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Tech Talk with Seabits
SPRING TECH CHECKUP by Steve Mitchell
TimeZero, NorthStar and Garmin chart details A great thing to do at least once a year, and especially prior to the start of a more active boating season, is to give your boat a tech checkup. Just like your engine, sails, and other systems, spending some time testing your tech systems is an excellent way to ensure trouble-free time on the water. SOFTWARE & CHARTS Having up-to-date charts is important for a variety of reasons, primarily because of safety when navigating. Ensuring that you have the latest information on obstructions, changes to channels and lights, depths in tight passages and everything in between means that you can navigate with confidence. It is also a requirement by most governments and agencies that you carry the most up-todate chart information for this very reason, so keeping them updated should be on the top of your checkup list. So many parts of our boats have software on board now, such as inside a chartplotter, on a PC, 48º NORTH
or elsewhere. Checking to see if there are updates for the software on your chartplotter is necessary to keep it running smoothly, and take advantage of new features and functionality. Keep in mind that updating your charts can require a more powerful internet connection given the size of chart updates, so doing this at home may be a better choice than aboard the boat. In some cases, it can also require software upgrades to support new charts, using mobile devices to download things ahead of time, or even working with a vendor to get newer charting. This year in particular, a lot of things have changed in the charting world, with the retirement of United States Coast Guard paper charts and the purchase of Navionics by Garmin — and resulting changes with access to those charts by existing vendors. All of these transitions make it doubly important to check with the manufacturer of your chartplotter or software, and make any upgrades or Garmin inReach Explorer+ and Garmin GPSMAP updates to whichever type of chart 86sci satellite trackers. you rely on.
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MARCH 2022