The six things that matter
Mark laying is not chartplotting. You need a unit that rapidly shows bearing, distance, course over ground and arrival at a target in spray, glare and vibration.
- Sunlight-readable screen and physical buttons
- Reliable position at low RIB speed
- Bearing and distance to waypoint on one page
- Fast waypoint entry and consistent coordinate format
- Secure tether plus a mount that releases quickly
- Power plan that survives the whole event
Configure it before the event
Set nautical miles or metres consistently, choose magnetic or true bearings to match the race team, use WGS84 unless instructed otherwise, and create a stripped-down mark-layer page showing distance to destination, bearing to destination, COG and SOG. Disable map clutter.
The operating technique
Do not chase the distance readout at full speed. Approach on a stable track, slow early, let position settle, cross-check with compass and visual geometry, then report the actual laid position. GPS precision does not compensate for an anchor dropped on the wrong side of the target.