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January 14–18, 2016
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tack, as opposed to a straight-
line time-over-distance cal-
culation.
While these sailing- specific
features are fairly new, users
can expect more development
in this field. “We’ll have more
sailing-specific features com-
ing in 201 6 ,” says Dave Dunn,
Garmin’s senior manager of
marine sales and marketing.
“We’re going really hard at the
sailing market.”
Garmin acquired Nexus
Marine AB in 2012 and is roll-ing out Garmin- branded
products that are heavily in-
fluenced by Nexus’ line of
racing electronics, including
the GNX 120 and 130 large-
format marine instruments.
Dunn says consumers should
look for more sailing instru-
mentation packs and separate
sail kits that are designed to
make things easier
for the navigator-
helmsman.
Depending on
the manufacturer
and model, added
sailing-specific
functionality and
other features often
come in the form
of software updates
as opposed to hard-
ware upgrades, thus
adding value for MFD owners
and eliminating the need to
constantly buy new devices.
As in the broader consumer-
electronics market, marine-
electronics manufacturers are
also adopting wireless technol-
ogy, albeit at a slower clip than
land-based electronics manu-
facturers. Given the amount
of trust that sailors place in
their onboard electronics,
it’s understandable that man-
ufacturers have historically
embraced hardwired connec-
tions for critical instruments
such as radar, autopilots and
GPS, but this attitude is start-ing to change as manufacturers
(and customers) gain confi-
dence in onboard Wi-Fi.
A prime example is Furuno’s
DRS4W 1st Watch Wireless
Radar, which debuted last
winter, and which wirelessly
shares its imagery with Apple
iOS devices rather than a dedi-
cated display.
“Wireless is of interest
to all, but so are safety con-
cerns,” says Matt Wood,
Furuno’s national sales man-
ager, who suggests that moreWi-Fi radars are on the not-
so-distant horizon. “There’s
a fear about how far Wi-Fi
should go. It’s important to
embrace Wi-Fi, but also to re-
member its limitations and
ensure safety.”
Other experts see wireless
instrumentation and sensors
as a natural evolution. “I fore-see that everything will go
wireless, but it’s a personal
opinion,” says Dunn, who’s
careful to exclude radar and
sounder transducers, which he
deems to be mission-critical,
from the list of wireless can-
didates. “Telematics will take
over, allowing owners to call
in and check their bilge levels.
That’s the future.”
Navico’s Jourlait says the
“smart boat” is the future,
especially as people get com-
fortable with smart household
systems that are digitally con-
trolled by apps, smartphones
and tablets — the so-calledSimrad’s ForwardScan sonarWIRELESS IS OF INTEREST TO ALL, BUT
SO ARE SAFETY CONCERNS. THERE’S A
FEAR ABOUT HOW FAR WI-FI SHOULD
GO. IT’S IMPORTANT TO EMBRACE
WI-FI, BUT ALSO TO REMEMBER ITS
LIMITATIONS AND ENSURE SAFETY.