Coastal and offshore navigation demands the best charting system we can fit in our pilot house and in our budget. With the latest generation of inexpensive, easy-to-use, electronic chartplotters, we no longer need to depend on paper charts with a sextant or GPS receiver to plot our course.
Choosing the right chartplotter for our vessel entails addressing a number of questions.
Do we need the biggest, most expensive chartplotter to find our way along the coast? Do we need to purchase all the same brand of electronics as a kit? Also, how and where do we install the main nav system and external antenna, if any? Do we use a cable network communicating via NMEA 2000, or do we opt for Wi-Fi communication, eliminating the need for a backbone cable altogether? And finally, which company’s product line will provide us with the best overall service and quality? Fortunately, several manufacturers are available to fill our navigation needs with the latest technology.
08.01.25 Tech Tip 3
The Simrad GO9 XSE has a compact touch screen with high-res graphics. (Credit: Bill Morris)
Simrad GO9 XSE
One of the latest evolutions of Simrad’s line of multifunction displays is the GO9 XSE, a unique name for a distinctive advancement in depth sounder technology. The Simrad GO9 leaves previous designs behind with shorter processing time and faster transitions and page loading.
The modest size of the Simrad GO9 is ideal for smaller vessels, such as coastal sailboats, ski boats and small fishing vessels, although many offshore cruising vessels also opt for the ease of use and compact size of this device.
The nine-inch, all-weather, touch screen multifunctional display with high-resolution color graphics features a built-in Echosounder and Wi-Fi. The “multi-touch” widescreen display is protected by an “oleophobic coating,” allowing for easy cleaning of fingerprints. You can mount the monitor flush, reducing its profile in the nav station, or use the tilt mount for viewing from other corners of the cabin or cockpit.
Completing the whole system, the Simrad GO9 comes with Halo20 radar, C-MAP Discover charts and an 83/200 kHz transom-mount transducer, which eliminates the need to haul out the vessel and cut a hole in the bottom of the hull to accommodate the transducer.
The GO9 allows you to communicate with other nav instruments and mobile devices as well, permitting crew to monitor vessel systems from anywhere onboard, adding significantly to the overall safety of the vessel.
Raymarine Axiom Plus
Raymarine, a market leader in chartplotters and other electronic gear, offers its Axiom Plus multifunction display, which is equipped with a powerful, dual quad-core processor, enhanced data storage over previous units and upgraded Raymarine LightHouse Charts, along with Navionics and C-MAP.
The Axiom Plus’s 8.4-inch display offers access to charts, sonar, radar, weather and high-contrast color video, which Raymarine claims is “twice the resolution of traditional displays.” Raymarine’s signature HydroTough nano-coated, impact-resistant glass screen repels water, oil and smudges for enhanced viewing and faster response through touch controls.
Also contributing to greater viewing capability are what Raymarine claims are wider viewing angles and sharper contrast than seen in other recent technology. The enhanced viewing capability is coupled with high-resolution access to readouts from radar, sonar, multiple graphic chart displays and more.
B&G Zeus 12
The B&G Zeus 12 multifunction display with C-Map cartography is another high-quality chartplotter navigation system manufactured by a trusted name in marine electronics. This model has a 12-inch, diagonal widescreen display, allowing enhanced visibility from distant corners of the cabin or cockpit.
The Zeus 12 high-visibility SolarMAX HD display incorporates an all-weather multi-touch screen, which you can use even when it’s wet. It is amazing how the fine sensors in the glass can differentiate between saltwater and skin moisture, but this technology has become a mainstay among leading GPS manufacturers. Just for good measure, the Zeus 12 monitor also gives you the option of non-touch mode to ensure worry-free operation when the clouds unleash the worst of their fury.
Another key feature of the Zeus 12 is Wi-Fi capability, which B&G provides through its GoFree internet hotspot. Use your smartphone or tablet to view charts and control navigation functions from anywhere on the vessel.
B&G’s ForwardScan sonar and MARPA target tracking with AIS overlay give you a high degree of control, whether you are picking your way through the rocks around Catalina Island or racing around buoys off Newport Beach. Zeus connects with a wide assortment of other sensors and instruments, including radar, sonar and remote GPS, all working to make your voyage a safe one.
Lowrance HDS Live 12
If you demand a larger monitor screen, especially for bigger vessels where greater viewing distance is required, you’ll appreciate the centerpiece of the Lowrance HDS Live 12 multifunction display, which is a 12-inch horizontal monitor screen with 1280 x 800 resolution and full color.
Included in the HDS Live 12 package is an Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer, along with CHIRP technology, which enables side scan and down scan capability up to 150 feet at 800kHz and up to 300 feet at 455kHz.
Pairing up with your cellular device enables the HDS Live 12 to display onscreen text messages and call notifications, and it offers full smartphone integration, permitting you to view video, Google maps and fishing data on your fishfinder display. The HDS Live 12 offers a high-resolution SolarMAX HD screen, so you can view images from any angle, even in direct sunlight.
Other features include C-MAP Genesis Live custom mapping and pre-loaded C-MAP U.S. enhanced charts with one-foot contours on 4,000 lakes in North America. Of course, if you’re headed offshore, you’ll need to install further mapping capability to navigate across open ocean.
Pick the unit best fitting your needs and tastes, and remember to carry, at the very least, a handheld GPS as a back-up and, if funds allow, a back-up chartplotter system in case of main system loss due to lightning. Happy cruising!
