MIDDLETOWN, RI, June 16, 2021—KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), announced today that it has introduced the TracPhone® LTE-1 Global marine communications system designed to provide recreational boaters and commercial mariners in more than 150 countries with Internet access up to 20 miles offshore. The system utilizes LTE Advanced (LTE-A) cellular network technology, which is faster than regular 4G LTE, and builds on KVH’s award-winning U.S.-only TracPhone LTE-1, which was introduced in 2018.
Photo courtesy Raymarine
Raymarine, Thursday, Feb. 11, 20201—Based in Booker Bay just north of Sydney, Captain Scott Thorrington runs Haven Sportfishing Charters in the productive waters along Australia’s New South Wales Central Coast. The busy skipper applies nearly 40 years of experience in targeting marlin, kingfish, snapper, bream and other species for the benefit of his happy clientele. The ability of Thorrington and crew to consistently find and fool marlin has not only made Haven Sportfishing an exceedingly popular charter, but it has also earned the team a fearsome reputation in tournament action.
Furuno — We’re excited to invite you to join us for our very first LIVE Webinar, specifically designed for boaters looking to add the most powerful MFD series to their helm. In this webinar, we’ll highlight the key features and extensive capabilities of the all-new NavNet TZtouch3 series.
The webinar platform provides the perfect setting to showcase our latest products in an environment that is engaging and informative, while following social distancing guidelines. This webinar will be held on Friday, May 29th at 9:00AM PDT.
We’ll not only provide you with a comprehensive overview of the TZtouch3 MFDs and new sensors, like high-power NXT Radars, “Deep Impact” CHIRP Amplifier, and the amazing SCX Satellite Compasses, but you’ll also experience a LIVE demonstration of the tremendously simplified and lightning-fast user interface that makes TZtouch3 the easi est to use MFD on the market! Furuno’s Senior Product Manager,
Eric Kunz, will be your Power Trip Tour Guide, answering any questions you may have along the way. Register today to reserve your spot and we’ll look forward to seeing you on the 29th!
Furuno USA, Inc.
The bridge electronics panel can act as the central command center with access to all communications and entertainment systems.
By Steve Katz
Modern sportfish operations generally include every conceivable option to enhance the fishing ability of the boat and crew. When it comes to non-fishing activities, such as music, television and streaming internet content, there are cases when not as much thought and engineering have been incorporated into optimizing systems. What follows is a guide to improving those systems when building a new boat or upgrading your current platform.
Building a new boat—whether custom or production—provides the ability to select from an endless list of modern components and features. While it would seem that a new build would always include everything needed for music, television and internet, this is not always the case. Components included in the final build result from the needs of the owner and crew, as well as the communication between builder and those guiding the build.
I was recently called to a new large custom sportfish. The boat was impressive and seemingly included all the options you could think of. That was until the owner tried to listen to music by connecting his iPhone’s bluetooth to the salon stereo.
Guess what? That feature wasn’t available with the original configuration – we added a simple bluetooth module to the stereo receiver, permitting him to instantly connect and play his music. While this seems like a simple omission by the builder, better communication between owner/crew and builders and contractors can help ensure that the boat’s system will meet the needs of the customer.
Music in the cockpit is another commonly occurring point of difference. There is a wide variety of opinions when it comes to playing tunes while fishing. I have heard many different opinions and points of view. These range from no music all the way to night club sound systems. Some captains want a mute button on the bridge so they can shut off the cockpit music when things get hectic. On the other hand, some owners want their own cockpit system under their control.
A sportfisher has many entertainment zones: bridge, cockpit, interior – salon and staterooms.
During a new boat build, you may have the option to select the entertainment equipment. If so, you can tailor the system to easily meet your needs and allow future expansion. Consider the following:
TV – The most popular televisions at the moment are the 4K smart variety. What is 4K? 4k or Ultra HD, refers to the resolution capability. Based on the cinematic standard, the horizontal screen resolution
standard is about 4,000 pixels (for those purists, a consumer 4K TV horizontal resolution is 3840 due to the 16:9 screen ratio). In general, a 4K TV is about twice the resolution of a HDTV.
While mainstream 4K content is its infancy, a 4K TV may improve the picture of your current sources by upscaling the video to a higher definition picture. In the future there will be much more 4K content and most consumers will want to be able to view that content on a compatible screen.
