By Capt. Ray Rosher

The hottest topic on the south Florida sailfish tournament circuit this year is the great hook debate - circle hooks versus J-hooks. Just to be clear, this article is not intended to support or criticize either type of hook, but to look at the bigger picture. What we can do to improve sailfish survival rates regardless of which hook we chose to use.

I have used both types of hooks for as long as I have been fishing. I've had good luck in Guatemala and Costa Rica using circle hooks with dead baits, but at home (Miami, FL), I've had better luck using J-hooks with live bait.

I am not a scientist or a biologist, but I've spent most of my life working as a fisherman, trying to understand as much as possible about catching fish. How to properly take care of fish you intend to keep, and how to properly handle fish that you intend to release so their chances of survival are greatest.

The conclusions I have reached are not all based on observations made while sailfishing. Some have come from comparing ideas with some very respected captains and mates in this business and from understanding what causes many different types of bait to either live or die in captivity.

By watching what causes fish to live or die in a spacious well protected pen, I've learned a lot about what can cause a fish to die days after it's capture and release, which wouldn't be apparent without long term observation. Within five days of being placed in a pen, most traumas experienced by a fish during its capture will manifest themselves.

There are about six or seven things that must be done properly from the moment the fish is hooked until it is placed into the pen, or the fish will die within this five-day period. If those things are done properly, four or five days later the fish will begin feeding again and it will live as long as you routinely feed them good food. At that point, only two or three things can happen that will threaten their survival.

I learned all of these things the hard way over many years of trial and error. Unfortunately for the fish, mostly by a lot of errors. In a way, my ability to make a living depends on the survival rate of these baits so that we have them available for our charters and for our bait business. I firmly believe that there are not many differences between what kills a small fish, days after its capture, and what will kill a large fish during its capture or days after its release. I believe that everyone involved in fishing for sailfish, no matter what our experience level, has a desire to see every sailfish swim away in a healthy condition.

Unfortunately, I think we have all made mistakes that contributed to injuring a sailfish that were probably avoidable. These are the things that need to be addressed, and regardless of anyone's opinion of circle hooks or J- hooks in our fishing community, this great hook debate has caused this discussion to occur. I think that our increased concern over the preservation of sailfish is the greatest result of it all.

Sailfish numbers seem to be on the rise in south Florida and there are several probable contributing factors. It probably has a lot to do with the ever-increasing effort of all anglers to release sailfish.

My grandfather spent over 40 years pursuing primarily sailfish. He fished on several Miami party boats about three days a week. He kept almost everyone of them to smoke. I still remember being surprised the first time I heard that he had released one, wondering why he would do something like that.

The first captain that I worked for was Bob Lewis. I'll never forget asking him how long sailfish lived and his response was, "about four or five years, so you might as well keep them." He was not the only one that told me that, Capt. Buddy Carey and Capt. Bill Harrison told me the same thing years later. This was just a common opinion of that time which led fishermen to feel that if you didn't keep a decent sized sailfish, they were probably going to die soon anyway, kind of like a salmon after spawning.

Another situation that led to this mentality was the fact that all sailfish mounts in the early days required you to give the fish to the taxidermist to literally have it stuffed. Fortunately for the sailfish, those days are gone.

The final issue that led to the demise of quite a few sailfish was the issue of trust and integrity in several south Florida sailfish tournaments that held prize money for the winners. With the introduction of the polygraph and a solid observer program, the need to put them on the dock has all but vanished. Today, if you were to drag a sailfish down the dock to the scales during a sailfish tournament not only would it not count for the tournament, but you probably wouldn't be too popular with the rest of the crowd.

Fortunately for the sailfish, times have changed.

Another reason that we are seeing more sailfish on our coast is because of generally increasing bait populations. This is probably a result of the net ban which was put into effect several years ago. This ban protects populations of fish from large scale netting from shore to three miles offshore. This ban offers the greatest protection to the area between Jupiter and Miami, since this is the only area on the east coast of Florida that the three mile limit falls outside of 120 feet of water. This protected depth range saves many types of bait from netting that sailfish feed on.

Another part of this picture is that Miami has more artificial reefs than any other area in this zone which offer great habitat for a lot of the bait that sailfish like to feed upon. By offering great habitat to hold the food longer, you are increasing the incentive for the sailfish to stay longer in our area instead of just migrating by us.

Sailfish numbers seem to be on the rise in south Florida...

The biggest reason behind the rule change in many tournaments this year requiring all boats to use circle hooks is to reduce the number of fish that are gut hooked. A J-hook obviously has a greater chance to gut hook a fish if given excessive drop back. In an effort to reduce the problem, a maximum of a four degree offset is allowed for circle hooks used in those tournaments. There is a list of acceptable hooks allowed so that all teams are using hooks within these parameters.

Most of the captains and anglers that are not used to fishing circle hooks have at the very least been worried about the hookup ratios, some are not sure if they'll fish these tournaments. And because of the seemingly increasing numbers of sailfish seen in recent years, their feeling is that " if it's not broken, don't fix it." It's wrong to judge something before you've tried it - it often leads to misconceptions.

Circle hooks aren't the first controversy involving sailfishing techniques and the issue of gut hooking fish. In the early eighties, we fished the Merritt, Monterrey, Rybovich tournament in Palm Beach. Out of 30+ boats, there were three of us flying two kites, the "L & H" with John B. Dudas (Louie's dad), "That's My Hon" with Dick Greiner (a local Palm Beach charter boat) and us.

John originated the idea of flying two kites, and despite knowing what an advantage this would have been to keep to himself and his team, he had been kind enough to show Dick and myself how to do it, as well as, anyone in Miami who asked. As I recall, most of the captains involved in this tournament, for the most part preferred to simply criticize John for everything they could think of instead of asking questions and educating themselves.

