38 Fountain Express

Here is a 38 Fountain we just wrapped up. These pics show a custom acrylic box we had to make for the starboard side Garmin 5215 display that would otherwise not fit.

Our Website is Down

Our website had a major meltdown. Please bear with us while we pick up the pieces. In the meantime please call us for orders, availability, and support at 866-735-5926. Or email us at jim.maier@gmail.com.

We think the cause is the sudden traffic increase as word spreads of our Bronze Medal! Bronze Medal you say? Yes! If you didn't already know BOE Marine was recently voted as the #3 place to get marine electronics nationwide. Considering the 2 companies ahead of us just happen to sell a butt load more electronics than us because of their size, but they don't really have any technical support this sort of makes us the #1 company that specializes in Marine Electronics in the country.

So, we hope you 'll call us while we figure out how to improve our IT infrastructure to meet the demands of our new found popularity!

Blizzard of 2010

We got hit hard. Here is Jim uning our tractor to clear the parking lot. Jim spent 7 hours total over two sessions trying to keep up with the snow!

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.

A new roof!

Our new building is getting a roof! We're getting close.

New BOE Facility Underway

We've been working for 3 years on our new BOE Marine Facility. Well, we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The actual building is starting to go up. We'll have 3 other buildings going up shortly as well, but all we care about is this first one so we can officially move to our new property. Our new facility is located right on Rt 50 which is the epicenter of all commuting in MD for boaters going between Annapolis/Baltimore/DC and the ocean. Our facility will be seen by 75,000 cars per day on average! We're going to have an expanded showroom, more office space, an ecommerce call center, covered display space for new boats, and a huge covered work facility for installing electronics and customizing boats. We can't wait to open!

New Garmin Oregon 400C Touchscreen Handheld GPS

Just got a shipment of Garmin Oregons in stock. As is customary with new-fangled Garmin stuff I always open one for myself.... so why not write a review?.. Several months ago Garmin came out with the Colorado series of handhld GPS's. These incorporated Garmin's sleek new look, pre-loaded charts, and a bunch of cool new features like wireless data sharing, magnetic compass, altimeter, and much more. Of course I had to have one of them. But when I caught wind of the new Oregon coming down the pipeline I couldn't sell my Colorado fast enough! The new Oregon is everything the Colorado is plus its Touchscreen! Having been a junky of other Garmin touchscreen products (Nuvi Automotive GPS, 5000 Series Boat GPS) for the last 2 years I couldn't resist. Here is what I've found so far:

Form Factor - the unit has a 3" color touchscreen. It easily fits in, and can be manipulated, with one hand. In fact I have found operation to be easiest with one hand. The screen has the same typical brightness as other Garmin handhelds. Not spectacular but hardly shabby. The screen is not affected by Polarized Glasses as many of these screens are when rotated. The unit comes with a nice Caribiner clip to attach it to a belt loop or whatever. The clip is removable. The bottom of the unit has a rubber flap to protect the USB port. Inside the unit (when the batteries are removed) there is room for a Micro SD card.

Interface - This is where Garmin does things so well - they make it easy. The touchscreen is incredibly intuitive and easy to operate. For example, the databoxes in the upper corners of the chart screen - to change what they display just click on the box and make your selection. To scroll around the Map just drag your finger across the screen. To move around the menu just swipe your finger across the screen like an iPhone. It really is awesome. With a touchscreen unit only the buttons that actually do anything at any given time are visible, so it makes knowing what to click at any given time quite intuitive.

Features - The feature set is through the roof for this thing. I honestly don't know what they are going to think of next that this unit can't already do. I'll keep this review boating related, but for the non boaters it does geocaching, topo maps, automotive routing, fitness stuff and more. Changing between modes, or "profiles" as Garmin calls it, is super easy and can be done with a couple of screen taps. Back to boating... I have put the unit through its paces for typical use on a boat - making waypoints, doing routes, finding local info like Marina locations, and navigating on a chart. It does all of this wonderfully well. Scrolling around on the screen is done by dragging across the screen with your fingertip. Zooming is done by the transparent + and - button. Every screen has a little X or back arrow on the bottom left to move to the previous page or menu. Making waypoints is simple. Just tap on the screen where you want it, then confirm it as a waypoint. Once you save the waypoint you can edit it. The edit features are extensive - you can change name, symbol, depth, comments and more. While editing text a keyboard pops up with the whole alphabet, so editing a name or comments takes seconds.