Satellite providers DirecTV and Dish both offer some 4K content as do many of the streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon. In the marine market, KVH and Intellian have not yet announced 4K capability with their hardware. Existing HDTV marine systems are fully compatible the new 4K TVs, though at HDTV resolution.
A Smart TV has the built-in ability to connect (wired or wirelessly) to the internet to stream content directly without the use of additional hardware. This feature is most often used to watch streaming content such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube.
Another feature of modern TVs that is useful for sportfishing boats is the ability to view media files from a storage device. You can take that memory card from your GoPro or Virb camera and connect it into the TV to view your most recent video or still pictures.
In a new boat, quite a bit goes into designing the location and mounting method for the television. One simple best use practice is to use a popular size, commonly available television with the realization that the TV may be replaced or upgraded. TVs should be mounted using the VESA industry standard mounting method. Doing so will make the eventual replacement/upgrade much easier.
Photo courtesy Viking Yachts
There are lots of stereos, receivers, home theaters and entertainment systems available. Some are basic, others complex. Standalone options are available, others – including such as Crestron, Control4, Savant, RTI and others – may be tied into a whole boat solution. While these are all great systems, the stereo/receiver is still doing the work.
The receivers for integrated packages are packed full of features, many of which are never used on a boat. Designing a sound system on a boat can be a more intricate process than would meet the eye. Unless you have a background in speaker design and function, these differences (though easily overlooked) could have a large impact on your ability to entertain on the boat. Speakers in the back of the salon, for instance, may need full range sound and rather than rear surround sound. Something so easily overlooked could make a big difference when watching TV or a movie
Most modern receivers are made for home use and provide various surround sound features. While some of the features may not be needed on a boat, the ability to run sound through many speakers is quite useful.
Be sure to review the receiver’s features and capabilities to ensure its compatibility with your needs for speaker placement and function. (If you are unsure as to what you might need, it is much more efficient and cost effective to engage the services of a consultant at this stage – rather than having him come out to retrofit the system once it has been installed).
Some noteworthy features to look for when selecting a home receiver for use in a boat – Bluetooth, Apple Airplay, satellite radio, internet for streaming, USB storage playback, multiple independent zones, subwoofer output and lots of power (watts). If the receiver is going to control the TV video sources, be sure you have enough inputs, both HDMI and traditional analog inputs.
Often each stateroom or bunk area will have its own TV and sound system. Separate systems allow multiple people to watch and listen to multiple sources at the same time without disturbing others.
This may be best accomplished with small systems for each area, though others may desire to have a whole boat system with many zones. From my experience, it seems that multiple smaller, independent systems are easier to operate – producing a better user experience than a large single multizone system.
The flybridge is usually supplied with music from an independent system located on the bridge. This system often controls music in the outdoor spaces. Bridge stereos are often concealed and controlled through modern multifunction displays, saving helm space and keeping in the stereo system out of the weather.
Not only can you customize the sound and visual components of your boat’s entertainment systems, you can even pair them with custom seating options! Three hours in the fighting chair—followed by 20 minutes in the massage chair. Photo courtesy Viking Yachts
Both KVH and Intellian make marine satellite TV systems. Both also offer an HDTV version, capable of receiving content in high definition. Dish HDTV is available in most standard marine satellite antenna systems, though it is not trouble-free. As the antenna system automatically switches between multiple satellites dependent on the channel the user is watching, channel surfing can really give the antenna a workout!
DirecTV’s HD signals are currently broadcast on three satellites. The marine satellite antennas need to track all three at the same time, therefore requiring a larger more complex system – beginning with Intellian’s s6HD and KVH HD7 and larger. Additionally, the satellite receivers all need to be HD capable and often require the use of HDMI connection to the TV.
This is an important consideration, given that wiring can get complex if not originally incorporated into the design of the boat. Both DirectTV and Dish are working on changes to their programming and satellites, mainly involving bandwidth and technology improvements. The changes can affect the marine systems – so be sure to do some research before you purchase a system.
Consider recent changes in TV dimensions when upgrading TVs that sit within custom mount solutions.