At the end of the tournament the three of us came in the top three places. The following year there were five of us flying two kites and we all came in the top six places. The local captains that fished either one kite or no kites were noticeably upset with the outcome and a few comments were made at the awards banquet. I didn't give it much thought.

The main reason the boats with two kites were so successful was because both tournaments were very windy which made fishing flat lines out of a typical charter boat with a cockpit much more difficult than the two kite approach. Here comes the amazing part, the following year the tournament organizers banned kites from the tournament and the reason cited was that kites were unsportsmanlike and resulted in too many gut hooked fish.

Do I believe that kites are unsportsmanlike? No. Do they give you an advantage in windy conditions? Yes, they do. But if someone is too stubborn to learn a better technique, then they deserve to get beat. Remember, this occurred many years ago when the idea of flying two kites was new, John and I were both from Miami and Dick was a local captain but was not afraid to try something different. A lot of the Palm Beach and Stuart boats could fish circles around us with dead bait, but under windy conditions with live bait, the kites simply gave us an advantage.

The biggest thing that bothered me about their reasoning is their claim that kites gut hook too many fish. I believe just the opposite. Almost every day that we sailfish, we fish both flat lines and kites together and we have always used J-hooks. I would say that we hook 50% to 60% of our flat line fish and 75% to 85% of our kite caught fish where the hook is visible somewhere on the edge of the mouth or are foul hooked somewhere outside of the mouth.

Our percentages may vary from that of other boats, but that is truly where our numbers fall. I'm sure that you could gut hook more fish on the kite if you wanted to but we don't drop back much and I think this helps us to avoid gut hooking more sailfish and improves the survival rate of the fish that are released.

Another reason why I think that a kite is less likely to gut hook a fish with a J-hook is because no matter which way that a fish swims after eating a kite bait, without a long drop back, the pressure quickly increases on the hook, pulling in an upward direction hooking a lot of our fish in the roof of the mouth or in the corner of the jaw.

Flat lines on the other hand, are usually pulled in a certain direction by slowly bumping the boat ahead or the wind causing the boat to drift away from the baits. Because of this pull on the bait, many times a sail will see the bait, swim up behind it and eat it as he swims toward the boat, giving him a lot of time to totally swallow the bait. Many times this will happen without you knowing that your bait has even been eaten. This happens more often if you are fishing from the cockpit level, without a tower.

On several occasions when Alex and I were both down below, we've had a sailfish start jumping before it pulled off of the release clip on the reel. Overall, even without long drop backs, our hookup ratios have been very good, so unless we get a very lethargic bite, we don't drop back very much. It seems like using circle hooks, especially on flat lines could reduce the number of fish hooked deeply.

From what I've seen, the type of hook and where it is attached to the fish is only half of what affects a sailfish's chance of survival, maybe even less than half.

First, the amount of time spent fighting a fish dramatically affects the amount of lactic acid that builds up in a fish's tissue. The lighter the line and/or drag causes sometimes fatal amounts of fatigue on a sailfish. I have seen two or three sails die on us by staying deep on 6 and 8 lb. test after very long fights.

Second, dragging a sailfish across the gunwale of your boat or laying him on the deck for a measurement, will wipe the slime coat off of the fish.. I firmly believe that dragging a fish across the covering board or deck can doom that fish to a slow death caused by an infection on the area that the slime was removed.

I believe this because of watching it happen every single time to baits that are touched by human hands, gloves, the mainline on a sabiki rig if left hooked on too long or by flopping on the deck. This infection occurs over a 2 to 5 day period once baits are placed in a pen. I bait fish with as many as five livewells and therefore separate what I consider "pen baits" or flawless baits, from what I consider "day baits" meaning those were the baits that were touched and will be great for the day but won't survive well beyond that day.

My pen baits will usually have about a 95% survival rate in the bait pen and a 100% survival rate once they start eating and will live as long as I feed them.

On the other hand, my day baits will have a 5% to 20% survival rate if I put them in the pen. Their skin infections will appear within a day or two accompanied by their eroding tail fin tissue. You might have seen this condition before, we call it "scabbing." If it is minor, occasionally the bait will heal, usually leaving a visible scar on the fish. Usually though, it is fatal to the bait, regardless of the species. I've watched it happen to blue runners, goggle eyes, pilchards, tinker mackeral, speedos and even pinfish.

This is what leads me to believe that a sailfish, which was heavily abraded could just as easily die days later, even though it swam away at that moment of release.

During a typical charter, if a customer wants a picture of the fish, we will either take a picture of the angler leaning over the side of the gunwale while Alex holds the fish halfway out of the water not letting the fish bang into the side of the boat, or Alex waits until I am ready to grab the tail and we lift straight up not letting the fish drag on the covering board or deck in the process of getting a quick picture with the angler or an estimated measurement for a release mount.

Afterwards, swimming the fish alongside the boat until it shows some signs of renewed energy most likely increase their chances of survival. Generally though, we would only worry about fish pictures at the boat during a regular charter, not during a tournament. Obviously it is better to minimize contact with the fish and some of our clients are satisfied with pictures of the fish near the boat if they ask us what is best for the fish.

Fishing Tournaments are Making the Change to Circle Hooks…

Last but not least, pressure on the hook caused by "leadering" could be more damaging than the fight itself. If you think about it, a hook imbedded in a sailfish, being caught on 20 lb. test, probably averages between 4 and 12 lbs. of pressure while you are fighting the fish. When the leader is grabbed, that pressure could easily reach 50 lbs. or more, depending on the strength of the leader - especially if the leader is not chafed and it is not let go before the fish breaks off. The pressure could obviously match or exceed the listed breaking strength of the leader being used, because the leader could over test.

As far as tournament rules are concerned, a leader that over tested wouldn't matter and is rarely ever checked by the crew. Try tying off some 60 lb. test, wrap it around your hand and pull it until it breaks just to see how much pressure that is, you might be surprised. Holding on to a leader to break it instead of cutting it with a sportsman's knife or a pair of pliers, could cause more trauma depending on the hook's placement in the fish.

