A NEWCOMER CHARTPLOTTER PLUS OTHER MARINE PRODUCTS
NKE NAVXP CHARTPLOTTER
What is it? The first chartplotter from French manufacturer NKE, intended to be both powerful and intuitive Who’s it for? Offshore racing and performance cruising
KE’s electronics have never gained much traction in the English speaking N world, even though they’re almost a default choice for offshore racing and performance cruising yachts in France. Part of this may be down to the ways in which the system is different to what the rest of us have become accustomed to using.
For instance, it doesn’t rely on the near ubiquitous NMEA 0183 and 2000 protocols with their long text sentences – though these are supported. Instead, it uses a compact compressed binary eight-character hexadecimal system, which makes for very fast data transfer while minimising congestion on the network. And although NKE’s Multifunction and Multigraphic displays are very powerful and quickly become intuitive, until now the company has not offered a chartplotter.
That changed with the recent launch of the NavXP. It’s intended as a simple, efficient and intuitive interface. Updates are carried out automatically upon network connection, with the idea this minimises the need for user input and system maintenance and the knowledge that charts should be bang up to date.
The NavXP is available in 10, 12, 16 and 24in versions, with the latter offering 1920x1080 HD resolution. All are compatible with Navionics+ and Navionics Platinum charts, including detailed user-generated sonar data.
There’s also an optional interface for Raymarine radar, while NMEA2000 compatibility gives access to all instrument data. Connectivity includes an internal 4G modem, plus built-in WLAN that enables the 4G signal to be shared with other devices (useful when roaming if either a low-cost local SIM, or an international SIM is used) as well as allowing connection to a marina wifi network. Price: €3,000-€12,000. nke-marine-electronics.fr
THREE OF THE REST
The most popular choice for offshore racing, thanks in part to a full range of sailing specific features including laylines, wind plots, tidal graphics and more.
Available in 9, 12 and 16in sizes. Price: £2,500 to £6,100. bandg.com
The sailing features of Raymarine’s Lighthouse operation system have recently been extended to include more polars, plus dynamic laylines, data dashboard and its SmartStart starting line tool.
Available in 9, 12 and 16in versions.
Price: £2,645 to £6,395. raymarine.com
Touchscreen plotters with support for Garmin sonar, plus SailAssist features including, laylines, start guidance, and polars, plus support for various mapping softwares.
Available in six sizes from 10-24in. Price:
