Names from Greek mythology have a long tradition at B&G. With the new Zeus S series, however, things are slowly becoming confusing. After all, there were and are already three model series with the names Zeus, Zeus 2, Zeus 3 - and now Zeus S.
According to company marketing, the "S" stands for the terms "sailing" and "simple", whereby simple does not mean simple, but user-friendly. A characteristic for which the powerful plotters and instruments from the English company have not always been known in the past. The key to the user-friendliness of the Zeus S is the new Android-based operating system. This is accompanied by the division of functions into so-called dashboards and sailing modes. Depending on whether the device is being used for cruising or racing, only the relevant functions and data records are displayed.
During a demonstration last summer, we were able to try out a beta version of the software while sailing and have to say: the new operating concept works well. Mainly because the endless submenus typical of B&G have been removed. And that without reducing the range of functions of the Zeus S. The plotter still supports the practical Sailsteer display or the automatically calculated routes taking cross courses into account.
Casserole alarm
A special feature of the Zeus S is the predictive shallow water alarm, a function that is derived from the Accident involving the Vestas team at the Volvo Ocean Race 2015 was born. Together with C-MAP nautical charts from the Discover X and Reveal X series, chart data is used to identify objects that could pose a risk of collision and warnings of potential groundings are issued, regardless of the zoom level set.
The B&G app, which is basically a stand-alone navigation program based on C-Map, allows routes to be conveniently created at home and synchronised with the plotter via Wi-Fi. The connection to the autopilot or instrument system is made via NMEA 2000, radar devices can be connected via Ethernet. An NMEA 0183 interface is not available. There is a choice of three models with 7, 9 or 12 inch screen diagonals. Prices start at 999 euros.
