# Full Electronics package plan.



## Unkle Toad (May 11, 2013)

So a recent purchase puts me in Ownership of a nice new(old) sailboat. The electronics are next to non existant. So I am going through the need/want now/lator process. It seemed to me that whatever I get in the long run should be compatable with what ever I get now. So I have put together a couple of quick lists from the various companies for full package and figure what to get now compared to lator. Also the boat is right now out of the water so figureing what needs to be done out of the water IE through hulls is in short order. Also I am fairly good at fixing and figuring things so figuring out what I need to have profesionally done compared to what I can do myself. Seems good too.

RAYMARINE
Autopilot ev-100 $1350
wind/depth/temp	t-108 $1800
radar dome rd418d $835
mfd/charplotter e7 $1240
Ais transiever AIS650 $800
------
Total $6025

GARMIN
autopilot ghp12 $2000	
-A class Drive unit $1900
wind/depth/temp gws10 $1300 
radar dome gmr 18 hd	$1135
mfd/charplotter 741xls $1500 (740s would be ~800 if I could find it)
AIS Transiever	600 Blackbox $800
------
Total $8635

Simrad
Autopilot auto pilot package for ruddred vessels
ac12 corepack rc42 compassrf300 rudder feedback
nmea 2000 starter kit	
$1600
wind/depth/temp is20 wind/combi depth and speed $1335
Radar dome	broadband rg radar $1600
mfd/charplotter	nss7 $1165 
AIS Transiever	nais 400 $930
------
Total $6630

couple of questions for general depate like is it worth another $800 give or take to go from an 18” to a 24” radar dome?

I am not sure on the similarity of the different systems but I tried to get them as close to each other as I could and being pretty new to this I am not sure if maybe I am forgetting something basic.


My biggest thought for a now purchase is Depth etc. as a good through hull is much harder to put in while the boat is in the water. And Maybe autopilot while the boat is at the yard being worked on. The rest I am pretty sure I can do myself unless there is some huge reason not to.

Please pass all your great judgement on to me oh sailboat information gods


----------



## xymotic (Mar 4, 2005)

the better question re radar is if you have room for it. But in general I'd vote no.

The other thing is that I don't see a huge point in spending megabucks for brand name AIS. You can get a N2K AIS that will work fine and save $500.

And... The Simrad is light years ahead of the others in usability IMO


----------



## Yorksailor (Oct 11, 2009)

We have Ramarine, the plotters had to be rebuilt at 2 yrs but the auto pilot has steered us for over 25,000 bluewater miles.

We have a 24 inch radar dome and it has a range of over 20 miles.

The AIS transceiver, a older West Marine model, integrates well and it is nice to know that the radar blip and the AIS signal are the same thing.

Having the transceiver is very valuable. You can start the VHF communication with...

"Big Ship Lollipop this is sailboat Moon Dancer do you have me on your AIS." The answer 90% of the time is" let me check" Once they acknowledge that you are a sailboat you can then say.

"This is Moon Dancer and I intend to maintain speed and course the CPA is less than 1/2 mile could you please alter course to give me a CPA of 1 mile"

"Certainly Sir I will alter course and give you a wider margin."

"Big Ship Lollipop thank you for your courtesy Moon Dancer standing by on 16."

Works 98% of the time and avoids all that tacking to get out of their way! However, if the deck officer has an Eastern European accent yoiu might be better tacking.


----------



## Alex W (Nov 1, 2012)

You can make the Raymarine package cheaper by getting the e7d (instead of the e7) and standard Raymarine transducers for depth and speed that plug directly into the e7d.

The list of compatible transducers is found here:
Sonar Transducers

That will also get you fish finding displays instead of just depth displays. The fish finding displays are a lot more useful.

The cheapest way to get wind with Raymarine is the i40 wind package, which is $400ish. You will need to run a wire to the masthead, but it saves you a lot of money so I think it is worth the hassle. It is also something that you can add later.

If you want to do this a little bit at a time I'd start with the e7d and a transducer. Buy the plotter without charts since it looks like Lighthouse II will allow you to use free charts from NOAA instead of buying expensive ones from Navionics.