I prefer the sportsman's knife because you don't have as much problem cutting the leader as you do trying to keep the leader in the cutting jaws of a pair of fishing pliers. I am not talking about the damage that can be done by jerking a leader to break it but by simply taking a double or triple wrap on the leader as the fish swims away.

A good illustration might be that you could press a certain knife against your hand with 10 lbs. of pressure against it and it wouldn't cut you but put 30 lbs. of pressure against it and it cuts right to the bone. I think that a fish is no different than a person, they have tissue of varying densities and if hooked in the wrong spot, holding on to a leader could cause that hook to cut them to the bone.

I've seen several sailfish not bleed during the fight, only to start after the leader is held. For this reason, the Silver Sailfish Derby disqualifies a boat from the entire tournament if they are seen jerking on a leader to release a fish.

One concern that I have about anglers that are releasing a sailfish which is hooked in the jaw, is that the leader will probably have little or no chafe above that hook. Consequently by holding on to that leader, if the fish shakes it's head violently or jumps going away from the boat, there is a risk of damaging it's jaw structure because of the potential pressure exerted on the hook from an unchafed leader.

To avoid this situation, every boat should at least try to cut the leader with either a knife or pliers if possible. As far as leaving hooks in fish, I don't think that is a big problem. I have personally caught sailfish with as many as three old hooks in its mouth other than mine in varying stages of erosion. None of the fish that I have caught with old hooks fought any different than a fish without them. I think it is many times more damaging to jerk on a leader or hold onto a leader when a fish is showing any sign of bleeding rather than cutting it.

It seems that the best way to give a sailfish a good chance at survival, is to avoid excessive drop back with a J-hook, do every thing in your power to avoid super long fight times, avoid as much as possible removing the slime from the skin of any fish that you are planning to release and use a release knife as often as possible to minimize extra pressure on the hook at the boat.

Most importantly, realize that old dogs can learn new tricks, circle hooks fished a little differently might be just as effective as your old favorite hooks. Regardless of how it turns out, don't stop enjoying the challenge of catching one of the best fish that our coast has to offer.

Capt Ray Rosher

Selecting Electronic Charts

Electronic charts have several advantages over their traditional paper counterparts. They're compact, with the equivalent of numerous paper charts at many different scales stored on a single cartridge or disc. Most can be integrated with GPS receivers, allowing a vessels position to be superimposed on the surface of the chart. Their main advantage is that they free the navigator from the tedious and commonly error prone process of plotting positions and courses on paper charts. With electronic chart technology a mariner can quickly see the location of the vessel, where it is headed, how fast, and what may be in its path.

There are many electronic charting solutions available. These range from those in cartridges format for use with dedicated chart plotters, to highly advanced PC based software programs. The cost of this technology can be as little as $399 for a stand-alone chart plotter to tens of thousands of dollars for an integrated navigation system.

The following questions and descriptions will help you choose the option that's best for you and your boat.

Navigating with Chart Plotters

Dedicated chart plotters are ideal for boats from 15 to 50 feet. Some systems solely function as GPS chart plotters, while others can be part of an integrated system that tie together thing like radars, fish finders, and depth sounders. The amount of room available on the bridge and the use of the vessel are the most important factors when selecting a GPS based chart plotting system.

Chart plotters and Electronic Charts

Most chart plotters are compatible with only one electronic chart format. Therefore, if you've selected a chart plotter, you will automatically be using the electronic charts your new unit is compatible with. Conversely, if you selected an electronic chart format, you can then go on to choose from a number of GPS chart plotting systems that are compatible with theses charts (see the following table for a list of formats and their compatibility with GPS chart plotters).

Selecting the Right Coverage area

Electronic charts for chart plotters come on small memory cards that are inserted into the GPS unit. Because memory is limited in any media, you will have to choose the correct geographical coverage for your boating area. All electronic chart manufacturers have mapped outlines of the coverage areas they offer. This will aid you in selecting the proper cartridge for your boating.

Electronic Chart Manufacturers

In the vast world of chart plotters, several firms have come to dominate the creation of electronic charts and, as a result, many storage formats have evolved. This has made the initial selection of a charting system somewhat confusing, but it has done the consumer a great service by providing competitively priced electronic charting options.

All electronic chart manufacturers use the official paper charts of regional Hydrographic Offices (HO), like NOAA in the United States, to produce charts. What set them apart from each other is the way they display the data, other features that are added to the data, and how current the data is.

Garmin

BlueChart Cartography - BlueChart is Garmin's exclusive marine cartography, providing interactive viewing of US nautical chart data on your handheld mapping unit or your marine chartplotter. These detailed nautical charts look just like paper charts when displayed on your GPS, and show shading between depth contours, spot soundings, inter-tidal zones, nav aids, wrecks, restricted areas, anchorages, U.S. tide data and even specific port requirements. Innovative object-oriented cartography means that additional information on particular objects or locations on a chart is available with one key stroke. The entire US, including the Great Lakes, Alaska and Hawaii, is covered with just 27 cartridges.

Garmin BlueChart Cartography is also available on CD-ROM. Each BlueChart CD includes an unlock code for a single coverage area, though other areas are available with the purchase of additional unlock codes. Data can be downloaded directly from CD to your fixed or handheld mapping unit.

Garmin handheld mapping units need only the BlueChart CD, which transfers information via a PC cable. Users with fixed-mount plotters can customize BlueChart cartography using a USB programmer, a BlueChart CD and any Garmin memory cartridge. In addition to the convenience of the programmable cartridge, users can easily download software upgrades from the Garmin website free of charge.

MapSource CD-ROMs - Garmin's MapSource CDROMs offer a huge amount of inland data, including street level mapping, hot fishing spots, points of interest, topographic maps, and inland waterways. This data can be downloaded to your mapping unit in the same way as the BlueChart data using a PC cable or the USB programmer.

Garmin continues to sign agreements with hydrographic offices and private companies around the world to extend coverage and add local information (e.g. port service information in the UK). As of 2004 Garmin also offers electronic charts for the Bahamas based on Explored chart data and charts for the Caribbean based on Imray.

C-MAP

C-MAP NT+ Electronic charts are vector based and come in three geographical sizes; Local, Wide and SuperWide. These cartridges contain greater coverage and cost less than their predecessors. The SuperWide regions are so large that 14 titles cover all US coastal and Great Lakes areas! Features of these charts include an anti-grounding alarm that warns of obstructions in the vessels path, customized chart settings and a search function for locating harbors and services. C-MAP updates their entire chart library with all USCG "Notice to Mariner" changes each boating season. Each West Marine store can also program new or re-program existing C-cards for customers. The process takes only a few minutes and costs $119.99 for the Super Wide NT+ format and $89.99 for Wide NT+. C-MAP also has a compatible home planning tool (PC Planner) that allows boaters to plan trips using their electronic chart cartridges on a laptop or PC.

Navionics

Navionics also has large coverage areas at lower prices. The new regions are so large that only 17 of the 128Mb cartridges are required for full coverage of all US coastal and Great Lakes regions. Smaller regions use 32 Mb cartridges. The charts are available in Gold format on Multi-Media Cards (MMC) or compact flash cards for newer chart plotters by Lowrance, Eagle, Humminbird and Raymarine and Classic format also on MMC and compact flash cards but for older plotters by Northstar, Lowrance and Eagle. New for 2004 on Gold Charts are shaded depth contours and the Xplain feature, which displays a pop-up window when positioning the mouse cursor on the symbol of a navigational aid. Inside this window appears a plain text description of the nav aid. Navionics also started to combine three popular coverage areas on one chip, called 3XL chart. Instead of buying three separate XL charts (e.g. of Florida, Bahamas and South Carolina) for $199 a pop, you now get all three areas pre-configured for the same price, which translates into a savings of $398.

Lowrance

For the new Lowrance GlobalMap 2400 and 3000 MT GPS chartplotters, you can obtain offshore maps on Navionics MMC or you can download inland maps from the MapCreate CDROM. Lowrance offers a GPS Mapping upgrade for their LCX Series fishfinders which includes the MapCreate CD-ROM and allows the use of the optional Navionics MMC cartography.

PC Software Packages

If you have the room for a laptop or desktop computer you can use one of several PC charting software packages to display your charts. The following is a summary of what is available. Nobletec Passport Deluxe Passport Deluxe is the most complete chart data package available! It's the only electronic charting package that includes digitized versions of both raster and vector official NOAA charts.

Passport Deluxe will work with any Nobeltec Navigation program including Visual Navigation Suite, Visual Mariner and the new Nobeltec Admiral. These regions also include a copy of Nobeltec's Visual GPS Planner, so you can plan your trip with unlimited routes and waypoints, and even send and receive them between your computer and GPS.

Maptech Offshore Navigator

Offshore Navigator has full-featured planning tools and shows your real-time position on your PC screen. It also includes an autopilot interface that will let your PC drive your autopilot. Maptech charts are exact raster-scanned replicas of government charts reproduced under an agreement with NOAA.

ChartView Professional

ChartView includes powerful features for electronic charting with raster charts. Includes realtime GPS tracking, GPS upload/download, tide and current overlays, autopilot support and much more. All ChartView programs support Raster Plus, Maptech, SoftChart, NDI and Photo Regions by both Maptech and SoftChart.

RayTech Navigator

Designed for coastal navigating, offshore cruising, performance racing or serious fishing, RayTech software integrates your boat's onboard electronics with up-to-the-minute planning and environmental data. RayTech Navigator allows you to simultaneously view raster and vector charts, like C-MAP NT+ on CD, as well as animated weather satellite imagery overlaid on your navigation chart. It's also the only PC software that provides two-way synchronization with Raymarine's powerful SeaTalk data bus, which means your laptop can serve as a fully functional chartplotter. In addition, three-day weather forecasts are free through the RayTech website.

How to display the charts?

These products feature high-resolution LCD displays in water-tolerant enclosures. They are designed to be mounted in wet (not drenched) locations. All use chart databases (e.g. by CMAP, Navionics, Lowrance or Garmin) and chart cartridges where the data is stored. In the last few years, the cost of cartridges has come down while coverage areas have been added along with valuable information about seafloor contours, navigation aids, or local marine services. Updating cartridges by re-programming them has become more convenient, too (see elsewhere in this West Advisor). We find most of the chartplotter user interfaces are well designed, which is an important reason for the growing acceptance of this technology.

Many boats, especially smaller ones, don't have room for a dedicated display for every function on board: radar, fishing sonar, charting, instrument repeaters, etc. Frequently one primary display requires most of your attention, while other functions are less important. Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine, Lowrance and others allow you to display two or more functions on a single display. Today, GPS, chartplotter and fishing sonar in one package are quite common. Raymarine's line of HSB products take data repeating a step further, sharing radar, chartplotting and fishfinding information on up to ten displays.

The number of PC software programs that are used to display chart information and the vessel's superimposed position from a GPS has grown dramatically making your onboard PC or laptop a central element for gathering and processing navigation data. These programs either use raster charts from private sources or NOAA/Maptech or vector charts. Larger boats may use a desktop PC and a large flat screen display which provides excellent size, resolution, and color for viewing charts. But modern laptops with large displays (up to 17" diagonal), more processing speed (beyond 1 GHz) and storage capacity (up to 80 GB) are popular across all sizes of vessels, because they combine performance that rivals workstation PCs with portability and compactness. Still, before installing any type of computer in your nav station, you should consider ergonomics:

1. Boats rarely have comfortable and protected places to work on a computer that also allow on-screen data to be viewed by the watch.

