Refit Ideas for Instruments

[amit]

Hello Folks,

I have now sailed a few times on my CD33. I have been lucky enough to take her out couple times a month since November

One of the few things that I think need replacing are old aging systems of data-marine.

The depth finder works, the log/speed indicator doesnt work and the wind instrument shows direction only. ( i have done all sanity checks and gotten repair quotes) At this point I think it makes sense to upgrade the instruments.

So I wanted to seek your opinion, what is the best choice at a reasonable price for chartplotter/fishfinder ( Full keel boats what sensor for Fish finder?) and wind instruments. ( Lowrance/Simrad/Garmin/raymarine/BG)

I saw some mention on the forum for wifi connectivity for mast head unit. ( Can someone help with specific make and model number)

Also is wind instrument really necessary? I have sailed at 2kts to 25kts of wind without the help of one ( I know these numbers from buoy readings after the fact.)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards
Amit

[Klem]

Hi Amit,

At the end of your post, I think you hit on something very important when you asked whether these things are necessary. In my opinion, wind instruments are not at all necessary on a cruising boat. If you want to race competitively, then most people need them in order to be competitive. If you want to tweak the last little bit out of your boat while cruising, they can help as well. Some people enjoy playing with them and others think that sailing should be relaxing and a chance to disconnect from electronics. Wind instruments are a personal preference. Our boat did not come with them and we decided not to put them on as they won't really add to the experience but they will add to the complexity which we don't want.

In most places and circumstances, I would consider a depth sounder a very good idea. We look at ours daily as we try to find a place to anchor. If you are sailing in very deep and well charted waters where you won't be anchoring much, you could certainly get away with out one.

As to chartplotters and radar, it would be helpful to know your circumstances. Where do you sail? If there is fog, will you go out in it? Do you sail at night? Will you still carry paper charts? Are you sailing to many countries? How price sensitive are you? I have sailed with very large multifunction displays and with a very basic handheld gps (and without a gps or Loran for that matter but it has been a while) and I think it makes sense to match your electronics to your circumstances. On our own boat, we have a Garmin 541 plotter and a standalone Furuno radar which works well for us but isn't necessarily the best option for everyone.

[sharkbait]

I agree with Klim. When we bought our last boat it came with wind instruments; they have since expired and I have done nothing to resurrect them. The wind on your ears and your eyes on the waves should give your wind direction and speed.

[Jim Walsh]

Lots of room here for personal preferences, likes, and dislikes. Some people have day sailers with instrument packages normally found on forty footers, some have forty footers with no instruments at all. Since you are actively seeking the advice of others I'd advise you to stick with whatever you have till you gain an opinion regarding which information you find important to you. Personally I have a suite of Raymarine instruments and I'm very satisfied with them. I bought my CD31 in 12/06. I sailed the boat with the instruments it had for one year and replaced most everything in 08. In that year I had developed a strong opinion about exactly what I wanted. Cost a few bucks but I'm still happy with my choices and they have all operated as advertised and reliably since that time.
I have a chartplotter, radar, apparent wind, windspeed, depth sounder, knot meter, log, AIS, VHF radio, autopilot, and perhaps something I've forgotton. Clearly some things are used frequently and others are available as needed. I know how to pilot a vessel and plot my position without the use of electronic instruments, been there, done that. I carry a sextant and use it enough to maintain my skills. I like taking advantage of a lot of the electronic instruments available to us. I find they are so reliable they ADD to my enjoyment.
Have fun deciding what instruments best fit the intended use of your vessell, if any

[Paul D.]

Amit,

For our 33 I opted to replace the aging Datamarine in 2012. One by one they started failing and when I was down to only my speedometer I got active! I went with the Raymarine ST60 for depth and speed. I feel the depth sounder is an important navigation tool for sailing along depth lines and knowing where you aren't. After researching these sets I went with the ST60 as it was being replaced with the new ones and was cheaper and the depth reads to 400' instead of 200. The speedometer I like for averages and when trying to get the most out of the boat when someone is going in the same direction as we are! I can guess the speed within a knot most times though so I don't feel it is absolutely imperative to have.

The old Datamarine wind and wind speed was on the bulkhead and died years ago. I missed having a wind gauge ('Cause I'm a weather nerd!) so I finally just got a Raymarine wireless to replace them. It is more of a luxury to me really, though some day I could see hooking it up to an new autopilot to steer to wind. Everything will be wireless soon I reckon.

I plan to do chart plotting - in addition to a smaller Garmin GPS and my regular paper charting, which I enjoy - through an iPad in a Lifeproof case with iNavx.

If I were to do this again I might get the Raymarine depth and speed in one display (Bi data) for the port side of the binnacle pod and mount the autopilot display in the port side pod. Wind display can still go on the cabin bulk head where everyone can see it. I went with a separate speed and depth display as it's likely I would break one. Right now I have speed on the left of the binnacle, depth on the right, wind instrument to be installed this season on the bulkhead and the below decks autopilot display, installed by the PO, down on the port side of the cockpit locker behind the helm. Not ideal but it all works and keeps the binnacle rather simple.

My two sense. Hope it helps.

[swpatooty2]

Keep it simple, and don't add more than you really need this year.

[amit]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

Klem - I plan on coastal cruising in channel islands/santa barbara. Yes there is occasional fog in the late afternoon hours. The Datamarine depth sounder that I have works (for now at least), but I do have a through hull on the other side which has a transducer which doesn’t work, so in the long run I was planning on getting the fish finder variety rather than a instrument panel type.