I agree that I'd go with VHF+AIS RX instead of a AIS transceiver. Standard Horizon makes good radios for this.

If I were building a Simrad-based package I would use the B&G Zeus as the plotter, it has some nice sailing-specific features. However I've had bad luck with Simrad customer service and great luck with Raymarine customer service (see my other thread on this) which would make it hard for me to recommend or consider Simrad.


----------



## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Why in your analysis do you have wheel pilot for the Raymarine package but a drive unit for Garmin? I know Garmin and Simrad dont have wheel pilots, but you should do an apples to apples comparison....

Just a word of advice also. Electronics dont matter. They're the LAST thing I'd upgrade on my boat. If you have a good old boat, I'd focus more on new standing rigging, reliable running gear (engine, transmission) and more....


----------



## xymotic (Mar 4, 2005)

Alex W said:


> I agree that I'd go with VHF+AIS RX instead of a AIS transceiver. Standard Horizon makes good radios for this.


The exact opposite of my reccomendadion. I would strongy suggest a Class B transciever.

Just not one of the chartplotter brands, 
em-trak - em-trak B100

The Raymarine is just a rebranded emtrak for several hundred more.


----------



## Alex W (Nov 1, 2012)

If you are on a budget but replacing all electronics (including VHF) a AIS RX is a $50-$100 upgrade. The emtrak B100 is about $500, and you'd need a VHF radio on top of that.

So it would make sense to start with AIS RX now (which gets you the most useful part of the system), then upgrade to a full AIS transceiver in the future as prices on those drop.

That is how I looked at it when I was in the same position a year ago.


----------



## xymotic (Mar 4, 2005)

Except it's not $50-100 more it's more like 200, which is 1/2 the cost of a proper transiever.

I agree with you that if it's an either/or thing that RX is 'better than nothing' but IMO this is something that is important enough to warrant scrimping elsewhere.

Tho OP had AIS listed in his specs so I was just pointing out that the $900 Raymarine/emtrak gets you nothing over the $500 emtrak except maybe the ability to turn it off from the MFD. For $400 I'll wire a switch


----------



## Alex W (Nov 1, 2012)

Thanks for pointing out that it is the same thing. $900 vs $500 is a big difference.

GX2150 is $290:
Standard Horizon Matrix AIS+ GX2150 Fixed Mount VHF Radio

GX2000, which is the same radio without AIS, is $200:
Standard Horizon GX2000 MATRIX DSC VHF / Hailer

If you don't need the other features of this series (like support for the remote mic) and are comparing to a very basic radio then the price difference could be $200. If you look at comparable radios it is a lot less.


----------



## FarCry (Apr 21, 2007)

Unkle Toad said:


> RAYMARINE
> Autopilot ev-100 $1350
> wind/depth/temp	t-108 $1800
> radar dome rd418d $835
> ...


Just looking at a sales email I got from West Marine. Looks like you can get a Garmin 740s for $800 or get it with HD radar for $1800. See here GARMIN GPSMAP 740s Chartplotter / Sounder with GMR 18HD Radome with No Transducer at West Marine


----------



## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

Don't forget to add the cost of a radar mount, once you decide where you're going to mount it. Mast, Backstay, Pole.


----------



## Once a tosser (Nov 9, 2014)

First time visit here, but this seems the last place to go for a sensible answer, I thought it was only women who could be Prima Donna's.


----------



## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

I wouldn't put any Raymarine products on any boat, at any price. Over the years I have had lots of trouble with their equipment (even their commercial vessel line of gear), extremely poor customer service and unknowledgeable technical service personnel.
I have had extremely good experiences with Garmin equipment and support personnel. I have had no interaction with Simrad personnel, however my Simrad/Robertson autopilot has worked very well for us for 5 years, now.


----------



## IStream (Dec 15, 2013)

Once a tosser said:


> First time visit here, but this seems the last place to go for a sensible answer, I thought it was only women who could be Prima Donna's.


Another one-post douchebag...


----------



## jerryrlitton (Oct 14, 2002)

IStream said:


> Another one-post douchebag...


His sn sums it up. Tosser. However this is a term from my home country.

Jerry


----------

