Boating

SELFDRIVING BOATS

T

oday’s autopilots

will spoil you for

life. They can

automatically compensate

for the set and drift I spoke

of earlier. You can set up

trolling patterns in zigzags,

circles, concentric circles or

pretty much any geometric

shape you want. Generally, a

well-adjusted autopilot can

steer more accurately than

a human, so that factor can

leave a helmsman less tired

at the end of a watch. And

the straighter the set- or

drift-compensated course,

the less fuel you burn

and the more quickly you’ll

get to where you’re going.

Finally, there’s the ride

home. Simply pull up the

waypoint marking the outer

marker of your harbor and

engage your autopilot. It will

help you keep a fresh watch

from the helm after a long

day, since the autopilot is

doing the adjustments for

you at the helm.

Learn to use the finer

points of your electronics,

and there’s virtually

nothing but time separating

you from becoming a

professional mariner.

THE RAYREMOTE APP

The coolest thing about many new marine electronics is that

you can both view and control them via an app installed on your

smartphone or tablet. For thermal imaging, check out the

updated RayControl app for tablets and RayRemote app for

mobile phones. These let you view and control the FLIR T300,

T400 or MD series thermal cameras (through a compatible

Raymarine MFD) simply by pointing your mobile device.

Wherever you swing your smartphone or tablet, the FLIR

camera follows. You can see the thermal images on both the

mobile device and the Raymarine MFD. — Jim Hendricks

CHART TO CHART

O

nce in your

fishing area, use

high-resolution

bathymetric cartography

(available from C-Map,

Navionics and several

other electronics

manufacturers). With

it, you can mark the

edges or the beginning of

structure. It’s way smarter

to approach the area if

you know where the fish

are most likely to be. For

example, some reefs and

seamounts regularly hold

fish on the up-current

side; many anglers call

this the “red zone.”

PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) COURTESY GARMIN, COURTESY NAVICO, COURTESY FLIR

BOATINGMAG.COM APRIL 2016 71