There are many ways to upgrade your current system. Depending on your needs and budget, most will provide improved functionality and capability. Let the upgrade begin…
Most upgrades start with the TV. There are few things to keep in mind. Most all new TVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9 aspect ratio while older TVs were 4:3. As the aspect ratio measures the width of the television to its height, you may need a smaller size television to fit a 16:9 tv in a space that once held a 4:3 older model. To avoid downsizing, you may need to redesign/remount the positioning of a new TV into a salon or stateroom.
There are many mounts and systems that can help facilitate the installation. Modern TVs confirm to VESA mounting standards, allowing you to mount the TV to a wall, pre-manufactured bracket or other structure with a known bolt pattern. The good news is that today’s TVs are lightweight. A 2017 Samsung 49” 4K TV weighs 31-pounds, less than half of what a similar size TV weighed years ago. This makes designing a mounting solution much easier.
Pro Tip — Before buying a TV, inspect the existing TV to see how the auxiliary your devices are connected. Many new TVs do not have the same audio and video inputs and outputs that old TVs had. If you need to keep legacy devices connected to your new TV, you may need adapters.
One last note on TVs – the traditional audio output that often plugs into the stereo system is missing on most modern televisions. This feature was used extensively on sportfish boats to connect the TV to the stereo system, allowing you to watch and listen to the TV while underway. If you are using a home theater type system to manage all the inputs, sound should be easy.
If you rely on the TV’s audio output, however, there are currently two popular methods to get sound out of a modern television. New TVs offer Audio Return Channel (ARC) technology within the HDMI connection. This sends the TV’s audio back to the source, such as a home theater receiver or even the newest Fusion marine stereos.
With this feature, the stereo can play the sound of the TV through its stereo speakers. The second option is to use the digital optical audio output connection, routed through a converter if needed, and run that cable to a stereo or home theater receiver auxiliary input.
Mobile view: A sportfisher’s entertainment system in the palm of your hand.
While much of the information listed in the new boat section holds true, there are a few points of difference. With an upgrade, running new wires for speakers and connections can get expensive. Often the headliner needs to be removed—as everyone knows, nothing to do with removing or applying headliner is either easy or cheap. Making use of or re-purposing existing wiring can allow you to keep a reasonable budget and still have a nice upgrade.
Repurposing refers to the use of existing wiring for a purpose other than that which it was originally intended. This is usually done for video or audio signal wires (not power wires)! Devices called Baluns can convert a signal from one kind of wiring to another. Using a specialized balun, for instance, allows you to use a Cat5 data cable for the transmission of audio or video signals.
When it comes to music, there are many listening zones on a boat and not all users may want the same music at the same time. For instance, there could be a movie playing in the salon with the movie sound routed through salon speakers, while the anglers in the cockpit could be listing to music from an iPhone while the captain is listing to satellite radio on the bridge. This situation is actually common on larger sportfish boats and there are a few different ways to accomplish the effect.
For many boats, multiple individual systems are often the easiest to install and operate. The flybridge often has its own basic stereo system, often controlled through the multifunction display. The salon often has its own sound system, primarily used with the TV but also capable of playing music from any source. The cockpit sound system is often a separate zone from the bridge stereo. It could also have its own system or be tied to the salon as a separate zone.
While separate zones are the best way to satisfy all needs, the ability to interconnect the zones is also helpful when you want to have the same source playing through the entire boat. Playing a single source can be accomplished by sharing the source through auxiliary inputs. Some boats even have speakers in the engine room which are usually controlled as a separate zone from the salon system – a nice touch for those oil change days!
Whether it be upgrading an existing boat or putting together a new boat package, quite a bit goes into optimizing a boat’s entertainment package. While it’s hard to keep up on the available options and technology, a little research and review of your requirements can go a long way. Whether you tackle the job yourself or bring in the perspective of a professional, incorporating all the modern features can definitely improve your boat’s user experience.
Pro Tips
· Don’t forget to incorporate your other video sources – i.e. such as engine room cameras, cockpit cameras, security systems, game systems, chartplotter MFD screen inputs/output, action cameras, Smartphone’s and other etc. – into your bridge and interior systems.
· If you are running cables, run spare cables for future use or expansion. If you are not sure what type of wire to run, use one or more Cat 5 cable (Cat5e, Cat6 etc). With the use of a balun, the wire could be used for many purposes.
