The Nauteek SC200 is a compact GPS driven tactical instrument. It is housed in a fully waterproof shell measuring 110 x 85 x 35 mm. The SC200 is powered by an integrated Lithium-ion cell which provides enough juice for 30 hours of continuous use. The unit contains flash memory which, depending on the record interval, can store between 14 and 140 hours of tracking information. The display on the Nauteek SC200 can be changed to display 15, 20, 25 and 40 mm size digits making it very readable from anywhere on a typical 20+ft sportboat. The menus are intuitive and easy to read and there are large graphical icons which provide useful feedback to the user. The display has a back light allowing the Nauteek SC200 to be used at night.

The Nauteek SC200 includes an integrated USB connection allowing the device to be plugged directly to a computer. While connected to a computer it is possible to:

• upgrade the firmware (which can add/improve the features available)
• stream NMEA data to another device such as a laptop
• manage waypoints and device settings
• download GPS tracking data

Man Over Board functionality The SC200 offers a MOB functionality. The goal of this functionality is to help you in the case of a MOB incident. The info given will help you go to go back to the geographic location stored when you pressed the MOB buttons. This person in the water will most likely not be at this place anymore due to wind and currents. Therefore, you should always try to keep a visual contact with the person in the water until he/she is back on board. To start the MOB functionality: Press simultaneously on and for 3 seconds. The position of the SC200 is then recorded and the MOB screen appears automatically. This screen gives you the direction and distance to the recorded position.

The Nauteek SC200 uses GPS to determine the boats Course Over Ground (COG) to a resolution of 1°. The Nauteek SC200 has settings to control the magnetic declination so that the instrument can be calibrated to a true magnetic based compass. The compass damping can be configured to make the heading changes smoother and more useful by ensuring that it isn't too sensitive to sudden movements which could occur when the boat is sailing in choppy conditions.

With a little additional information the Nauteek SC200 can use your COG to determine

• whether or not your are headed or lifted upwind
• as well as calculate upwind/downwind VMG

The two pieces of information required are the tacking angle for your boat and the current True Wind Direction (TUD). The Nauteek SC200 provides two straight forward ways to accurately configure this information easily while out on the water:

• Using the onscreen prompts you record your course on one tack, then on the other tack. Once complete the SC200 will automatically calculate the TUD and your true tacking angle.
• Using the onscreen menus the direction of the wind and the tacking angle can be entered manually.

With the SC200 configured correctly you can chose which information you'd like to see while sailing.

• Classic - use the COG like you would a compass remembering that larger numbers while sailing on starboard means that you are being lifted, etc.
• TUD - using the COG and your specified tacking angle the Nauteek can display the current True Upwind Direction allowing the sailor to see how the wind is changing.
• TUD Variation - using the COG and your specified tacking angle the Nauteek can display a graphical representation of the actual TUD value in comparison with the reference wind that has been set. The graph allows you to quickly see headers and lifts - if you have 3 bars on the right side of the screen, then your TUD has shifted 15 degrees to the right (also shown as +15).

The Nauteek SC200 uses GPS to determine the boats Speed Over Ground (SOG) to a resolution of 0.1 knots. The speed damping can be configured to make the speed changes smoother and more useful by ensuring that it isn't too sensitive to sudden movements which could occur when the boat is sailing in choppy conditions. As well as displaying the current speed there is also a Speed Trend indicator which shows whether your current speed is greater, equal or less than your previous speed reading.

When sailing upwind or downwind your VMG is typically more useful than your SOG. VMG stands for Velocity Made Good and refers to how fast you are sailing along the true wind axis, i.e. directly upwind/downwind. Provided the True Upwind Direction (TUD) has been calibrated on your Nauteek SC200 it will be able to calculate your VMG allowing you to determine the optimal heading and speed.

If you are racing on a windward / leeward course then using your VMG would be a good measure of your performance. However, even the best race committees can't keep the course aligned to the wind so the Nauteek also has Velcoity To Destination (VTD). Before the start of the race the exact location of the windward / leeward marks can be stored by either:

• setting the the direction and distance of the windward mark VTDu according the committee boat, i.e. 1.0 nautical miles, bearing 095
• or the real position of the windward mark VTDu / leeward mark VTDd when sailing close to these marks (which can be done either before the race or during a race in order to get a more information for the next leg/race).

When racing from A to B (rather than windward/leeward) your Velocity To Waypoint can be more useful than your SOG. With the Nauteek SC200 waypoints and routes can be entered quickly via the desktop software and then uploaded to the unit via USB. Waypoints and routes can also be created using the Nauteeks menus while out on the water. The SC200 uses your location, the location of the waypoint and your SOG to automatically calculate your Velocity To Waypoint.

