Glass Garmin - did you know?

[greenhut]

The 7607s have WiFi. You can download a free app called ActiveCaptain and connect to your boat via WiFi and Bluetooth. It requires inserting a MicroSD card in one of the Garmins and some setup. Once complete, you can:

• Get notifications from your phone on your boat dash
  Control your Garmins from your phone
  Update the software on your Garmins from your phone
  Update waypoints on your device away from your boat, which will later sync
  Sync other info from boaters in your area

Pretty cool. Not sure I want to see texts from my boss on my boat dash, but it has now happened...

[Big Block Power]

Yea tgrace was sending me pictures of his dash of my text to him. Perry cool stuff.

[BobRae99]

Yes, I've used the Active Captin app to update the software on the Garmin units. I haven't turned on notifications though. Pretty cool stuff.

[Krob1114]

Is there a source where we can learn more about the Glass Garmin.
I'd like to remove all the lines on the chart that shows where we've previously been.

[BobRae99]

Is there a source where we can learn more about the Glass Garmin.
I'd like to remove all the lines on the chart that shows where we've previously been.

This has all the information you need:

http://static.garmin.com/pumac/GPSMAP_7 ... df#page126

You can erase the tracks in user data. I don't recall all of the steps to do it though. Hope that helps.

[greenhut]

To clear tracks:

Home (center bottom on chart plotter)-Info-User Data-Tracks-clear Active Track

[Krob1114]

Thanks guys. I didn't know of that resource.
I did find how to turn of tracks previously but missed how to clear old ones.

[Krob1114]

BobRae99:
I was able to share your help on another thread there.
Greers Ferry Lake water level is way down. Lots of high places in the lake now have tree tops showing.
Early this year, when water levels where at least 15' higher, I heard of boats being damaged hitting things.
Last weekend, we were able to drive around marking trees with the "!" so next spring we'll know exactly where they are.

Thanks again.

[BobRae99]

I learned a valuable lesson last weekend.

I used my Garmin to navigate the south end of Lake Winnipeg last Sunday with a view to motoring up the river. I was careful to navigate to the channel marker buoys out on the lake 1/2 from the river entrance. When I got them in sight, I stopped using the chart plotter and navigated by sight to the larger buoys. When I was between a pair, I looked at the chart and found the boat position to be several hundred yards east of the buoys. I was puzzled because my boat was physically between the buoys. I thought about calling Garmin to ask why my GPS would be out by that much?

Fast forward to yesterday. I was on the phone with the Canadian Coast Guard to verify the depth at the mouth of the river asking if I was safe with a 4' draft as long as I stayed on the recommended track. He immediately said "no, no, no" don't follow that track - we moved the buoys westward several hundred yards to years ago to deeper water"

The moral of my lesson is charts are good to use when navigating, but if it is possible to obtain local knowledge in advance of a trip to aunoreviosuly travelled destination, local knowledge can add a lot in terms of safety. He went on to say that last year he took the coast guard cutter that draws 4.7' "plus propellers" through the channel and had no problems.

So, I went to the town on the river with the Federal Government lock operation and spoke to the "lock master". He let me into the facility and gave me detailed instructions on how to approach the lock and how to enter, etc. I'm not sure how to use bumpers in the lock to protect the bat because they throw you lines from 40' overhead and you secure the boat close to the wall on your starboard side and like an elevator ride up with the water and then exit.

Getting a bit off topic here but I'm not sure how you position fenders along the rub rail (the widest part of the boat) to fend it off the wall as the boat is rising. I can hand one from the tower, but how do I cover other positions on the rub rail forward and aft of the tower? Maybe we can just fend the boat off by pushing off the wall by hand as the boat rises and is being held from drifting away by the lines?

[Bfun220]

So, I went to the town on the river with the Federal Government lock operation and spoke to the "lock master". He let me into the facility and gave me detailed instructions on how to approach the lock and how to enter, etc. I'm not sure how to use bumpers in the lock to protect the bat because they throw you lines from 40' overhead and you secure the boat close to the wall on your starboard side and like an elevator ride up with the water and then exit.

Getting a bit off topic here but I'm not sure how you position fenders along the rub rail (the widest part of the boat) to fend it off the wall as the boat is rising. I can hand one from the tower, but how do I cover other positions on the rub rail forward and aft of the tower? Maybe we can just fend the boat off by pushing off the wall by hand as the boat rises and is being held from drifting away by the lines?

Maybe I'm missing something. But when I went through a lock here they throw the lines down and you just hang onto them with your hands. So I just put my fenders out like I would normally.

[Big Block Power]

So, I went to the town on the river with the Federal Government lock operation and spoke to the "lock master". He let me into the facility and gave me detailed instructions on how to approach the lock and how to enter, etc. I'm not sure how to use bumpers in the lock to protect the bat because they throw you lines from 40' overhead and you secure the boat close to the wall on your starboard side and like an elevator ride up with the water and then exit.

