Much of the technology enjoyed in cars can now be used at sea on boats

By Dennis McCafferty

While some folks may envision boaters as luxury yachts owners, statistics reveal that typical boaters fall much more into the regular Joe and Jane category instead: They have trailer-friendly boats averaging 26 feet or under and an average household income of under $100,000.

As more people discover the joys of boat ownership, the desire for gadgets and equipment to have on board grows, too. Now more than ever, the boating world is proving that car drivers don't have an exclusive on tech gadgetry. Thanks to a growing number of innovative products and equipment, boaters are also reaping a multitude of rewards these days. They're better positioned to get to where the fish are. Stormy seas aren't quite so hazardous. And entertainment can be just as much fun on a boat as it is in a car.

Perhaps all the interest in developing these products rests with the numbers. Nearly 17 million boats are used for recreation in the United States, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the Chicago-based trade association for the recreational boating industry. In fact, recreational boating accounts for $33.6 billion in sales and services annually, with the aftermarket industry accounting for $2.4 billion of those sales, the association reports.

These numbers support boaters' desire to have a great time on the water while also maintaining high safety standards for everyone on board. To accomplish this, boaters are looking for a wide array of products, which fall into a handful of categories, including:

Safety

Boat-safety products are getting increasingly sophisticated — you can do much more than simply strap on a life preserver these days.

• LifeTag by Raymarine ($685) is a wireless pendant system that goes off when a person goes overboard, sounding an audible alarm to those on the boat.
• With the Autotether Wireless Lanyard System ($295), which hooks up to the boat's ignition switch, boaters are equipped with a wireless wrist sensor that will automatically shut off the boat's engine and sound an alarm when someone falls overboard.

Entertainment

Many entertainment products today are built specifically with boaters' needs in mind.

• KVH's TracVision M1 ($2,995) is the world's smallest in-motion satellite TV for boats that works at the dock or on the water. It offers 300 channels of DIRECTV — including the local ones from home — and the viewing area works throughout the entire continental United States.
• For music, Jensen Heavy Duty has come out with a waterproof mini AM/FM/WB stereo with a front-panel audio aux-in to allow iPod/MP3/portable CD player access. It's completely waterproof even under the harshest of sea storms, and the alert function automatically switches to weatherband mode when a NOAA warning broadcast is received. (Recent pricing by online dealers starts under $200.)
• Marine Modular offers an AM/FM/iPod/Sirius Satellite ready stereo with an LCD display. The unit is weatherproofed for seafarers. (Priced online recently at $191.95; Sirius tuner sold separately.)

Communications

Boaters who want to chat with friends while at sea know that dealing with sea conditions is part of the bargain. With the Voyager Pro, Plantronics has developed a Bluetooth headset for boaters ($99.99) that allows the captain to keep his hands on the boat’s steering wheel while communicating on cell phone. It also offers noise cancellation and wind-resistance technology to ensure the optimal clarity.

Navigation

Many people rely on GPS for their driving and want the same capabilities while at sea.

• The U.S. effort's goal is to create a car and light truck fleet by 2016 that is about 40 percent cleaner (i.e., producing fewer emissions) and more fuel efficient than today. According to the New York Times, "The plan is to hit the new target by making incremental gains every year, beginning with the new crop of 2011 vehicle models."
• Another iPhone app comes from Fullpower/MotionX. Its MotionX-GPS for iPhone ($2.99) promises to track your position anywhere in the world and allows for you to save up to 303 destination points, such as your favorite bait shop on the water or maybe a great crabhouse on a difficult-to-find dock.

Electronic fishing tools

• Need to go where the fish are? Standard Horizon's CPF300i Chartplotter Fishfinder Combo is a high-end GPS that will help boaters "read the water" to get a better sense of what's swimming below. It features a 7-inch color screen with high resolution that won't suffer any glare-effect from the sunlight. Its 600W dual frequency fish finder pinpoints wrecks, water temperature, and fish movements. (Recently priced online at just under $1,000.)
• The Northstar 491 600 (recently priced online at just over $700) taps into sonar technology to check for fish, depth, and temperature, allowing users to scroll back to a target in the screens' history, mark it, and easily navigate to that location.
• Oh, and if you need an extra ‘edge' to catch fish at night, there are gadgets for that, too. The Optronics Modular LED Fish-N-Lite, for example, features ultra-bright LEDs that simulate a full moon to attract a catch. Various models exist, starting at $32.99.

Taken together, this collection of products and gadgets give recreational boaters a way to do all of the things they do in their cars — including keeping in touch with others, listening to their favorite music, watching their favorite TV shows, and finding where they're going — to things you can only do on the water.

Dennis McCafferty is a freelance writer with extensive experience in the automotive field, as well as with NASCAR. He has written for Chrysler magazine, UAW-GM People magazine, Dodge Tomorrow magazine, and Corvette Quarterly.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Progressive Casualty Insurance Company or its affiliates.