Instruments--Recommendations of brands??

[M. R. Bober]

It will come as no surprise to frequent readers of this site, that my old DataMarine instruments (knotmeter & sounder) are going to the "instrument ranch" to play with other unreliable devices.

So, I went to the Annapolis Sailboat Show for information. What a surprise, each manufacturer claimed to have the best and most reliable units. Simrad has a line of instruments that have been on the market for about one year. B&G hasn't sold their first "1000" series--in America--yet, but claim that 6 months of French and Australian usage prove the line a winner. Raymarine (the latest appellation of Autohelm/Raytheon has the ST60.

I will be replacing the sounder & knotmeter and mostly likely adding a wind instrument and above deck autopilot.

I would appreciate any opinions and/or case histories. Thanks in advamce.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

[will parker]

I have a 1986 Cape Dory 30. My instruments are presumably as old as theboat, i.e 15 years. My Datamarine depth sounder seems to be working fine, but my Datamarine knot log has gone to Glory. Nevertherless, I think 15 years of reliable service from electronic instruments subjected to a harsh marine environment ain't bad. I plabn to try to replace them with Datamarine units if I can find a local dealer. Thanks to Catherine Monahagn, I think I can. She provided the Datamarine web page sometime back. Maybe by using the Datamarine, I can get by with replacing only the instrument itself using the old ancillary stuff, like the transponder for the depth sounder and the spinner for the knot log. I'm going to go back and try to find her post where she listed the Datamarine website.
I recommend you do also. However, if you find another brand that is better or simpler to retrofit, let me know.
Good luck
Will
Jambalaya
CD 30

It will come as no surprise to frequent readers of this site, that my old DataMarine instruments (knotmeter & sounder) are going to the "instrument ranch" to play with other unreliable devices.

So, I went to the Annapolis Sailboat Show for information. What a surprise, each manufacturer claimed to have the best and most reliable units. Simrad has a line of instruments that have been on the market for about one year. B&G hasn't sold their first "1000" series--in America--yet, but claim that 6 months of French and Australian usage prove the line a winner. Raymarine (the latest appellation of Autohelm/Raytheon has the ST60.

I will be replacing the sounder & knotmeter and mostly likely adding a wind instrument and above deck autopilot.

I would appreciate any opinions and/or case histories. Thanks in advamce.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

whildenp@flinet.com

[John R.]

It will come as no surprise to frequent readers of this site, that my old DataMarine instruments (knotmeter & sounder) are going to the "instrument ranch" to play with other unreliable devices.

So, I went to the Annapolis Sailboat Show for information. What a surprise, each manufacturer claimed to have the best and most reliable units. Simrad has a line of instruments that have been on the market for about one year. B&G hasn't sold their first "1000" series--in America--yet, but claim that 6 months of French and Australian usage prove the line a winner. Raymarine (the latest appellation of Autohelm/Raytheon has the ST60.

I will be replacing the sounder & knotmeter and mostly likely adding a wind instrument and above deck autopilot.

I would appreciate any opinions and/or case histories. Thanks in advamce.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

You might want to take a harder look at the Raymarine gear because it is Seatalk compatible and will also integrate with their Raytech navigator software if you are ever inclined to get into electronic chart plotting via a PC at a later date. I also believe there is a good chance you would find their instrumentation to be compatible with NMEA 2000 protocol interfacing which should be debuting sometime in the near future. B&G may also be future compatible with the 2000, it would be worth a phone call to find out for certain.

I would be confident to bet Datamarine (SEA - Stephens engineering) will also follow suit rather sooner than later. I would make a lot of inquiries and put the boat show reps on the spot and throw the NMEA 2000 compatibility issue in their lap and see what kind of response you get. Whomever has a straight up non ambiguous answer would probably be the one I would go with.

[Bob Malinka]

Will:

Here's your link to Data Marine: http://www.sea-dmi.com/datmar/index.htm

Let us know how it works out.