Getting a bit off topic here but I'm not sure how you position fenders along the rub rail (the widest part of the boat) to fend it off the wall as the boat is rising. I can hand one from the tower, but how do I cover other positions on the rub rail forward and aft of the tower? Maybe we can just fend the boat off by pushing off the wall by hand as the boat rises and is being held from drifting away by the lines?

Maybe I'm missing something. But when I went through a lock here they throw the lines down and you just hang onto them with your hands. So I just put my fenders out like I would normally.

Yep and bring gloves with you because tb he ropes are old and slimy.

[BobRae99]

So, I went to the town on the river with the Federal Government lock operation and spoke to the "lock master". He let me into the facility and gave me detailed instructions on how to approach the lock and how to enter, etc. I'm not sure how to use bumpers in the lock to protect the bat because they throw you lines from 40' overhead and you secure the boat close to the wall on your starboard side and like an elevator ride up with the water and then exit.

Getting a bit off topic here but I'm not sure how you position fenders along the rub rail (the widest part of the boat) to fend it off the wall as the boat is rising. I can hand one from the tower, but how do I cover other positions on the rub rail forward and aft of the tower? Maybe we can just fend the boat off by pushing off the wall by hand as the boat rises and is being held from drifting away by the lines?

Maybe I'm missing something. But when I went through a lock here they throw the lines down and you just hang onto them with your hands. So I just put my fenders out like I would normally.

It’s probably me who is missing something. If I hang my fenders like I normally do, they are below the rub rail, which would put the rub rail in contact with the wall. That’s the part I don’t get. Anyway, I guess I’ll work it out tomorrow- there will be 3 guys on the boat with me so I’m hoping we can keep the boat protected from the wall.

[Big Block Power]

So, I went to the town on the river with the Federal Government lock operation and spoke to the "lock master". He let me into the facility and gave me detailed instructions on how to approach the lock and how to enter, etc. I'm not sure how to use bumpers in the lock to protect the bat because they throw you lines from 40' overhead and you secure the boat close to the wall on your starboard side and like an elevator ride up with the water and then exit.

Getting a bit off topic here but I'm not sure how you position fenders along the rub rail (the widest part of the boat) to fend it off the wall as the boat is rising. I can hand one from the tower, but how do I cover other positions on the rub rail forward and aft of the tower? Maybe we can just fend the boat off by pushing off the wall by hand as the boat rises and is being held from drifting away by the lines?

Maybe I'm missing something. But when I went through a lock here they throw the lines down and you just hang onto them with your hands. So I just put my fenders out like I would normally.

It’s probably me who is missing something. If I hang my fenders like I normally do, they are below the rub rail, which would put the rub rail in contact with the wall. That’s the part I don’t get. Anyway, I guess I’ll work it out tomorrow- there will be 3 guys on the boat with me so I’m hoping we can keep the boat protected from the wall.

If your fenders are 8 or 6 inches they will stick past your rub rail. The side of your hull doesn't go onwards 6 inches.

[trs23]

Get a pair of large round fenders

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=595638

We use the A3 on our R30 in the locks, never any issues with the boat touching the wall.

[BobRae99]

So, a mostly uneventfully day, but there is always some small thing. Getting off Lake Winnipeg (south end) was a non event. I hadn't been to the mouth of the river for several years and the coast guard was right when they said don't follow the chart - follow the buoys. The buoys were about 1/4 mile to the east of the established track, which is now a sand bar! Running between the channel markers yielded 9'+ of water the whole way through.

We continued to motor for an hour until we got to the locks, calling the lock master when we were about 1/2 mile away. He said there was one boat in the lock and he was ready to close but said he would wait. We rounded the bend in the river and easily navigated the rapid current and entered the lock in the middle. In my excitement to have navigated the turbulent water without incident, I forgot something I had read about when doing my prep yesterday. The regulations say you can't have more than x depth (can't remember the depth) and as I entered, my lower unit hit the underwater ledge of the threshold and kicked up 30 degrees. For a split second I wasn't sure what the bump was, but seeing the trim indicator, I immediately figured it out. I trimmed down again and idled up to the side wall. Crew caught the ropes (we had previously set out 4 fenders) and we pulled close to the wall (starboard side).

There was little turbulence as the gates closed and the water started flooding in. It took about 15 minutes in total. While we were rising, I trimmed the drive up and felt the props - no damage. I'm thinking I'll have a boo boo on the leading edge of the skeg, but won't know what it looks like until it comes out of the water next week.

All, in all a nice 3 hour cruise and the boat ran well. I burned about 1/4 tank (from full) over the 2.5 hours of running (not sure of the distance yet) and landed at a yacht club in the city where I have arranged a weeks moorage. We motored between 28 - 35 mph (more time spent at the lower speed) and the boat was really smooth. I notice when the tank is at 100% and there are several adults

Thanks for everyone's comments. You were right - nothing to worry about in the lock, but best to have 2 people and some extra fenders when transiting. Next time, I'll know to trim up as high as possible and just float across the entry threshold.