2. Computer displays, despite all the technological advances of the recent past, are frequently hard to read in varying light conditions. Interestingly, we find that some displays, even with brightness adjusted to the lowest possible setting, can still produce too much light for comfortable viewing by the night watch.

3. Wireless components like mouse and keyboard have added more convenience and flexibility to the operation of onboard computers.

4. Faster and more user-friendly options for satellite communications (see the West Advisor on High Seas Communications) made gathering of up-to-date weather data a lot easier. Using the right software, this data can be processed by your on-board PC or laptop to create dynamic weather forecasts and to make adjustments to your routing.

To turn any computer into a fully functional navigation system, you will need:

1. A Navigation software product

2. Electronic Chart Region(s)

3. A GPS and its connector cable

4. A laptop or desktop computer

Once your GPS is connected to your computer, the navigation software displays an image of the digital nautical chart, and places an icon at the position given to it by the GPS receiver. Most software packages also provide navigation tools for route planning. Think of the software as the electronic version of dividers, parallel rules, log book, and calculator. And, if you have set up a connection from the computer to your autopilot, the PC can act as an electronic helmsman. But despite all the convenience, we remind you to keep a sharp look-out while the PC is on steering duty.

Conclusion

Electronic charts can add significantly to the safety and enjoyment of boating. However, it's important that mariners be prudent by consulting multiple sources of information when navigating unfamiliar waters. Always have up-to-date paper charts onboard and practice traditional navigation and piloting skills.

Selecting an Autopilot

What They Do

An autopilot connects to your steering system and makes corrections to your boat's heading based on either compass, wind, or GPS/Loran information.


How They Work

Autopilots consist of three main components: a heading sensor, logic and power circuits, and a drive mechanism. Advances in electronics have enabled very inexpensive autopilots to have similar sensors and logic to the most expensive autopilots we sell. The drive mechanisms vary most among autopilots.

Operation is simple: you put the vessel on the desired heading, hold the course for a few seconds, press AUTO, and release the helm. The autopilot will lock the course in memory, and will respond with helm corrections to keep your boat on this course. Modern autopilots have various methods of maintaining a more accurate course than their predecessors: auto-trim, auto sea-state, and integration with GPS or Loran. See Glossary for details on these functions.

What autopilots do best:

Autopilots are outstanding at holding a steady course in light to moderate conditions with minimal helm movements. They do not get tired like their human counterparts, and have an infinite attention span. They will open up opportunities to use your boat that would otherwise be missed due to lack of crew, lack of interest, or lack of time. And because they steer so accurately, they will save fuel and get you to your destination faster, especially when interfaced with a GPS.

What autopilots have difficulty with:

When it is difficult for you to steer, an autopilot will generally have similar problems. This is true when a sailboat's helm is not balanced due to the wrong sails, when the boat is yawing in following seas, or when the spinnaker is making the boat round up.

Showtime, our company powerboat, is a traditional Northeast bass boat design and she really yaws when going down seas. The autopilot seems to magnify this yawing, since it cannot anticipate the waves like a helmsperson can. We find that by changing our speed, we can get Showtime to work with the autopilot in waves, but we generally resort to hand steering.

Autopilots cannot see, so they cannot avoid obstacles or other vessels. You must, as always, maintain a watch so that you do not end up on the beach.

Autopilots cannot hear the cry of "Man Overboard!" and cannot return to pick up a victim. If you are single-handed, you cannot afford to go over the side-when using an autopilot or at any other time!

Autopilot Reliability and Longevity-Read this!

Because we operate our own repair center for electronics, and because we repair a lot of our customers' autopilots, we've learned quite a bit about what works, and why things fail. By sharing this information with you, we hope you can avoid the inconvenience of having to have your autopilot repaired.

Probably the biggest problem with autopilot reliability is that long-distance sailors frequently buy small, cockpit-mounted autopilots, then expect them to operate flawlessly during a multi-year cruise. When their autopilots need repair, and they will need repair eventually, our customers find themselves in a location where it is difficult or impossible to get the pilot serviced. Since it is common to sail short-handed, and to depend on the autopilot for much of the steering, it can ruin a cruise when the pilot fails.

Therefore, we do not recommend cockpit autopilots for long-distance sailing unless one of the following applies:

• You have a backup autopilot in case the first one fails.
• You have a wind vane and are not dependent solely on the autopilot.
• You love steering by hand for long hours.

A below-decks autopilot will give you a better chance for a successful cruise. They are far more powerful, more reliable, and steer your boat better.

How to Select an Autopilot

When sizing autopilots, manufacturers sometimes engage in a bit of "specsmanship." By recommending dinky autopilots for some humongous vessels, consumers tend to under-buy, and the result is pilots that under-perform. The easiest job for an autopilot is to steer a boat under power in calm seas. The smallest autopilot we offer, like the Navico TP100, could steer a 75' ocean racer under these conditions. But that example is horribly misleading, since you'll want to use your autopilot under more demanding conditions.

In addition to boat length and displacement, there are three aspects of boat performance to consider when selecting an autopilot. One is the heaviness of the helm. How much force does it take to hold the helm when going upwind in a blow? Remember that a tiller-mounted pilot is trying to steer about 12" away from the axis of the rudder. The second aspect is how fast the helm needs to be adjusted. Downwind, autopilots have to throw the helm over to counteract overtaking seas. A sailboat with a spinnaker up really needs to have fast response, since delay can lead to round-ups, or worse yet, round-downs! Powerboats need responsive pilots downwind as well, since they tend to slew and yaw as they run down seas. Slow pilots get out of synch with the waves, and oversteer as a result. The best way to measure the speed of an autopilot is the number of degrees per second of helm correction, not hardover time, which may include more or less throw for different models. We suspect that a 25' boat may require 15? per second; a 40' boat may require 10? per second; and a 70' boat may require 5? per second. The third factor is how far the helm has to be turned. Some sailboats hardly notice a 10? helm correction, due to their inefficient or undersized rudders, which means that their pilots have to have a long throw.

