Replacing the aging technology on your yacht will ultimately increase your boating pleasure

It is a cardinal sin to even think about upgrading certain classic boats, but for the rest of the boating and yachting world, keeping the tech on board up to date is always going to increase the enjoyment one gets out of boating. Here are 5 features that we think all boaters should think about first when they want to upgrade their vessel.

Security cameras

A yacht is not a cheap purchase, and so any feature that enhances its security is not only good, but highly necessary. Perhaps the most basic security equipment, aside from an alarm, are security cameras. Perhaps having highly obvious cameras would also act as a deterrent, but they are rather unsightly in an otherwise beautifully-designed interior. For these applications, discretion is the name of the game, and cameras like the Iris 735 would be perfect as it is made from corrosion-resistant marine grade 316L stainless steel and an IP67 waterproof rating as well.

Wireless phone chargers

Fewer cables lying around the cabin makes for a neater and safer boating environment. It’s time to upgrade to wireless charging for your nautical adventures, and of the many devices available to the market, we recommend the ROKK Wireless Active charger that was designed for marine use, with its IPX6 waterproof rating. The device works with 12 or 24V, and is compatible with both Apple and Android devices.

Next-gen chartplotters

Imagine Google Maps, or Waze navigation out on the open seas. Digital chartplotters are good, but often boaters are relying on other mobile applications to supplement them. Newer chartplotters are entering the market now, and one of the more interesting ones is the Orca co-pilot. It’s USP is its cellular internet connectivity, which allows the device to automatically update charts and can provide real-time weather updates. It can even connect to the boat’s onboard diagnostics port to display the information onto the boat’s existing screens.

This sparks joy-sticks

Anyone who has ever docked an outboard boat in choppy weather will know what a pain it is to park the boat properly in those conditions – that is, unless they are docking the vessel with a joystick. It used to be very difficult to almost impossible to retrofit a joystick control system onto a boat, but these days that’s no longer the case, though it is still a task you should not attempt to do yourself, as it’s still rather complicated. One of the products that we highly recommend is the Dometic EPS, which is a suite of systems that utilises drive-by-wire to make steering the boat effortless.

Hydro is the new solar power

Solar energy is easily available out in the open ocean, but do you know what else is even more abundant at sea? Water. Solar panels have improved dramatically in the last decade, but they require quite a bit of real estate on the vessel, while adding a significant amount of weight as well. A simpler, cheaper, and more compact solution to juicing up the yacht is to add a water turbine that will negligibly impact speed but noticeably add amps to power the equipment you have on board. These relatively compact generators are especially useful on sail boats.

Let’s close

Certainly, boaters don’t have to ‘chase’ technology when it comes to the equipment they have on board to actually enjoy the vessel, but we certainly think that having a chartplotter that is as sharp and immediate as the best of today’s tablets, or being able to dock a boat easily, will add to the overall boating experience. Interested in any of these things we wrote about? Get in touch with our chandlery and we will hook you up.