Hi John! It's easy to get over-enthusiastic about new electronics until the price tags start to become apparent! I'm in the same camp as
@marcham ,
@BarryL , &
@Davidasailor26 and would encourage you to strive for a fully-integrated network. But, only you can decide for yourself, the actual priority. Like myself, you appear to be finding a whole host of issues with a boat that is in that 20 to 30 year age range that you want to address. I'm right there with you with these experiences and I'm still addressing issues even after owning the boat for 6 seasons now. Since we have the same boat, I'll try to talk about some specifics. Also note that I am not shy at all about making modifications to my boat where I want to change manufacturers' installations that I don't particularly like. There are pros and cons to this attitude that I have.
Autopilot: you didn't mention anything about what you may or may not have (maybe I missed it from previous posts). You should have an autopilot and I would make that a high priority. Below decks are very expensive and our structure below the deck will not accommodate a new installation without significant structural work around the rudder post underneath. Practically speaking, you are limited to a wheel pilot. The CPT was recommended as a good stand-alone unit at reasonable cost. The current Raymarine wheelpilot is also reasonably priced (but not as low as CPT) and is the only wheelpilot that you can buy that can be networked with ANY NMEA 2000 network. More importantly, you can install it initially as a stand-alone wheelpilot and include it in your network (just plug it in - no complications later) after you decide what you want for an electronics package later. You can choose any chartplotter later - Garmin, B&G, Raymarine - it doesn't matter. They are all NMEA 2000.
I would absolutely choose a Raymarine wheelpilot over the CPT. The CPT may even function a bit more robustly, but I think they look too clunky and I would not want a wheel pilot that can't be networked. Obviously, that is a personal choice, but that would be my 1st priority for electronics if I were in your shoes.
VHF fixed-mount radio: I have all B&G products and I would recommend the V60 with AIS reciever (or similar model from other maker). This can also be initially installed as a stand-alone unit. It doesn't have internal GPS but in my opinion, the VHF doesn't need internal GPS when it gets GPS from a networked source. However, the alarm that periodically beeps when a GPS source is not connected can be annoying (and I'm not sure if the alarm can be disabled). The alarm goes off at intervals and can be interrupted by pressing any button on the radio.
You won't have AIS or GPS functioning until you are networked. You can install an external GPS antennae to make the radio fully functional. The external GPS antennae can be purchased separately or it will be included in a Triton instrument package that I will discuss later.
With any radio you buy, you will need to determine where the disconnection may be for the masthead antennae. You should look under the compression post (remove the floor board) and trace the antennae cable from inside the boat to the radio. Most likely, the fault may lie within your mast. I'm guessing that you may have a few reasons to take the mast down this winter. Try to get all issues related to the mast organized if you are taking the mast down.
Instruments - Depth, Wind, Speed: B&G, via Defender Marine, sells various Triton instrument packages to get you set up fully for these displays. I recommend the 2-display package. It comes with the external GPS antennae mentioned above. I did not resolve the issue I had with the transducer cable the only time that I took my mast down, so I bought the wireless wind transducer option. It wasn't without complications. I had a dead battery after the 1st season that had to be replaced (very simple but it's replaced in the transducer at the top of the mast) and then I also had a bad transducer that had to be replaced under warranty. I've had 2 seasons trouble-free now. The wireless option requires that a Bluetooth antennae (included in the package) be mounted on the boat to receive the signal. I mounted both the GPS antennae and the Bluetooth antennae on the bimini frame just above the helm station. The network cables from both antennae follow the frame to a thru-deck passage below to link into the network.
These multi-function instruments are far superior over the old types that have specialized displays. On my boat, the original 3 displays were mounted in a NAVPOD instrument panel on the wheel pedestal with a Garmin GPS. This didn't work for me because the instruments weren't visible except from directly behind the wheel, where I try not to spend all my time. Our boat doesn't accommodate instrument displays forward in the cockpit where they can be visible to helmsman and crew. So, I made my own bridge over the leading edge of the companionway as shown below.
I had to run 2 cables thru the deck above the galley. I made trim to hide the cables on the inside. It wasn't an easy installation and hiding the cables was not the cleanest, but I love the location of these 2 displays. With 16 different pages (8 pages per display that can be displayed in any order that you like) displayed on these 2 instruments combined, the information that can be displayed is virtually limitless.
Chartplotter: You can get a B&G Vulcan chartplotter for about half the price of a B&G Zeus chartplotter and I've had a 7" Vulcan on my previous boat and found it to be an excellent model. However, I wanted the extra functionality that the Zeus provides for my current boat. I bought a 12" screen because I thought I was getting a great deal for it. It had a manufacturing defect and I had to upgrade to the latest model by paying extra to receive a replacement, which I did with great satisfaction so far. However, if I knew I was ultimately going to pay full price, I would have bought a 9" model. For our boat, I think the 12" screen is overkill and the 7" screen would be too small. I think the 9" screen would be a suitable size for our boats. You will want to really scrutinize the screen size because it will affect your mounting options and there is a significant price differential between the screen sizes. Below is the Navpod for a 12" Zeus model that also has room for another Triton display and the autopilot display. My brother is 6' tall behind the helm in this photo so you can see how much the Navpod obstructs visibility forward. I also replaced the pedestal guard so it won't look exactly like yours. The upside down Navpod under the chartplotter is exclusively for engine controls because i was dissatisfied with the original control panel underneath the wheel.
BTW, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Vulcan model at far less cost if you can live with touch screen alone. That's basically the only difference between Zeus & Vulcan. There are some screen refreshing speed differences and maybe some screen visibility differences that I couldn't notice.
AIS Transponder: I don't have one so I don't have much to add. However, it has been posted that it is better to have a separate transponder with dedicated antennae rather than a VHF with receiver
and transponder, sharing the antennae with the VHF. Transmitting AIS with a shared VHF antennae could be a recipe for damaging the VHF. For that reason, I will add the transponder with a separate antennae at a later time, if I ever do.
Radar: I don't have one. This would be my last priority if I ever felt like it would be useful to me.
I pretty-much listed these items in order of my priority of needs if I were in your shoes. Obviously, your priorities could differ.
One thing I didn't mention is forward-looking sonar. If I was thinking about cruising in the upper Great Lakes where underwater rock outcroppings are common, I would definitely include this in my instrument package. My other thought is that B&G / Defender includes C-Map for the included chart mapping. I like it very much and have not considered purchasing Navionics for my chartplotter as I previously thought that I would. Navionics is expensive and I think unnecessary for my applications. I do have Navionics subscription on my phone. I'm not sure why you can get a Navionics subscription for phone and tablet applicatiion at far less cost than the chart plotter application (purchasing the chip). Maybe I'm misunderstanding something ...