So how do I buy the correct size autopilot?

1. Start with manufacturer's recommendations and don't exceed them. Yes, we told you they don't always work, but begin by finding out which autopilot is recommended for your type of boat.
2. If you are near the upper limit of the manufacturer's recommendations, especially in displacement, go up a size. Remember that your boat's displacement may increase by 20% when loaded for cruising.
3. Are you going to race your boat? Are you going to fly a spinnaker? Select a fast pilot, and don't undersize or you'll end up sideways.
4. Are you sailing across oceans? Buy a below-deck pilot. Period.

Sailboats with Tillers

Use linear push-pull models like those from Navico and Raytheon. Some models have a separate compass/control unit which can be mounted where convenient. Note: Don't extend the push rod length more than 8" with extensions.

Sailboats to 40' with Mechanical Wheel Steering
Use either the Navico or Raytheon cockpit wheel pilots. They are easy to install, and have adequate performance for most conditions. Again, for trans-ocean use, we'd upgrade to a below-decks pilot.

Sailboats 35-70' with Mechanical Wheel Steering
There are many great choices in this category from B&G, Navico, and Raytheon using a drive unit mounted below decks and connected via an Edson tiller arm to the rudder shaft. There are two styles of drive mechanisms: electrical/mechanical and electrical/hydraulic. The electrical models use an electric motor to drive a series of reduction gears, which push and pull on an actuating arm. This system is inherently more efficient. The electric/hydraulic models use an electrically-driven pump, which actuates a hydraulic cylinder which pushes and pulls on an actuating arm. Both systems work well.

Small Powerboats with Mechanical Steering
Use the Navico PowerPilot PR500 or Raytheon SportPilot or SportPilot Plus. Each unit connects between your steering wheel and helm. It uses a special clutch at the wheel which allows you to steer around obstacles by simply grabbing the wheel. Installation is very simple in both cases.

Medium Powerboats and Sailboats with Hydraulic Steering
Use a small to medium hydraulic autopilot like the Raytheon ST5000 Plus or Navico PowerPilot PH500 The pump motor simply connects to the hydraulic steering lines and starts pumping when the Auto button is pressed. A rudder sensor provides information to the autopilot's brain so that it knows where the rudder is aiming at all times. The smaller pump motors require smaller power switching circuitry due to the low power requirements.

Larger Powerboats with Hydraulic Steering
Large power boats have larger steering rams, requiring larger hydraulic pumps mounted in the engine or machinery compartment. They are selected by the size of the boat, and the volume(s) of the hydraulic cylinder(s) that is used to actuate the rudder(s). These units are almost always installed by professional installers, although you might want to discuss your situation with us. Autopilots in this range include the Raytheon 6000 Plus and 7000 Plus, B&G Network, and Raytheon RayPilot 650.

Recommended Additions

1. For sailboats, autopilots can be interfaced with the boat's instruments, and use the wind angle information from the masthead sensor. This allows the pilot to follow a course relative to the wind direction, yet use the compass to smooth out heading changes.
2. Both powerboat and sailboat owners can benefit by interfacing their pilots to a GPS which provides corrections to the pilot so that heads directly for a waypoint. This is especially helpful when wind or current would otherwise cause the boat to go off-course. Interfacing to a GPS may require a separate interface box, or might be built into the pilot.
3. Most autopilots have optional remote hand controls for controlling the pilot from a distance. Some provide remote compass or instrument readouts, man overboard functions, course dodging and the ability to change the steering characteristics of the pilot.

Glossary

Auto Sea State reduces the amount of unnecessary helm movement in choppy seas. Most boats will wander to port and starboard when moving at an angle against head seas. These movements are cyclical, and the autopilot will not appreciably improve the course accuracy by moving the rudder. Auto Sea State tells the autopilot to ignore repeated course deflections, which reduces power consumption and increases drive mechanism life.

Auto Trim corrects the center location of the helm for consistent heading errors. For example, if a sailboat experiences an increase in wind speed, it will require more rudder deflection to hold a course. Rather than return the rudder to straight ahead, the autopilot will induce a steady port or starboard correction. Powerboats that are in a crosswind will also benefit from this.

Auto Wind is the ability of an autopilot to steer to an apparent wind course, tempered by the stability of the compass course. Since apparent wind sensors tend to be buffeted by erratic wind flow, modern autopilots use a long averaging period of wind data, and alter the compass course slowly to correct for wind direction changes.

NMEA interfaces instruct an autopilot to steer toward a waypoint stored in a GPS or Loran. In general, these interfaces examine the cross-track error, and alter the autopilot's course to bring the cross-track error to zero.

