Lowrance has unveiled a new fishfinder/chart plotter called Eagle, with features that include high-definition enhanced sonar, FishReveal technology, and C-Map charting with Genesis Live.

The Eagle fishfinder is an entry-level product with prices starting at $119. Display sizes are 4 inch, 5 inch, 7 inch and 9 inch, making Eagle usable aboard yacht tenders and toys, in addition to smaller boats that are part of an owner’s fleet.

“Eagle brings Lowrance’s high-definition sonar to our most easy-to-use fishfinder, providing the ultimate tool for weekend anglers,” Jeremiah Clark, vice president and general manager of fishing systems at Navico Group, stated in a press release. “Developed to make fishing simpler and more enjoyable, Eagle is quick to install—whether on a boat or kayak—and features enhanced autotuning sonar and comprehensive C-Map charts.”

Eagle has newly designed TripleShot HD and SplitShot HD that Lowrance says allow for improved clarity, depth performance and sensitivity, resulting in excellent performance under the surface. FishReveal on DownScan helps anglers identify fish separately from weeds and structures, making it easier to see what they’re trying to catch versus what they don’t want to snag on the hook.

Autotuning sonar is designed to optimize the device settings from the start, eliminating the hassle of anglers needing to constantly configure settings (that’s good news: more time for actual fishing). An improved twist-locking connector should allow for easier installation and removal, making Eagle a portable solution for any type of fishing. Boaters can simply connect and cast, Lowrance says.

Eagle also has a new, rugged design with an IPS screen for improved resolution, clarity and visibility in the marine environment, including with the types of polarized sunglasses boaters often wear in direct sunlight. Lowrance says the new range of imaging color palettes also allows anglers to adapt the display for changing conditions, so as sun and clouds shift in the sky, the images can adjust on the screen.

High-resolution C-Map inland charts for the United States are pre-loaded, with coverage of more than 17,000 American lakes and a range of coastal charting bundles. Eagle also lets users create custom half-foot contour maps of local lakes or unchartered water—in real time—with Genesis Live.

Is there an SD card slot on the Eagle model from Lowrance? Yes. This SD card slot can be used for software updates, Genesis Live recording and charting add-ons.

Take the next step: click over to lowrance.com

The post Lowrance Unveils the Eagle appeared first on Yachting.

Giuseppe Carnevali, co-inventor of the first electronic chart display system for recreational yachts, found inspiration in a movie.

“James Bond placed a box under Goldfinger’s car and followed him in his Aston Martin using a display,” Carnevali says. “It was sci-fi.”

Science fiction or not, the scene helped Carnevali recognize the value of a digital chart-plotting system for boating and flying.

Carnevali co-founded Navionics in 1984 with Fosco Bianchetti, and served as CEO until retiring in 2017. The heady list of industry firsts credited to Carnevali and Navionics includes seamless quilting, ­auto-routing, user-generated cartography and mobile apps. And Carnevali, now 71, always gravitated toward bettering his products’ user interfaces.

“My dad used to say that people who make products should be required by law to use them,” Carnevali says. “I was a pioneer in user interfaces, and I wanted to make things easy — that was our focus since the early times. I saw [the opportunity] 20 years before the rest of the marine industry. If people can’t figure out how to use it, it’s as useless as if it didn’t work at all.”

During the past 50 years, few aspects of yachting have evolved faster than navigation, where electronic charts, reliable chart plotters and satellite-navigation ­systems have obviated most yachtsmen’s need for paper charts. And while contemporary navigators readily trust privately built electronic charts, this wasn’t true in 1984. Carnevali had to use everything in his life’s ­history to win trust and dent the ­marine-electronics universe forever.

“Sailing is in my DNA,” says Carnevali, whose grandfather was a ship owner and whose father was a naval architect and shipyard manager. “My father built a boat before [my parents] had a proper bed.”

Carnevali begged his parents for a sailing dinghy for his junior high school graduation gift. It was unceremoniously delivered on the beach, sans instructions.

Meet Big Brother

In 1984, Giuseppe Carnevali and Fosco Bianchetti invited the press for a tour of New York City’s East River aboard a powerboat with tarped windows, blinding all navigational awareness save for the cathode-ray-tubed display of Geonav, the recreational marine world’s first electronic-chart display. A lookout was abovedecks, but the crew belowdecks used Geonav’s position information and cartography for the 16-mile journey. “The sea trial went perfectly, but it was a revelation: I learned to do something 10 times before inviting the press,” Carnevali says.

“I started rigging it, but I had no clue,” Carnevali says. “A guy was watching and asked if I knew how to sail. When I said no, he gave me one rule: If I start to tip over, release the sheet.”

