Upgrading Radar and chart plotters

[Jim Greer]

I will be replacing a ~15 yr old raymarine chart plotter and radome. what are the favorites and why? Will be installed on a 46' Beneteau.
Thanks:
Jim

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Jim Greer

I will be replacing a ~15 yr old raymarine chart plotter and radome. what are the favorites and why? Will be installed on a 46' Beneteau.

Thanks:

Jim

Are you integrating with any existing gear , wind, depth , log , ais , or AP. ?

[Jim Greer]

Re using the wind, depth and autohelm. (all Raymarine) Presently have no AIS or AP

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Jim Greer

Re using the wind, depth and autohelm. (all Raymarine) Presently have no AIS or AP

AP = autopilot

I’d suggest if you want to retain the Raymarine gear then stay within the walked garden

Axiom mfd and Quantum radar isn’t a bad combination. There are better but it’s not bad. I’ve just been sailing with that combination

[TBW]

Furuno
Furuno
The fishermen say:
"Furuno is numero uno"

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by TBW

Furuno
Furuno
The fishermen say:
"Furuno is numero uno"

Rather outdated perspective , Furuno does well because they have long standing dealerships supporting fishing fleets. But walking around my local big fishing harbour I see these days SIMRAD, KODEN and even GARMIN

Fisherman want to deal with a local specialist and not one associated with yachts. Hence furuno get a lot of business through that dealer channel then simply because their gear is somehow different.

[Networker]

I think you can’t go wrong with any of the major vendors, they’re all the same pretty much. I ended up with all Raymarine and FLIR IR hear, but I wonder if B&G or Garmin would be better. Their screens look nice. In the end, I’d go with any if I did it again. There’s just no difference.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Networker

I think you can’t go wrong with any of the major vendors, they’re all the same pretty much. I ended up with all Raymarine and FLIR IR hear, but I wonder if B&G or Garmin would be better. Their screens look nice. In the end, I’d go with any if I did it again. There’s just no difference.

There’s very little difference in the big four ( Ray,Navico , garmin , furuno)

[poopship]

So, Im doing the same, with probably similar gear (ray marine c80 and radar / tridata )

- swapping out the mfd for B+G zeus , and their halo20+ radar.
- swapping out the transducer for B+G
- swapping tridata for B+G triton 2 displays
- using B+G wireless wind indicator
- keeping ray marine auto, so Ill have to manually engage it (one button... no big deal)
- adding B+G/simrad forward scan sonar transducer

Originally thought Id just go axiom and new radar but I really like the B+G gear, and I decided to just go for it and swap it all out.

[stinkpots]

Originally Posted by Jim Greer

I will be replacing a ~15 yr old raymarine chart plotter and radome. what are the favorites and why? Will be installed on a 46' Beneteau.
Thanks:
Jim

I have just done the same, my old Raymarine was well passed it, parts were failing. I researched all the brands and discovered the following.
Navico make the brands Simrad, Lowrence and B&G. See this link https://navico.com/our-brands/
Simrad for power boats, B&G for sail boats and Lowrence for fishing boats.
This leaves Raymarine and Garmin but also some outside contenders.
As I am a motor yacht I chose Simrad. I tried to keep my old Raymarine Autopilot but in the end decided to replace everything due to compatibility issues. Expensive but now it all works flawlessly, trying to integrate old with new is a pain.
I looked at Furuno which is undoubtedly great kit and used commercially, but being a commercial product for big ships as well as recreational it is expensive.

I ruled out Raymarine simply for a change and I thought Simrad would be a better product.....time will tell.
If you have the funds I strongly recommend not trying to keep old gear and trying to integrate them, technolgy has changed a lot, in theory you can find ways to integrate stuff but in reality I found lots of problems.

[skipgundlach]

I, too have the 15 year old Ray (C120Classic, 2418 Radar, autopilot, speed impeller) and would have to replace at least the MFD and radar, a thought which chills the bones as I bought the Radar new to go with the upgrade to do the C120C that I got used...

Making do right now with intermittent no-data notice on the radar, after having just replaced the MFD screen...

[amanoni]

Question. With all the equipment swaps, did you opt for wireless equipment?
Or are you pulling the mast?

[CarinaPDX]

First, as far as compatibility, if your wind and depth are N2K then it doesn't matter which chartplotter (MFD) you are buying. If you have the old instruments with individual connections then now is the time to upgrade to N2K; it is possible to convert those sensors to N2K (with RM ITC-5) but I think it is better to put that money towards new instruments.

I have an 11 year old Furuno MFD8 with radar; it is a fantastic bit of gear. While any major brand chartplotter will get the job done Furuno is definitely a cut above. (My MFD8 is seen on USCG and USN Seal Team boats.) I have installed other brands on other boats and have consistently found features missing that I thought were valuable. Do yourself a favor and download the manuals for any chartplotter you are considering, and study them. Look at how it would interface into your boat, and for features that you might want. Also, consider that my 11 year old Furuno still receives free annual updates to the NOAA vector and raster charts, and I can still buy new charts for anywhere in the world (I believe that they are still using the format in current models). Compare that to other 11 year old chartplotters: AFAIK no one else offers free NOAA charts annually, and many no longer support the old chartplotters. Some chartplotters have been obsoleted by unavailability of charts. Yes, I paid more for my Furuno but on a per year basis it has been a bargain.

Greg

[Greatest Lakes]

I have been pleased with my Raymarine stuff. Autopilot, wind, depth, speed, temp. Axium 7 with Navioncs charts. The plotter makes a bit of heat, but I think most do. It is fairly intuitive, and expandable. I have been using the autopilot without a rudder position sensor, but I think I'm going to add one and see if it helps the tracking with following waves. It seems to correct heading much more slowly than the older versions. Current draw with everything on is not bad. Does make me want to install LifePo4 batteries however.

[SubSea]

Guys and Gals, read all the comments with great interest. however, for an old-school, NON IT whizz kid, which of the manufacturers kit is the easiest to use and the simplest to operate ? When on the Ocean, always believe in keeping things as simple as possible. Your various experiences and any comments are appreciated.