Rupert Holmes previews the latest marine products
Raymarine Alpha displays for sailing
A key reason for buying another boat is often to reduce passage times, thereby opening up wider cruising areas and making long days at sea easier. However, these goals can often be achieved by upgrading an existing boat. Granted, spending four-figure sums on electronics may feel expensive, but this can pale into insignificance compared to the costs of broker’s fees, surveys and the many other costs associated with selling one boat and buying another.
Raymarine’s new touchscreen Alpha displays have fully customisable dashboards and graphic displays developed specifically to help users make better decisions and therefore get to their destination sooner. In this context it’s worth noting that good boat speed alone is not sufficient for success when racing offshore–in some conditions figuring out the optimal route in changeable weather can slice hours off a Channel crossing or a passage from the Solent to the West Country.
The new SailPoint mode gives a graphical indication of the target wind angle that will maximise progress upwind and downwind. Instead of confusing figures, you simply steer to keep a big cursor aligned with a red or green ball on the screen. Those accustomed to computer gaming will find it very intuitive, even if they have little sailing experience.
Other useful functions include a dynamic wind interface that automatically zooms to the relevant part of the display showing true and apparent wind directions. The data shown on each screen is fully customisable and they are clear, bright and easy to use. Up to four screens, located either in the cockpit or on the mast, below the gooseneck, can be linked together.
They interface with Axiom MFDs running Raymarine’s Lighthouse 4.5 or higher software, which acts as a central data hub, so they can’t be used by those with different systems. There are also performance sailing upgrades to the LightHouse operating system for Axiom chartplotters. This has a large database of polars covering most production yachts, giving a starting point for the performance data needed for your own boat.
Installation of the Alpha displays is straightforward, with only one wire supplying both data and power. They are available in 7in and 9in sizes and can be mounted in either landscape or portrait orientation.
Raymarine has also launched a new self-calibrating Smart Wind Technology wind sensor. This includes a 3D motion sensor, which helps provide a level of plug-and-play convenience that’s rarely found with sailing electronics,
