A Global Positioning System (GPS) has become one of the de facto “must have” electronic marine devices for every boat on the water. A marine GPS device provides two functions in particular that, once you get used to, you will wonder how you ever managed without.
First, marine GPS provides you essential information about where you are and how fast you are traveling. Most marine GPS units will tell you where you are within two to three meters of accuracy, how fast you are traveling and how far you are from shore.
Second, most marine GPS units allow you to set waypoints. A waypoint is a marker for where you are currently. This feature allows you to plot a navigation route through craggy rocks or difficult waters, avoiding buoys, nets and other obstacles. Multiple waypoints form a route that you can save and use as a guide for the inbound journey or re-use another time for safer and easier navigation to a favorite location. Another great benefit of setting waypoints is that you can mark significant finds whether this is an abundant fishing spot, a great scuba diving location or the position of a wreck.
By overlaying GPS waypoints with an integrated mapping tool or chart plotter, a marine GPS can give you a very precise picture of where you have been, where you are, where you want to go and what lies in your path.
Ultra-precise GPS marine electronics include the addition of signals from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). WAAS is program that was developed the Federal Aviation Administration to correct …