OLATHE, Kan. – Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN), the world’s leading marine electronics manufacturer, today announced it was honored with wins in two categories in the 2019 DAME Design Awards, an annual competition that celebrates marine equipment design. The Garmin Force trolling motor and the GPSMAP 86i marine handheld with inReach satellite communication capabilities received top DAME accolades in the ‘Machinery, Propulsion, Mechanical and Electrical Systems and Fittings,’ and ‘Marine Electronics and Marine Related Software’ categories, respectively, at the METSTRADE show in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 19-21, 2019.
This year’s DAME awards included 118 entries spanning 27 countries. From there, a jury of industry and design experts and media representatives selected 59 “nominee” products before awarding top honors by category.
“It’s an honor to win two of the seven DAME categories as these awards recognize equipment that excel in design, aesthetics, functionality and integration – all qualities and standards that we pride ourselves in delivering with every Garmin product,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “Whether it’s in a new product category for us like propulsion, or with an established product line like GPSMAP, we remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver the most innovative products available on the water.”
With 30% more power than the leading competition, Force enables anglers to move from one dock or brush pile to the next quicker, throttle back with ease when they need to fish slow, and stand up better to currents. Force is also the most efficient trolling motor available, so anglers can count on it to fish all day. Its high-efficiency brushless motor operates at either 36V or 24V, and when running at 24V, Force delivers comparable thrust to competitors’ 36V motors. And thanks to that unique brushless motor, Force operates with almost undetectable levels of sonar and motor noise both below and above the water.
Force is the first trolling motor to include built-in industry-leading Garmin CHIRP traditional and Ultra High-Definition ClearVü and SideVü scanning sonars. It wirelessly integrates with Garmin chartplotters, and thanks to its built-in heading sensor and GPS, Force offers precise virtual anchor lock to help anglers lock their boat onto their fishing spot quickly and accurately. Force can also be controlled by the convenient wireless foot pedal that provides instant control and responsiveness, or by the included wireless remote that features anchor lock, autopilot functionality and simple point-and-go gesture steering.
Since its debut this summer, the Force trolling motor was also selected as the Best Boating Accessory at the 2019 ICAST tradeshow, then later crowned the overall ICAST Best of Show winner. Force is available now and offered with a 50-inch or 57-inch adjustable shaft for suggested retail prices of $3099.99 and $3199.99.
The GPSMAP 86 series offers Garmin inReach two-way messaging and location tracking technology, so no matter how far offshore the trip may be, it’s easy to stay in touch. Using the worldwide coverage of the Iridium satellite network, the GPSMAP 86i allows users to communicate with any cellphone number, email address or other inReach device while using GPS to track and share progress of the journey. If the user enables LiveTrack, friends and family on shore can follow along by viewing the user’s location. In the event of an emergency, mariners can use the GPSMAP 86i to trigger an interactive SOS for emergency help from a 24/7 GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center. The world leader in emergency response solutions and monitoring, GEOS will alert emergency responders and provide updates to the user’s key contacts, while also continuing to message back and forth with the user, until the situation is resolved.
With a sunlight-readable, 3-inch color display and water-resistant, floating design, the GPSMAP 86 marine handheld series can connect wireless to onboard Garmin chartplotters and instruments to stream real-time boat data. They even double as a remote control for convenient operation of an onboard Garmin autopilot or select FUSION marine stereos and speakers. Wireless unit-to-unit connectivity also lets users remotely connect the GPSMAP 86i to send and receive inReach messages on the chartplotter.
The GPSMAP 86 marine handheld series was introduced at this year’s Newport Boat Show, where it was also named the Best New Electronics Product. It’s available now with suggested retail prices ranging from $399.99 to $649.99.