Bob
Ranger #144
"also still using Datamarine intruments at the moment"

I have a 1986 Cape Dory 30. My instruments are presumably as old as theboat, i.e 15 years. My Datamarine depth sounder seems to be working fine, but my Datamarine knot log has gone to Glory. Nevertherless, I think 15 years of reliable service from electronic instruments subjected to a harsh marine environment ain't bad. I plabn to try to replace them with Datamarine units if I can find a local dealer. Thanks to Catherine Monahagn, I think I can. She provided the Datamarine web page sometime back. Maybe by using the Datamarine, I can get by with replacing only the instrument itself using the old ancillary stuff, like the transponder for the depth sounder and the spinner for the knot log. I'm going to go back and try to find her post where she listed the Datamarine website.
I recommend you do also. However, if you find another brand that is better or simpler to retrofit, let me know.
Good luck
Will
Jambalaya
CD 30

It will come as no surprise to frequent readers of this site, that my old DataMarine instruments (knotmeter & sounder) are going to the "instrument ranch" to play with other unreliable devices.

So, I went to the Annapolis Sailboat Show for information. What a surprise, each manufacturer claimed to have the best and most reliable units. Simrad has a line of instruments that have been on the market for about one year. B&G hasn't sold their first "1000" series--in America--yet, but claim that 6 months of French and Australian usage prove the line a winner. Raymarine (the latest appellation of Autohelm/Raytheon has the ST60.

I will be replacing the sounder & knotmeter and mostly likely adding a wind instrument and above deck autopilot.

I would appreciate any opinions and/or case histories. Thanks in advamce.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

Ranger1442@hotmail.com

[Chris Schnell]

Mitchell...I totally agree w/John R. I bought MADNESS III, 1982 CD30 #235, this spring and as part of her "update" I installed the ST60 Tridata, ST60 Wind, ST4000 Autopilot, and the GPS300. All these are interfaced thru Seatalk, are large digital displays that are easy to read from the wheel, are NMEA2000 compatible, and yes, I will be able to do my chart plotting on a laptop down below with all data presented in the cockpit. I guess my philosphy was that they're all integrated during the design phase by the same manufacturer, and these people are known as the leaders. And yes, I'm sure I paid more than I could have with other manufacturers, but there's just something about this compatability issue that gives me the "warm fuzzies" when I turn it on. And they've made the instructions for a layman, so I have a chance at truly understanding them. While the 300 GPS isn't a chartplotter, there are several screen presentations that work well in navigating a route of waypoints. And so far I've been able to program about 50 waypoints that allow me to navigate between bouys in the Cape Fear river channel leading to the Atlantic. Anyway, I could go on and on, but bottom line is my vote goes to Raymarine. Good Luck

Full Sails & Calm Seas,

Chris Schnell
s/v MADNESS III, CD30 #235
Southport, NC



swabbie@compaq.net

[M. R. Bober]

They were NOT at the Annapolis Boat Show, and there was some discussion of the their long term viability.

Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330

[Larry DeMers]

Hi Mitch and Chris,

I also vote strongly for RayMarine Instrumentation. Their stuff simply works..by itself or with other units of their manufacture. I also have the ST60 Tri-Data, GPS300 (what a superior GPS THAT is!!), Raytheon Heading Sensor Fluxgate Compass and also a Raytheon LCD, 16 mile radar. All equipment is integrated via SEATALK and also NMEA0183 networks. The radar repeats a lot of the data shown on the Tridata as well as the GPS 300 data..makes navigating more interesting.

THe instrumentation and the sensors are all very good quality. The equipment is intuitive in design and function, and the digits are large enough for viewing from many feet away without a problem.
If we were doing it over again, i would buy these exact same pieces of equipment.

Cheers,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~Currently still sailing Lake Superior..but soon...~~~

Mitchell...I totally agree w/John R. I bought MADNESS III, 1982 CD30 #235, this spring and as part of her "update" I installed the ST60 Tridata, ST60 Wind, ST4000 Autopilot, and the GPS300. All these are interfaced thru Seatalk, are large digital displays that are easy to read from the wheel, are NMEA2000 compatible, and yes, I will be able to do my chart plotting on a laptop down below with all data presented in the cockpit. I guess my philosphy was that they're all integrated during the design phase by the same manufacturer, and these people are known as the leaders. And yes, I'm sure I paid more than I could have with other manufacturers, but there's just something about this compatability issue that gives me the "warm fuzzies" when I turn it on. And they've made the instructions for a layman, so I have a chance at truly understanding them. While the 300 GPS isn't a chartplotter, there are several screen presentations that work well in navigating a route of waypoints. And so far I've been able to program about 50 waypoints that allow me to navigate between bouys in the Cape Fear river channel leading to the Atlantic. Anyway, I could go on and on, but bottom line is my vote goes to Raymarine. Good Luck

