The Watercooler-What's New, Hot Items, Advice, Tips, & More

Garmin has released several new and exciting smartwatch features as part of their September 2023 software update. Software updates are free from Garmin and available through automatic updates or by using Garmin Express software. This new update provides improved functionality and new features to compatible Garmin smartwatches. Keep an eye out for these updates as they will be available over the coming weeks.

New features include:

• • Endurance Score:  Measure your ability to sustain prolonged efforts using VO2 max, short-term and long-term training loads and other factors. Training data is combined to help you understand how training impacts your endurance.
  • Hill Score:  Measure your capability for running uphill. Running strength on steep ascents is measured and a score is provided based on your performance over time.
  • New Activity Profiles:  New activity profiles for team sports include football, soccer, basketball, rugby, hockey, lacrosse and more!
  • Relief Shading:  Digital elevation data is used to create a 3D look with color and shading on a map.
  • Weather Map Overlays:  Make informed decisions about the weather by viewing the latest map overlays for precipitation, cloud cover and more.
  • Gaming Activity:  Integrate with the GameOn app to provide biometric-based data so you can plan breaks with a game power feature and monitor your Body Battery energy levels.
  • Fish Forecast: Track sun and mood rise/set times to receive suggestions for the best days and time for successful fishing.
  • Training Readiness:  Receive a readiness score based on sleep quality, recovery, training load and more!
  • Morning Report:  Receive an overview of your sleep, recovery and training outlook as soon as you wake! Customize your morning report to include HRV status and weather information.
  • Muscle Map for Pilates, Hit and Cardio:  See what muscles you are working for HIIT, Cardio and Pilates workouts.
  • Workouts App:  Easily locate and organize workouts including daily workouts, or those created or downloaded in the Garmin Connect app.
  • Red Shift:  Reduce sleep cycle disturbances with a change of display color.

Take a look below to see which new features are supported by your specific Garmin watch:

Temps are dropping here in North Carolina and we are experiencing our first cooler day of the season. These cooler temps are ideal for adventuring outdoors. Hiking, boating, climbing, running, cycling…whatever your activity of choice, now is a perfect time to get outdoors.

We’ve been busy gearing up for fall with some exciting new Garmin product releases. Garmin released the all new Garmin GPSMAP 9000 Chartplotter Series consisting of 4 display sizes, 19″, 22″, 24″ and 27″. These premium chartplotters have a 4k resolution touchscreen display and have unparalleled clarity. These new displays network using the all new Garmin BlueNet marine network which provides 10x faster networking speeds with minimal drag.

Garmin also released new Garmin xHD3 radar domes featuring scan averaging technology, improved target-size processing and a super-quiet drive motor. This series is offered in an 18″ or 24″ size with 5.2-degree, and 3.7-degree horizontal beamwidth respectively.

As we look to the fall and winter months, we are excited for the fall boat show season in addition to bringing you Black Friday specials.

The new Garmin Venu 3 series hit the market last week and is on course to be a popular health and fitness GPS smartwatch. The Venu 3 provides advanced health and wellness features with a sleek design. Sold in two sizes featuring a 1.4″-display or 1.2″-display (‘s’ series), the Venu 3 is sleek enough for every day wear, but provides advanced health and fitness features as well. Enjoy a longer battery life than the Venu 2 with up to 14 days of battery life (up to 10 hours with Venu 3s model). In addition to the longer battery life, users can also enjoy the following new features:

Morning Report: Receive an overview of your sleep, recovery, daily calendar, HRV status and more! Edit this overview to display only the stats that you want.

Wheelchair Mode: Track pushes and enjoy preloaded workouts along with animated workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and more. These workouts are specifically designed for wheelchair users.

Sleep Coach and Nap Tracking: Receive personalized coaching in regards for how much sleep you need. Track naps and other metrics to better understand your health.

Body Battery Energy Monitoring: Track your energy levels throughout the day to better understand when you need rest or are ready for movement!

Workout Benefit and Recovery Time: Better understand how each workout affects your energy level.

