Dockmate with the standard antenna is about 165 feet, and an antenna extension cable can be ordered to increase range to more than 500 feet.

How long has Dockmate been in business? Since 2012 in Belgium, and since 2018 in the United States. The company warranties its products for three years.

Take the next step: click over to dockmate.us

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Raymarine has inked a deal with Rhode Island-based NorthCoast Boats to provide navigation equipment and YachtSense digital switching for the builder’s full line of 2024 model-year boats, including the flagship NorthCoast 415HT that is expected to become available this fall.

“We are very excited to be able to provide NorthCoast with every component for its flagship 415HT’s electronics suite, as well as for all future builds across their product line,” Grégoire Outters, general manager of Raymarine, stated in a press release. “NorthCoast has long been regarded as a premium yacht manufacturer, and their 415HT is going to go above and beyond by offering the smartest boating experience ever.”

The NorthCoast 415HT will have a helm with two Axiom 2XL 19-inch multifunction displays and a RMK10 remote; RealVision MAX 3D sonar with CHIRP DownVision and SideVision sonar; a Cyclone 110-watt, 4-foot open-array radar with CHIRP pulse compression and beam-sharpening technology; and an AR200 that supplies GPS position, compass heading, pitch and roll data to Axiom chartplotters. It can also (when combined with the onboard FLIR M364C multispectral marine camera and CAM300) use video-stabilization capabilities to enable ClearCruise Augmented Reality features.

What does Raymarine’s YachtSense digital switching do? It’s a modular backbone that supports control of the vessel’s systems, with lighting, pumps, hydraulics and HVAC all integrated for touchscreen control.

Take the next step: go to raymarine.com

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Raymarine’s Element Series of combination sonar and GPS displays is promising lifelike sonar imaging for coastal boaters and anglers.

Each display includes Raymarine RealVision 3D and the manufacturer’s new HyperVision sonar technology. RealVision 3D provides bottom imagery and more precise location of fish targets, while HyperVision enhances the DownVision, SideVision and RealVision 3D sonar, allowing anglers to see structure, vegetation and fish with lifelike detail.

The displays run on a new LightHouse Sport operating system and incorporate Raymarine’s RealBathy real-time sonar map generator capability.

“With the new Raymarine Element series, we are making our most advanced sonar technology and intuitive user experience available to a larger audience of recreational boaters,” Jim Cannon, president and CEO at FLIR Systems, stated in a press release.

How big are the displays? The Element series comes in 7-, 9-, and 12-inch models. Look for them to be available in early 2019.

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FLIR Systems has announced Evolution Release 4, the most significant update to its Raymarine Evolution Autopilots. Evolution R4 is designed to add accuracy and responsiveness of control for sailing and powerboats alike.

The Evolution R4 upgrade expands the system’s 9-axis EV sensor core with algorithms that improve the accuracy of measured wind conditions for better steer-to-wind control. The R4 upgrade also adds Evolution TrackIQ for steer-to GPS waypoint tracking.

“With our advanced Evolution heading and positioning technology, Raymarine autopilots have set a new standard for accurate and responsive autopilot performance in the boating industry,” Gregoire Outters, vice president and general manager of FLIR Maritime, stated in a press release.

The post Evolution Autopilot Upgrade appeared first on Yachting.

Simrad’s GO7 XSE multifunction display is now being used by a fair number of boaters, and the manufacturer says the early reviews are strong. Specifically, boaters are citing the unit’s value, versatility and ease of installation.

“I use it as a GPS, fishfinder and to monitor the instrumentation that would normally be on your console,” one user wrote of the 7-inch unit. “Why have all those gauges and instrumentation, when this product does it all, and serves as your GPS and as your fishfinder?”

Simrad is also now shipping the first units of its GO5 XSE, a unit with the same sonar and navigation technology as the GO7 XSE.

The post Buzz is Building appeared first on Yachting.

The iNavX marine-navigation app has been released in version 4.7.4. It includes a more fluid and user-friendly presentation, along with X-Traverse chart lists that update in real time. Background tracking and recording also have been improved.

“Information stream must be delivered faster than the speed on the boat, not slower than the speed of your internet connection,” Shaun Steingold, CEO of NavX Studios, stated in a press release. “With the latest version of the app, we deliver and then some.”

iNavX can integrate with external GPS, AIS receivers and transponders, and networked instruments. The app also can display GRIB weather forecasts.

Find the iNavX app in the Apple Store or go to the iNavX website.

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