New Airmar TM260 1kW Transom Mounted Transducer

I had a few of these show up at the store today so I thought I'd snap a few photos to show you what it looks like. I put a CD in the pics to give you an idea of size. This thing is a beast, but is well made and goes together very easily. In the box you get the huge urethane ducer (might be plastic but feels just like their other urethane ducers), a robust plastic mount to hold the ducer, a few wedges to get the angle off the transom right, and a big metal mount that actually gets screwed to the transom. Without it mounted I was not able to get the ducer to "kick-up", however in a visual inspection it looks like it should kick up just fine if you hit something.

This is the latest offering from Airmar, offering their high quality ceramics in a transom mounted ducer. Performance will be similar to a the B260 through hull or M260 in-hull. There is a temp sensor on it but no speed sensor.

Things are busy busy busy

A typical day at BOE. We have been fortunate enough to have boats coming and going daily, each getting its own first class installation. Our new facility has allowed us to be more efficient than ever, and to bring the quality of our installations to a whole new level. Please stop by to see whats going on!

BOE Kent Island Now Open!

We have officially moved into our new store on Kent Island. We already had a few dozen boats through our custom installation shop, are getting the shelves stocked up, and getting all the newest electronics on display. Please stop by!

Our New Facility is Almost Done

The new BOE Marine facility at the Kent Island Maritime Village is almost done. Siding is up, the interior is painted, and the electricity is on. Just need to finish up the parking lot, and do some final touches. We're hoping to move in April 1st or May 1st. The new facility really is the talk of the town, and we're proud to bring such a neat place to our little island.

Here are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago.

Garmin GXM51 - NMEA2000 XM Receiver

Garmin has introduced a new NMEA2000 XM weather/audio receiver. It will integrate with any Garmin NMEA2000 compatible unit like the 4000 and 5000 Series. Here is a pic followed by the specs:Garmin International is pleased to announce the GXM 51 Weather and Audio XM Satellite Receiver. Delivering U.S. graphical weather data directly to your compatible Garmin chartplotter, this sleek, watertight XM satellite receiver/antenna offers easy plug-and-play installation with NMEA 2000 network connectivity. The integrated all-in-one design means there is no remote “black box” to install. The GXM 51 can be powered directly through the NMEA 2000 bus, so no separate power connection is required! In addition to conventional pole or surface mounting, the GXM 51 can also be installed on the underside of many fiberglass decks, using the included under-deck mount. Over 20 different types of weather information (including NEXRAD, lightning, wave heights, water temps, wind data, and more) can be accessed from your chartplotter screen (depending on the XM WX package selected). Plus, with a subscription, you can even use the GXM 51 to enjoy over 170 channels of quality audio entertainment via XM Satellite Radio.

The GXM 51 is compatible with the GPSMAP 4208, 4210, 4212, 5208, 5212 and 5215. The GDL 30A is also available for all GPSMAP 3000, 4000 and 5000 series products.

GXM 51 Package includes: GXM 51, 6m NMEA 2000/Audio cable, 305mm audio cable
(7-pin to RCA), pole mount, under-deck mount, surface mount, mounting
hardware, NMEA 2000 T-connector, NMEA 2000 terminator (male), NMEA 2000
terminator (female), installation instructions

Availability: May, 2009
Garmin P/N: 010-00753-00

Raymarine Introduces New ST70 Plus Display Instrument

Raymarine is well onboard with the NMEA2000 rage with their new ST70 Plus Color instrument. This thing is sweet and one will definitely be going on my Seacraft this summer! This new display is sort of a universal all in one display that can control their pilots and can be used as a stand alone instrument to display info on the N2K network. It is color, very bright, and has a lot of screen area relative to the size of the fixture. In fact the fixture is all screen! They include a remote keypad for control. So you can put the display up on your dash where it might be a stretch to reach it, and put the control keypad closer to the wheel for easy reach. There are three variations of the keypad available - an instrument keypad, sail pilot pad, and powerboat pilot pad. One keypad can also control multiple displays. The picture below is worth a thousand words. Should be out the 2nd qtr of '09. I can't wait!

New Raymarine C-Series Brief

Raymarine is going to officially launch their new C-Series in the USA at the upcoming Miami Boat Show. I thought I would give everybody a brief intro to it, so maybe you can include it in your show tour if it appeals to you.

The bullet points for this new system over the previous Raymarine C-Series are:

• Video - You can plug in a camera or DVD Player
• Internal GPS Antenna
• Wide Screen Format - ideal for split screen modes
• Pre-loaded with Navionics Charts
• 3D Charting Capability
• Satellite Imagery
• Dual Range Radar Mode
• Limited Networking to share network devices like the DSM Sounder Module
• ..and an all new Rotary/Cursor knob

These are all significant improvements which puts the C Series more on par with the E-Series, and then some. In fact, the only major feature missing from the E-Series is networking with multiple units. I'm sure we'll see a major E-Series revision soon. The new Rotary knob is a neat improvement which will really help navigating around the menus. The prior C-Series had a knob that doubled as a button, and a separate scrolling pad. The new C-Series combines these. So when inputting waypoint data, or scrolling around the chart for info, you can do it all without removing your fingers from the new scroll pad button knob thingamajig.

The Limited Networking is a perfect upgrade for all single station boats, and smaller dual station boats. The C-Series networking is limited to 2 displays. Whatever you can do on one screen will be doable on the other. This includes radar, fishfinder, charting, and of course all nmea data such as heading, wind data, waypoints, etc.
The new wide screen format is really neat. It will basically make each screen segment wider while in split screen modes. The wider each screen section gets, the more usable it is.
The internal GPS is a great add on. Now we don't need to run a GPS antenna at boat shows . The same principle applies to boats. These new GPS sensors are so sensitive that there are not many center console or walkaround boats that really need an external antenna. While this may be a tough argument to make as everybody is accustomed to external antennas, I say give it a try and only add the external antenna if you find its needed (unless of course you have a boat that absolutely needs an external gps).
All the other C-Series Basics are in place to:

• Sirius Weather and Audio
• NMEA2000 Engine Data
• Navionics Platinum Chart Capability
• Seatalk
• NMEA0183
• Digital FF Capable
• All new Digital Radar Capable
• AIS

So if you make it to the show, check it out.
If anybody wants the pdf brochure just email me and request it. jim@boemarine.com

Selene Yachts East Coast Rendezvous

BOE was happy to sponsor the East Coast Rendezvous for Selene Yachts. We donated money and prizes for the event. Selene has always been good to us. We have outfitted many of their new boats with electronics.

Roof is On!

Both sides of the building are up and the roof is on. Next is to put in the doors and windows. You can really get a good look at our central area for displaying new boats under cover, and the area to the right of the picture where we'll be pimping boats.