Ten Cool Things Your GPS can do
Your chartplotter or GPS can do all sorts of cool things. It's all in your manual. If you don't have a manual, do a web search using the model number - you'll find a PDF of the manual.
Create a custom underwater map of your fishing spots, based on actual soundings as you drive around and drift the area
Display wind speed from an external anemometer
Display your heart rate with a bluetooth connection to a chest-strap monitor (for kayakers)
Show how many feet you're off course so you can stay straight instead of making a big curved path when there are strong cross winds or currents
Predict tidal currents in your area
Show sunrise and sunset times
Serve as a stopwatch timer
Import/export waypoints and routes with Google Earth
Display north up, like a paper map, or course up, like the map app you use on your phone for driving
Automatically create the best route and turn points, even for complex waterways like Puget Sound
On the downside, the detailed fishing maps on chartplotters are sometimes highly "imaginative", showing reefs in the wrong place, depths off by 30% and bottom structure that isn't really there. The maps are getting better, but use with a grain of salt.
Get a Chartplotter and GPS Setup Checklist for free. Whatever the brand of GPS, you must get these 6 settings right. Here’s a simple one-page checklist.