This seat-of-the-pants user experience proved effective. Carnevali became Italy’s national champion while earning his pilot’s wings and a doctorate degree in mechanical engineering and naval architecture from the ­University of Genoa.

Next was a tour in the Italian navy, followed by a stint as Benetti shipyard’s production manager, where he oversaw the construction of the 281-foot Nabila. In 1980, she was the world’s most sophisticated mega­-yacht.

A deep recession soon roiled Italy, and Carnevali knew change was needed. He partnered with Bianchetti, and “together, we came up with the idea of making sci-fi a reality,” he says. “I knew what boaters needed, but I didn’t know how to do it. He knew how to do it, but he wasn’t a boater.”

The duo founded Navionics after developing the recreational marine world’s first vector chart and chart plotter but parted ways just a year later. Bianchetti built a rival company, C-MAP, while Carnevali continued leading Geonav and Navionics.

“It was the two best things we ever did,” says Carnevali, who remains friends with Bianchetti. “As monopolists, we were a little complacent … but as competitors, we developed things so fast that no other companies could keep up.”

While this competition bred innovation, traditionally minded authorities and boaters viewed ­electronic charts from nonofficial sources as heresy. International hydrographic offices saw chart-­making as their private fiefdom.

“We spent the first 10 years convincing paper navigators that electronic charts aren’t wimpy, and that using them doesn’t reduce one’s manhood,” Carnevali says. “Having competition was healthy, as it was easier to prove that I wasn’t just a crazy inventor.”

The bigger concern, however, involved overcoming lawsuits and the protectionist attitudes of hydrographic offices.

“In the U.S. and Canada, the hydrographic office, as a way to exclude us, set up monopolistic arrangements with the companies they controlled,” Carnevali says. “In the U.S., it took the then-speaker of the House and the Department of Commerce’s internal investigation office, and in Canada, the prime minister himself, to put an end to it.”

It was a ruling in 1997 by the Federal Court of Australia that proved decisive.

“Had we lost, by domino effect we would have been shut out of the market all over the world,” Carnevali says. “By winning the case on safety with flying colors, the hydrographic community started changing their attitude. … The rest came one small step after another, as on one side the technology and our product improved, and on the other side, the boaters’ awareness increased.”

Another big moment came in the ’90s when a licensing agreement with Garmin went south because of quality-control issues on Navionics’ part.

“That was a slap in the face, but it was healthy,” Carnevali says. To remedy the situation, Navionics needed to hire 30 additional cartographers, who couldn’t be found in the United States or Europe.

“I went to India and eventually had up to 350 cartographers, more than any other hydrographic organization in the world,” Carnevali says.

This additional manpower allowed Navionics to develop much of its behind-the-scenes ­technology while building and curating a chart library for U.S. lakes and rivers, thanks to an in-house fleet of 16 survey boats.

“It was probably one of the biggest survey teams in the world at the time,” Carnevali says.

Another insightful, early move was allowing Navionics charts to work on most licensed third-party multifunc­tion displays. This platform flexibility created a much bigger market for Navionics charts.

“It took me years to realize that software was the bigger opportunity,” says Carnevali, who sold Geonav in 2007. Navionics’ app became the 37th most popular app of any kind in Apple’s app store, beating out myriad games and consumer applications.

All told, Navionics and Geonav delivered numerous disruptive innovations, including the first chart plotter to offer a sunlight-readable LCD screen (1991), a built-in GPS receiver (1997), a ­reduced-size keyboard (1995) and waterproof protection (1998), as well as critical software and cartography features, including the world’s first software-development kit (1988), seamlessly quilted cartography (1984), user-­generated cartography (2009), wireless updates via mobile devices (2014), and Carnevali’s final project, dock-to-dock one-click routing (2017).

Related: 2018 Marine Electronics: Navigation

These innovations were ­recognized in 2018, when Carnevali won the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s Alan J. Freedman Memorial Leadership Award, and the Italian Marine Industry Association’s Boating Pioneer award.

Carnevali sold Navionics to Garmin in fall 2017 and announced his retirement. He now points to the Carnevali Foundation (née the Navionics Foundation), which he began in 2001 with his wife, Jacqueline, as his proudest accomplishment.

“Being able to create a foundation that builds and manages schools and orphanages for poor kids” is gratifying, Carnevali says. “Two thousand kids are going to school instead of being illiterate, and 75 orphan girls have a home. It’s my first priority.”

In 2015, Carnevali was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, but, much like another pioneer, he is gracefully accepting it as an opportunity to grow.

“Steve Jobs said that the prospect of death gave him a new life,” Carnevali says. “Since being diagnosed, I have ­developed a particularly ­advanced sense of life enjoyment. It may be a paradox, but I’m going through one of the best parts of my life — I’m enjoying it with an intensity that I didn’t before … sailing, skiing, spending time with my family …. I have 2,000 children, so I’m not short on ways to enjoy life.”

