Time for a new chartplotter

[ranger58sb]

Lots of electronics installer guys can make a cable...

-Chris

 

[OldDan1943]

Lots of electronics installer guys can make a cable...

-Chris

Chris, you have given me hope. Now, do you have a name of someone near Ft Lauderdale FL?

Usually the problem involves getting the correct ends and the correct wiring diagram.

 

[Takoradi]

I needed to replace obsolete equipment on my new boat (including loran and flasher fishfinders!) and wanted sonar, radar, 12" chartplotter, AIS/DSC VHF. Looked at Raymarine, Furuno, Garmin and Sitex configurations. Ended up with Std Horizon VHF and Sitex everything else for under $4k. Raymarine while REALLY nice, was over $6k, (and I'm not sure I'd be a good drone pilot anyway Dave!) Nothing is installed yet so it might all go bang when I throw the circuit breakers the first time, but so far so good.


Tak

 

[mcboatface]

Chris, you have given me hope. Now, do you have a name of someone near Ft Lauderdale FL?



Usually the problem involves getting the correct ends and the correct wiring diagram.

I don’t have specific names to offer, but I am pretty sure there are more marine electronics installers in Ft Lauderdale than anywhere on the planet.

 

[OldDan1943]

I don’t have specific names to offer, but I am pretty sure there are more marine electronics installers in Ft Lauderdale than anywhere on the planet.

Oh yes, plenty of them but they are more interested in selling new equipment.

 

[Wdeertz]

My 15 y.o. Raymarine E Series is well past its sell-by date so I am in the market for a new system.

It looks like Raymarine and Garmin are the major players. I will want a two 12" display networked system with radar, of course, and depth sounder.

What advice and info will you share about these systems?

Thanks very much.

Harlen

I replaced my Raymarine E-120 and E-80 with Axiom Pro 16” and 12”. Generally happy with the upgrade. Sticking with Raymarine made it easier to keep my working autopilot and depth sounder.

 

[Bradenvlp]

I have a full suite of Raymarine Axiom and am happy with it. But honestly I navigate via an IPad these days 99% of the time using Navionics. Apple makes a bazillion x more units than all of these companies combined and I just think it is all better user experience. I wouldn’t go without a core system for a lot of good practical and safety reasons but for me integration is now at the top of my list.

I have a little dongle that transmits AIS via WiFi from the NMEA to the iPad. Axioms display the radar and down vision etc. but I chart on the iPad.

I like how synced up the raymarine and IPad / Navionics have become. Good app. Auto update to charts on the Axiom, synced plots etc. I’d guess Garmin is probably even better since they own Navionics (?).

I can’t speak to Simrad or Furuno on their integration.

 

[NCheaven]

Just did that on my 15 year old Camano, old Raymarine C MFD units. Mechanic and electronics guys recommended Garmin, and I went with 942 downstairs, 1242 on the fly bridge. Chose Garmin Fantom 18” radar dome, safer low power with outstanding capabilities. Put radar on tower to extend range just a little, and have radar beam well over our heads, and unobstructed. Hoping to get 12 to 15 years from new gear.... Old transducer works so much better with new Garmin MFDs. Lots of good options out there, you’ll find a great choice for your boat.

 

[caltexflanc]

If it is after the sale service and phone support(or for that matter, support of any kind) Furuno is superb, many years and generations after the sale. In fact, I will go so far as to say they are superior to companies of any industry you can think of, including sacred cows (if you pay them) like Apple, who we also have direct experience with.

I think the whole "intuitiveness" thing has become an old wives tale at this point. It depends on your "intuition", maybe I am a contrarian, but I don't find the Garmin gear on friends' boats very intuitive, nor do I find our Apple products to be all that. One needs to go on boats with newer equipment and to boat shows and discover whose units are "intuitive" for them.

By the way, functionally, I also think other companies have caught up to Furuno in radar, but like Garmin's "intuitiveness" they have become the conventional wisdom. But if I ever have to outfit another cruising boat, it will be Furuno without a moment's hesitation. Also, by the way, they were the leader in networked systems, the twin blackbox systems we had on our old Hatteras shared components seamlessly.

 

[ranger58sb]

Chris, you have given me hope. Now, do you have a name of someone near Ft Lauderdale FL?

Usually the problem involves getting the correct ends and the correct wiring diagram.

Sorry, don't know the area down there, but your manuals will likely already have the wiring diagrams... and any Raymarine dealer ought to be able to sell you the correct connector ends. We're it me, I think I'd go to a Ray dealer and ask them to do the whole thing.

But in general, if you can get the connector ends in a pigtail configuration, connecting Wire A to Wire 1 from each side can be pretty easy. Butt Connectors R Us.

-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

It depends on your "intuition", maybe I am a contrarian, but I don't find the Garmin gear on friends' boats very intuitive, nor do I find our Apple products to be all that.

Ditto.

-Chris

 

[ktdtx]

I am boat shopping and to keep within my boat budget I am looking at 15-20 year old boats. Most with dated electronics.

Someone advised once (on this forum I think) that when you buy a new boat fix all the safety and reliability items then run it for a year before doing major upgrades--you may find that priorities change a lot.

 

[OldDan1943]

Ditto.

-Chris

My intuitive gene died way before my math gene.

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

Time for a new chart plotter

What is your budget? I ask because I am boat shopping and to keep within my boat budget I am looking at 15-20 year old boats. Most with dated electronics. I friend is going through what I don't want to with his new to him 20+ year old Grand Banks. It's nickle and dimeing him to death! I want to start over when I buy. Looking at 12" Garmin upstairs and down with everything networked looks like an easy way to spend a 20 thousand dollar bill if I replace everything.