Routing is nice and easy too. You simply tap on "Routes" and either select a current route or build a new one. Building a new one requires the various waypoints to already be designated, then you pick among those waypoints to build the route. All very intuitive.

Garmin's "Where To" feature now makes an appearance on this unit. This feature has been very popular on the auto and larger marine units. Basically, after tapping the "Where To" button you can choose a route, or choose a waypoint, or choose a point of interest like a Marina. Once selected the unit will make that the active route or destination.

Compass - This unit actually has a built in compass. Don't even ask me how it works, but its pretty damn cool. You hold the unit level while in Compass mode and a magnetic compass actually appears and finds North. Awesome little piece of redundancy.

Tides - the Oregon has Tide Data built in for the whole USA, as well as Sunrise and Sunset, and Moon Phases. I could go on and on about other "cool" features as it has plenty. One I found especially cool though is the "area calculation" tool. With this tool you basically stand at the edge of a section of land you want to measure, hit the "start" button then walk the perimeter of the land. Once back to your original position you hit the "Calculate" button and it will spit out the total acres. I did it on my backyard and got .445 Acres. Pretty neat.

In my opinion this GPS has raised the bar. Garmin has done it again. I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a handheld.

P/N 010-00697-03
Price - $599.99

Main Menu in "Fitness Mode"

Area Calculation Tool
Points of Interest Format
Huge selection of waypoint symbols - this is just one of many pages!
Chart with active route
System "Setup" MenuMy backyard :)
Main Menu in "Marine" Mode

Parker Rendezvous '08

This Saturday we were invited to the annual ClassicParker.com rendezvous. We never turn down the opportunity to attend an event like this. We had a great time and would like to Thank the organizer, Kevin, for the invite and the Classic Parker founder, Dale, for running such a great site! Its so much fun to walk from boat to boat to meet the owners and hearing over and over - I bought this from you... I bought that from you... Thank you so much to all those Parker owners that give us a shot for their electronics and outfitting needs. To cap off the day we actually caught some Rockfish (yes, I intended that to be plural!) on the way home. That's a welcome change this year! Can't wait until the ClassicParker.com rendezvous next year.

All the Parkers Lined up - with our Plate Alloy Pacific (the one with the black engine dummy!)

Doing our mandatory "walk down the runway" for photos


Beth and Jim (me) hanging on the back of a 25' Parker owned by Kevin aka Megabyte on ClassicParker.com

Mast and Mallet

Joe Reid from Mast and Mallet Boatworks dropped by today. Mast and Mallet is a custom boat builder in MD. They build some really cool downeast style boats (I hope I said that right!). His boats are all hand made one at a time. They combine the layout/features of a Maine Lobsterboat with a hull configuration more like a Chesapeake Bay "Deadrise" workboat. Joe is quite the character and a great friend of BOE. He buys all of the electronics for his boats from us, and inevitably stops by about once a week during the final fitout of each boat to ask a question or two about what hooks to what! If you have not checked out a Mast and Mallet boat at one of the local MD boat shows you are missing out.

- Jim

Fishing for a change...

Saturday night I was on the back porch grilling and got a text from my pal Chris at Intrinsic Yacht - (want to fish). We keep it simple when we text. So I cooled off the grill, threw an extra t-shirt and drawers in the car and headed down to Ocean City, MD with my brother-in-law John for a midnight arrival at Sunset Marina. Just enough time to get a buzz at Teasers but not enough time to get in too much trouble. Fast forward a few hours... "Jimmy, get up, time to go" .... huh, Oh yeah, I'm in MD sleeping on Chris's 3 day old 54 Ocean, time to go fishing.

Chris gets a new boat every year (more on that later) to fish the coastal tournaments, mostly billfish stuff but he throws her into a Tuna tournament every now and again. This weekend happened to be the Ocean City Tuna Tournament. I love Tuna fishing since "food" is my #1 priority and who doesn't like fresh Tuna?

The boat we had was a 2009 Ocean Yachts 54 SS. Chris has a great eye for detail (almost as good as me :0 ) and he gets his tournament boat really tricked out. Too cool in fact. Ocean gets a lot of ideas for future boats from the ideas Chris puts out. He will have this boat at all the major Mid-Atlantic Shows, check it out. So we were styling, and the 34 knot cruise to the fishing grounds wasn't too shabby.