What is GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS. How it works GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the unit's electronic map. A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more satellites in view, the receiver can determine the user's 3D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Once the user's position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more. How accurate is GPS? Today's GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Garmin's 12 parallel channel receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain strong locks, even in dense foliage or urban settings with tall buildings. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin® GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average. Newer Garmin GPS receivers with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) capability can improve accuracy to less than three meters on average. No additional equipment or fees are required to take advantage of WAAS. Users can also get better accuracy with Differential GPS (DGPS), which corrects GPS signals to within an average of three to five meters. The U.S. Coast Guard operates the most common DGPS correction service. This system consists of a network of towers that receive GPS signals and transmit a corrected signal by beacon transmitters. In order to get the corrected signal, users must have a differential beacon receiver and beacon antenna in addition to their GPS.   The GPS satellite system The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour. GPS satellites are powered by solar energy. They have backup batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse, when there's no solar power. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. Here are some other interesting facts about the GPS satellites (also called NAVSTAR, the official U.S. Department of Defense name for GPS): The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. A full constellation of 24 satellites was achieved in 1994. Each satellite is built to last about 10 years. Replacements are constantly being built and launched into orbit. A GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended. Transmitter power is only 50 watts or less. What's the signal? GPS satellites transmit two low power radio signals, designated L1 and L2. Civilian GPS uses the L1 frequency of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. The signals travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through clouds, glass and plastic but will not go through most solid objects such as buildings and mountains. A GPS signal contains three different bits of information — a pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data. The pseudorandom code is simply an I.D. code that identifies which satellite is transmitting information. You can view this number on your Garmin GPS unit's satellite page, as it identifies which satellites it's receiving. Ephemeris data, which is constantly transmitted by each satellite, contains important information about the status of the satellite (healthy or unhealthy), current date and time. This part of the signal is essential for determining a position. The almanac data tells the GPS receiver where each GPS satellite should be at any time throughout the day. Each satellite transmits almanac data showing the orbital information for that satellite and for every other satellite in the system. Sources of GPS signal errors Factors that can degrade the GPS signal and thus affect accuracy include the following: Ionosphere and troposphere delays — The satellite signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere. The GPS system uses a built-in model that calculates an average amount of delay to partially correct for this type of error. Signal multipath — This occurs when the GPS signal is reflected off objects such as tall buildings or large rock surfaces before it reaches the receiver. This increases the travel time of the signal, thereby causing errors. Receiver clock errors — A receiver's built-in clock is not as accurate as the atomic clocks onboard the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have very slight timing errors. Orbital errors — Also known as ephemeris errors, these are inaccuracies of the satellite's reported location. Number of satellites visible — The more satellites a GPS receiver can "see," the better the accuracy. Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can block signal reception, causing position errors or possibly no position reading at all. GPS units typically will not work indoors, underwater or underground. Satellite geometry/shading — This refers to the relative position of the satellites at any given time. Ideal satellite geometry exists when the satellites are located at wide angles relative to each other. Poor geometry results when the satellites are located in a line or in a tight grouping. Intentional degradation of the satellite signal — Selective Availability (SA) is an intentional degradation of the signal once imposed by the U.S. Department of Defense. SA was intended to prevent military adversaries from using the highly accurate GPS signals. The government turned off SA in May 2000, which significantly improved the accuracy of civilian GPS receivers.

Nautamatic Marine introduces a Verado-specific autopilot. Its original TR-1 autopilot featured Mercury's proprietary Shadow Drive, which allows the helmsman complete control whether the auto-pilot is engaged or not. In addition, the TR-1 eliminated the Achilles' heel of every autopilot system: the rudder-feedback unit.

The TR-1V features a pump specially designed for the Verado's high-pressure steering system, as well as a special check-valve assembly to eliminate pressure buildup on the back side of the helm valves. The object was to make the TR-1V as simple, and as "factory," for the Verado as possible. The TR-1V — like the TR-1 — has been approved by Mercury and will not void the Verado warranty.

 

Navionics Platinum Cartography

By Staff

Navionics' Platinum cartography offers lots of trick stuff, but one of the neatest — the top-down aerial photo charts of nearshore areas — features an adjustable transparent overlay. The "adjustable" part determines how transparent the overlay is. It's great for spotting shoals, cuts and other shallow-water features not visible on the NOAA cartography that serves as the basis for all ENCs. It's good for navigating nearshore waters as well. 

Other features include 3-D views, panoramic navigation photos of harbor entries and port services. Photos of big commercial ports are somewhat limited at the request of the Department of Homeland Security. But you'll find plenty of local marinas, a portside info guide with easy-to-locate icons for marinas, hotels, restaurants, museums, etc.; the cartography also offers a larger wreck database and comes on regular, digital-camera-style Compact Flash cards.

Furuno NavNet vx2

By Staff

Building on the worldwide popularity of the company's NavNet1 series, Furuno USA proudly introduces NavNet vx2.

NavNet vx2 systems allow users to customize marine electronics according to their needs. Begin with a standard radar and chart-plotter unit, and add a GPS / WAAS receiver, fish finder and multiple displays via an Ethernet hub. When multiple displays are connected, each can be operated as an individual product or as part of the network. With more than 50 different modes, NavNet vx2 can show a variety of information in just about any configuration desired. Furuno's research and development engineers have spent countless hours making the NavNet vx2 products extremely easy and intuitive to use. The straightforward menu structure is easily selected through a combination of softkeys and the track control knob, ensuring simple operation.

No other integrated navigation system offers a choice of the two most popular chart formats on the market! Select a model compatible with Navionics® Gold XL3 charts or C-MAP NT Max charts, both now available on Secure Digital (SD) cards. The chart plotter features all popular presentation modes: course plot, nav data, steering and highway.

Available in a wide range of power configurations, NavNet vx2 radars rely on legendary Furuno X-Band components that have been winning the National Marine Electronics Association "Best Radar" award for 29 years running. The radar display echo returns in varying shades of color to indicate target density. The series includes a 25KW output model that is good for fisherman trying to locate birds.

NavNet vx2 is the only system that can connect to the FAX30 weather fax, which receives and displays weather maps, satellite images, NAVTEX and other information on the 10.4-inch or Black Box versions.

A new feature in NavNet vx2 permits the integration of the Automatic Identification System into the network with an optional component. Information for up to 100 AIS targets can be displayed on any networked unit. This integration provides a solution for observing other vessels that also have AIS receivers.

Display options for NavNet vx2 range from 7-inch VGA (perfect for small vessels or remote displays) up to 15-inch LCD (for Black Box NavNet vx2). Connect NavNet vx2 to your laptop or PC with MaxSea-NavNet software, capable of combining and analyzing data from multiple sources in real time. Share information from your NavNet vx2's radar, GPS, fish finder and other navigational data. You can share your C-MAP NT charts between NavNet vx2 and MaxSea-NavNet and even overlay radar targets on  PC charts. You can also have full control of the NavNet vx2 display from your PC.

