Whether you want to sail, motor, or just drift along with the currents, the Magellan Meridian Marine is made for your trips on the water. This handheld GPS receiver has the accuracy and maps to reliably guide you to your favorite destinations. And since it floats, even an occasional dunking won't spoil things.

If the water you want is in North America (or Europe with the European version), the built-in map that comes with the Magellan Meridian Marine should get you there. This basemap not only has rivers, lakes, and the roads to them, but also marine navigation aids, such as buoys and lighthouses. For increased detail, the receiver will accept map data for Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. With these removable cards you can store up to 128 MB of data each, for an unlimited supply of maps.

Accurate position readings with the Meridian Marine is not a concern since it has position errors of less than seven meters. And for even greater accuracy, the receiver use the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) to reduce position calculation errors to less than three meters. If you have a Differential GPS (DGPS) beacon receiver, the Marine can also use DGPS to improve its base accuracy.

Because the Magellan Meridian Marine is meant for anyone's use, operation is simple and the text can be displayed in nine languages. You can customize individual screen displays according to your preferences for what, and how, information is shown. For instance, you can choose your course heading to be displayed as a compass image or shown as text. Virtually any type of charting situation is covered with the 12 map coordinate systems and 76 datums. And should you ever have trouble getting the information displayed, there's a built-in help system with step-by-step instructions for the various functions.

Creating routes with the Meridian Marine is simply a matter of connecting the dots. You can push one key to chart a course from your present location to any waypoint in the receiver's memory. The waypoints can be from the basemap, from other map data uploaded, or any you've saved. And you can create waypoints by storing a current location, manually entering coordinates, or selecting a spot on a map. Once you have the waypoints selected, they can be connected to form your route, which then can be saved for later use.

For optimum viewing, the 1.75" W x 2.2" H, LCD screen has adjustable contrast and backlighting. The backlight is amber for good readings in the dark without affecting your night vision. To save battery drain, there's a timer to shut off the light after a certain period of inactivity. Depending on how much the backlighting is used, the two AA batteries that power the Magellan Meridian Marine can last up to 14 hours.