Platinum+ and HotMaps Platinum owners who utilize their additional content and viewing options gain a much better situational awareness where they go boating. Whether you own one of these charts or are considering an upgrade, keep in mind the available features. 

Satellite Overlay provides an extremely helpful visual aid when boating in coastal areas, inland lakes and rivers. You can choose to display the imagery over land or on both land and water. Then, increase or decrease the transparency to compare the chart to what you see in the image, such as backwater channels, islands, sandbars and nearby landmarks.

3D View allows you to exaggerate both underwater and surface features. Highlight subtle changes in depth when looking for structure to fish. You can also rotate or pan over the map to familiarize yourself with the area.

Look for the camera icon to find thousands of Panoramic Photos of marinas, docks, and dams. Just select it with your cursor to display the image on your screen!

In most marine ports, you can access georeferenced Pilot Books by selecting the marina icon. Where available, you will find a detailed description of the area, such as its location, shoreline features, prominent objects and landmarks, anchorages, cautions and much more.

Here are some helpful videos:
How to turn on satellite overlay
How to use satellite overlay

Visit our Tips Archive for more!