 | |
As family skipper, you're like a solo racer, you've got to do everything yourself. With a bit of luck and the right electronics, you can. Picture from www.cruisemaine.com.
|
We cover Cockpit instruments and the new combined Chart Plotter and Radar, in this article.
You might be the skipper. But with the family in tow for crew, you're often the chief cook and bottle washer too. The truth is you can't be everywhere at once. So how do you keep an eye on everything? And even then, how do you know the right thing is happening when it should?
Big, clear navigation instrumentation that's easy to see night and day is one way. So is automating your systems so you can work hands off or grab a bit of shuteye. The computer age is upon us and its revolutionising Twenty-First Century yachting. Great idea. But how far do you take it? And with so many goodies now on the market, which option do you choose?
Ask any round the world racer - soloists like Ellen MacArthur, or experts in the Volvo Race - electronics are essential, even for the simplest manoeuvre.
|
 | |
Compass, Speed, Depth, Wind - instruments are both analogue and digital, big and easy to see, right there in the cockpit - especially in the dark without compromising your night vision.
|
Of course you don't need anything near as grand when you're cruising. But it's good to know you've got a top-line system keeping an eye on things while you enjoy more of your scenery and surroundings, safe and secure with the remote autopilot or tiller control in your hand. Yes, safe. If you check Simrad's credentials, they're known to be pretty well the world's best in professional transducers, nav-systems and comms.
Improved Speed, Depth and Wind instruments, the latest generation.
With sensors picking up the slightest change in wind, current and wave motion, you can autopilot your craft to cope with all kinds of variation - getting down to the serious business of feeling the wind on your face without the headache of calculating for drift or constantly checking your next GPS waypoint. Besides it makes sense. Those busy waterways with tankers and high-speed ferries need careful watching - and unless your brood is grown-up enough to be proper back-up, you're pretty well on your tod looking after them and your boat all at the same time.
Combined Chart Plotter and Radar displays
We like the look of Simrad's NavStation it is designed and made by the same people who make them for ships as well as the experts in the Volvo, America's Cup, and just about every major race in the world today - those same full-on jobs you find on the bridges of cruise liners, wave-piercing ferries and deep-sea fishing vessels. And it can be integrated together with a radar system - so you not only know where you are, you know what else is out there too.
|
 | |
Compass, Speed, Depth, Wind - instruments are both analogue and digital, big and easy to see, right there in the cockpit - especially in the dark without compromising your night vision.
|
Quite right, there's no substitute for having the latest paper charts on hand to be sure. You need them for back-up in any case, should your electrics ever go down. But just think of it in the electronic version - and how easy it makes your life from now on. There in the cockpit - and in broad daylight - you can see exactly where you are, where you're going and how you're going, without taking your eyes off the sails or letting go of the wheel..
Unless of course it's the weather. In which case, still no worries. On the plot you can see your course and surroundings with a radar display right alongside to direct you through the fog, smoke, haze or sudden darkness that always seems to arrive at exactly the wrong moment. You can change the way it looks too, split-screen it however you like so it fits with your head as you juggle the variables around - wind speed, heading, little Angie's tummy-ache, and where the heck your next single malt and spring is coming from.
For a comprehensive catalogue of some great gear visit: www.SIMRAD.com
|
|