· Bluetooth – Did you know not all Bluetooth is the same? There are many variations of the Bluetooth hardware standard, begging at version 1.0 and at is most current version 5, as expected the newer versions generally perform better. As most have realized Bluetooth is a great connection method for wireless devices, though limited in distance by design and suffers some incompatibility between devices. An interesting note, Fusion entertainment recently introduced a new marine stereo, the 755, and they specifically addressed and improved the Bluetooth capability by moving the internal Bluetooth circuitry closer to the front face of the stereo, allowing for longer range reception than their previous models.
Captain Steve Katz is the owner of Steve’s Marine Service Inc in Ocean City, Maryland. He is the Vice President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association and holds ABYC Master Technician certification, NMEA AMEI, NMEA2000 certificates along with factory training from many manufacturers. To contact Steve, email info@inthebite.com.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
Sirius XM is proud to introduce its latest service: Fish Mapping.
Designed to identify target-rich environments, Fish Mapping helps keep you in the action. By providing the location of weedlines and pinpointing places where favorable conditions exist, Fish Mapping means less searching and more backing down.
Learn more at www.siriusxm.com/fishmapping.
By Capt. Adam Peeples
Selecting an electronics package for a center console is no simple task. Multi-Function Displays (MFDs), sounders, transducers, autopilots, radar, forward-looking infrared (FLIR), and boat handling technology such as Yamaha HelmMaster give the boat owner a seemingly endless list of options to choose from.
Settling on the package of products that works for your situation, involves wading through the sea of choices and ultimately selecting the manufacturer and components that suits your needs.
Garmin, Simrad, Furuno, and Raymarine are the primary manufacturers of complete electronic packages for center consoles. I personally prefer Garmin electronics, as their user interface is extremely intuitive, and I have the most experience operating Garmin systems. All of the top marine electronics manufacturers make a solid product that can get the job done.
The electronic systems on your boat should aid in navigation and increase your ability to find and stay on your target species. Electronics should make your boat a safer and more effective fishing platform. When outfitting a boat, it is wise to ask the question, “How will this system help me?” If there isn’t an easy answer to this question, you could bypass the addition of the product or system.
While brand preference is a personal choice, the basics of a center console electronics package comes down to two things: navigation and fishing capabilities. The electronics you install on your boat will either help you navigate or catch fish. Any systems that do not accomplish one of these things aren’t necessarily not needed, but are excluded from this article.
The Multi-Function Display is the piece of equipment that ties all the electronic system together. After installation, the multifunction display is the part of the system that most users will interact with most often. While it is possible to get by with only one MFD, the ideal setup will have two or even three. This will allow you to monitor multiple systems such as the chart plotter, radar, and sonar easily, while giving the crew the added safety of redundancy. Being 50 miles offshore and having your boat’s only MFD go south is not a good scenario.
Garmin’s GPSMAP 8612xsv is a 12” touchscreen monitor that is NMEA 2000 network capable. Packing a wide array of features, this MFD networks sonar, radar, cameras, and media such as Sirius satellite weather services and is available from 10” to 24”. It offers wifi capabilities to pair with a smartphone app through which users can monitor and control all the systems on the boat. Other manufacturers offer similar, equally capable MFDs.
In my opinion, it really boils down to which user interface one prefers. Once you have decided on an MFD, the rest of the process is a bit easier. For many boaters, the rest of the electronic systems on the vessel will be from the same manufacturer that produces your MFD. At this point, where you fish and how you fish will dictate the requirements for the rest of the electronics package.
Radar is a must have for navigating at night and during periods of limited visibility. A high-performance open-array radar such as Garmin’s GMR 606 xHD provides not only
the safety of navigational and weather reading capability but is also powerful enough to find birds working tuna schools. A smaller and more compact dome radar, such as the Garmin GMR 18 xHD, has ample power for close range navigational use and weather reading out to 48 miles.
A good sounder and transducer are vital to just about all types of offshore fishing. While products like Garmin’s XSV line of MFDs contain processing capability for your bottom machine, a sounder such as the GSD-26 will allow you to get the most out of your transducer.
Compressed High-intensity Radar Pulse (CHIRP) technology transmits across a range of frequencies—traditional sonar relies on a single frequency. CHIRP provides better target distinction at depth. Rather than seeing a single mass of tuna 300’ under the boat, CHIRP allows you to see the individual fish while distinguishing between the target species and bait returns.