Additional New Wellness Features:

• Jet Lag Advisor
• Meditation
• Workout Benefit

Additional New Fitness Features:

• Recovery Time

New Specs/Hardware Enhancements:

• Generation 5 Heart Rate Monitor
• Large Font Size Option

The Venu 3 series also supports new features when linked with a compatible smartphone. Receive emails, texts and alerts on your watch when paired with your iPhone or Android smartphone. With an Android phone, respond to texts with the on-watch keyboard. With an Android phone, view photos sent to you directly from your watch’s screen.

Shop the Garmin Venu 3 GPS Smartwatch
Shop the Garmin Venu 3s GPS Smartwatch

Considering SiriusXM Marine?
SiriusXM receivers are at the lowest prices of the year with an additional $100 rebate from SiriusXM. SiriusXM Marine provides weather and fishing information to your compatible MFD, allowing for better planning, increased peace of mind and safety on the water. Add SiriusXM entertainment and you will receive over 150 channels of commercial-free music, sports, talk, news and more.

How to I get SiriusXM Marine?

1. Purchase and install a compatible SiriusXM receiver.
Furuno
Garmin
Raymarine
Navico

2. Click here to explore plan options.

3. Activate your subscription online or call 1-855-796-9847.

With September right around the corner, cooler temps are on the horizon. We are gearing up for the Annapolis Sailboat Show followed by the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, both in October.  If you’re considering attending a fall boat show, take a look at dates and ticket information below.

The biggest sales of the year will kick off soon after with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and holiday specials. We have some exclusive deals lined up and will continue to prepare for these big sales events.

We will kick off 2024 with the Miami International Boat show in February. We hope to see you there!

As always, the team is here to answer any questions and to help with product questions, 1-800-477-2611.

Annapolis Sailboat Show
October 12-15, 2023
City Dock, Annapolis, MD
annapolisboatshows.com

Fort Lauderdale Boat Show
October 25-29, 2023
www.flibs.com

Miami International Boat Show
February 14-18, 2023
www.miamiboatshow.com

If you’re new to Fusion marine stereos and audio equipment you may wonder what ‘DSP’ is and how it can improve your experience on the water. Fusion Digital Signal Processing (DSP) optimizes the audio signal delivered to your Fusion system to produce quality sound at all volume levels and environments.  Garmin has preconfigured DSP profiles that make it easy to optimize your sound quality. For example- Helm, Open Air, or Cabin environment settings.

In order to utilize DSP- you will need the free Fusion-Link app and a DSP enabled Fusion stereo. The new Fusion Signature Series marine speakers DSP profiles also require a set of Signature Series speakers. These new DSP profiles can be applied to speakers connected to a Fusion external amplifier or the built-in amplifier of a Fusion DSP-enabled marine stereo. New speaker profiles provide smoother sounds with a flatter curve. New DSP signature speaker profiles also increase bass for a deeper, richer sound.

Fusion DSP setup is completed using the Fusion-Link app by connecting to your Fusion DSP-enabled stereo/speakers via Bluetooth or WiFi. Click here to view a setup video.

Fusion DSP-Enabled Stereos:

• Fusion Apollo MS-RA770 Marine Stereo
• Fusion Apollo MS-RA670 Marine Stereo
• Fusion Apollo MS-WB675 Marine Hideaway Stereo
• Fusion Apollo MS-SRX400 Marine Zone Stereo
• Fusion MS-RA210 Marine Stereo
• Fusion Panel-Stereo

Shop Fusion Signature Speakers

Ideal for saltwater anglers and deep V hulls, the Garmin Force Kraken trolling motor is designed with longer shaft lengths, a pivot mount and Garmin’s most precise anchor lock technology. Hailed at the most powerful trolling motor on the market with 100 lbs. of thrust (ISO 13342), the Kraken is also extremely quiet with the lowest levels of sonar noise from electrical and mechanical interference. The brushless motor is optimized to operate in rough conditions making it ideal for saltwater, brackish and freshwater alike. The included remote allows you to use point and go (using AHRS) and gesture steering.

Garmin has several optional accessories including a Deck Mount Stabilizer allowing for stability while in a stowed position and a Quick Release Plate System that allows you to easily install and uninstall your Kraken.

