Electronics: Starting from scratch

[robyn-bob]

Starting from scratch with electronics on a bare 1982 C&C 40. I've had a 1979 Pearson 33 and a 1972 Alberg 23 Sea Sprite, both both with no electronics except a handheld VHF and my wet finger to figure out wind direction.

What electronics should be installed for cruising down the Atlantic sea coast and then going to the Caribbean?

Also prioritize, since I didn't win the Lotto.

Thanks to all ahead of time!

Bob

[Bill O]

An economical route would be to use OpenCPN and a Raspberrypi as your nav. computer, then build from there. US charts are a free download.
An autopilot in conjunction w/this set up, would be pypilot to act as your extra crew member.

[tkeithlu]

1. VHF
2. OpenCPN on a cheap laptop
3. Fishfinder depth sounder

Don't leave home without these three, and if at night or low vis,

4. Radar
5 AIS
6. Redundancy

[Dantp]

Good lists above.
I don't know about the us Atlantic coast but once in the Caribbean.
1) depth sounder (maybe a fish finder if it can give you increased bottom info, coral, sand, mud etc).
2) VHF more as a safety feature than because the handheld isn't enough.
3) Tablet with Navionics. (On a phone as backup)
Or openCPN if you fancy.
4) A good autopilot or wind self steering. (Probably the most expensive bit). It's going to make the passages much much nicer.
5) I like to be able to see boat speed in the cockpit (through water or overground) but not a priority.
(Can probably combine with 1 for not much extra)

Add AIS if you want. We don't have it a lot of people we meet can't believe we don't.
While wind data is nice, if you have a well calibrated finger you probably don't need it.

Radar probably comes way off the bottom of the list if you are on a budget.

[Donnybrook]

I went with a Garmin Echomap 73sv fishfinder (on sale at Bass Pro shops for $500). I sold the included GT54UHD transducer (retails for $350+ by itself) and purchased a Garmin GT8HW-IH transducer (may not work with a cored hull). Net price after selling transducer was about $400. Note that this will NOT work with a radar.

I love OpenCPN and qtVlm and use it on a Raspberry Pi and laptop down below, but to me purpose-made chart plotters always work at the helm regardless of weather, software updates, etc. They're excellent products if you know the limitations, just not hardened for a boat in my opinion. You can get OpenCPN or qtVlm running for the price of an old laptop, USB GPS puck and any charts you have to buy (USA charts from NOAA are free, not sure about cost of Caribbean charts).

Consider a VHF with GPS and AIS, something like the Standard Horizon GX2200. You can use it as the GPS to a laptop with a NMEA to USB converter and receive AIS data.

Price of other components like radar, wind and speed goes up, however now's the time to look for sales or even refurbished products.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by Dantp

Good lists above.
I don't know about the us Atlantic coast but once in the Caribbean.
1) depth sounder (maybe a fish finder if it can give you increased bottom info, coral, sand, mud etc).
2) VHF more as a safety feature than because the handheld isn't enough.
3) Tablet with Navionics. (On a phone as backup)
Or openCPN if you fancy.
4) A good autopilot or wind self steering. (Probably the most expensive bit). It's going to make the passages much much nicer.
5) I like to be able to see boat speed in the cockpit (through water or overground) but not a priority.
(Can probably combine with 1 for not much extra)

Add AIS if you want. We don't have it a lot of people we meet can't believe we don't.
While wind data is nice, if you have a well calibrated finger you probably don't need it.

Radar probably comes way off the bottom of the list if you are on a budget.

If I were to single hand long cruise, the self steering wind vane would be a must, but unfortunately very expensive option.

I have heard stories of some being homemade, but not sure....

The normal autopilot will be constantly working trying correct for every wind gyration burning up battery power as it runs....

The lightest, and easiest to set up is the type that drives the steering wheel via control lines and pulleys. Monitor, Sailomat and others use this method.

The Hydrovane has its own rudder. This can double as emergency steering but it requires a heavy tubular structure to mount it to the hull due to the forces it exerts ..

Cheers

[CarinaPDX]

Agreed that if you are a capable electronics DIY then a Raspberry Pi 4 with OpenCPN (actually easiest to install one of the flash images that is set up for navigation) works well as a chartplotter. OpenCPN can be set up on a tablet, preferably a Windows tablet (I hate Windows but it supports the desktop OCPN - Android requires converting charts to pre-built tiles IIUC).