The post Recognizing Giuseppe Carnevali – Electronic Navigation Pioneer appeared first on Yachting.

XB-6000 Class B AIS

Vesper Marine has released the XB-6000 Class B AIS. Its black-box transponder has an NMEA 2000 gateway and GPS antenna that integrates AIS, GPS and NMEA instrument data into a display on any AIS-compatible chartplotter, multifunction display or personal computer.

The transponder has a built-in internal GPS antenna, which means there’s no need for external mounts in many installations. The unit’s GPS can be used as a yacht’s primary location-information source for chartplotters and multifunction displays, further reducing the need to install multiple mounts. And unlike other black-box devices that have cable ends sticking out, the XB-6000 has all cable connections within the device footprint.

“AIS transponders are becoming the standard for recreational and commercial vessels of all sizes,” Vesper Marine CEO Jeff Robbins stated in a press release. “Our XB-6000 is designed to make AIS easy to install for everyone.”

Waterproof design: the XB-6000 is rated IPx7, which makes it submersible in a little more than 3 feet of water for 30 minutes.

Where to learn more: visit www.vespermarine.com.

The post Vesper Marine’s new Class B AIS appeared first on Yachting.

Chris-Craft Catalina 34

Chris-Craft is planning to unveil the new flagship of its Catalina range, the center-console Catalina 34, at this week’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Simrad officials will also be on hand to demonstrate features of the boat’s navigation system, which includes dual 16-inch multitouch NSO evo2 displays at the helm.
The Catalina 34 is powered by triple 300-horsepower Mercury Verado outboard engines. Fuel capacity is more than 300 gallons, making cruises possible from Florida to the Bahamas, or from New York to Martha’s Vineyard.

“The Catalina 34 was developed after high demand from hundreds of our Catalina owners,” Jeff Ellis, vice president of sales and marketing, stated in a press release. “We have combined all of our customer and dealer comments to deliver a product that is sure to be a winner in its class.”

If you can’t make it to Fort Lauderdale , you can learn more about the Catalina 34 at www.chriscraft.com.

The post Chris-Craft to Unveil New Flagship appeared first on Yachting.

Navigation Bridge in NavPlay

NavPlay has added two “environments” to its navigation app, giving boaters the ability to navigate by way of an iPad from anywhere aboard a boat. The new environments are called Navigation and Navigation Bridge, and they are designed to work in conjunction with the NavPlay app’s existing Charting Table and Alarm Manager environments. Navigation lets boaters select routes that have been created in Charting Table, then engage the autopilot from an iPad. Navigation also displays AIS targets for greater situational awareness. Navigation Bridge uses Wi-Fi to display NMEA 0813 data such as lat/lon, wind speed and direction, depth SOG and heading. “NavPlay Navigation is so simple to use and allows individuals to control the direction of their boats anywhere using their iPad in our dedicated environments,” Sales and Marketing Manager Andrea Buralli stated in a press release. “The ability to customize the Navigation Bridge is unlimited. Boaters not only have the freedom to access all of the information they need, but view it according to their exact preferences.” The NavPlay app is available through the Apple App Store, with the introductory version priced at $4.99. It includes 15-day access to all navigation features. After that, annual subscriptions are $49.99. C-Map by Jeppesen charts are not included but can be purchased through the NavPlay app. Learn more at www.navplay.com.

The post Full Navigation from Your iPad appeared first on Yachting.

Grand Banks 50 Eastbay SX with Volvo Penta Glass Cockpit System

Galati Yacht Sales says its in-stock 50-foot Grand Banks Eastbay SX is the first in America with the Garmin-powered Volvo Penta Glass Cockpit System. The boat arrived at the Tampa, Florida, dealership last night and is available for immediate inspection by interested clients.

Garmin and Volvo Penta introduced the Glass Cockpit System jointly about a year ago, and it became available during the fourth quarter of 2013. It is a flat-mounted system with pinch-to-zoom displays and is built using components from Garmin’s GPSMAP 8000 Glass Helm Series that interface with Volvo Penta’s electronic Engine Vessel Control system. The setup is designed to make the helm easy to use (and easy to clean), with all navigation and engine information in one place.

The 2015 model Eastbay SX now at Galati Yacht Sales is equipped with a pair of 725-mhp Volvo Penta D11 950 IPS engines and pod drives, plus a joystick docking system. Top speed is 34 knots and cruising speed is just a hair shy of 28 knots, according to Grand Banks.

Asking price is a little more than $1.9 million. Learn more at www.galatiyachts.com.

The post New-Style Nav Station appeared first on Yachting.

