If you have a Raymarine c- or e-series fishfinder/chartplotter at the helm and a smart-phone in your pocket or a tablet in your briefcase, there are a couple of new apps you’ll want to know about: RayRemote, and RayControl.

These are the latest in phone-chartplotter-fishfinder technology, and they allow you to link up and take charge of running your marine electronics from the palm of your hand.

It is a smartphone, or a nav tool? Both!

RayControl transforms tablets (like the Apple iPad) into fully functional Raymarine MFD repeaters, with a seamless touch-screen interface between the tablet and MFD.  Thanks to the virtual keypad, you can interact with your Raymarine nav system from anywhere on the boat. The RayRemote app is more for smart phones,  and its virtual keypad emulates all MFD controls, including cursor and rotary controls, allowing boaters to navigate, rotate through menus, and make electronics adjustments as needed.

Unlike the RayViewer app (which basically lets you view your electronics screen on your i-thingie), however, these new apps aren’t free. RayControl goes for $49.99, and RayRemote, for $29.99. To use these, you’ll also have to upgrading your MFD’s software to v3.15 (which is a free update, at www.raymarine.com). 

With these new apps, Raymarine joins Furuno and Fusion at the cutting edge of marine electronics, allowing you to not only view your electronics screens but also control them from your phone or tablet. On top of that, the newest Raymarine units can automatically synch up with your phone’s Navionics app, and update the chartography stowed away in its electronic brain. That’s pretty darn cool stuff!