I'm an electronics guy right? So I better talk about electronics at some point in this story. This boat had all the new Navnet 3D black box equipment onboard with 2 17" displays and interfaced with the LCD TV in the salon..probably the master too. I really had a good chance to give the Navnet 3D some practical evaluation. As most of us know, the jury is still out on Navnet 3D, but here is my take: Radar, Radar, Radar! The radar is absolutely awesome and worthy of buying the system even if you only plan to use it for radar. Finding birds off the coast of OC is virtually useless as there are so few of them so I couldn't test that, but I was able to test some otehr features (we had a 12kW 6' array). The first thing that hit me was the zoom, while trivial, it just looks pretty damn cool the way the screen zooms in and out without blinking or redrawing. The radar picture just pans in our out like the charts do. On most units the screen will go blank for a millisecond then the new range will be visible.

The second test I put it too was for ARPA (target tracking). Oohh la la... it worked so well! We had three boats within 3 miles of us on the way back to the inlet. I was able to consistently track all three of them, and it was VERY accurate. Neat! The tracking data was visible on the radar screen and the chart screen no matter what mode we put it in (2D or 3D, panning, zooming, twisting, turning, whatever). We could pan over in 3D mode to make it look as if we were actually on one of the boats we were tracking!

The third radar test I did was to try the new double range feature. You can run this radar on two separate ranges at the same time...but it gets better...you can actually run each range at a different gain setting. This will come in handy for fisherman that want to find birds on a 8 or so mile range with the gain cranked up, but still want to keep an eye on traffic avoidance at a range of 3/4 mile. It worked perfectly (drooling on keyboard).

The final thing we messed with was the weather overlay, specifically surface temp. The unit will allow you to overlay surface temp right on your chart. You can overlay radar data at the same time. We made the surface temp image 50% transparent so we could still see the chart below it. It worked great. One thing I di d not like was the way the colors changed for no apparent reason while zooming in and out. When on a really zoomed in range the color would be red where we were, when zooming way out it would turn green. So I am not in love with that yet as there is a piece of the puzzle missing that I haven't figured out yet.

And the charts... well... lets wait to see what kind of updates Furuno has in store before further comment. Can't wait to get some Navionics data on this machine. One thing that really surprised me is how the bathymetric data stopped once you got offshore a short distance. I did not measure the exact distance but it seemed to be 20 or 30 miles. Bathymetric data is something that offshore fisherman typically demand, so its absence offshore took me by surprise. Perhaps this will be covered in an other update. The reason I think it is missing is because we had the Raster charts set to "wrap" themselves to the bottom contour. Once we got 3 miles offshore they no longer wrapped to the bottom.

Overall, Navnet 3D gets a huge thumbs up, but there is still a lot to be improved with the charting.

Back to the fishing - we ended up with a 55" Tuna, but didn't keep it as there was still plenty of time to bag a money fish. Unfortunately that 55"er was all she wrote, so all our fishbox had in it was ice....

The next time I get offshore will probably be the White Marlin Open in August, hopefully our luck will change.

- Jim @ BOE






Here is John pulling up his pants, he had just mooned the cockpit crowd.











Chris and Jim reciting the pledge of allegiance, we do this everyday at 3:30 no matter where we are.












Shelly in amazement of how straight I can keep the boat one handed. I actually have one eye closed and am standing on one leg too, but you can't see it in this picture.










Wind, wind, wind!














So close to being tonights dinner... this one was let go...

Raymarine Certified - We are so smart....

As of last week all of out techs are Raymarine Certified. We are 100% certifiable... I mean certified to install Raymarine Electronics and qualify for onboard warranty. The Raymarine process basically tests each person for the aptitude in electronics installation techniques, product knowledge, electrical systems, grounding systems, and Raymarine protocol. You are going to have to come to our store to see our fancy plaques. They are hanging right next to all of our other fancy plaques, you can't miss 'em!

McMurdo Max-G PLB - 48 Hour Battery! New Product Introduction

BOE Marine has been chosen by Revere/McMurdo to introduce the New Max-G Personal Locator Beacon. This new PLB has a built-in GPS and a 48 Hour battery just like a full sized epirb. For a limited time we will have an introductory price of $559! Order online - offer expires 6/20/08.

Click here for details