If you are having to start from scratch then the best way, hands down, is to put in an NMEA 2000 backbone and attach smart depth (and perhaps speed) to the backbone. Then display everything on a chartplotter. I have an 11 year old Furuno 8" MFD. You can pick them up used for a few hundred dollars, and for a little more you can get a 12" one. Every year the NOAA charts are updated (free) and it is possible to buy current Navionics and Cmap charts (downloads) as well. It has a solid implementation of N2K and one of the best chart presentations available. It requires an external GPS, which can be had cheaply. Then if you like and as budget allows, you can add a proper AIS black box transceiver, wind sensors, etc. Of course if you have the budget then just buy a new chartplotter.

You should have an autopilot. If you are going the DIY way you can use PyPilot on the R Pi and add the driver and motor. Or get a Pelagic autopilot, which is inexpensive, very effective, and is independent of the other electronics. If you must have one that interconnects and can do waypoints and routes then get out the wallet...

For your trip you shouldn't need radar for visibility in fog but there are other uses for radar. You could get one used at a decent price if you are buying a used chartplotter. Going the OCPN way you could interface an older (or newer) solid state radar. Nice to have.

Personally I think AIS transceivers are a great safety improvement. Having the transmit capability is a big win because shipping will see you a long way off and will usually make minor course corrections if needed far in advance, long before you can make such decisions. I think it is very useful, but not essential. (GPS, depth finders are definitely essential)

Of course you need a VHF radio. A handheld is sufficient, particularly if you can connect it to your masthead antenna, but at current pricing it makes sense to buy a proper fixed radio. Definitely get one with DSC and GPS - it makes sending out a Mayday simple and fast - just hope you never need it. I am not impressed with radios that have internal AIS receivers: they don't transmit your position for collision avoidance and the displays are pretty crude compared to a chart plotter. Just put the extra money towards a Class B AIS.

Ideally you should have two navigation systems. If you have a chart plotter, R Pi, or even a tablet, you can back that up with a laptop with GPS dongle and OCPN, or a phone with Navionics (or Android OCPN).

Greg

[OS2Dude]

This is like asking 'What color should I paint my boat?" A lot is up to personal preferences, experience, style, budget, etc.

That said, this is my list:

#1 : Everything Safety Related.
VHF with AIS receiver, DSC and Sounder. (For use in Fog)

Small chart plotter to receive & Display AIS data and provide GPS info to
VHF's DSC as well as MOB Functionality & Depth Transducer.
(This doesn't have to be a large unit, but the bigger the better.)

Radar for ships, land masses and weather.

AIS Transceiver with ability to disable transmission if needed.
(Disable ability more necessary near Somalia and South Pacific where
pirates are an issue.)

Some sort of Weather Information source. Sirius XM Weather or the like.

#2 : High Convivence items.
Wind Transducer with Barometric Pressure & Air Temperature.
(We like ours so I don't have to stare into the sun while straining my neck
to see what the winds aloft are doing. Air Pressure & Temp can help
you forecast your own local weather.)

Remote mics for VHF.
(We have a V50 VHF and two H50 wireless remotes that can communicate
among themselves without using VHF frequencies. This is really helpful
when trying to communicate the length of the boat while anchoring, etc.
- especially in bad weather / darkness when hand signals aren't visible.)

Separate MFDs for Depth and Wind information.
(We have two Garmin GMI-20s at our helm for this purpose. Large digits
make info easy to see at a glance.)

#3 : The Rest.
Stereo.
(Ours is a Fusion with NMEA2000 so it can be controlled from the
chart-plotter at the helm.)

Engine Transducers for Oil/Water temp, Alternator output, etc.

Tank level transducers for Fuel, Fresh Water & Waste.


IMO Tablets and Raspberry Pis are fine for backup and inside the cabin but are not up to withstanding the conditions at the helm during a bad storm or the blazing tropical sun.

