GPS/Chartplotter/Radar Combo

[capecodcruiser]

Hi All,
My first post here. Taking delivery of a 89 30' Sundancer this week. Unfortunately the sellers exwife took the electronics off the boat 2 weeks ago and they have mysteriously disappeared. So, I am in need of GPS, Depthsounder, radar. There is a Furono Radar tower still on the boat, all the brackets, wiring for a Garmin GPS system, just no displays. I went to West Marine looking at their bundled systems with all in one setups. I am very confused on what is a good system and not. Can you folks give me some first hand experience with what you have found works and not. They are not cheap so I want to get the right one. Thanks
David

 

[JC3]

David, You are getting a good boat. I had on my Glacier Bay 2685 a Garmin 3010c. It did it all. Dependimg on how much money you are going to spend will determine what Unit. I would start with the Garmin Networks, ETC... If you are going used try EBAY. If not contact Jim at BOE (He runs this site). I bought a back up Garmin 376 from Jim at BOE and got a good price and it was shipped fast. Good Luck, JC

 

[Nehalennia]

I second, getting it from Jim here at boemarine.com

 

[capecodcruiser]

I have bookmarked Jim's website and will be calling him. I just need to talk to someone who knows this equipment and he sounds like the one. I would like to hear more peoples first hand experience with it though. Looking forward to being on the new boat this weekend.............

 

[SR400DB]

I have had products from raymarine, garmin, northstar and furuno. If you want a top notch radar furuno wins, otherwise make the smart choice and look at northstar, hands down the winner (even compared with the new navnet and raymarine)

 

[tobnpr]

Do you know if the radar was operational at the time of it's removal?
If it was, it would be worth considering getting a new display. Depends on the model; if it's circa 1989 like the boat it would be unlikely (other than EBAY) that you could get a replacement display. Besides, the newer technology offers a host of features-including important safety ones- that didn't exist in the older radars.

There are so many different ways to go it's dumbfounding. Furuno, Raymarine, and Garmin are probably the big 3 in multifunction displays- capable of displaying radar, chartplotter, sounder as well as sirius or xm weather and video feeds. As a general rule, get the biggest display you can fit/afford, and two screens are always better than one (again, room and budget permitting). I have two Raymarine MFD's- an E80 and a C80, as well as a Furuno dedicated sounder.

Post a little more about your type of boating and perhaps we can narrow the field a little...

 

[capecodcruiser]

Thanks for the quick responses guys. I think the Furuno radar is new than 89, but I have to confirm that. The owner suggested I contact Furuno directly and see if I can just purchase a display, than just get a new chartplotter for the GPS and Depth sounder. The boating I will be doing is coastal "stuff", ie, Newport, R.I., Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, maybe head towards Boston on occasion. Definitely some potential for fog, but I would be doing very little night time running. So, I need the gear, just trying to figure out where and what!! Thanks for everyones input. And TOBNPR, that is quite the set up, second mortgage on the house???? That looks great.

 

[tobnpr]

Thanks. I have a huge area for the helm that left me a lot of options. With all of the information available, I found a single 8.4" display wasn't going to cut it for me; splitting that screen 4 ways made the windows too small; and I didn't have the room for a 12" display. I fish, so a good sounder was necessary.

You'll be surprised when you start looking around that a "black box" sounder costs about the same as a standalone unit (which I still don't understand). Since redundancy is always a good thing, and I had the room, a separate display worked for me. There's another forum that will provide you with more info than you'll find here on the electronics end of things, and BOE/Jim is active as a sponsor there as well. Check it out:

http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=8

Above all else, I'd suggest you get "hands-on" at a local electronics dealer with what's available, and determine how much space you have and what your budget is. All of the units suggested above are "good" units from quality manufacturers- you can't go wrong. And ask 10 boaters which they like best and you'll get ten different answers. I would agree that Furuno is generally considered tops in the radar and fishfinder arena, but I've been happy with my Raymarine radar so far.

As far as the exisiting radar goes, as long as it's functional and you can get a display it'll be fine for collision avoidance, which is why most of us have it. The MFD displays can overlay the radar returns on your chart screen, complete with an aerial photo overlay. They'll also allow you to track other vessels (MARPA and ARPA) automatically on your radar screen informing you of their direction and closest point of approach. The features go on an on.... to fully utilize them means we actually have to read the manuals If you're going to boat in fog frequently, and in an area with heavy boat traffic this would be important to you.

BTW, I've bought everything from Jim/Beth- great prices and service.

 

[Weave]

Just got an email from BOE...Big sale on Garmin units

 

[lovemy330]

:huh:Hello everyone! This is my first attempt to post. I purchased a Garmin 545s for my husband as a suprise gift and want to have it installed professionally. Can anyone tell me approximately how long to install on the dash? Thanks

 

[Jim240]

Lovemy330... you might wish to post to a fresh heading.

As for how long, it depends on a lot of things... are you having a transducer (depth sounder) installed? Which type is it, transom mounted, through hull, etc.? Will the 545s use an external antenna mounted on the radar arch? Will the unit be flush mounted in the dash?

Just a couple weeks ago, I flush mounted into my dash, used the internal antenna, no transducer. It took a hair less than an hour for the cutting of the hole (wanted to get it right) and much less than an hour to screw it in, crimp the wire connectors and attach to the electrical bus. If it is being flush mounted in the dash, you'll need to buy the flush mounting kit if you haven't already... Jim, from BOE Marine, the person that runs this site, is actually a great place to get it, by far the best price that I could get the stuff I needed as well.