Electronics

Understanding and connecting the equipment may seem complex. It is not as difficult as it seems thanks to multi-windowing. This cuts the screen into multiple windows, each having a function. One may thus display the chart and sounder. Or one may display two levels of zoom on the map, the sounder and the radar. These individual pages are programmable by the user, based upon their activity. A positive development has been made to facilitate the use of the devices to avoid the re-reading of documentation after each winter period!

The basic instrumentation is intended for motorboats and small sailboats, intending to take day long coastal journeys. It is composed of a logspeedo, to know the surface speed of the vessel and a vane/anemometer to know wind direction and force. A digital sounder (numbered, nongraphic information,) completes the equipment. They are simple and have a read out dedicated to their function, except for some bi or tri-data models; a single screen for two or three sensors. Note that the log-speedo may also indicate water temperature.

The cockpit pilot, for tiller or wheel is not a pilot capable of steering all vessels irrespective of weather conditions. It is reserved for vessels of less than 12m. For larger craft and all-weather use, one must move toward in-board pilots.For boats with tillers, all models presented have sufficient thrust. What makes them different is the response time. If your boat is highly reactive, it is imperative to take a model with a rapid reaction time (4 seconds max.) Contrarily, if they have a slow reaction time you may select a unit with a longer response time. For boats equipped with a wheel, the market choice remains very limited.

The fixed VHF has a maximum power of 25 watts imposed by regulations which limits its range from 15 to 20 miles boat/boat and from 30 to 40 miles toward coastal stations. The new generation of VHF on the market, come equipped with the DSC (Digital Selective Calling) system, ASN (Appel Sélectif Numérique) in French.