MTU (owned by Rolls Royce Holdings)
has launched its latest engine, the
new Series 2000 version of its M96.
In 12- or 16-cylinder versions ranging
from 1,268 to 1,939kW and driving
through a ZF gearbox, MTU claims
stronger acceleration and improved
fuel economy are the primary
benefits for its new motor.
But away from the noisy oily bits,
there have been some interesting
developments in MTU bridge
controls. MTU has enlisted theservices of design guru Pininfarina
to come up with fabulously sleek
and stylish engine controls and digital
touch displays as well as traditional
analogue gauges. MTU says that
these new bridge systems, available
from spring 2016, ‘enable builders
to maintain a modular system while
offering clients a stylish control
-stand concept’, translated as easy
to fit for the builder and look great
for the customer.
Contact http://www.mtu-online.comWhat do you buy the motor boat that
has everything? How about a carbon
fibre ensign staff, as I’m betting it
hasn’t got one of these. Made by
Carbon Weezel in Southampton, this
100% carbon fibre ensign staff is
made from crystal-clear UV stable
resins using compression moulding
and wet lay techniques.
It is UV and moisture resistant so it
won’t go cloudy or white, Carbon
Weezel tells me. Not cheap, they cost
between £400 and £750 dependingon size and specification, but it’s
secured by a locking pin so you won’t
lose it overboard (plus it ensures that
the finial – the bit on the top and my
new word of the day – is always
pointing the right way). And it’s even
aerodynamically profiled so will no
doubt pay for itself in reduced drag
fuel savings – eventually! What finer
gift could you possibly find for the one
you love (or better ‘Man Maths’
justification for buying one)?
Contact http://www.carbonweezel.co.ukBOAT MASTER NEWTECH82 JANUARY 2016Optical tricks
Garmin’s Panoptix now offers through-hull sonar vision
Powerful looks
Better fuel economy and sleek looks from MTU
Finishing touches
Just what you need to set your boat apart
Garmin has made its Panoptix
‘all-seeing’ sonar available to medium
and large sized boats by offering a
through-hull transducer.
It’s almost a year now, since Garmin
introduced an impressive new scanning
sonar called Panoptix. By using a
phased array transducer, the Panoptix
sonar produces a ‘steerable’ beam,
which can scan the water and seabed
around the boat. At first glance, it
looked like a head-on competitor for
Simrad’s ForwardScan launched at
the same time.
But Garmin chose to aim Panoptix
squarely at the small-boat market,
by producing transducers that could
be transom-mounted or clamped to
an electric ‘trolling motor’. Now the
company has broadened the appeal
of Panoptix by offering a through-hull
transducer, making it a practical
proposition for larger boats with
inboard or outdrive engines.
The through-hull version doesn’t
offer the forward-scanning option
that is available with the original
Panoptix transducers, but it still has
three distinct operating modes:LiveVü Down, RealVü 3D Down, and
RealVü 3D Historical.
LiveVü Down produces real-time
images of a wide side-to-side swath
below the boat and out to each
side, and allows the user to steer
the beam to look up to 45° ahead
or astern.
RealVü 3D Down automates the
forward-looking and backward-lookingfunction, and uses the data to build
up a 3D image of a roughly oval
patch of seabed. The size of the patch
varies depending on the depth of
water, but in 10m of water, for instance,
it is about 20m front-to-back and
about 35m across. At the maximum
range – nominally 91m (300ft)- the oval patch will be nearly ten
times as big.
RealVü Historical records sonar data
as the boat moves, building up a 3D
representation of where you’ve been.
At a list price of £3,079.99 the
Panoptix PS60 thru-hull transducer is
not a cheap add-on, but for those with a
serious interest in the underwater
world, such as divers and anglers, it’s
certainly worth a look.
Contact http://www.garmin.com/panoptixThe new bridge
controls from MTUCarbon fi bre ensign staff looks the
business but it may take a while to
pay for itself through fuel savings!Panoptix will now appeal to larger boats with inboard or outdrive engines