The mission was to find the perfect package of navigation gear – GPS, chart plotter, depth sounder, VHF radio and a few extra toys – for budgets ranging from $1,500 to $50,000. Yesterday, we did the less expensive packages. Today, we'll spend the big bucks.
Mad Mariner asked me to weigh in with my picks, drawing on my background as an electronics wholesaler and a marine journalist. The goal was not to create a buyer's guide so much as a list of suggestions and the reasoning behind them, which may help guide your thinking. There are hundreds of variations to be considered, but when you have to stick to a budget, it really helps to prioritize your needs.
The lists – just my opinions – were compiled using street prices, meaning the prices that the average boater could expect to pay, which I gathered by comparison shopping at half a dozen stores and web sites. All the equipment needed to install the gear, such as cables and mounts, are included. But sales tax and installation costs, which vary dramatically by geographic location, were not.
As I said yesterday, many people may disagree with my choices. There is certainly more than one way to equip a boat and a diversity of opinions is a good thing. With all of that said, let us get on with it.
RaymarineWith two multi-function displays, one can be set for collission avoidance while the other is used to navigate. Pictured here are a pair of Raymarine E-120 units.
The theme I used yesterday was that you found a little money in your pocket. It's rare, but it does happen. So I am continuing that fantasy in today's story, with one difference. Yesterday, I listed the price of every cable, mount and adaptor. But today, I am going to skip all that, because there is so much to cover (we do have that information in tables, which you can access at links below). Besides, you know the saying: "If you have to ask..."
A $25,000 OUTFIT
After an excruciating eight years, that dot com stock that you held onto has finally returned what you originally paid for it. Not exactly a stellar investment, but it puts some cash in your pocket and you decide to blow it on your 42-foot diesel cruiser. Again, not a stellar investment, but at least you will have something to play with over the years.
As you saw yesterday, I like Raymarine gear. I racked my brain trying to come up with a reason to not use Raymarine equipment again today on the more expensive setups. I am, and always have been, a fan of Furuno and Northstar products. Both have excellent reputations for high quality equipment and I have traveled from Alaska to Mexico using most of it. But even in this price range, I think Raymarine offers more bang for the buck.
These dream packages could be completely different in coming months because both Furuno, Northstar and Garmin are all introducing new stuff. If they lead with some innovative features, simplify the installation with generic common cables and make a strong effort to reinvent their user interfaces with novice boaters in mind (hint, hint), anyone could jump to the head of the pack.
But right now, for my dollar, the answer is Raymarine, specifically the E Series and more specifically the 120. This package will be an enhanced version of one outlined yesterday, which called for a Raymarine E-120 12-inch, daylight-viewable multi-function display. This was paired with a Raymarine Raystar 125 GPS antenna, a Raymarine DSM-300 Fish Finder Module, an SR100 Weather Module for satellite weather, a Speco engine camera and more (see table below).
I'm going to start today by simply adding another E-120. Having the ability to keep a second plotter or radar screen up at all times is valuable. It can be set and relied on for basic waypoint information or collision avoidance, while the other screen can be manipulated and tweaked without compromising your travels.
FurunoThe Sirius BBWX1 weather module will overlay real-time weather graphics, sea temperature reports and emergency weather bulletins on Furuno's NavNet chart plotter.
One of the primary assets of Raymarine's E Series is that the displays are easily networked. All we need is another Network cable to interface the additional display, so we'll throw that in.
We have the budget and the boat to put the Raymarine 48-inch, 4 KW Open-Array Radar antenna into action. The increased antenna length offers a picture quality that is heads and tails about the dome antennas. You can never spend too much on radar, because the quality is always commensurate with the price.
I'm also going to add another camera and put it facing aft on the back deck. Now we'll be able to monitor the engine room and our aft deck. We can also angle it up a bit to see who may be coming up behind us, or watch the lures while trolling. With some creative wiring and cheap Radio Shack splitters, you will be able to watch either a camera, a DVD or satellite TV – on both E-120 displays.
