| One of the most useful investments for your boat | | | | into unchartered waters. When your position is |
| could be a multifunction meter. This incredible marine | | | | accurately tracked it is easy to compute the exact |
| electronics device serves a variety of functions, the | | | | speed you are moving. Multifunction meters |
| most important of which is ensuring your boat has | | | | incorporate GPS satellite signals with a fuel flow meter |
| enough fuel to get where you are going and back | | | | and a tachometer. The result is an instrument that can |
| again. | | | | tell you exactly how much fuel you are using at |
| Multifunction Meters, such as the Floscan series, | | | | different speeds. |
| interface with your boat's twin engine system and with | | | | When you have an accurate measure of how much |
| GPS to give you an accurate accounting of nautical | | | | fuel you are using and how much you have remaining |
| miles per gallon. This information is useful in a number | | | | you can be confident in determining how far you can |
| of ways. It allows a savvy skipper to optimize fuel | | | | travel on your remaining fuel. This is, perhaps the most |
| efficiency under a variety of different sailing conditions. | | | | important thing a boat owner needs to know. |
| Most importantly, you can determine exactly how | | | | Recreational boat owners who use a multifunction |
| much fuel you need to carry in order to sail a specific | | | | meter often report that they have come to depend on |
| route. | | | | this important piece of marine electronics. Those who |
| If you race yachts, information from a 5 lb marine | | | | earn their living on the water, such as fishermen, report |
| electronics device can actually help you win the race! | | | | that the instrument helps them reach the weigh scales |
| You figure out how much is exactly enough fuel to sail | | | | with a full load of fish. |
| the race with the lightest possible gas tank. Racers | | | | Marine electronics instruments, such as multifunction |
| and non-racers alike can determine how much fuel is | | | | meters, are available for gas and diesel engines and |
| left and how far their boat can go on what remains in | | | | can often be mounted right in the dashboard, replacing |
| the tank. | | | | the existing tachometer, thus giving a clean look to |
| GPS is a powerful tool in marine electronics design and | | | | your boat's dashboard and avoiding the need to cut a |
| provides an accurate measurement of how fast a | | | | new hold in the dash. Digital readouts with LCD backlit |
| boat is going. Because there are many GPS satellites | | | | displays make them easy to read whether at night or |
| in orbit around the earth, GPS provides global | | | | during the day. |
| coverage. There is no such thing anymore as sailing | | | | |