The Nauteek SC200 keeps statistics on your performance giving you access to your maximum speed and your maximum 10 second average - great for bragging about how fast you sailed!

The Nauteek SC200 has a configurable Race Countdown timer. The starting time can be configured to be any whole number of minutes. In situations where the timer was started early or late simply pressing start again will synchronize the timer to the nearest minute ensuring that it's accurate for the start of the race. The timer also beeps more often as it gets closer to zero and will beep every second during the last 15 seconds of the sequence. As well as an audible sound the screen will also flash. Once the timer reaches zero the Chrono will automatically start. This can used during the race to time how far boats are behind or ahead and of course the overall time for the race.

The Nauteek SC200 has excellent Waypoint and Route features. Using the Nauteek Waypoint Manager desktop software it has never been easier to enter Waypoints and create Routes. When creating a Route it is possible to specify whether the mark should be rounded to Port or Starboard. Not only is it easy to upload your waypoints and routes to the SC200, the software also allows users to export their Waypoints and Routes so they can be shared easily with other Nauteek users.

On the water going to a waypoint or running a route is very straight forward. In addition to the usual information that can be displayed, such as Course Over Ground (COG) and Speed Over Ground (SOG) the following information is also available: The available informations are the following :

• COURSE TO WPT in degrees
• VELOCITY TO WPT in knots
• DIR TO WPT - a great graphical display to help you to correct your course
• CROSS COURSE
• DIST TO WPT in nautical miles

When sailing a route the name of the active Waypoint and the whether it should be rounded to port or starboard is automatically displayed every two minutes. Then after rounding a mark the SC200 will automatically switch to the next waypoint.

The Nauteek SC200 has features specifically designed to make you more competitive on the race course.

The start is an important part of the race and the Nauteek will help you to have a great start every time. To get the most out of the Nauteek on the start line a few things have to be configured before the race starts. Setting up the line simply involves sailing past the committee boat and the pin and using the Nauteek to record their locations. The other useful piece of information to know at the start line is which end of the line is favored. Once the start line has been recorded the only other information required is the True Upwind Direction (TUD). The Nauteek SC200 provides two straight forward ways to accurately configure the TUD easily while out on the water:

• Using the onscreen prompts you record your course on one tack, then on the other tack. Once complete the SC200 will automatically calculate the TUD and your true tacking angle.
• Using the onscreen menus the direction of the wind and the tacking angle can be entered manually.

With everything setup you'll now now be able to display the distance to the start line (which can be shown in either boat lengths or feet/meters) and you'll know which end of the line is favored.

The Nauteek SC200 doesn't just help at the start it has features to help you sail around the entire course. If the TUD has been configured then the Nauteek SC200 will be able to display any wind shifts that occur while sailing. If the location of the windward / leeward marks has been set then the Nauteek will be able to display Velocity To Destination (VTD) and will automatically display layline information every 45 sec. The windward / leeward marks can be stored by either:

• setting the the direction and distance of the windward mark VTDu according the committee boat, i.e. 1.0 nautical miles, bearing 095
• or the real position of the windward mark VTDu / leeward mark VTDd when sailing close to these marks (which can be done either before the race or during a race in order to get a more information for the next leg/race).

With all this information available and the ability to only display up to two of them at a time you may think that one of your crew is going to be dedicated to managing the Nauteek, but this is not the case. When racing there are three screens : Start, Upwind and Downwind and the Nauteek SC200 automatically switches between these as you sail around the course. So without having to touch the Nauteek you could have:

• at the start TIMER and DISTANCE TO LINE
• upwind you could have TUD VAR (a graph showing headers / lifts) and Speed Over Ground (SOG) and automatic layline information every 2 minutes.
• downwind you could have VTD (your speed towards the leeward mark) and Speed Over Ground (SOG) and automatic layline information every 2 minutes.

The Nauteek SC200 also handles the tracking of your race. Tracking starts when the timer is started and then tracking is turned off by pressing stop at the end of the race. This is useful when it comes to downloading your tracks from the Nauteek SC200 as each race will have been stored as a separate track.

The Nauteek SC200 is capable of storing between 14 and 140 hours of GPS tracking information depending on the record interval. This track data can then be downloaded from the unit via USB and used to analyze your sailing performance.

The tracking can be turned on manually or it can be set to automatically track your races only. In automatic mode the tracking starts when the timer is started and then tracking is turned off by pressing stop at the end of the race. This is useful when it comes to downloading your tracks from the Nauteek SC200 as each race will have been stored as a separate track.

Nauteek currently doesn't provide any track analysis software only software to download your tracks from the SC200. Fortunately, there are plenty of 3rd party solutions on the market including:

• GPS Action Reply
• KATTACK
• TCSReplay