We also have to upgrade our autopilot for the bigger boat. We'll stick with the ST6002-Plus Autopilot System, but a few of the components will have to be beefed up. The core pack, which consists of the fluxgate compass, rudder feedback and main junction box, will be a Type 3, with a type 2 hydraulic pump capable of driving a 14 to 21 cubic inch ram. Your 42-foot boat may or may not need this bigger pump. But if it's a full-displacement trawler, it may need even larger. I'm going middle of the road with what is likely the right sized system for this size and style of boat.
At 42 feet, and with the range that diesel affords, your kids may want to watch some TV during your three hour jaunt to the islands. While there, you may want to catch a game yourself. I'll upgrade from KVH's M2 stationary system to the fully stabilized M3-ST version. All the components and installation are exactly the same on both units, but the M3 will hold a DirecTV signal underway and in most sea conditions. We will also add another satellite receiver to your stateroom for some quality TV time to yourself.
You say you want to be out of touch when you're on the boat, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and in tune with only the siren sounds of the sea. But you're lying. You want that most of the time, but sometimes you want to wake up and read the highlights from your favorite sportswriter of surf the internet for a good golf course near an unfamiliar harbor.
The most cost-effective way to get online within a few miles of shore (and it's just not cost effective any further than that) will be from a wireless hotspot or through a cellular connection.
Wi-Fi is available in marinas from Annapolis to Zihuatenejo, and if it's not available in yours now, it will be soon. There are a million ways to access these services but a marine-specific solution called Networked Boat from BroadbandXpress is the complete package, easily installed and a proven winner. If you and the guy on the mooring next to you are fighting for bandwidth, the guy with the taller antenna and amplified signal will win out. This system gets the most out of the government's limited allowable power.
With a computer onboard I also want to add some navigation software. Nobeltec VNS software and the complete set of U.S. vector charts on DVD from Managing the Waterway will allow you to sit back and plot courses at your leisure. We'll take a GPS signal from one of the E-Series displays to make the laptop a completely redundant chart plotter. The whole package, including NOAA's entire catalog of U.S. charts, costs less than $500.
We have been nothing but responsible so far with our budget. Everything we've added will help insure you are a prudent mariner and a generous father. So let's just blow the rest on something cool, something that adds very little to the boating experience except the shear joy of pimping out your boat.
Two blue OceanLED underwater lights mounted in the transom will set the look of the boat off when barbecuing on the back deck or entertaining at the dock. Blue is the new white. The intense light doesn't get as refracted by the color of the water as common white lights.
A $50,000 OUTFIT
At what appears to be the top of the long real estate boom, you sold off an investment property and decided to buy a 58-foot pilothouse motoryacht. You're not made of money, but a quality new boat deserves a quality electronics package, so you set aside $50,000 to cover the cost of the gear.
FurunoFuruno's Navnet vx2 Radar/Plotter system shown here is the backbone of Jeff's premium system.Now it's time to consider alternatives to Raymarine.
Furuno's black box NavNet vx2 and an expanded computer-based navigation system fit this boat perfectly. As you've read in the previous packages, I have focused on the size of the screens and the peripheral components that could be added to make the most of those screens. We'll do the same here.
I'm using Furuno's black box components because they allow me to use any large computer displays I want. I'll assume this boat has a flying bridge and a pilothouse steering station below. The main navigation area will be in the pilothouse so the majority of the components will be protected.
We'll start with four 15-inch, daylight-viewable monitors from Seattle-based AmbientNav. There are so many good marine specific monitors available that choosing one brand will come down to a certain feature you like or even just the appearance of the monitor itself. I like AmbientNav because the price is pretty good compared to similar products and they have a dimming knob on the front that is easy to use. It's as simple as that.
We'll put two up in the flybridge dash and two below in the pilothouse. The monitors have multiple inputs, so they will display all the navigation components as well as a windows-based computer and some video monitoring.
Next, we'll install the primary navigation system which will be a Furuno 1944CBB/NT black box NavNet vx2 radar/plotter. This package includes a 6 KW, 4-foot open array radar antenna and C-Map-based chart plotter. The control head is compact and operates all the functions of the system. This will be tied into one of the lower monitors in the pilothouse.
