need advice on new electronics

[nofacey]

I’d stay away from Raymarine…..they just don’t last, and then after sales support sucks = really bad combo.

I went with Garmin for a fully integrated system, and didn’t regret that choice…..did 5 years of serious passagemaking without a blip, other than a radar scanner that was bad out of the box - and a new replacement was promptly shipped directly to me at their cost.

I’d buy them again, but B&G has a great rep too.

System was mostly NEMA 2000, which was superb….great connectors, mostly plug & play = perfect. Did one NEMA 1830; it was a chore, and the wiring wasn’t naturally robust. I did go with Vesper AIS, (which was great for more than just AIS), it tied in via NEMA 2000, and worked flawlessly.

Believe no matter whose system you go with, you’ll still have some large proprietary connections for radar & the like.

Really enjoyed ability to tie in Ipad, let me monitor system from anywhere aboard (like my bunk when I had new crew on night shift)

Whichever system you go with, don’t go all touch screen - when you’re wrestling thru a narrow opening just as a squall hits (it happens) and have wet fingers, you want your system to work NOW = buttons.

[David Johnson]

Here is my opinion:
We have had our new-to-us Nauticat 44 for two years, and have replaced all the instruments. We went with Raymarine, and they have performed well but support has been a challenge. If I were to start over today I would go with Garmin on a NMEA 2000 network. Garmin has a good reputation for company support here in Southeast Alaska, where virtually all support is online or by phone.