Lessons from a Rescue
After a father and his two young sons were forced to abandon ship, a simple personal locator beacon was the piece of equipment that saved their lives.
Safety
Who’s Driving Whom?
Auto-routing can be the quickest, easiest way to get into trouble. Learn more here.
The Importance of VHF on Your Boat
There's a shocking lack of VHF traffic out there. We investigate.
Danger Zone?
Focus on what’s really important, the safety of you and your family on your boat. You may be surprised to learn how radar fits into the equation. Get the whole story here.
Vesper Marine WatchMate XB-8000 smartAIS
Vesper Marine has added new functionality to its black-box XB-8000 AIS transponder. The system adds a layer of safety through active alarms that monitor potential collision threats and alert the user. According to Vesper Marine, smartAIS uses navigation-sensor, GPS, and AIS data to prioritize alerts.
Furuno DRS12AX X-Class Radar
Anglers will flock to the bird mode feature, in which birds are readily marked without tuning the unit, and then tracked simply with an echo trails feature.
How to Manage Your Helm for Top Performance and Long Life
Be smart about the way you manage your helm for top performance and long life.
Vesper Marine’s Virtual Buoy System
Vesper Marine explores innovative ways to use AIS and employ the powerful warning and messaging capabilities embedded in the system. The company just launched a project to mark a no-anchor zone over some seabed power cables and we saw it in action.
Virtual Buoys in the Long Island Sound
How Vesper Marine is using AIS to create virtual buoys to protect power cables for the New York Power Authority in the Long Island Sound.
McMurdo SmartFind M5 AIS Class A Transponder
The McMurdo SmartFind M5 AIS Class A is a transponder that provides name and navigation data from other vessels and can be integrated with a variety of chartplotters and networked systems, including a PC system using the PC AIS viewer included with the unit.
Vesper Marine's Virtual Buoys
AIS is a powerful system for helping boats avoid collisions, but that's just scratching the surface of its capability. Case in point: A smart virtual buoy system coming online soon that will protect power lines on the seabed of Long Island Sound.
Tested: Standard Horizon HX870 GPS-Integrated Handheld VHF
Our review of the Standard Horizon HX870 GPS-Integrated Handheld VHF.
Sirius Signal Distress Light
Pyrotechnic flares have been a Coast Guard requirement for decades for one simple reason: they work. At night—and even during the daytime—light and smoke from a pyrotechnic are visible from miles away. But traditional flares have limitations.
How to Get Weather Data on Your Boat
Get weather data the way you want it: Up to date and on the screen
FLIR Ocean Scout 640
With a higher-resolution sensor than its predecessors, the FLIR Ocean Scout 640 makes it easier to identify targets in extreme low-light conditions.
How to Plan a Transoceanic-Worthy Helm on a Budget
A former educator used careful planning to find a helm setup within his budget for a Transatlantic cruise to the Baltics and beyond on his Kadey-Krogen 42.
Garmin Panoptix PS60 Through-Hull Transducer
The PS60 allows Garmin to add performance to its triple-threat Panoptix sounder system.
How to Use Electronic Charts
Electronic charts are great, no doubt. But the second you start thinking they’re foolproof is the second you’re in trouble.
The Vestas Wind Debacle
The Vestas Wind debacle raises points about maximizing your radar picture.
Know the Weather When You're Boating
Learn how to better predict the weather by reading this.
How to Avoid Obstacles with Your Boat
The best way to keep your hull from getting dinged—or worse—is to simply avoid obstructions. But that’s not always as easy as it sounds. To find out some ways electronics are making your path a bit clearer read this.
Side-Scanning Sonar in Action
Sidescanning sonar is a tremendous tool to understand what's under your boat. Check out these videos that will help improve your comprehension of what the images are showing.
How AIS Works
You know that AIS helps you avoid collisions, but you may be surprised at exactly how it works. Read this to find out more.