Every year marine electronics manufacturers introduce their cool new goodies at the Miami International Boat Show in February, so we jumped on an airplane and endured two days in the torturous South Florida heat (while there were eight inches of snow blanketing Chesapeake Country… snicker, snicker), to bring you the latest news for 2025.
New NSS
Simrad announced a new NSS 4 MFD designed to boost navigational performance and control. The units are available in 10-, 12-, and 16-inch display sizes, with glass-to-edge surfaces that look slick and modern while maximizing the screen size for the footprint. At the heart of the upgrade is a switch to Qualcomm eight-core processors, vastly boosting speed, smoothing page transitions, and speeding up autorouting functions.
NSS 4 units incorporate built-in one-kW CHIRP sonar and support Active Imaging HD sonar, and a single unit can now track and display up to four different sonar sources at the same time. Mercury cruise control, Active Trim, and autopilot can all be accessed via the display. C-MAP Discover and RevealX charts, multiple IP cameras, CZone digital switching, RGBW lighting control, audio control, SiriusXM marine weather, and Simrad Recon electric trolling motor control are all in the mix. Price: starts at $2599. Check out simrad-yachting.com to learn more.
Bright at Night
Thermal night vision scopes have been around for years, but not with a 640 x 480 thermal detector, a 500-meter range, and a 32-degree field of view. We tried using the new FLIR Ocean Scout Pro scope in the Miami Beach convention center, and it was so sensitive you could literally see people’s pulse as they walked down the aisles. There’s a one-touch button control for zoom, brightness, and standby modes, and you can snap off thermal image pictures and then Bluetooth them right to your phone. The unit carries an IPX67 waterproof rating and is backed with a super strong five-year warranty. Thanks to an internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery you get six hours of use per charge, and you can even send that charge in the opposite direction and use the scope’s battery to feed power to your devices. Price: $2395. Visit flir.com to see what you’re missing. In the dark, that is.
Oh, What a Joy!
You wish you could enjoy the easy docking delivered by digitized joystick control, but you have a single-engine boat with a bow thruster? Never fear, if that engine is a Mercury. Their tech-wizards introduced Joystick Piloting for Single Engine Outboards at the Miami show, and now bow thruster control is seamlessly integrated. That means you get full 360-degree maneuverability including shifting, throttling, and steering all at your fingertips via joystick. When integrated with a heading sensor and SmartCraft Connect, the system also delivers dynamic positioning features like Skyhook and Drifthook. The system is compatible with Mercury Verado and Sea Pro V8, V10, and V12 motors equipped with electric steering, from 250- to 600-hp, and various CAN-based variable speed thrusters. Price: varies by application. Visit mercurymarine.com to learn more.
Seeing the Light
Raymarine has a new set of charts to please your every navigational desire, in the form of LightHouse Charts GEN 2. For Axiom and Element chartplotters, GEN 2 charts deliver three times faster screen re-draws, expanded coverage including harbors, lakes, and rivers, and easier updating with faster download times. You can now change the size of chart icons, enjoy additional color palettes, and toggle between S-52 (government) and “Leisure” chart styles. The GEN 2 charts also have an expansive points-of-interest library so you can find marinas, fuel docks, and other amenities with ease. Current LightHouse subscribers can upgrade their existing chart card by going to their Chart Manager. New LightHouse chart cards cost $149.99 and come with a free one-year premium subscription. Visit raymarine.com to learn more.
Here, Fishy Fishy Fishy
Anglers looking for a wider field of view from their fishfinder will be interested in two new transducers from Airmar, the B275MWHW (through-hull) and the TM185MW (transom-mount). Both deliver wider bottom coverage than any other one-kW transducer on the market, via 57- to 73-degree port/starboard and 16-degree fore/aft beams. That also makes them great for open-water trollers on the hunt for pelagics, thanks to excellent target separation high in the water column. The B275MWHW covers the 75- to 250-kHz bandwidth, and the TM185MW boasts 60- to 100 kHz. Those in need of a transom-mount with a broader spectrum can also check out the TM275MWHW, which is essentially the B275MWHW in a transom-mounting shell, good for performance below 30 knots. Price: Varies by dealer.
Don’t Be Dated
The ground beneath the water is a funny thing—it slowly shifts, moves, and changes. Channels silt in and sandbars form where none were before. Add in abrupt man-made changes like moving markers and dredging projects, and the digital charts in your chartplotter can become obsolete in short order. Fortunately, most modern charts are easily updated.
There are several different processes for updating your charts. Which you’ll use will depend on what make and model machine you have at the helm and where it gets its digital data from. MFDs with WiFi can sometimes be tethered to your phone or linked up with a marina hotspot to pull the updates down from the ether. Some services offer an app that allows you to stream the update into your boat’s big brain. But more commonly, you’ll have an SD card plugged into your unit which houses all that chartography. Most of the time the easiest way to initiate an update is to pull the chip out of the machine, take it home, and insert it into a computer’s card reader. Then you can go to the website of your chartography provider and download the latest data. But you’ll have to be a subscriber to the provider’s service in order to do so. Many MFDs are sold in bundles with chart chips that don’t include a subscription or include a time-limited subscription and after that, you’ll need to pony up or replace the chart card entirely.
Each of these options requires its own specific processes, access, and subscriptions, which differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. But with some priming of the informational pump on the internet you can find the instructions in no time, and the next time you cast off the lines it’ll be with the latest digital charts at the helm.
By Lenny Rudow