On the flybridge I will add a Furuno GP1920CBB/NT system which mirrors the model below, but does not include the radar antenna. When these two systems are networked together, the operator will be able to use all navigation components at either station using identical controllers. The GP1920CBB/NT does include the compatible Furuno GPS antenna, so that will be installed also.
To recap what we have so far, we have two 15-inch monitors on the bridge and two in the pilothouse dash. We have two identical Furuno NavNet vx2 black box systems using one monitor at each station. We also have the radar and GPS antenna accounted for.
Now we'll have to build up a network to tie all the NavNet components together and to be able to add more down the road. I'll add a Netgear network switch with eight ports. This is a standard off-the-shelf Ethernet hub that has enough ports for the current equipment and allows for some future expansion.
For each network component you will need a Furuno network hub adaptor and an Ethernet cable. You can save a little money by making up your own Ethernet cables, but life's too short and Furuno's cables work just fine, so I'll include them here. So far we have two network devices with the NavNet vx2 systems so we'll need the network wiring for those. A long cable will be required to connect the flybridge unit, so I'll put a 10-meter one on the list. The rest of the cabling can be shorter if the main hub is conveniently located below, near the pilothouse displays.
FurunoAbove, Furuno's 525ST bronze "tri-ducer" reads depth, speed and water temperature, and the fairing block insures accurate readings. Below, the pair are shown assembled.
FurunoNow that the backbone of the system is put together I can add some options to really make the NavNet system more powerful.
For depth, I'll add a black box fishfinder and transducer. A Furuno BBFF1 600-watt depth sounder plugs right into the network hub. The depth sounder can be displayed on either NavNet monitor and can be split with the radar, chart plotter or any combination of information available. I'll put a bronze through hull transducer with speed and temperature in the package, which also includes a high-speed fairing block to level the transducer during installation. The sounder module will also require networking cables.
Next we'll install the brand new Sirius BBWX1 weather module, which will overlay real-time weather graphics, sea temperature reports and emergency weather bulletins on the NavNet chart plotter. Much like Raymarine's satellite-based weather module, the BBWX1 requires a monthly subscription. Again, network cables are required.
There are several ways to track targets on radar these days. We will augment the Furuno radar with two collision-avoidance options offering better automatic target tracking. The first is an ARP11 PCB board that will be added to the black box NavNet processor. The ARP11 allows you to mark and track the course and speed of specific radar targets.
The next option will be AIS. An Automatic Identification System is a mandatory transceiver on ships, but an inexpensive receiver added to the NavNet system is an invaluable collision avoidance tool. I'll add the SeaCAS Safepassage 100 AIS receiver and an antenna. The SeaCAS system will tie into the Furuno radar display through its NMEA port and it will also be connected to an onboard computer. SeaCAS also offers a direct Furuno interface box that we will use to make the installation easier.
Finally, we'll add a chart of the local area to the NavNet plotter and more can be added as your cruising range expands.
Sometimes it's nice to have a nice big digital display for quick reference to information such as water depth or temperature. I also like to have wind speed and direction available. I'll put a good digital instrument package on this boat with displays in both steering stations and one in the owner's stateroom.
The Furuno RD30 displays will daisy chain together and receive depth and GPS information directly from the NavNet system. There is no need to add another transducer in the boat, because the RD30 will take information from the existing unit.
FurunoFuruno's 600-watt black box depth sounder plugs right into the network.
I will also add an Airmar weather station to the RD30 in the pilothouse, so wind speed and direction can be read from any of the digital displays on the boat. This instrument package is great source for minding your surroundings while at anchor or for setting alarms to help out on watch. There will be some additional Furuno wiring needed to interface all the components.
The NavNet Black Box system has the ability to display closed circuit cameras, but unlike the Raymarine system, it can only take in one camera. I will put one camera on the back deck and one in the engine room and run them through a switch so both can be displayed through the NavNet monitors.
We've tricked out the NavNet system about as much as necessary so I'll move on to the onboard computer. The safety and comfort of a lower pilothouse station provides the opportunity to install a permanent, home-style desktop computer. Because they are relatively cheap and available off-the-shelf, I see no reason to go with an expensive "marinized" model. We'll put a fast Dell or HP computer tower in and connect it to the second set of monitors, upper and lower, which are not being used by the Furuno equipment. The only option that must be considered is dual monitor support, so I'd make sure the graphics card was capable (most are these days). I found a super powerful Dell Dimension C521 that is half the size of a normal tower, for about $800.00.
