ask the expert | by Elizabeth Altick
Plot Your Course Shane Coloney explains how boaters can create and share the most up-to-the-minute navigation charts. LB: For navigation, many boaters trust digital maps on portable media cards, but they have limitations. What are they? Coloney: Both digital and paper charts are only as good as the data on which they are based. Unfortunately, either may be based on data from surveys done as long as 40 or 50 years ago. Lacking detail and updated only with computer-estimated contour lines, these charts can miss, or obscure, the key bottom changes that most interest anglers and boaters. In addition, many important waterways remain unmapped. It’s essential that maps be as up-to-date as possible, because, for instance, one good storm can completely shift the bottom structure, and even normal tides and currents can shift areas seasonally, creating hazards for safe navigation.
CONTACT Shane Coloney Product Manager, Content & Cartography Lowrance/Simrad/B&G 4500 S. 129th East Ave. Suite 200 Tulsa, OK 74134
LB: What is Insight Genesis? Coloney: Insight Genesis is a cloud-based service that allows customers to upload their sonar logs. These raw recordings are then automatically converted to bathymetric charts with depth contours for the customer. The basic service is provided for free, giving boaters access to the most accurate, up-to-date information possible. Insight Genesis allows for dramatic, near-real-time improvement of charting on any body of water, easily exceeding the abilities of official hydrographic offices to update surveys.
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LB: What is the Social Map aspect of Insight Genesis? Coloney: Insight Genesis Social Map is an online database of coastal and inland maps generated and shared by fishing, cruising and sailing enthusiasts. Social Map allows you to easily summon and use detailed contour maps of waters close to home and around the globe. Social Map harnesses the power of community in order to improve maps. Users upload their sonar logs to Insight Genesis, and by leaving them designated as “public” data, they allow their data to be combined with the data submitted by thousands of other customers. The combined maps are then accessible by all Insight Genesis users.
LB: Does a boater need advanced computer skills to use Insight Genesis? Coloney: No. Insight Genesis was designed from the outset to be accessible by the general boating community; no need to spend hours trying to understand a new computer program. It’s so simple, you don’t even need an instruction manual (although we do provide one online). You simply open a webpage on your browser, choose the sonar log or logs that you want to upload, and click the checkbox. Your
Elizabeth Altick specializes in recreational marine, cultural and humaninterest subjects. She was formerly executive editor of a recreational boating magazine.
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data is automatically uploaded to the cloud to be converted to a bathymetric map. We do all the heavy lifting for you. Bottom line: If you’ve used a smartphone or shared a photo through social media, you can easily use Insight Genesis.
LB: What sonar equipment is needed to operate Insight Genesis? Coloney: Any sonar equipment currently supported by Lowrance, Simrad and B&G will be compatible, as are most systems manufactured within the last 8 to 10 years. If the sonar log is saved in a .slg or .sl2 file format, you are good to go!
LB: What’s the difference between a free Insight Genesis account and the premium subscription? Coloney: With the premium subscription, you have the ability keep individual trips private when uploading. This is a unique feature of our product versus others, which are typically either all public or all private. The premium subscription is really the best of both worlds and is a huge plus for anglers who may want to keep private a favorite fishing location. Premium subscribers also get access to advanced tools, such as vegetation density and bottom composition overlays, as well as integrated weather data from the time of the recording.
LB: How has Insight Genesis been received by boaters? Coloney: We are attracting an extremely active group of people who are passionate about boating safety and having fun on the water. Our community membership is skyrocketing, and our data uploads (measured in acres submitted) have been increasing by 50 percent month over month. LB
photos courtesy of navico