may 2018cruisingworld.com79online in 1984. It was a (rela-
tively) crude system that used
bare-bones graphics to rep-
resent location, surroundings
and boat. Today’s chart plot-
ters, by comparison, are graph-
ically rich marinized comput-
ers that use a wide variety of
interfaces that can include
touchscreens, keyboards, a
rotary dial, a mouse or even
a paired cellphone or tablet.
Additionally, most contempo-
rary chart plotters employ op-
tically bonded screens, which
help to reduce screen fogging,from different angles, even
in direct sunlight.
The other big change
to plotters in recent
years has been a move
to integrate numerous
capabilities that were for-
merly tackled by peripheral
devices. These include sound-
ers, Wi-Fi routers or autopilot
control heads. These essential-
ly turn the chart plotter into
a multifunction display, which
can in turn be networked with
third-party instrumentation,
including AIS, radars or ther-
mal-imaging cameras. Finally,
contemporary plotters feature
intuitive and user-friendly in-
terfaces that resemble those
found aboard today’s mobile
devices.
Additionally, B&G, Garmin
and Raymarine have each re-
cently added sailing-specifi c
features to their chart plotter
operating systems. Depend-
ing on the brand, these new
features include starting-line
assistants for racing sailors,
as well as wind-rose tools and
graphical assistants that help
you determine the best time
to tack in order to reduce
your estimated time to arrival.
While some of these features
are aimed at racing sailors,
cruising sailors can certainly
leverage these new capabilities
too in order to make passage-
making more effi cient.CommunicationsOnboard communications is
another segment of marine
navigation that has evolved
signifi cantly in the past de-
cade, ranging from now
ubiquitous smartphones
and satellite phones to
satellite-communication
domes and next-generation
fl at-panel satellite communica-
tions systems that are just com-
ing online.
In between these extremes
are long-range cellular andWi-Fi boosters that allow you
to tap into onshore networks
from a few miles out, as well as
satellite communicators that
allow you to transmit and re-
ceive information such as email
via transmissions composed of
small data packets that, while
not as fast as a full-scale satel-
lite-communications system,
cost considerably less, both in
terms of equipment and air-time costs. Critically, the phys-
ical satellite networks that sup-
port this technology have been
signifi cantly upgraded and now
offer speeds that, while slug-
gish compared to land-based
connections, are blazing fast
compared to previous offer-
ings. Depending on the system,
mariners can use this equip-
ment to make voice calls, ac-
cess the internet or, perhaps
most important, download up-
to-date weather GRIB fi les.Finally, the humble VHF
radio has also seen (relatively)
recently added features such
as digital selective calling for
emergency situations, while
some more advanced fi xed-
mount VHFs now also fea-
ture built-in AIS capabilities,
which can be a great way of
adding situational awareness
without upgrading your chart
plotter or adding a dedicatedpiece of instrumentation.
Also, because AIS uses
vessel-specifi c MMSI
numbers, AIS-enabled VHF
radios also make it easy to hail
other nearby vessels should a
potentially sketchy crossing
situation begin unfurling.Heading Sensors
Electronic fl uxgate compasses
have provided mariners with
accurate heading information
since the 1930s, but they typ-
ically deliver a 1 Hz, or once-
per-second, reporting rate
that can make for squirrel-
ly rides aboard some boats
when reaching or running
in a following sea with the
autopilot driving.
Fortunately, advances
in the aerospace industry
have delivered miniaturized
and commoditized attitudetronics manufacturers to
build solid-state nine- axis
compasses that are accu-
rate to 1 or 2 degrees and
boast update rates of 10 to 30
(or more) Hz. This accuracy
and reporting rate surpasses
any purely mechanical system
afl oat, though excellent hy-
brid mechanical-solid-state
compasses do exist. This new
breed of sensors allows mod-ity to self-calibrate or self-
learn a vessel’s characteris-es are easily networked into
a boat’s navigation system via
NMEA connections to bolster
the accuracy of other electron-
ics and features that require
heading-sensor data.Radar
While magnetron-based radar
systems helped win World
War II and have aided myriad
sailors and aviators since the
system’s debut in 1940, ma-
rine-electronics companiesOn a dark night, a FLIR thermal vision scope picks up a boat traveling along outside a channel breakwater (opposite).
From top left: Some of the new devices include True Heading’s CTRX Graphene AIS transponder; Navionics’ Plotter Sync;
Kymeta’s mTenna fi xed-mount sat-coms terminal; Furuno’s DRS4D- NXT Doppler-enabled radar; Raymarine’s EV-1 Sen-PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MANUFACTURERsor Core; and a handheld FLIR Ocean Scout 640 thermal-imaging camera.