The advantages of CHIRP over traditional sonar make it a must have on any offshore boat. The transducer is the key to bringing the entire fish finding capabilities of the system together. With bilge space being tight on most center consoles, a compact CHIRPready transducer is ideal for most systems.
Craig Cushman, the Director of Marketing for the AIRMAR Technology Corporation, says that the most popular AIRMAR transducer for center consoles is the B175 series of thru-hull transducers. Requiring a hole of only 3 7/8” hole and taking up minimal space in the bilge, the 1kW B175 supplies powerful CHIRP capabilities in a small package. I have a B175H and a B175L on my Cape Horn.
They perform well for bottom fishing, deep dropping, and daytime sword fishing. For larger center consoles such as Captain Shane Toole’s 42LR Freeman Necessity, the option for larger and more powerful transducers exists. Fishing out of Orange Beach, Captain Toole describes AIRMAR’S R599 3kW CHIRP-ready in-hull transducer as his “secret weapon” for projecting a high-quality return of structure and bait.
Toole runs a full Garmin electronics package with two GPSMAP 8624s, a GHP-20 Autopilot, GSD-26 sounder paired with an AIRMAR B175H and a R599 CHIRP-ready transducer, GMR 606 xHD open-array radar, and a GXM-52 SiriusXM marine receiver. According to Toole, the capabilities of the system along with Garmin’s user-friendly interface increase his ability to find and stay on the fish.
Captain Adam Peeples runs the One Shot Charters out of the Destin, Florida area. In addition to running a first-class operation, Peeples is a combat veteran with two deployments in Iraq and a stint as an instructor at the US Army Sniper School to his credit.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
Photo courtesy Garmin
OLATHE, Kan./April 2, 2020/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the world’s leading marine electronics manufacturer1, today announced the quatix 6, its next-generation marine GPS smartwatch series designed specifically for life on the water.
More than a watch, the quatix 6 combines all of the best features of Garmin’s flagship fēnix® 6 GPS smartwatch with specialized boating, fishing, cruising and sailing capabilities, including comprehensive connectivity with compatible Garmin chartplotters and other marine electronics to offer autopilot control, data streaming, sail race assistance, Fusion-LinkTM entertainment control and more.
With a rugged yet refined design, the quatix 6 is preloaded with activity profiles for nearly every sport and adventure at sea and on land, including paddle boarding, golf, hiking, rowing, skiing, kayaking, just to name a few.
“The quatix series has made a name for itself as the most sophisticated and connected general-purpose marine smartwatch series on the market today,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “Whether you’re chasing bass or billfish, cruising or sailing, canoeing or kayaking, the quatix 6 has everything you’ll need on the water. With the addition of some of our most sought-after features, like built-in music, contactless payments and preloaded topographic and ski maps, we’ve redefined marine smartwatch standards once again.”
With daily activity tracking2 and a host of connectivity features, the quatix 6 doubles as a stylish smartwatch that can be worn 24/7 and easily transitioned from water to land. Stay connected with the quatix 6 that allows users to receive alerts on their wrist for incoming calls, texts, emails and more by enabling smart notifications3. And thanks to the Garmin PayTM contactless payment solution4, it’s easy to make purchases quickly on the go with nothing needed but the watch.
Photo courtesy Garmin
The quatix 6 series also features on-device music storage of up to 2,000 songs, so users can sync playlists from several of the most popular music services5 to their watch for phone-free listening. Thanks to its full marine-centric toolset, the quatix 6 acts as a wearable instrument that, when paired with onboard Garmin electronics, can stream NMEA® 2000 boat data to give users access to important sensor information like speed, depth, temperature, wind data and more – right from their wrist, no matter where they are on the boat.
Like previous models, when the quatix 6 is paired with an onboard autopilot, it can also be used to control the autopilot to change heading, engage pattern steering, and follow a GPS route.
With a quatix 6, it’s easy to mark and save a waypoint from anywhere on the boat without having to return to the helm. It can also be used to control an onboard entertainment system thanks to the built-in Fusion-Link Lite app. The quatix 6 also adds support for optional BlueChart® g3 coastal charts and LakeVü inland maps with integrated Navionics® data, so it can be utilized as both a dedicated or back-up navigation tool.
