GPS, Charts, and Sounders
is a boat meant for use as a tender. A larger antenna may suffer damage from the davit or the garage, and therefore a smaller antenna that will stay in working condition is a far better choice.
Another piece of gear to carry: a personal locator beacon (PLB). “A PLB worn on the lifejacket of the person in the small boat, or at least always on board is important,” Lupo says. “Even if somebody’s having a heart attack you can deploy it. A lot of guys think it’s only for when you’re sinking. But any time there’s a medical emergency: If somebody is hurt really bad, or cuts himself and is bleeding like hell, you just kick it off.” Getting around by boat takes time. Even if you were to bring the injured person back to the mothership, an early distress call can make all the difference in receiving timely help. Alternatively, a handheld satellite communicator with GPS, such as the DeLorme InReach ( www.delorme.com), permits two-way texting with the mothership or rescue personnel beyond cellular or VHF coverage and includes a PLB-like instant-distress function. Any cruiser knows the value of GPS, and electronic charting makes even more sense on small boats since paper charts can be challenging to use (though we recommend all boats carry a paper chart of the area). It’s key on boats of all sizes for crews to keep track of where they are, both on their own and in relation to the mothership.
Of course helm space is at a premium and the idea is to get the most functionality you can out of one small screen. “We usually use the small Garmin,” says Jon Schimoler, owner of Voyager Marine Electronics ( www.voyagermar.com). “It’s mounted in the dashboard and it’s all selfcontained and has a transducer for depth. We try to match the tender system to what’s on the main boat—use the same manufacturer—so its operating system is the same, because a lot of different people may need to use the boat. Size is a big consideration. We’ve been pretty heavily into the small Garmins—one called the GPSMap 547 in the other called the GPSMap 741 with charts and built-in GPS antennas.”
Any multifunction display that would be installed on the helm of a small boat today is waterproof. The screens themselves have improved in leaps and bounds as well. “They’re all direct sunlight viewable today,” Lupo says. “I don’t know any one that’s not. A lot of them use the sun for the backlighting now.”
Many units are available with a built-in sounder module. Being able to use the tender to scout holding bottom in an unfamiliar cove or sort out the position of a poorly marked or shifting channel lets intrepid cruisers make the most of their on-the-water explorations. Making sure you’re getting good data without compromising the utility of the tender is no small consideration.
Some boats can have a shoot-through-hull transducer installed, provided the bottom is solid fiberglass and there’s an access point where the transducer can be placed. This is ideal since it will be protected from the chocks and rollers that invariably play a role in shipping a ten-