Sharkbait — thats what I plan to do and have been doing to an extent ( aside from the depth finder), the only trouble is when fog rolls in or you can’t see the harbor entrance like what happened last time. Cell phone did help then.

Jim — Great advice.

Paul — Thanks for details of models and mounting schemes.

[Klem]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

Klem - I plan on coastal cruising in channel islands/santa barbara. Yes there is occasional fog in the late afternoon hours. The Datamarine depth sounder that I have works (for now at least), but I do have a through hull on the other side which has a transducer which doesn’t work, so in the long run I was planning on getting the fish finder variety rather than a instrument panel type.

Sharkbait — thats what I plan to do and have been doing to an extent ( aside from the depth finder), the only trouble is when fog rolls in or you can’t see the harbor entrance like what happened last time. Cell phone did help then.

Jim — Great advice.

Paul — Thanks for details of models and mounting schemes.

Hi Amit,

I have never sailed in the Channel Islands but given what the chart looks like, I would think that you can get away with a fairly basic chartplotter if you want. My favorite of the small chart plotters are the small 5" units by Garmin as they are affordable, reliable and easy to use. Thanks to improving technology, another option would be a tablet in a waterproof case but you need to make sure that you can charge it without compromising the seal. The tablet is a bit more versatile and you can hook it to some new radars and AIS if you want those abilities for the fog. Either one should be fine for your use and it is really all about personal preference. On a boat the size of a 33, I prefer to keep the plotter in the 5-9" range and in the cockpit.

[Tom Keevil]

On our CD33 we have a depth sounder, knotmeter, VHF radio, radar, autopilot, and an old hand held GPS. That assemblage works fine for our cruising style. We don't really need the knot-meter

I would rcommend the radar over a chart plotter. In your cruising area, with mountains and tall islands, it's pretty easy to figure out where you are. If you need to know your location more precisely, turn on the radar. I'd be most worried about all that Southern California traffic in the fog, and a chart plotter won't help you with that.

[Ken Cave]

Instead of a chart plotter, take a look at a program from Rose Point Navigation Systems called
Coastal Explorer. It works on any "windows" computer and has all the maps of the US waters
included in the program. They also sell the Canadian maps that do not expire as the ones purchased
from Canada do.

This program, also includes an AIS system that will track boats with a radio that has an AIS system built
in. A Standard Horizon unit runs about $300.00 and does not have to have a special antenna for the
AIS system to work.

This program also talks to you. Here in the North West, we have a lot of traffic (ferries, container ships,
and big boy cruises) and if one is approaching you, it will warn you as tell you how many minutes you
have before a possible collision. AS it is reading the maps (hook up any GPS to the computer) it will
also tell you when you are shallow waters!

It is a great program, easy to use, and does everything well. And, you can call them anytime for help.

A computer? Try looking at Toshiba Direct on the internet. As mine was purchased in 2009, I decided
to upgrade this past month. Got one for $379.00 delivered!! Now I have two loaded with Coastal Explorer.
You can use this program up to three computers without a problem.

I believe you can access a trial copy of Coastal Explorer on the internet. Worth looking into!

Ken Cave

[amit]

Klem — I agree with you that a basic c/p would be sufficient here in channel islands. I do have a tablet I have downloaded the app iSailor and downloaded the US West Coast charts for $5. I will give this a try the next time I go sailing.

Tom — You have made a very interesting point of radar.

Ken — Thanks for the Rose Point information. I want to seriously consider this option, I think would be the best in the long run. The net cost of this system would be far less than than a full fledged chart plotter which has all these functions. Besides a PC can do a lot more, I also have a sneaking suspicion that a portable electronics ( laptops and tablets) are much better at power utilization than a chart plotter.

[Keith]

Here's my two cents worth!

I have sailed MOON DANCE (30C) for two summers now in Nantucket Sound. She had early 1980s Data Marine depth and knot meter and an unknown analog wind instrument on the mast head with nothing to connect the cable to in the cabin or cockpit. It also had a Garmin 431 chart plotter (I think thats the number) that was full of water. I could never get the knot meter to work. The depth work sporadically for the first summer and after drying it out and cleaning up the circuit board the Garnim has work flawlessly. The second summer I added a nema 2000 backbone with a nema 2000 depth and wind speed/direction. I ran them through the Garmin and it works great. You can program the screen to see any or all of the readings that you want (the techs at west marine said that it was not possible to run the new nema 2000 instruments on the old Garmin but my research proved them wrong). I'm thinking of adding radar with a new larger Garmin. I can keep the old Garmin in the cabin and run it off the nema 2000 network. The key for me is to have one readout on the pedestal that has all of the information and not to have gages and holes everywhere. As already stated several times above it is a personal preference. My best recommendation is to sail for a summer with what you have and then decide which way to go.

enjoy your sailing!!!

OK maybe it was 5 cents worth!!!

[rorik]

Compasses (bulkhead & handheld), VHF, depth sounder, paper charts, handheld GPS.

[Neil Gordon]

Compasses (bulkhead & handheld), VHF, depth sounder, paper charts, handheld GPS.

o/~ You know where you are just by looking around... By picking out landmarks position is found! 0/~

#BlowTheManDown

[rorik]

Compasses (bulkhead & handheld), VHF, depth sounder, paper charts, handheld GPS.

o/~ You know where you are just by looking around... By picking out landmarks position is found! 0/~

#BlowTheManDown

You'd be surprised how much things can look the same sometimes...