 

Radar: It's for the Birds

By Allan Tarvid

 

It's a long, 100-mile trip to the other side of the Gulf Stream to catch yellowfin tuna, and it's a big ocean for skippers out of Port Canaveral, Florida, like Capt. Mike Kane on White Water. Describing a recent - and pretty typical - trip, Kane says he gets the edge he needs from radar, in his case a 25-kilowatt Simrad. After studying the screen once they'd reached the grounds, Kane says, "I figured we had a school working some 8 miles off to the northeast."
Sure enough, when they arrived at the spot, a flock of frigate birds was feeding over the sort of white-water explosions that signal tuna in a feeding frenzy. "Without the radar," Kane says, "we might have trolled around all day and never found that school."
"When you're looking for a flock of birds out on open seas," says radar expert Steve Nusser, of Steve's Mobile Marine in Coral Gables, Florida, "there's no way a human being can see them 6 or 7 miles away with the naked eye."

GEARING UP
When a customer tells him he wants to see birds, Nusser says he raises the performance bar to a higher notch. He's installed a half-dozen 10-kilowatt Koden radars over the past year, all capable of spotting birds at 6 to 10 miles. Raytheon's newest radars with MagTronic technology, borrowed from the company's defense division, effectively doubles the reception range for the same power. For the first time, anglers can spot birds 4 to 6 miles off with a 4-kilowatt radar. Without this new technology, 4-kilowatt units simply lack the muscle to spot birds. This restricts the most effective bird-spotting radars to larger boats that have enough bridge space for bigger displays and are better equipped to accommodate the 4- to 6-foot antennas common to 10-kilowatt models.
Since sea birds are small, relatively soft objects that return weak radar echoes, more power focused into a tight beam is needed to get a distinguishable echo, especially at longer ranges. Bigger CRT displays are called for because they provide the definition necessary to show small targets when set at longer-range scales.
John Caballero, general manager of Simrad, suggests several factors to consider when buying a radar for fishing. "S-band radars are almost specifically designed for the purpose of detecting birds, but are way too expensive for most recreational anglers. But today's X-band radars have better transceivers and use advanced signal processing techniques. That makes them more than capable of displaying relatively low-flying birds at considerable distances. A buyer should inquire about a radar's output power, frequency, beam form, pulse repetition rate, pulse length, signal processing and display resolution, as these all combine in determining whether birds will appear on your screen or be invisible to your radar."
Radars with more than 4 kilowatts of power generally include an open-array antenna with a narrower beam width and better overall signal output and return than smaller radome antennas. Most radome antennas have beam widths of 3 to 7 degrees while open-array antennas usually have tighter beam widths of about 2 degrees. The tighter the beam, the closer birds can be to each other and to the water and still be displayed separately. The wider the beam, the greater the tendency for a unit to blend targets that are close together into a single blob instead of showing them as individual marks.
Ten-kilowatt, X-band radars with 12-, 15- and 20-inch displays are available from most of the major manufacturers. Nusser says that choosing the largest display that you have room to mount guarantees the best screen definition and gives you the best chance of spotting birds.

FINE-TUNE FOR FEATHERS
Today's radars have excellent auto-tuning features which match the antenna to the set, but the key to seeing birds is getting the gain setting exactly right, and that's something the angler has to do.
"Turn it up until you start seeing false returns," Nusser advises, "then nudge it back down until they go away. The wrong gain setting can do the same thing that improper tuning does. If you have the gain set too low, there will be targets out there you won't see. If you turn it too high it will start showing you targets that don't exist."
The proper gain setting necessary to see the cluster of specks that indicate birds is different on every installation because there are so many variables involved. Kane suggests starting with your gain set at maximum, and the sea clutter filter turned off. "Remember that the bigger the seas get, the less bird-spotting range your radar will have as well," he warns, "especially on lower-power units or boats with antennas closer to the water's surface." Kane also uses his unit to spot weed lines on flat-calm days.
Here's a simple way to find the right setting: Have someone stand by with his boat near some birds and be ready to chum. Move apart the distance you want to spot birds on the radar and have him toss the chum and move off. As the birds swoop down, switch your radar to the minimum range scale that will reach them (to get the best possible screen resolution) and start tweaking the gain until you see the birds. Have the other boat stay within sight of the birds so you can get a running description of their actions by radio during the test. Try this at several ranges and under different sea conditions. You'll find the right gain setting for most fishing conditions while discovering the bird-spotting limits of your equipment.
To test this without a second boat, or to test a smaller radar that probably won't show birds that are out of sight, you can spread the chum yourself and watch the birds on radar as you move slowly away. When the birds disappear from the display, you'll know that you've either passed your radar's maximum bird-spotting range or they've settled on the water after polishing off the chum.

 

 

Furuno FCV-620 Fishfinder

By Ben Ellison

Furuno’s claims about the benefits of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in its new 5.6-inch FCV-620--its ability to suppress noise and maximize automatic fishfinding in varying conditions--sound a lot like Raymarine boasting about its High Definition Digital technology. So I was intrigued to test the 620 side by side--same transducer--with a Raymarine DS500x that has been wowing me for the last couple of seasons with its clarity and ability to hold bottom at speed. Now, note that a larger DS600x would be a fairer model-to-model comparison and my testing methodology was nowhere near Consumer Reports' quality (we don’t have those resources!). But, that said, it looked like Furuno has at least matched HD’s clean performance (in fact, I’d bet all finders will use DSP eventually) while retaining its famously tweakable control system. I was also taken with the 620’s modern design, especially the tilt’n’swivel base, and the interface, particularly the knobs; they are a smart holdover from the replaced 600L, facilitating fast access to display modes and manual gain control. Finally, note that the $895, 600-watt 620 has a $1,495 FCV-585 big bro with a 8.4-inch screen and the ability to power 1-kW transducers.