To be able to operate the computer from anywhere, I'll also add a wireless RF remote mouse and keyboard that can be taken upstairs when you need it, or used from your lap in the helm chair below.
So what are we going to do with the onboard computer? First and foremost, it will be our primary GPS chart plotter. Loaded with Nobeltec Visual Navigation Suite 9.1, along with the bright AmbientNav displays, there is hardly a better color chart plotter available. Will also take AIS information from the SeaCAS AIS system and have AIS targets displayed on the Nobeltec plotter.
Again, we will throw in all the U.S. charts on DVD from Managing the Waterway. Additional photo and 3D charts are also available from Nobeltec.
Most computers don't have serial ports anymore, so I'll have to add a serial-to-USB converter to take the GPS signal and AIS information from the NavNet and Safepassage 100 systems respectively. A Sea Level serial/USB converter is available from Nobeltec and has proven to work well.
The computer will also serve as a weather station with the ability to download color weather graphics over the Nobeltec charts. To be able to do this, we will need to add a wireless Internet connection as before.
Again, I will add the BroadbandXpress wireless access point with an external antenna. It will connect directly to the onboard computer and allow you wireless access if you bring on laptop computer.
The ability to have internet access offshore is still not a viable option even with this fairly robust budget. Unfortunately, the systems themselves and the monthly cost for access are just not reasonable yet. In the coming years, a new system called B-GAN should offer the affordable solution we are all looking for, but it is just not there yet.
Internet access through your cellular phone or an air card could also prove to offer a bit more offshore range and is relatively easy to connect. But I won't add it to the budget here. Instead, we will rely on the expanding wireless marinas throughout the country.
FurunoFuruno's RD30 display can read out depth and GPS information. Daisy chained, they read this information directly from the network and can be placed strategicly - even in a stateroom.
We will need a good capable autopilot to go with the rest of the excellent gear already selected. I like Simrad's long reputation of high quality autopilots and the fact that they really do one thing well: steer the boat. The Simrad AP25, with its large graphical display and rudder angle indicator, along with the appropriate components to fit your steering system, will do the trick. I will also add a second identical control unit on the flying bridge. We'll also need the appropriate hydraulic hoses and installation materials.
Matching VHF radios at each station will be important so you don't have to learn different models and so you have quick access from wherever you are steering. I like the new Icom IC-M604 at each station. They have a huge display and large knobs for when you need to adjust in rough weather. The radio also has a great built-in loud hailer with preset fog signals. The hailer will require a loud speaker for each radio.We'll also add a good Shakespeare 5225-XT to each.
Now that the dash is pretty well filled with navigation and communication gear, let's move on to entertainment. I'm going to assume that your boat already has a nice plasma monitor capable of showing High Definition TV. I'm going to install the brand new KVH M5 mobile satellite TV system with all the high-definition components. The model I've chosen will be configured for U.S. service, with the ability to add Mexico SKY service later. It also has a control panel to be able to operate the antenna easily. We'll also need a DirecTV box in the salon and in each stateroom, so everyone can watch their own shows when they want to.
With creative wiring, all four LCD displays at the helms will also display satellite TV, piped in through their video inputs.
For a clean installation I'm going to recommend a Seaview dual mount that will center the Sat TV dome above the open array radar antenna. This powder coated aluminum mount keeps the topsides attractive and symmetrical.
For safety concerns every boat should have an EPIRB onboard. ACR makes an automatically deploying EPIRB with a GPS built in. The RapidFix is top of the line and, although you hope never to use it, you do not want to scrimp on such a well-proven life saving device.
Finally, we have to add the transom lights again. They are just too cool – and you have to spend a little on fashion. This time I'll take us a little over budget and put three across the stern.
Jeff McLaren is the National Sales Manager for Seawide Marine Distribution, a wholesaler distributor based in Southern California that works with all major electronics manufacturers. He has produced a series of instructional DVDs on how to use Raymarine navigation gear.