Full Sails & Calm Seas,

Chris Schnell
s/v MADNESS III, CD30 #235
Southport, NC

demers@sgi.com

[Jay]

They seem to have a well balanced and integrated system......but market material can be deceptive.

Thanks...

[Jay]

They have sent me repair parts recently (this spring) but I heard or read from several different sources that they are in dire straits financially.....have not confirmed this, does anyone know with any degree of certianty about their situation?

It seems that Datamarine does not have a "system" of integrated components as extensive as some of the other manufacturers. Inferring from the previous posts, that integration is the wave of the future, I would suspect that unless Datamarine steps up with some really slick stuff, they will not have a future !!!

Jay

[John R.]

They have sent me repair parts recently (this spring) but I heard or read from several different sources that they are in dire straits financially.....have not confirmed this, does anyone know with any degree of certianty about their situation?

It seems that Datamarine does not have a "system" of integrated components as extensive as some of the other manufacturers. Inferring from the previous posts, that integration is the wave of the future, I would suspect that unless Datamarine steps up with some really slick stuff, they will not have a future !!!

Jay

The "Link" line of Datamarine instruments is quite advanced and has one of the best interfacing methods going. It utilizes coax and by using such it will probably make it configurable with NMEA 2000 unlike some proprietary or traditional cabling used by other electronics manufacturers. Because NMEA 2000 is to be released this month some manufacturers may be slow in releasing new equipment so that they can incorporate the protocol in their new gear.

Considering that they were bought out by SEA (Stephens Engineering) they now have a superb company behind them. Stephens makes superb equipment and has an excellent reputation. I think Datamarine will have a very good future ahead of it with SEA as the mother company.

[Brian]

I would STRONGLY recomend against purchasing from Datamarine. They had our depthsounder which we sent in for repair for the ENTIRE season. We couldn't wait any longer and ulitmately went and bought a new one. The word is that they don't have money to buy parts. I don't know whether that's the case, but waiting for months is far from quality customer service.

Brian

[Don Carr]

Based on my experience with both standalone and 'systems' I would
recommend:
1) Nexus (best system)
2). Raymarine (standalone components).

I would stay away from Broken Gauges (B&G) as they are way overpriced
and I am not convinced of the long term quality.

My 2 cents.



carrds@us.ibm.com

[Robin Meigel]

I invested in Navico instrumentation in 1998 - autopilot, remote autopilot control, knotmeter, depth transducer, the 600 display unit (speed and depth in the same display) and anemometer. Simrad has since purchased Navico and sells the same stuff under the Simrad name. I've held off on interfacing a GPS as the Navico/Simrad GPS didn't seem to be state of the art at the time and I knew that I could probably interface another brand into the Simrad stuff as long as it was NEMA (sp?) compatible.

I have no regrets with the equipment or service. When the tiller pilot 200 jammed because of something stupid I did, Navico replaced it with a new unit (same model, different serial number).

I really like having speed and depth shown on the same display unit - one less hole in the bulkhead.

One of the issues in the Annapolis area is that Autohelm has historically had a lock on the vendors you would call on to install or service electronic instrumentation -- Navico was marketing through West Marine when I bought mine and Simrad has since discontinued sales through retail outlets. As a result, I expect that the local matine electricians will have incentive to get up the learning curve on the Simrad units in a way they weren't when I bought my stuff. (They weren't interested in installing a unit they hadn't sold to me.) A friend of mine was so impressed with my Navico unit on a motor trip up from Solomons ten days ago that he bought a wheel version for his Cal 29 at the boat show this weekend.

I have heard one report of moisture incursion by a friend, but I have not had problems.

Robin
"Pacem"
1979 CD 27