Navigation With A Chartplotter; Basic Navigation Questions - Garmin GPSMAP 8600 Series Owner's Manual

ranges to monitor how quickly the bottom depth changes within
a specific depth range. You can create up to ten depth ranges.
For inland fishing, a maximum of five depth ranges can help
reduce map clutter.
Red From 0 to 1.5 m (from 0 to 5 ft.)
Orange From 1.5 to 3 m (from 5 to 10 ft.)
Yellow From 3 to 4.5 m (from 10 to 15 ft.)
Green From 4.5 to 7.6 m (from 15 to 25 ft.)

Navigation with a Chartplotter

All route and navigation lines displayed on the chartplotter are
only intended to provide general route guidance or to identify
proper channels, and are not intended to be precisely followed.
Always defer to the navaids and conditions on the water when
navigating to avoid groundings or hazards that could result in
vessel damage, personal injury, or death.
The Auto Guidance feature is based on electronic chart
information. That data does not ensure obstacle and bottom
clearance. Carefully compare the course to all visual sightings,
and avoid any land, shallow water, or other obstacles that may
be in your path.
When using Go To, a direct course and a corrected course may
pass over land or shallow water. Use visual sightings, and steer
to avoid land, shallow water, and other dangerous objects.
If your vessel has an autopilot system, a dedicated autopilot
control display must be installed at each steering helm in order
to disable the autopilot system.
NOTE: Some chart views are available with premium charts, in
some areas.
To navigate, you must choose a destination, set a course or
create a route, and follow the course or route. You can follow
the course or the route on the Navigation chart, Fishing chart,
Perspective 3D chart view, or Mariner's Eye 3D chart view.
You can set and follow a course to a destination using one of
three methods: Go To, Route To, or Auto Guidance.
Go To: Takes you directly to the destination. This is the
standard option for navigating to a destination. The
chartplotter creates a straight-line course or navigation line to
the destination. The path may run over land and other
obstacles.
Route To: Creates a route from your location to a destination,
allowing you to add turns along the way. This option provides
a straight-line course to the destination, but allows you to add
turns into the route to avoid land and other obstacles.
Auto Guidance: Uses the specified information about your
vessel and chart data to determine the best path to your
destination. This option is available only when using a
compatible premium chart in a compatible chartplotter. It
provides a turn-by-turn navigation path to the destination,
Navigation with a Chartplotter
WARNING
CAUTION
avoiding land and other obstacles
page 18).
When you are using a compatible Garmin autopilot
connected to the chartplotter using NMEA 2000
autopilot follows the Auto Guidance route.
NOTE: Auto Guidance is available with premium charts, in
some areas.

Basic Navigation Questions

Question
How do I make the
chartplotter point me in the
direction in which I want to go
(bearing)?
How do I make the device
guide me along a straight line
(minimizing cross track) to a
location using the shortest
distance from the present
location?
How do I make the device
guide me to a location while
avoiding charted obstacles?
How do I make the device
steer my automatic pilot?
Can the device create a path
for me?
How do I change the Auto
Guidance settings for my
boat?
Destinations
You can select destinations using various charts and 3D chart
views or using the lists.
Searching for a Destination by Name
You can search for saved waypoints, saved routes, saved
tracks, and marine services destinations by name.
1 Select Info > Services > Search by Name.
2
Enter at least a portion of the name of your destination.
3 If necessary, select Done.
The 50 nearest destinations that contain your search criteria
appear.
4 Select the destination.
Selecting a Destination Using the Navigation Chart
From the Navigation chart, select a destination.
Searching for a Marine Services Destination
NOTE: This feature is available with premium charts, in some
areas.
The chartplotter contains information for thousands of
destinations offering marine services.
1 Select Info > Services.
2
Select Offshore Services or Inland Services.
3 If necessary, select the marine service category.
The chartplotter shows a list of the nearest locations and the
distance and bearing to each.
4
Select a destination.
You can select Next Page or Previous Page to view
additional information or to show the location on a chart.
(Auto Guidance,
, the
®
Answer
Navigate using Go To (Setting and
Following a Direct Course Using Go To,
page 16).
Build a single-leg route and navigate it
using Route To (Creating and
Navigating a Route From Your Present
Location, page 17).
Build a multi-leg route and navigate it
using Route To (Creating and
Navigating a Route From Your Present
Location, page 17).
Navigate using Route To (Creating and
Navigating a Route From Your Present
Location, page 17).
If you have premium maps that support
Auto Guidance and are in an area
covered by Auto Guidance, navigate
using Auto Guidance (Setting and
Following an Auto Guidance Path,
page 18).
See Auto Guidance Path
Configurations, page 18.
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