Landshark
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
- Messages
- 51
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Gimme Shelter
- Vessel Make
- Cherubini Independence 50A
The name of our Cherubini Independence 50a is Gimme Shelter. The navigation equipment on Gimme Shelter was getting long in the tooth. It was fifteen years old, slow and unreliable. The chart plotter displayed information poorly and screen refresh took what seemed like an eternity. Radar required a 90 second arm-up period. The depth sounder worked intermittently and without temperature indication. But most troublesome was that twice last year the old Simrad system simply locked-up, once while crossing the Gulf of Alaska. My backup was an iPad equipped with Navioncs. While the iPad solution provides excellent chart plotter detail it is not integrated with the radar or depth sounder. Furthermore it requires recharging and prone to get dropped. It was time for a better solution.
Yesterday we completed a complete upgrade of Gimme Shelter’s navigation equipment. Here’s what we installed:
Furuno TZTl12 on the fly-bridge
Furuno TZTL15 in the pilot house
Furuno MCU-004 remote controls at both helms
Furuno 4 foot open array digital radar
Koden satellite compass
Furuno FI-70 instruments at both helms
Simrad FU80 jog steering at both helms and the stern station
Simrad AP 70
Icom AIS
Furuno FI-5000 wind transducer
Furuno B60 bronze transducer.
RadarMarine from Bellingham, WA handled the job. My wife and I visited RadarMarine while we were searching for a solution. The owners were particularly helpful explaining options and then recommending a package that would suit my requirements. RadarMarine sent their senior technician to Alaska to perform the upgrade. His name is Hung Dang. Mr. Dang is a certified electrician and marine electronics expert. What a remarkable man he is.
By far the most difficult part of the endeavor was removing old cable and pulling in new cable. Mr. Dang and I (I was the helper) worked in concert for fifteen continuous days to complete the job. When I was shopping for a new solution two other vendors independently told me that it was a 2-3 day job. Get very skeptical when a vendor says this stuff is simply plug and play.
The result of this endeavor is breath taking. Having clear concise integrated information available on the Furuno TZT displays is simply wonderful. The precision of the Koden satellite compass is a marvel. The new radar is virtually instant on. Having AIS information on the chart plotter and radar displays is such an improvement.
So obviously I am so very pleased with this upgrade to our Cherubini.
Yesterday we completed a complete upgrade of Gimme Shelter’s navigation equipment. Here’s what we installed:
Furuno TZTl12 on the fly-bridge
Furuno TZTL15 in the pilot house
Furuno MCU-004 remote controls at both helms
Furuno 4 foot open array digital radar
Koden satellite compass
Furuno FI-70 instruments at both helms
Simrad FU80 jog steering at both helms and the stern station
Simrad AP 70
Icom AIS
Furuno FI-5000 wind transducer
Furuno B60 bronze transducer.
RadarMarine from Bellingham, WA handled the job. My wife and I visited RadarMarine while we were searching for a solution. The owners were particularly helpful explaining options and then recommending a package that would suit my requirements. RadarMarine sent their senior technician to Alaska to perform the upgrade. His name is Hung Dang. Mr. Dang is a certified electrician and marine electronics expert. What a remarkable man he is.
By far the most difficult part of the endeavor was removing old cable and pulling in new cable. Mr. Dang and I (I was the helper) worked in concert for fifteen continuous days to complete the job. When I was shopping for a new solution two other vendors independently told me that it was a 2-3 day job. Get very skeptical when a vendor says this stuff is simply plug and play.
The result of this endeavor is breath taking. Having clear concise integrated information available on the Furuno TZT displays is simply wonderful. The precision of the Koden satellite compass is a marvel. The new radar is virtually instant on. Having AIS information on the chart plotter and radar displays is such an improvement.
So obviously I am so very pleased with this upgrade to our Cherubini.