Navico Marine electronics discussed

Are you dismayed or excited by the plethora of electronic devices that confront you at every boat show and adorn the pages of boating magazines and catalogues? Thirty years ago not many cruising boats had a radio.

Now weekenders are adding GPS chartplotters and colour radar. Prices continue to tumble while the devices get more reliable and complex.

We are all caught up in the high-technology revolution and no one seems to have any idea where it will take us. Who can say what is essential and what is gimmicky?

I'm not going to get rid of my sextant, but the next time I move aboard for more than a summer cruise my laptop computer will go with me. That's how quickly we adapt to changing times.

Today you can buy a GPS chartplotter for under £500 that will not only give you your speed, time, and distance to a waypoint, but also show your exact position on a nautical chart.

A VHF-FM radio is an essential item aboard every cruising boat, for both safety and survival. Beyond that, my only advice for electronics is to refer back to the list of questions I gave you earlier in this chapter.

Installation of some sensitive electronic devices, such as your VHF, or possibly a single-sideband (SSB) radio if you're venturing offshore, demand they be connected directly to the battery, rather than being wired through the control panel - to cut down on interference.

Several such connections could lead to a rat's nest of wires right at the battery terminals. To accommodate this, fit a 'battery jack' that attaches to each battery terminal and provides studs for four direct connections.

As we mentioned earlier, most electronic devices have their own internal fuses, or else an in-line fuse in the positive power wire.

 Marine GPS and navigation products

Many navigational electronic devices are available today: leisure marine GPS, chartplotters, forward scanning sonars, radar, SSB and autopilots. There are many brands Navico Marine Electronics, bandg marine electronics, Eagle fishfinders, Lowrance fishfinders, MX marine gps, Navman GPS, Northstar Loran GPS and navigation products, and Simmrad Yachting Navigation Systems.

Today, these units are often interfaced so that information can be shared and processed by multiple devices or viewed on multiple displays on your boat.

The rate of technological acceleration in this area is astounding, and can be roughly measured in six-monthly increments, which sadly means that just like your home computer, the gear is essentially out-of-date the day after you install your shiny new electronic marvel.

There also are recreational electronics that we might wish to consider, such as AM-FM stereo, CD or DVD player, and TV.

Expensive marine stereo units can be found, but I find that a good car radio with CD player works fine.