Article by Pat Schrawder
TIPS ON LEARNING NEW EQUIPMENT
It’s early in the season and many of you are just putting your boat in the water for the first time or taking delivery of a new boat. You may have replaced some of your old equipment with new or outfitted your new boat with the latest package available. Hopefully, you had some guidance in selecting the right equipment for your particular boating needs. Ultimately, you’re going to have to learn how to use these new items.
If you have purchased your equipment from a certified dealer, you need to set up some time with your dealer to have them go over the new equipment with you. They should be well versed in how to use the items and should be willing to go over it with you.
If there is no one who can go over your equipment with you personally, there are some companies who specialize in instructional videos. Bennett Marine is one such company. You can check the Internet for more information or you can contact the manufacturer. Some of them produce their own training videos. Personally, I am not too fond of these videos as they are often too detailed, giving you way more information than you need or generally want.
Then, of course, there is always the book. Just like the video, they are often overkill and somewhat boring, but they will give you all the necessary information if you are patient enough to look for it. Some manufacturers provide instruction cards that are laminated and cover just the basic information. They are a good source to remind you how to do something.
Whichever of the above methods you use, there are some general tips that I recommend you follow. Too much information too soon is a mistake with any equipment. Today’s equipment is loaded with features but trying to learn them all at once is usually a mistake. You’ll end up getting confused.
The best way to approach learning new equipment is to take one item at a time. Start with the very basics. Learn how to turn them on and turn them off. Study the display and learn what all the information on the screen is telling you. Take the controls one at a time and experiment with them to see what they do. If you get “in a loop” and can’t figure out what you’ve done, turn the equipment off and back on. That will usually reset the item to factory defaults. Don’t be afraid to try something. Rarely can you really “mess up” your equipment from the control panel, but avoid doing a “master reset”.
Think about each item and exactly what you would like it to do, then ask or look up in the manual how to do that. Once you have mastered the basics, move on to some of the other features. Take them one at a time and experiment with them until you learn what they are and how to apply them. You may find that you are not really interested in some of the features, but try them first and then decide.
If you have radar, by all means use it each day you go out in the beginning especially on sunny days. Take a look at the picture when you can see by eye what you can relate to on the display screen. This is especially important on your final approach to your homeport. Know what the inlet looks like, both by eye and on your radar screen as you come back in. Then the first time you have heavy fog or rain and you cannot see the inlet opening, you can comfortably rely on your radar to “see” it for you and the radar picture will be comfortably familiar.
When you are fishing and marks show up on your fish finder, take note of what kind of fish you caught by size and species as it related to the pattern you saw on your fish finder screen. You will soon get to know by the picture on your screen, what kind of fish are under your boat.
Learning new equipment can be frustrating but, if you will just take the time and take it slow, the rewards are worth the effort.
Pat Schrawder and her husband Larry are owners of L&L Marine Electronics on Golf Course Road in West Ocean City.