IP-MobileCast with AWT weather

Applied Weather Technology Inc. (AWT) has become the WEATHERlink launch partner for KVH’s IP-MobileCast content delivery service, which means yachts with IP-MobileCast will soon be able to receive AWT’s high-resolution weather and ocean data for a fixed monthly fee.

The AWT data includes forecasts with wind, wave, visibility and currents with tidal stream data. It will be updated as many as four times daily. AWT also is marketing a new BonVoyage System 7 that MobileCast will support along with AWT’s frequent port-vicinity forecasts, pirate-attack information and rogue-wave forecasts.

KVH plans to begin testing of the WEATHERlink content delivery immediately and to make the service commercially available by September. All KVH TracPhone V-IP series satcom systems will support the new content after a free software upgrade.

IP-MobileCast will also continue to deliver news and entertainment, as it has done since May over KVH’s min-VSAT Broadband network. In the future, KVH plans to use IP-MobileCast to deliver additional information including Jeppesen electronic chart database updates.

More information is at www.kvh.com.

The post Is that Rogue Wave Coming this Way? appeared first on Yachting.

NavPlay app for boaters

Words with Friends is cool, but a new app called NavPlay lets boaters use iPads to plan routes and navigate using C-Map charts and satellite imagery along with Wi-Fi-networked vessel information including alarms, autopilot and AIS.

The app is designed for boats up to 55 feet LOA. With the swipe of a finger, skippers can create or modify a full route complete with waypoints. The app automatically downloads Jeppesen weather forecast data to help with planning. Underway, the iPad will display navigation charts with customizable gauges, and the app can automatically send commands to the boat’s autopilot.

“We developed NavPlay for the Apple iPad to provide boaters with advanced planning and navigation capabilities as well as the ability to easily share their excursions with family and friends,” NavPlay sales and marketing manager Andrea Buralli stated in a press release. “No other navigation app has tools and features dedicated to the combined user navigation and social media experience.”

The app is compatible with iPad2, iPad3, iPad4, iPad Mini and iPad Air models with Wi-Fi running iOS 6.0 or newer. Available languages are English, Italian, French and German.

The introductory app can be downloaded from the Apple Store for $4.99 with 15 days of free access to all navigation features. A one-year subscription is $49.99.

Learn more at www.navplay.com.

The post Want to Navigate by iPad? appeared first on Yachting.

Lowrance HDS7 Gen2 Touch

Looking to jazz up your yacht’s helm ahead of the summer cruising season? Lowrance is dropping the price of its HDS-7 Gen2 Touch models and bundles by $300 in the United States and Canada, and is offering $100 to $200 cash rebates on HDS-7 Gen2 Touch and Elite-7 HDI series models.

Some of the offers — which are good through June 15 — can be combined, creating savings as great as $500 on HDS-7 Gen2 Touch models.

With the discount, top models such as the HDS-7 Gen2 Touch Insight 83/200 with StructureScan HD Transducer drop in price to $1,399. The HDS-7m Gen2 Touch Insight Chartplotter can be had for $899.

The top rebate of $200 is good on the following models: HDS-7 Gen2 Touch Plus StructureScan HD Bundle, HDS-7 Gen2 Touch 50/200, HDS-7 Gen2 Touch 83/200, HDS-7 Gen2 Touch (no transducer), HDS-7M Gen2 Touch Chartplotter, HDS-7 Gen2 Touch C-Map Bundle and HDS-7M Gen2 Touch Chartplotter C-Map Bundle.

For full details of the sales promotion, visit www.lowrance.com.

The post Save a Little on a Bundle appeared first on Yachting.

Lowrance Elite-7 CHIRP

Lowrance has unveiled its Elite-5 and Elite-7 fishfinders/charter plotters, which add CHIRP sonar to the company’s built-in Broadband Sounder and DownScan Imaging technologies.

The combined features are intended to give anglers the best possible view of the water column, baitfish and game fish by offering greater sensitivity, improved target resolution and superior noise rejection.

The 5-inch and 7-inch versions are sold as fishfinder/chart plotter combination units, as well as standalone fishfinders. The DownScan Overlay feature lets boaters layer DownScan imaging views onto CHIRP sonar or Broadband Sounder displays.

“Packed with three proven sonar technologies at an affordable price, the new Elite CHIRP series continues our commitment to provide real benefits for anglers,” Navico CEO Leif Ottosson stated in a press release.

Retail prices range from $499 to $649 for the Elite-7 and Elite-5 CHIRP fishfinders. For the combination fishfinder/chart plotter models, prices range from $669 to $869.

For more information, click over to www.lowrance.com.

The post The Elite-5 and Elite-7 are Here appeared first on Yachting.