I'm updating electronics soon on a 2003 MS. Upgrade includes 2 Raymarine displays, 9" and 12", new radar and auto pilot come to about $9500. This would be the newest Axiom system. The radar is now available as a wireless connection although I will install cables. Raymarine says this system can be self installed. I'll be removing a dated Furno 2 display system with radar and autopilot. I expect running new cabling and installing auto pilot hydraulic pump to be the biggest chore. If you pay someone to do this install you could spend $2-$3k

I had Raymarine on my sailboat and liked how well it worked. I also have Navionics on my iPad. You can build a chart on your iPad and upload onto Raymarine. I'm sure that's possible now with other systems out there.

 

[Baker]

I
I think the whole "intuitiveness" thing has become an old wives tale at this point. It depends on your "intuition", maybe I am a contrarian, but I don't find the Garmin gear on friends' boats very intuitive, nor do I find our Apple products to be all that. One needs to go on boats with newer equipment and to boat shows and discover whose units are "intuitive" for them.

I'll agree with this. Garmin did lead the market with "intuitiveness". I think they took a page out of the Apple playbook. But I do believe all of the other players upped their game and I don't think it to be that much of an issue anymore. I have played around with new Furuno stuff and found it to be perfectly intuitive....same goes for Raymarine. I have a new-to-me boat with a Ray C120. One of my very top priorities was to replace it. Like someon said above, after spending some time with it(I was forced to on the delivery from FL to TX), my priorities have changed. I am certainly shopping. But I don't feel rushed to replace it as it works just fine....along with iPad nav as well.

 

[sunchaser]

Since most if not all of us have grown up with Windows or Apple based programs, I have found Nobeltec or Rosepoint intuitive. The hard wired plotters not so much. But, with sunlight viewable plotters the choices become screen based too. So we have both

 

[JDCAVE]

Someone advised once (on this forum I think) that when you buy a new boat fix all the safety and reliability items then run it for a year before doing major upgrades--you may find that priorities change a lot.

Agreed! The OP asked about a new chart plotter and the thread broadened rapidly into all electronics.

I’m old school I guess. I prefer separate displays for radar, sounder and plotter. The radar overlay on a chart plotter is just way too busy for my eyes. It’s not for me. I spend a lot of time comparing what I see on radar with what I see out the window and on the plotter and on AIS. That way when it’s foggy, I understand what I see on radar. Jeff Cote cannot convince me otherwise.

WRT brands. I’m sold on Furuno, in part because of its reliability, in part because I’ve found it intuitive to use, but also because of the support they provide for their legacy equipment. From what I have read on this Forum, I don’t think the other big names can compare in terms of support.

WRT chart plotter: I like a NUC with Coastal explorer and an inexpensive monitor. The pilothouse is dry and we don’t typically travel during dark conditions, so we don’t need the expensive features of marine MFDs.

Jim

 

[Simi 60]

If it is after the sale service and phone support(or for that matter, support of any kind) Furuno is superb, many years and generations after the sale. In fact, I will go so far as to say they are superior to companies of any industry you can think of, including sacred cows (if you pay them) like Apple, who we also have direct experience with.

I think the whole "intuitiveness" thing has become an old wives tale at this point. It depends on your "intuition", maybe I am a contrarian, but I don't find the Garmin gear on friends' boats very intuitive, nor do I find our Apple products to be all that. One needs to go on boats with newer equipment and to boat shows and discover whose units are "intuitive" for them.

And this is why I feel open cpn is superior.
A product designed and coded by boaters for boaters.......not some guy from marketing.
Worldwide online support from users and the makers via cruisers forum

 

[rgano]

I was new to the particular Furuno gear on this boat when I bought it five years ago, and coming from Garmin gear, which I recently had the opportunity to again use very extensively, the Furuno took me a bit to adjust my "intuition." But the support for the 15-20 year old technology was there the numerous times I called with questions like how do I pass data back and forth to my laptop's Coastal Explorer. The suite of plotter/radar/ais receiver/sounder/compass/AP all work together quite well. I have even gathered together spares for most of the major parts after my AP control head got ruined by Hurricane Michael. While reading the original owner's manual on the system, I discovered there was such a thing as an optional circuit card to enable ARPA (automatic radar plotting aid) for tracking contacts. Sure enough, eBay had it, and it was simple to pull the plotter apart and insert it. When I went back to a fairly new Garmin plotter/radar installation for a month-long delivery, I was reminded how much better the Furuno display was and how much more control I had of the display, especially radar, with the Furuno.

 

[AusCan]

I don't think there is much difference between brands. I went with a Garmin GPSMAP which I found easy to install, link up and use. Most other brands offer very similar gear.

Probably the biggest decisions are size of screen and touchscreen or not.

 

[caltexflanc]

Chris, you have given me hope. Now, do you have a name of someone near Ft Lauderdale FL?

Usually the problem involves getting the correct ends and the correct wiring diagram.

Go hang around at Sailorman, McDonald's Hardware and BOW, chat them and their customers up and look at the bulletin boards. It's a great community. There are plenty of guys who make their living installing gear bought on the internet.

 

[OldDan1943]

Go hang around at Sailorman, McDonald's Hardware and BOW, chat them and their customers up and look at the bulletin boards. It's a great community. There are plenty of guys who make their living installing gear bought on the internet.

Sailorman is a world unto its own, LOL
Yea, I know.... and the equipment is most definitely on the internet.
"Feet of Clay", my world moves slowly these days.