Volvo Penta launches new Glass Cockpit

Volvo Penta’s latest Glass Cockpit operating and systems' monitoring technology, developed in collaboration with Garmin, is designed to make boating easier and now more accessible on a wider range of craft.

First released in 2013, Glass Cockpit has become a big selling point on high-end boats with Volvo Penta's IPS-pod installations like, say, those in the Riviera range.

Boasting a new suite of smarts and features, Glass Screen will soon be available for smaller boats with the notion of "easy boating".

Volvo Penta says it has taken boating to a new level of intelligent design with its upgraded Glass Cockpit system unveiled at the 2016 Miami boat show.

The new generation Glass Screen was displayed on the new Sabre 66 Dirigo flagship, but it will soon be available all the way down the line to trailerboats in our market.

For the first time, Glass Screen has been made available for use with the Garmin GPS Map 7600 and 8600 series of multi-functional displays (MFD) in America. These Garmin Series are known as the 7400 and 8400 in Australia. The latter hasn't yet been released, but it is coming.

These MFD screens range down to 7in and sub-$2k pricing. So when the new Glass Screen is launched here, the system will be available for Volvo-Penta-powered sportsboats, sportscruisers, sportfishers and trailerable cruisers like the Whittleys with, we expect, affordable pricing.

Volvo Penta lists the advantages of the enhanced Glass Cockpit system as:
>> Customized layouts so operators can decide when, where and which information is presented on screen to increase ease of use.
>> Assigning customised layouts to particular buttons on the Volvo Penta control and joystick — by pressing an assigned button, the user activates automatic display of the information they want for any particular situation.
>> Displays ranging from 7- to 24-inch screens, making the system available for small sports boats up to large yachts.
>> Integration of all functions means that drivers can access operational and monitoring controls on one interface, and change layouts to suit their own particular requirements and wishes, at any given time.

By customising information on layouts and linking them to the control and joystick, drivers can press an assigned button for specific operations. This can be done on the joystick to bring up, say, the docking camera view on the display and create a go-to docking screen with more relevant functionality.

"While developing the Glass Cockpit system, we had our goal of ‘easy boating’ constantly in mind," says Stefan Carlsson, head of Volvo Penta’s Marine Diesel segment.

"With Glass Cockpit you have access to everything that you need to know about the boat displayed on the screens in front of you – the status, the alarm, which functions are on or off, and features such as Autopilot."

Carlsson adds that the all-in-one system removes the need for black boxes, extra monitors and external antennas, so Glass Screen is a very simply installation for boat builders.

Glass Screen can access all Garmin Marine Network capabilities including radar, sonar, chartplotter, 3D maps, tide tables, instruments, FUSION-Link, sensors, digital switching, thermal cameras, GRID and more. On top of this, you have all your engine data and switching for the boat.

Volvo Penta functions such as Autopilot, Dynamic Positioning System, Interceptors and Sportfish Mode are also integral to the unified system.

This is an American release at this point in time, but the new Glass Screen technology for smaller boats with Volvo Penta power and Garmin screens will be released here soon. Your dash could have just this one MFD screen for a simple and minimalist look. Watch this space.