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Cruising Life
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iPad or Chartplotter: Which One’s Best for Your Boat?

Take your pick for your boat: A mobile, easy to take home or carry around your boat iPad tablet, or a fixed-mount chartplotter. You say you’ll take both? You’re not alone. But each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll probably end up relying on one more than on the other. An iPad, of course, is a modern platform for navigation, and there are a lot of apps and products available to protect and even mount a tablet on your helm. But how does it compare to a traditional, fixed-mount chartplotter? Both come in various sizes, although chartplotters…

Cruising Life
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NOAA Wants To End Support for Charts Used by Recreational Boaters

This may be the end of paper charts as we know them. In a move that could have a tremendous impact on the safety of navigation for recreational boat owners, NOAA has announced plans to end its support of the system it has been using to produce more than 1,000 paper charts as well as the charts used in cruising guides and chart books. The plan also would downgrade the value of electronic charts used in recreational boats. This proposal is an about face from what NOAA officials said in 2014 when they decided to let private companies print official…

Cruising Life
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How To Read Your Charts: 7 Signs of Danger

As the old adage goes, if you say you’ve never run aground, either you haven’t been cruising enough or you’re not telling the truth. But there’s a big difference between running aground on the mud, say, and running into a coral reef. That’s where your charts come in. How well can you read them? Do you remember the different symbols for a wreck, an obstruction or an islet? If you do, great. If not, or if you just want a fast refresher, take a look here: http://www.skippertips.com/public/831.cfm

Electronics
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New Navionics Video Shows How They Can Take You Where You Want to Go

Here’s a great new video showing all of Navionics’ charting and sonar capabilities. I’ve been using a Navionics Boating app on my iPhone for several years, on the East Coast, West Coast and  Great Lakes, and it’s a perfect navigation backup or even planning tool. At this point, I wouldn’t leave home without it. Take a look at what Navionics can do today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmW8m_MUDY8 http://www.navionics.com

Cruising Life
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Navionics Makes New Features for Raymarine MFDs

Two of the strongest names in marine electronics, Navionics and Raymarine, have collaborated to offer powerful, information-rich and user-friendly features for Raymarine multifunction displays using Lighthouse 2 operating systems. The new features let Raymarine owners take advantage of Navionics’ sophisticated algorithms to make navigation easier and safer by creating their own detailed routes, mark hazards, and even design their own bathymetry maps in real time. The new features involve Dock-to-Dock autorouting, SonarChart Live, and Advanced Map Options. Dock-to-Dock lets you plot courses taking into account nav aids, narrow channels, water depth and other hazards from from start to finish. SonarChart…

Cruising Life
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How to Use a GPS

No matter how long you’ve used a GPS it never hurts to get a refresher course. And if you’ve never used one, here’s a good way to start. Now the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the United States Power Squadrons have developed a new online course, “How to Use GPS,” to help all of us get where we want to go safely. The course is clear and makes GPS seem easy; it also can be taken anywhere – your office, your home, on your boat – when it’s most convenient for you. You can stop and…

Cruising Life
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A Pocket-Sized FLIR

A Pocket-Sized FLIR The new FLIR Scout TK got a lot of attention at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where it was introduced, and for good reason. This small, pocket-sized infrared monocular packs a lot of fun, and safe boating, into a 6-ounce package. A consumer version of the same technology in FLIR units used by the military and law enforcement, the new monocular is the smallest and lightest camera in the Scout series. it has all the power to cut through night and low-light conditions with full-color thermal imaging to help you see people, boats, buoys,…

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