Cursor assist mode

1. A method for enabling user control of marine electronic information, the method comprising:

displaying marine electronic data in the form of a chart on a touchscreen;

providing a cursor, wherein the cursor is movable by placement of a user's finger over the cursor;

causing the marine electronic data to be panned such that the chart scrolls across the touchscreen;

receiving user input in the form of placement of the user's finger on the touchscreen at a first position on the chart as it is being panned; and

in response to receiving the user input:

causing freezing of the panning of the marine electronic data, and

displaying the cursor at a second position on the chart, wherein the second position is at a predetermined offset from the first position such that the cursor is not obstructed from view by the user's finger.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the user input comprises detecting stationary placement of the user's finger on the touchscreen cursor for at least a predetermined amount of time.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting movement of the user's finger across the touchscreen; and

causing the cursor to move with the user's finger while being offset from the position of the user's finger such that the cursor is not obstructed from view by the user's finger.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

receiving user input indicating a selection of a location on the chart corresponding to the offset position of the cursor; and

causing information associated with the selected location to be displayed.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

display marine electronic data in the form of a chart on a touchscreen;

provide a cursor, wherein the cursor is movable by placement of a user's finger over the cursor;

cause the marine electronic data to be panned such that the chart scrolls across the touchscreen;

receive user input in the form of placement of the user's finger on the touchscreen at a first position on the chart as it is being panned; and

in response to receiving the user input:

cause freezing of the panning of the marine electronic data; and

display the cursor at the second position on the chart, wherein the second position is at a predetermined offset from the first position such that the cursor is no obstructed from view by the user's finger.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the cursor at the second position moves with the movement of the user's finger.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 wherein the predetermined offset is between about ¼″ to about ½″.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the executable instructions which cause the computer to receive the user input comprises executable instructions which cause the computer to detect stationary placement of the user's finger on the touchscreen at the first position for at least a predetermined time.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to:

move the cursor corresponding with a movement of the user's finger;

receive a first user selection of a first point under the cursor at a third position;

mark the first point under the cursor at the third position;

receive a second user selection of a second point under the cursor at a fourth position; and

determine the distance between the first point and the second point.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to:

receive a user request to create an electronic bearing line from a current location, wherein the user request is made at the current location;

move the cursor corresponding to a movement of the user's finger to a point; and

create the electronic bearing line connecting the current location to the point.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to:

detect movement of the user's finger across the touchscreen; and

cause the cursor to move with the user's finger while being offset from the position of the user's finger such that the cursor is not obstructed from view by the user's finger.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to:

receive user input indicating a selection of a location on the chart corresponding to the offset position of the cursor; and

cause information associated with the selected location to be displayed.

13. An apparatus for displaying marine electronic data, said apparatus comprising:

one or more processors;

a screen;

memory having a plurality of executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processor to:

display marine electronic data in the form of a chart on a touchscreen;

provide a cursor, wherein the cursor is movable by placement of a user's finger over the cursor;

cause the marine electronic data to be panned such that the chart scrolls across the touchscreen;

receive user input in the form of placement of the user's finger on the touchscreen at a first position on the chart as it is being panned; and

in response to receiving the user input:

cause freezing of the panning of the marine electronic data; and

display the cursor at the second position on the chart, wherein the second position is at a predetermined offset from the first position such that the cursor is no obstructed from view by the user's finger.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the cursor at the second position moves with the movement of the user's finger.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the predetermined offset is between about ¼″ to about ½″.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of executable instructions causes the one or more processors to:

move the cursor corresponding to a movement of the user's finger;

mark a point underneath the cursor at a third position;

store the point in the memory at a first time; and

retrieve the point with the marker from the memory at a second time.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of executable instructions further causes the one or more processors to:

move the cursor corresponding with a movement of the user's finger;

receive a first user selection of a first point under the cursor at a third position;

mark the first point under the cursor at the third position;

receive a second user selection of a second point under the cursor at a fourth position; and

determine the distance between the first point and the second point.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of executable instructions further causes the one or more processors to:

receive a user request to create an electronic bearing line from a current location, wherein the user request is made at the current location;

move the cursor corresponding to a movement of the user's finger to a point; and

create the electronic bearing line connecting the current location to the point.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of executable instructions further causes the one or more processors to:

detect movement of the user's finger across the touchscreen; and

cause the cursor to move with the user's finger while being offset from the position of the user's finger such that the cursor is not obstructed from view by the user's finger.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of executable instructions further causes the one or more processors to:

receive user input indicating a selection of a location on the chart corresponding to the offset position of the cursor; and

cause information associated with the selected location to be displayed.