[Orion Jim]

1.Wind vane self steering or below deck autopilot
2.Compass
3.VHF radio with AIS receiver
4.Chartplotter incorporating wind speed/direction and depth. Separate wind speed/direction and depth displays in the cockpit are great. Then you can put your chartplotter display in sleep mode to conserve your batteries.
5.AIS B transceiver (the one built in to the VHF is your backup)
6.EPIRB
7.Radar. (When overlayed on a chart plotter it is very reassuring.)
8.Navionics dowloded to your cellphone or a tablet as backup to your chartplotter
9.Life raft
This is my order of importance, we all have our priorities. I always have paper charts, a sextant, and a GPS puck also.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

Agreed that if you are a capable electronics DIY then a Raspberry Pi 4 with OpenCPN (actually easiest to install one of the flash images that is set up for navigation) works well as a chartplotter. OpenCPN can be set up on a tablet, preferably a Windows tablet (I hate Windows but it supports the desktop OCPN - Android requires converting charts to pre-built tiles IIUC).

If you are having to start from scratch then the best way, hands down, is to put in an NMEA 2000 backbone and attach smart depth (and perhaps speed) to the backbone. Then display everything on a chartplotter. I have an 11 year old Furuno 8" MFD. You can pick them up used for a few hundred dollars, and for a little more you can get a 12" one. Every year the NOAA charts are updated (free) and it is possible to buy current Navionics and Cmap charts (downloads) as well. It has a solid implementation of N2K and one of the best chart presentations available. It requires an external GPS, which can be had cheaply. Then if you like and as budget allows, you can add a proper AIS black box transceiver, wind sensors, etc. Of course if you have the budget then just buy a new chartplotter.

You should have an autopilot. If you are going the DIY way you can use PyPilot on the R Pi and add the driver and motor. Or get a Pelagic autopilot, which is inexpensive, very effective, and is independent of the other electronics. If you must have one that interconnects and can do waypoints and routes then get out the wallet...

For your trip you shouldn't need radar for visibility in fog but there are other uses for radar. You could get one used at a decent price if you are buying a used chartplotter. Going the OCPN way you could interface an older (or newer) solid state radar. Nice to have.

Personally I think AIS transceivers are a great safety improvement. Having the transmit capability is a big win because shipping will see you a long way off and will usually make minor course corrections if needed far in advance, long before you can make such decisions. I think it is very useful, but not essential. (GPS, depth finders are definitely essential)

Of course you need a VHF radio. A handheld is sufficient, particularly if you can connect it to your masthead antenna, but at current pricing it makes sense to buy a proper fixed radio. Definitely get one with DSC and GPS - it makes sending out a Mayday simple and fast - just hope you never need it. I am not impressed with radios that have internal AIS receivers: they don't transmit your position for collision avoidance and the displays are pretty crude compared to a chart plotter. Just put the extra money towards a Class B AIS.

Ideally you should have two navigation systems. If you have a chart plotter, R Pi, or even a tablet, you can back that up with a laptop with GPS dongle and OCPN, or a phone with Navionics (or Android OCPN).

Greg

The Furuno idea got me excited. You can get top quality (12" !!) MFD's at a great price. However, when I started looking, I would also need a power supply unit-PSU ($$$) heading sensor ($$$), cabling ($$) and GPS input (not so $), to get a basic system up & running.. Bummer

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

The Furuno idea got me excited. You can get top quality (12" !!) MFD's at a great price. However, when I started looking, I would also need a power supply unit-PSU ($$$) heading sensor ($$$), cabling ($$) and GPS input (not so $), to get a basic system up & running.. Bummer

No, you do not need a PSU for the chartplotter or the basic radar (at least that is the case with my MFD8 and I'm 99% sure that is true of the MFD12). An external PSU is used for the larger radar scanners but you wouldn't be using one of them. Edit: the DRS2D is the scanner that is powered by the MFD and does not need an external PSU.

Obviously you need a heading sensor for your autopilot and often that can provide the 10 samples/sec needed for ARPA. This requires a systems perspective: some autopilots are integrated and won't help with ARPA, some have internal heading and will output, and some use a standard N2K or 0183 electronic compass (either included or as an option). If you buy an AP that doesn't output heading then an electronic compass will be needed, increasing the system cost. Buying a more expensive autopilot that provides heading becomes more affordable by comparison.

It will cost a few hundred dollars to get the backbone put together. I used entirely Maretron cabling and multi-boxes for my boat, purchased online at a discount. There may be less expensive sources today but nothing better in quality. Consider it a long term investment, as it will likely be used for decades. Then installing smart transducers is very easy. Consider the old alternative of running cables between sensors and displays for each instrument - not really a good idea.

The last time I looked the GPS was available for $40-$50 although that may have changed. I might have one that I could sell for half that - no guarantee, I need to do a bit of rummaging around.

Greg