At the pinnacle of your instrument network, the chartplotter is likely to be by far the most costly bit of electronics aboard. And like all electronics, they are subject to a constant process of development, which has seen some big relaunches over the past few months to increase speed and user experience.
B&G has completely rethought the user interface on its Zeus unit, and Raymarine has launched the second generation of its Axiom range. Garmin hasn’t changed its GPSmap line-up, but it has relaunched selected Navionics+ charts to introduce more vibrant colours, a streamlined interface and better auto-routeing software.
Raymarine Axiom 2 from £2,499.95
Axiom has been Raymarine’s go-to chartplotter for about eight years now, and the core range has just undergone an upgrade. Sailors will be most interested in the new Axiom 2 Pro S line, which includes a 9in, 12in and 16in product with hybrid touch and button controls. But the flagship Axiom XL will also shortly get the upgrade for UK customers (it already available in the US).
The powerful processor at its centre now has six cores and, though Raymarine doesn’t like to spell out what that means in terms of speed or memory, the performance is faster and smoother – especially when panning charts. It is also optimised to run Lighthouse 4, the latest incarnation of Raymarine’s award-winning operating system.
Built-in support for a high-frequency CHIRP sonar transducer comes as standard – Raymarine reckons this will prove attractive to offshore sailors