Controlling your Kraken is simple. Control the Kraken from the included remote, a Foot Pedal or a compatible Garmin smartwatch. The Kraken integrates wirelessly with your Garmin chartplotter. Create routes, patterns and tracks for the Kraken to follow while you fish. This intuitive design makes the Kraken a perfect fishing buddy.

Shop the Garmin Force Kraken 63″, Black Here
Shop the Garmin Force Kraken 63″, White Here
Shop the Garmin Force Kraken 75″, Black Here
Shop the Garmin Force Kraken 75″, White Here
Shop the Garmin Force Kraken 90″, White Here

Now Available! Garmin’s newest radar series includes 4kW, 12kW and 25kW magnetron style open array radars with up to a 96nm range (72nm on 4kW models). Each pedestal is available with either a 4-foot, or 6-foot array providing either a 1.8-degree or 1.1-degree horizontal beam width.

New Garmin Scan Averaging technology is now available with the xHD3 magnetron style radars. Scan Averaging filters out sea clutter and interference to enhance the detection and display of consistent targets.

GMR xHD3 radar antennas are high performance and 100-knot commercial wind-rated (4kW requires the GMR Voltage Converter Unit, sold separately).

Tru Echo Trail technology provides a historical ‘trail’ of boats on the water helping you to quickly identify moving targets and potential collision threats. Monitor close range and long-range targets with Dual Range with Overlay. These short- and long-range views can be viewed as a split-screen, side-by-side image on your compatible Garmin chartplotter.

Add a heading sensor, sold separately, and enjoy radar overlay and MARPA target tracking. Track up to 30 targets to help avoid collisions. The convenient guard zone feature establishes a safety zone and alerts you to objects entering the zone.

As you can see- the xHD3 radars provide advanced safety and navigation features that will help make your day on the water the best it can be. Compatible with current Garmin GPSMAP series MFD’s.

 

Garmin has released all new Garmin fenix 7 Pro and epix Pro Gen 2 series multisport watches. The fenix 7 Pro series smartwatches include a solar charging Power Glass lens, while the epix Pro Gen 2 series include a super bright AMOLED display. These new watches feature an LED flashlight- a convenient safety feature for night training. New Pro models also include a next generation (gen 5) heart rate sensor which constantly samples your heart rate to help you gauge how hard you work during activities. Multiple case sizes allow for a custom fit to suit your wrist size and style preferences, while color options are neutral and ideal for every day wear.

Shop the new Garmin epix Pro Gen 2 series here.

Shop the new Garmin fenix 7 Pro series here.

Garmin has released the April 2023 (Q2 2023) Marine Software Update. Download this update free of charge from the Garmin ActiveCaptain app or from your computer with Garmin Express software. As a convenience, we also offer software updates on SD card, available for the Garmin GPSMAP Series here and Garmin ECHOMAP Series here.

Want to save the data from a specific area on to an SD card? Now users can save the data within a specified boundary on to an SD card. This makes it quick and easy to share waypoints with a friend or bring your user data to another boat or new chartplotter.

The Q2 update includes user interface improvements for autopilot graphics. These improvements feature a rotating compass and added gradients to improve the overall feel of the autopilot page.

Through an SD card, users can now save system profile settings and import these settings to a new unit. This new feature can be helpful for charter or fleet vessels- or for sharing information and settings with a friend who may like your setup!

Have your Garmin chartplotter connected to a Garmin inReach Communicator? Now send new messages or reply to incoming messages with custom messages drafted directly on your Garmin MFD’s display. This makes it quick and easy to draft custom messages from your large MFD display.

Fusion has made several improvements within this software update. Users can now re-create previously established groups when switching units from off to on. Fusion stereos can now automatically adjust speaker volume as the boat speed increases, making sure you can always hear high quality sound!

Users can now control Mercury autopilots (Auto heading and Route Following) from your Garmin MFD.

Voice Control commands have expanded to include new sonar and radar voice commands including ‘Increase Sonar Gain’ and ‘Start MotionScope Technology’.

We recommend updating the software in your Garmin MFD routinely to keep it running at its best and to ensure compatibility with new features. Check the compatibility list below to see what you can expect from this new update based on the MFD you own.