Specifically designed for the water, the quatix 6 gives mariners up-to-date tide data downloaded for their chosen area through a smartphone, and will have access to that data for seven days. It’s also equipped with an anchor alarm to warn users of drift and an anchor rode calculator that tells the user the proper length of anchor line to put out.
For fishing, a competition timer and fish catch log are available to help users keep track of the fish they’ve caught and the time remaining before getting back to weigh-in. When it comes to sailing, the quatix 6 is loaded with SailAssistTM capabilities with improved sail racing features like virtual starting line, distance to start line, race countdown timer and tack assist.
The quatix 6 also features wrist-based heart rate2 for all-day stress tracking, underwater wrist-based heart rate for swimming and Pulse Ox6 blood oxygen saturation to support advanced sleeping monitoring and acclamation. Plus, the innovative Body BatteryTM energy monitoring feature lets users see their body’s energy levels at any given moment, which can help with scheduling workouts, rest times and sleep.
Measuring at 47mm, the quatix 6 features a bigger, always-on 1.3-inch color display with an LED backlight so data is easily visible in any light. Water rated to 100 meters7, the quatix 6 was built to withstand the elements and boasts up to 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, 24 hours in GPS mode and up to 60 hours in UltraTracTM battery saver mode. Thanks to the new customizable Power Manager, users can also see and control how various settings and sensors impact battery life, and even adjust their battery saving modes to extend battery life on the fly.
The quatix 6 is available now in two versions: the quatix 6 and the quatix 6 Titanium. The quatix 6 Titanium has a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens, titanium bezel, buttons and rear case and includes a titanium watch band as well as a cirrus blue silicone QuickFitTM band with a suggested retail price of $999.99. The quatix 6 has a stainless steel bezel, buttons and rear case and includes a captain blue silicone band with a suggested retail price of $699.99.
Compatible marine products include: GPSMAP® 7×2/9×2/12×2 Plus, GPSMAP 10×2/12×2, GPSMAP 74/7600, GPSMAP 84/8600, GHCTM 20, GNXTM Wind and the GNT 10. Garmin was recently named Manufacturer of the Year for the fifth consecutive year by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA), an honor given to the most recognized marine electronics company for support of products in the field.
For more information on Garmin, please e-mail info@inthebite.com or fill out the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.
1 Based on 2018 reported sales
2 See Garmin.com/ataccuracy for more details
3 When paired with compatible smartphone. See Garmin.com/ble for more details
4 View current supported country, payment network and issuing bank information at Garmin.com/GarminPay/banks
5 Requires premium subscription with a third-party music provider
6 This is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition; see Garmin.com/ataccuracy. Pulse Ox not available in all countries
7 See Garmin.com/waterrating for more details
The Omni Sonar from Furuno has done nothing short of revolutionized sportfishing. Each year, Omni-equipped boats cash millions of dollars in checks from the biggest tournaments in the world. In this exclusive video Dock Talk, Furuno USA’s Matt Wood provides a complete and thorough breakdown of the capabilities of the Omni Sonar system, including tips on getting dialed in and what the installation looks like and all that the system can do. Don’t miss this…
A Captain’s Testimonial—“Like clockwork, I would clean my a/c strainer every Tuesday for years until we installed the ElectroSea Clearline System,” says Captain Harry Schafer of the 66′ Viking Sea Wolf.
“Based in Jupiter, Florida, the water around our dock can get really warm, especially in summer, and the barnacles, sludge and sea critters would thrive in our a/c system. After installing the ElectroSea system, I only check on my a/c system about every five weeks now. When I do check it, I hardly clean anything, no barnacles or gunk. I’ve had the system installed for about six months and can honestly say this will change how the industry thinks about descaling saltwater systems. I haven’t had to call for a/c service since we installed it. I’m also a veteran captain, and in my opinion, this is one of three major improvements to boating in recent years. The Sea Keeper, the Spot Free water rinsing systems and now this, the ElectroSea.”
By Steve Katz
When it comes to finding the best fishing grounds, some captains seem to have that fifth sense. Such helmsmen can consistently navigate to productive waters using little more than visual observation of the conditions and a chart or two. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some captains won’t leave the dock without the latest in high-tech gadgetry– satellite images, altimetry data and multiple on-board fish finding sonars and the like. For most captains, it is a happy medium that combines local knowledge with the right amount of technology that guides their search for productive water.
